Forest of Dean FHT Forum - Help finding DOWLE family,

Help finding DOWLE family, (reply)

Guy Dowle — Fri, 27 May 2011 22:55:00 +0000

There may be another Henry Dowle. Charles Dowle married his second wife, Charlotte Taylor on 29th September 1789 in Lydney. They had 7 children. They had a son Henry on 19th November 1799. This may fit your dates. I am affraid that I have no more information since I have only traced my own ancestry from his brother George. Hope that this may help.
Guy

Help finding DOWLE family, (reply)

kath mackrill — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:12:52 +0000

I have read the comments about the Dowle family with interest. I am descended from a lady called Jane Dowle, born in Monmouthshire about 1819, who married Ralph Darling in Swansea in 1837. She gives her father's name as Henry Dowle, farmer. The only Henry Dowle I can find who fits is the chap mentioned in your messages, born in 1795 in Llangovern and living in Cwmcarvan in the 1840s and 50s. Henry married on 30 Jan 1823 in Llanishen to Mary Williams and had several children. However, the marriage is too late to fit in Jane Dowle born about 1819. I think they had a son called Elijah who must have been born in 1822 (according to his age at death in Jan 1905 of 83 in Llangvighangel) and who names Henry Dowle, carpenter, as his father on his marriage on 20 Feb 1844 in Cwmcarvan. It looks as if Elijah would have been born before the 1823 marriage, so could Jane also have been Henry's daughter? I cannot find a relevant baptism for either Jane or Elijah.

You seem to be descended from one of Henry's children, so I am hoping that you might know more about the family in general. I realise that most of the comments on the forum relate to Henry's father, the Henry Dowle from Coleford, but I need to confirm the details about the family in Monmouthshire. I do hope you can help. Many thanks.
Kath

Help finding Henry Dowle / Dowle family, please (reply)

unknown — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:57:30 +0000

hi,
if you do find out who henry's parents are could you please let me know too!! sarah evans is my ggggggrandmother through her other illegitemate son matthew williams. she seems to have been quite an interesting lady as she had another illegitemate daughter before marrying john jones. i have marriage date for henry dowle to letitia williams if anyone is interested in that also.
thanks sarah

Help finding Henry Dowle / Dowle family, please (reply)

yasmar49 — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:37:46 +0000

I'm not sure what you want to know about Henry Dowle, but if he was from Lynsted we may be able to help. Perhaps be kind enough to email me direct on ticfaversham@btconnect.com.
Arthur Percival MBE
for the Faversham Society - see www.faversham.org/society

Help finding Henry Dowle / Dowle family, please (reply)

joyce56 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:49:16 +0000

Kent, England, Extracted Parish Records

Birth, Baptism & Christening

PreviewText: John Dowle & Catharine Wood 31 Jan 1790
Book: Marriages at Charlton in Dover, 1565 to 1837.
Collection: Kent: - Register of Marriages, 1538-1837 a (Marriage)

Name: John Dowle Catharine Wood
Vital: 31 Jan 1790 - Kent, England

Pallot's Marriage Index for England: 1780 - 1837

Marriage & Divorce

View Image

PreviewName: John Dowle
Spouse: Sarah Withers
Marriage Date: 1787
Parish: Alverstoke

Take a look at the picture to see even more.

Name: John Dowle
Spouse: Sarah Withers
Marriage: 1787 - Alverstoke

Pallot's Marriage Index for England: 1780 - 1837

Marriage & Divorce

View Image

Preview
Name: John Dowle
Spouse: Catharine Wood
Marriage Date: 1790
Parish: Charlton In Dover Kent I

Take a look at the picture to see even more.

Name: John Dowle
Spouse: Catharine Wood
Marriage: 1790 - Charlton In Dover Kent I

London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921

Marriage & Divorce

View Image

Preview
Name: John Dowle
Spouse Name: Jane Turner
Record Type: Marriage
Event Date: 24 Nov 1799
Parish: St George in the East
County: Middlesex
Borough: Tower Hamlets

Take a look at the picture to see even more.

Name: John Dowle
Spouse: Jane Turner
Marriage: 24 Nov 1799 - Tower Hamlets, Middlesex

Kent, England, Extracted Parish Records

Birth, Baptism & Christening

Preview
Text: John Dowle & Ann Crothall 23 Jun 1799
Book: Marriages at Charlton in Dover, 1565 to 1837.
Collection: Kent: - Register of Marriages, 1538-1837 a (Marriage)

Name: John Dowle Ann Crothall
Vital: 23 Jun 1799 - Kent, England

Pallot's Marriage Index for England: 1780 - 1837

Marriage & Divorce

View Image

Preview
Name: John Dowle
Spouse: Ann Crothall
Marriage Date: 1799
Parish: Charlton In Dover Kent 1

Take a look at the picture to see even more.

Name: John Dowle
Spouse: Ann Crothall
Marriage: 1799 - Charlton In Dover Kent 1

Pallot's Marriage Index for England: 1780 - 1837

Marriage & Divorce

View Image

Name: John Dowle
Spouse: Jane Turner
Marriage: 1799 - St. George In The East

London, England, Extracted Parish Records

Birth, Baptism & Christening

Preview
Text: John Dowle of Lynsted wid & Ann Craft of the s wid, at L. 10 Mar 1770.
Book: Volume 30
Collection: London: Look in Kent Listing on this CD for: "Kent, Surrey, London: - Canterbury Marriage Licences, 1751-1837"

Name: John Dowle Ann Craft
Vital: 10 Mar 1770 - Lynsted L, London, England

Pallot's Marriage Index for England: 1780 - 1837

Marriage & Divorce

View Image

Name: Sarah Withers
Spouse: John Dowle
Marriage: 1787 - Alverstoke

Kent, England, Extracted Parish Records

Birth, Baptism & Christening

Preview
Text: John Dowle of Lynsted wid & Ann Craft of the s wid, at L. 10 Mar 1770.
Book: Volume 30
Collection: Kent, Surrey, London: - Canterbury Marriage Licences, 1751-1780 (Marriage)

Name: John Dowle Ann Craft
Vital: 10 Mar 1770 - Lynsted L, Kent, England

London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921

Marriage & Divorce

View Image

PreviewName: Jane Turner
Spouse Name: John Dowle
Record Type: Marriage
Event Date: 24 Nov 1799
Parish: St George in the East
County: Middlesex
Borough: Tower Hamlets

Take a look at the picture to see even more.

Name: Jane Turner
Spouse: John Dowle
Marriage: 24 Nov 1799 - Tower Hamlets, Middlesex

Help finding Henry Dowle / Dowle family, please (reply)

joyce56 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:41:38 +0000

date; even a guess might help.

You can press 'r' to refine your search, or 'n' to start a new one.
Check out Getting the most out of new search for more tips and tricks.

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Henry Dale 24 Oct 1794 Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England 11 Oct 1791
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John Henry Dale 1 Jul 1798 Christchurch, Hampshire, England 4 Nov 1796
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Henry Doel 22 May 1796 Salisbury, Wiltshire, England abt 1796
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Henry Dale 9 Sep 1798 Bromley, Kent, England abt 1798
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Henry Dale 3 May 1791 Christchurch, Hampshire, England abt 1791
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Henry Dell 4 Sep 1791 Bovingdon, Hertfordshire, England 2 Mar 1791
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Henry Francis Dilly 24 Nov 1799 Rye, Sussex, England abt 1799
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Richard Dale 14 Oct 1796 Christchurch, Hampshire, England abt 1794
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Anthony Daw Dale 28 Feb 1793 Christchurch, Hampshire, England abt 1793
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Robert Dale 11 Jun 1791 Scarborough, Yorkshire, England abt 1791
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Charlotte Dale 2 Nov 1802 Christchurch, Hampshire, England 21 Dec 1799
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Hannah Dowle 15 Jun 1794 Cattistock, Dorset, England abt 1794
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Mary Dowle 6 Jul 1794 Cattistock, Dorset, England abt 1794
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Richard Dowle 6 Jul 1794 Cattistock, Dorset, England abt 1794
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Mary Dowle 8 Sep 1793 Upway, Dorset, England abt 1793
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John Dowle 31 Mar 1793 Tarrant Rushton, Dorset, England abt 1793
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Lucy Dowell 26 Oct 1800 Warminster, Wiltshire, England abt 1800
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John Dowle 27 Dec 1791 Bristol, Gloucestershire, England abt 1791
View Record

Ann Dowle

Help finding DOWLE family, (reply)

ttd0 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:57:25 +0000

Just to confirm what David has said, we have both been doing a fair bit of work on this and think we are on the right track. I know David has been looking into this for a very long time and this is the best fit found.

Henry Dowle, born in 1795 is the earliest definite ancestor we know of in mine and David's line. I am descended from one of Henry's sons and David from one of his daughters.

The Llangovan baptism records show that Henry Dowle (1795) was the reputed son of Henry Dowle and Sarah Evans. The following year a Henry Dowle of Llangovan married Letitia Williams at Trostrey, they went on to have several children between 1797 and 1830. On each record Henry is shown as a cordwainer. The baptisms of the children were divided between Llansoy and Llangovan, with the family residence changing between the areas but is shown in 1814 as Woolaston.

We know that Sarah Evans was born in 1774 and since Henry had his last child in 1830 assume he must have been about the same age as Sarah, i.e quite young when his first child was born in 1795.

There are no records for a Henry Dowle in Monmouthshire prior to him being named as the reputed father of Sarah Evan's son.

There is a birth record for Coleford of a Henry Dowle, born in 1774, son of John Dowle (possibly born 1741), this seems to be the best match we have ever seen.

There are also no records for Henry Dowle in Monmouthshire after the birth of his last child in 1830 so we assumed he then moved again. There are no records of him dying in the Forest. The 1841 census does show a Henry Dowle, cordwainer, aged 65 living in Bristol with no family so this could be him. However, we cannot find out what happened to his wife and children. There is also a death record for a Henry Dowall in Bristol in 1848.

If this is all correct then Henry had one sibling, a brother called Charles who was born in Coleford in 1772, his descendents all appear to have lived around Lydney and Aylburton with one branch ending up in Cheltenham.

This all kind of fits with a story that has been passed down, that originally two Dowle brothers came to the area with each settling on a different side of the Wye. This fits Henry moving to Monmouthshire and Charles to Lydney. I have known for a while that there were many Dowles in the Forest and given the closeness to Monmouthshire that there was probably a link, this could be it.

Also, as David has posted, the reason why Henry only had one sibling is that possibly their mother died and John Dowle married again.

Regards
Tim Dowle

Help finding DOWLE family, (reply)

dsteel — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:30:33 +0000

Thanks Slowhands (or should that be Ἀριστοτέλης - it's all Greek to me).
Yes, I have the entries that you kindly listed. But to prove a theory, I need the help of you all. I suspect that John DOWLE married twice. Sarah possibly died in December 1787 and John possibly was the groom of a marriage on 8th June 1788 to Mary WILD. The entry does not state John's condition - all I have to go on are the signatures of the groom(s). I have put (fuzzy) pictures of the two signatures at and would appreciate views as to whether the signatures are of the same person, bearing in mind that the two marriages were 27 years apart.

David Steel

Help finding DOWLE family, (reply)

slowhands — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:20:27 +0000

So these seem to fit...

Year: 1761
Month: Dec
Day: 9
Grooms_Surname: DOWLE
Grooms_Forenames: John
Grooms_Age:
Groom_Condition:
Grooms_Occupation:
Grooms_Residence: Newland
Grooms_Fathers_Surname:
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames:
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation:
Brides_Surname: WILKINS
Brides_Forenames: Sarah
Brides_Age:
Brides_Condition:
Brides_Occupation:
Brides_Residence: Newland
Brides_Fathers_Surname:
Brides_Fathers_Forenames:
Brides_Fathers_Occupation:
Licence_or_Banns: Licence
Date_of_Banns:
Signature_or_Mark: He signs she marks
Witness_1: Richard Williams
Witness_2: Mark of Thomas Dowle
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: P Ball vicar
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P227 IN 1/7
Page_Number: 411/2
Parish_Chapel: Newland

Year 1772
Month Oct
Day 11
Parents Surname DOWLE
Child Forenames Charles
Fathers Forenames John
Mothers Forenames Sarah
Mothers Surname
Residence
Occupation
Officiating Minister
Event Birth
Memoranda
Notes
Register Reference P93 IN 1/1
Page Number 6
Parish Chapel Coleford

Year: 1774
Month: Nov
Day: 13
Parents_Surname: DOWLE
Child_Forenames: Henry
Fathers_Forenames: John
Mothers_Forenames: Sarah
Mothers_Surname:
Residence:
Occupation:
Officiating_Minister:
Event: Birth
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P93 IN 1/1
Page_Number: 7
Parish_Chapel: Coleford

LLangovan BT's

10th Feb 1795
Henry DOWLE reputes s/o Henry Dowle by Sara Evans

2 May 1797
Mary d/o Henry & Letitia Dowle

"TROSTREY, a parish in the upper division of Usk hundred, county Monmouth,
2½ miles N.W. of Usk, its post town, and 6 from Ponty-Pool.
The village is situated on the road from Usk to Abergavenny, near the eastern
bank of the river Usk. Salmon are caught by a weir on the river, which rose 22 feet
above the usual level on the 16th February, 1795.

The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Llandaff, value £72.
The church is dedicated to St. David. There are a few small charities."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)

"LLANGOVEN, a parish in the upper division of the hundred of Ragland,
county Monmouth, 6 miles S.W. of Monmouth, and 4 from Ragland, its post town.
The village consists of a few farmhouses. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the
diocese of Llandaff, value with that of Pen-y-Clawdd, £120, in the patronage of
the dean and chapter. The church is dedicated to St. Goven.
The parochial charities amount to about £13 per annum."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)

Help finding Henry Dowle / Dowle family, please (reply)

dsteel — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:34:48 +0000

Hello DavidFromScowles.

If ttdO and I are on the right track,and I'm about 95% certain that we are, our Henry was originally from Coleford, moved to MON (Cwmcarvan/Llanished/Llangovan), had his evil way with our ggg grandmother and produced our gg grandfather, married someone else there, and eventually died in Bristol - alone, it seems. So although he and his ancestors were not from Monmouthshire, he certainly left his mark there.

Regards.....David

Help finding Henry Dowle / Dowle family, please (reply)

DavidFromScowles — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:07:37 +0000

Sorry - I'd intended to add that Dad always believed that his family had originally come from London to the Forest but not sure when.

Help finding Henry Dowle / Dowle family, please (reply)

DavidFromScowles — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:04:59 +0000

Don't think this will much help other than confirm the problem! My father was one of the Dowles from Colway Lane End near Coleford and was born at the beginning of the 20th century. He spoke of cousins elsewhere in the Coleford area and in the Cardiff area but never Monmouth. Given how close we lived to Monmouth I'm sure at some stage we'd have heard about them. Sorry not to be more help but good luck.

Help finding Henry Dowle / Dowle family, please (reply)

ttd0 — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:35:47 +0000

Hi David, have sent you an email via this site.

Help finding Henry Dowle / Dowle family, please (reply)

dsteel — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:05:16 +0000

When you find something, please be sure to let me know. I am a direct descendant of both Henrys, but Henry snr has been a brick wall for thirty years.
As you say, there are many DOWLE's in Coleford, but I have been unable to establish a link between these and the Monmouth ones (except for my g grandmother Eliza DOWLE who lived in Coleford for a short time after marrying John STEEL - they eventually moved to the West Midlands where Eliza died at the age of 103, but that's another story).

David Steel

Help finding Henry Dowle / Dowle family, please

ttd0 — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:52:13 +0000

I am researching my ancestry and have so far got back to my 3x gt grandfather Henry Dowle, according to records baptised in Llangovan, Monmouthshire in Feb 1795 and is listed as the reputed son of Henry Dowle and Sarah Evans.

This has been a brick wall in my research, I cannot find any more about the father, Henry Dowle senior. A year after his son was born he married Leitita Williams in Trostrey, Monmouthshire and went on to have more children. His daughter Ann was baptised in Llansoy in 1814 but the entry in the parish records records the 'residence' as Woolaston.

I am trying to find out where Henry senior was born and was wondering if there was perhaps a Gloucesteshire connection and perhaps he was from there instead of Monmouthshire. My father was always told that two Dowle brothers had moved to the area and settled either side of the Wye, hence a group of Dowles in Monmouthshire and another in Coleford.

I would love to find the link between the two sets of Dowles and primarily where Henry Dowle senior is from as this is stopping me getting any further.

Any help appreciated.