My ancestors.?Dowdy?

Question

I did reseach on my mothers grandmothers side. My great grandmother name is Mildred Brooks,but her maiden name is Dowdy.After asking her I found out that her mothers name was Emma Dowdy who was born in SC 1867, she also had a younger brother name Samuel. I also found that Emma was mulatto and her mother name was Margaret Dowdy,but no name of her father.I found that both her mother and father were born in SC though.Margaret Dowdy was born around 1850 and she was also mulatto but her parents were born in Virgina and I cant find out anything about them and her husband. I've hit a dead end.

Answer 1

Here they are in 1880, courtesy of the Mormons,

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/f...

I'll see if I can find them in 1870. If the sister really is single, and not a sister-in-law, Margaret's maiden name was Clarke.

Household:

Name  Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace

Margaret DOWDY   Self   W   Female   MU   30   SC   Sews   VA   VA  

Emma DOWDY   Dau   S   Female   MU   13   SC   At School   SC   SC  

Samuel DOWDY   Son   S   Male   MU   1   SC      SC   SC  

Floride CLARKE   Sister   S   Female   MU   33   SC      VA   VA  

--------------------------------------...

Source Information:

  Census Place 1st Ward, Columbia, Richland, South Carolina

========================

Added later:

1870 United States Federal Census > South Carolina > Richland > Columbia

John H Dowdy, 37, SC, farmer

Margret Dowdy, 23, SC

William Dowdy, 6, SC

Ema Dowdy, 4, SC

Elizabeth Dowdy, 2, SC

Margaret Clark, 60, Virginia

Rachael Dowdy, 9, SC

Peter Davis, 35, SC

Eliza Davis, 24, SC

Alexander Davis, 4, SC

Peter Davis, 1, SC

Thomas Williams, 8, SC

John's race is "M" and everyone else is "B". The 1870 doesn't have relationship, drat the luck, but I'd bet, based on Floride the 1880, that Margaret Clark is John's mother-in-law. Rachael Dowdy may be an orphaned sister, niece or cousin. The Davis family may be related, may not.

Everyone's occupation is "At Home" except for John Dowdy, as noted. Even Peter Davis is "At Home", which looks like the enumerator got lazy with his "" marks. Very few 35-year old men sat around the house in 1870.

As I type the Mormon web site is having problems. When it comes back up, you might look up Peter Davis, born 1835 or so, wife Eliza, on it in the 1880 census. You may find something. If he has Margaret Clark living with him and relation "Mother-in-Law", for instance, Eliza Davis and Margaret Dowdy are sisters.

I can't find Margaret Clark (either one) or John Dowdy in the 1860. They may be hiding under odd spellings, they may be slaves.