John McDowell
(abt. 1797 - Sep 21, 1842)
John McDowell is buried at Mt. Shepherd United Methodist Church just off highway 64, west of Asheboro, NC about half way to Cid. Interestingly, in a recent re-visit to the church, we discovered that there is a "McDowell Plot" in that cemetery that seemed to be for his family. Three graves are in the plot - John McDowell (spelled JMcDuel), an infant JMDoel and a third stone with no markings, but it is clear that the slate has been broken; therefore, any markings on the slate are gone. The footstone for John McDowell has an "M" clearly etched in the slate. It is possible that the unmarked slate/rock could be that of Tilathy Hill McDowell, his wife, as no other grave has been found for her.
Tilathy Hill McDowell did not die until after 1880 and was living with her son-in-law Noah Yates. It was most probable that she would have been buried in their plot at Pleasant Union United Church of Christ; however, she is not. There is a rock next to Noah Yates marking someone's burial but it is not even a slate that was etched. Seeing that she lived so long and after 1880, one would think there would be a memorial of some kind.
Note - W B stands for "Wedding Bond" which was actually 1819. WB was sometimes used when the date of birth was unknown. The stone reads as follows:
1842
JMcDUEL
W B 1818
DECEST ST 21
1842
The marker to the right is in the McDowell Plot at Mt. Shepherd United Methodist Church. The picture is shot at an angle with the glare of the white pants so that the etching could more easily be read as follows:
J M DOEL
B F 21, 1862
1862 A 11 M
The authors have no idea who this is. We believe the writing to mean B(orn), F(ebruary) 21, 1862 (it could be 1852 in both instances) and the third line reads 1862 A(bout) 11 M(onths).
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Harding McDowell is pointing to the slate marker for John McDowell that is numbered "1". The number "2" is the footstone for John's marker and has an "M" etched on it. Number "3" is the marker for a child and is shown below. Number "4" is an unknown broken slate that is part of the "McDowell Plot" and to the left of "4" is another footstone.
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