McDowell, Thomas David Smith, 1823-1898.

Thomas David Smith McDowell, Bladen County, N.C., was a planter, legislator, and Confederate congressman, and his father, physician Alexander McDowell, was an Irish immigrant, who was clerk of Bladen County, N.C., 1812-1844. Besides managing Purdie Plantation with his brother John A. McDowell, Thomas served in the state House of Commons, 1846-1850; in the state Senate, 1852-1855 and 1858-1860; and in the Confederate Congress, 1861-1863. He married Mary Elizabeth Davis of Richmond County, with whom he had two sons, Alexander, who moved to Georgia, and John A., Jr., who took over management of the family lands.

From the description of Thomas David Smith McDowell papers, 1735-1925 [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 31908495

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