“To Conquer or Die” The MacDowalls are a Scottish clan, heirs male of Fergus, Lord of Galloway in 12th century. One branch settled in Sweden, where they became Barons Duwall. Fergus, whose ancestry is unknown, became Lord of Galloway in the reign of David I. Scholars believe he was candidate acceptable to both the Norse…
Category: Genealogy
Diary of Esther Swanstrom
transcribed by Margaret (Porter) Riley Thursday, April 3rd 1913 I am at home once more and very happy to be here although my trip was enjoyable all the way through. I came from Piney to Dunhame yesterday and Bert brought me from there home to-day on horseback. Poor Bert I am sure that his shoulder ached after…
Origin of the Surname Hauri
An updated version of this information appears on Geni.com. The standard spelling of the name is now Hauri in Switzerland and Haury in Germany. In the United States, the usual spellings are Howery, Howry and Howrey. In early records the name is variously spelled Haury, Höri, Horin and Houri. We find Hovri at 1282, 1303…
Habsburg Connection
I have been re-thinking the Habsburg legend, and have revised my previous opinion in certain respects. To recap: The Hauris are said to be descended from an illegitimate branch of the Counts of Habsburg. As the story goes, the Count brought back a Muslim mistress from the Crusades. Their son took “Houri” as a surname. Houris are…
Alloway
John Alloway-Strange (1727-1811), a Planter in Fluvanna County, Virginia. He married Ann Mitchell (1728-c1781), daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (?) Mitchell. John’s ancestors apparently came from the Orkney islands off the northern coast of Scotland. Some of his descendants used the surname Strange, while others used the surname Alloway. Abraham Alloway-Strange (c1758-1815), a Farmer in…