Our earliest known ancestor to date is William Magowne / Magoune / McGowan, etc. See: Various Spellings. He first appeared in North Carolina records in a 1748 Pasquotank County, North Carolina deed in which he gave a deposition concerning a John Diall he had know in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. In the deposition, he stated that he presently lived in Perquimans County, NC (adjacent to Pasquotank County), that he was about 40 years old and that he had previously lived in William & Mary Parish of St. Mary’s County, Maryland. Whether he was born there or not is unknown. The courthouse in St. Mary’s had burned several times by 1800, so many early records were lost.

I did find two documents from St. Mary's County which may be connected: one which showed that a John MACKGOWEN was one of ninety servants transported on the Batchelor of Bristol to St. Mary’s on Nov. 2, 1674 (See: the Batchelor of Bristol). Also a record showing that on October 2, 1743, John MEGOIN was one of the appraisers for the estate of David Wood, late of St. Mary's County, Maryland. (An appraiser was appointed to evaluated the estate of the recently deceased.)

William MAGOWNE moved from St. Mary's Co., Maryland by the mid-1740’s. He appeared on the Perquimans Co., NC List of Taxables for 1748 (as William MAGOWN) and for 1750 (as William MAGOUND). In a 1750 Perquimans deed, which was a copy of an earlier deed which had been lost in a fire, Frances and husband William MAGOUNE and Sarah and husband John JACKSON, daughters of Solomon HENDRICK (died 1744), are mentioned. The land was located on Docton’s Creek of the Little River. In 1754 John and Sarah JACKSON sold their Perquimans County land to Charles Taylor and in 1756 William and Frances MAGOUNE sold their's to Aaron JACKSON.

Jowever, it is believed that William & Frances had moved their fromily across the Albemarle Sound to Tyrrell Co., NC by 1753. That year he gave witness against Willian Barnes of that county for hiding his tithables. On 27 July 1758, William MAGOUND bought 250 acres for Forty Pounds from Phineas and Mary NIXON (Pasquotank Co. Quakers), land received by Mary NIXON from her father Thomas PIERCE in a patent dated 30 Nov. 1739. This land is described as: "Beginning the Northwest side of Allegator River." (Deed Book 1, p. 399-401). It is interesting that Phineas & Mary NIXON also sold land in 1766 to Isaac MEEKINS, Jr. (Deed Book 4, p. 234) and the same year to John POOLE (Deed book 4, p. 237). On June 2, 1761, William McGOWN, Isaac MEEKINS and others petitioned for a road from the Grapevine Landing to Gum Neck..... The petition was denied. On 20 Aug. 1761, William McGOWN was a Chain Carrier for a grant to Nephaniah HOLOWELL for 656 acres in Tyrrell Co., NC on the W. side of Great Alligator River known as Black Cherry Ridge, joining the river pocoson.

Will of William MAGOUNE of Tyrrel County, North Carolina - 13 September 1775: wife Frances MAGOUNE, Executrix; sons Joseph, John, William, Thomas, James MAGOUNE; daughters Mary, Elizabeth MAGOUNE. Wit: David SAVIN, Jon ( X ) SMITH, Jane ( X ) BANKS. (Will Book 1, page 119). However, William lived seven years after he wrote his will. He must have been quite ill because he signed his will with an "X" whereas he had signed his name on other documents.

In 1779, William, Sr., Joseph, John, William McGowan, Jr. were among those who signed a petition to divide Tyrrell County into several smaller counties.

The will of William McGowan, Sr. was proven in court in October, 1782 by John SMITH and it was ordered to be filed. Frances MAGOUND appeared and was qualified Executrix to the Last Will and Testament of William MAGOUND.

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