Brief Life History of Willis A.
When Willis A. Dowd was born in 1832, in Otisco, Onondaga, New York, United States, his father, Richard Doud, was 24 and his mother, Betsey M. Palmer, was 26. He married Esther Cornelia Gilman on 12 October 1852, in Vesper, Tully, Onondaga, New York, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Turtle, Rock, Wisconsin, United States in 1860 and Florence, Stephenson, Illinois, United States in 1870. He registered for military service in 1865. He died on 7 April 1871, in Rock, Wisconsin, United States, at the age of 39, and was buried in Beloit, Rock, Wisconsin, United States.
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Family Time Line
Sources (15)
- N A Dowd, "United States Census, 1870"
- Willis A Dowd, "Find A Grave Index"
- Willis A Dowd in entry for Lewis E Dowd, "Iowa, Death Records, 1904-1951"
Spouse and Children
Children (6)
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Parents and Siblings
Siblings (9)
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World Events (8)
1832 · The Black Hawk War
Convinced that a group of Native American tribes were hostile, The United States formed a frontier militia to stop them in their tracks. Even though Black Hawk was hoping to avoid bloodshed while trying to resettle on tribal land, U.S. officials opened fire on the Native Americans. Black Hawk then responded to this confrontation by successfully attacking the militia at the Battle of Stillman's Run and then left northward. After a few months the militia caught up with Black Hawk and his men and defeated them at the Battle of Wisconsin Heights. While being weakened by hunger, injuries and desertion, Black Hawk and the rest of the many native survivors retreated towards the Mississippi. Unfortunately, Black Hawk and other leaders were later captured when they surrendered to the US forces and were then imprisoned for a year.
1836
Historical Boundaries: 1836: Rock, Wisconsin Territory, United States 1848: Rock,Wisconsin, United States
1846
U.S. acquires vast tracts of Mexican territory in wake of Mexican War including California and New Mexico.
Name Meaning
Some characteristic forenames: Irish Brendan, Aileen, Cathal, Dermot, Liam, Seamus, Siobhan.
Irish: shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Dubhda ‘descendant of Dubhda’, a byname derived from dubh ‘dark, black’. The family were chieftains in Sligo and Mayo. The surname in northern England seems to have come from the Isle of Man.
English: from the Middle English personal name Doude, perhaps a side-form of either Dodde (see Dodd and compare Dowding ), or of Daude, a pet form of Ralph (see Dawson and Dowson ). A nickname from Middle English doude ‘shabby, unattractive woman’ is formally also possible but seems unlikely to have become a hereditary surname.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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