Family Snapshot: The G.W. Gowens Family (Graham, Texas, 1912)

Introduction: A look back at the G.W. Gowens family, captured in a portrait taken in Graham, Texas, around 1912. This image captures the family hierarchy and fashion of the early 20th century, featuring the parents, General Washington Gowens and Frances Emily Gowens, alongside their children and son-in-law.

Below, you will find the original photograph followed by a numbered key to help identify each family member.

The Photograph

Colorized version of the original photo

Identification Key

Legend Use the numbers in the outline drawing above to identify the family members listed below. The list includes their names, ages at the time of the photo, and their relationship to the head of the household.

1. James William Gowens

Age: 16

Relationship: Son 

2. Lena Georgia (Gowens) McCallister

Age: 18

Relationship: Daughter 

3. Henry Matt McCallister

Age: 27

Relationship: Son-in-law 

4. Sylvester Bernard Gowens

Age: 15

Relationship: Son 

5. Cordie Loraine Gowens

Age: 11

Relationship: Daughter 

6. Frances Emily (Phariss) Gowens

Age: 41

Relationship: Mother 

7. Clarence Preston Gowens

Age: 7

Relationship: Son 

8. General Washington Gowens

Age: 52

Relationship: Father 

9. Stella Vera Gowens

Age: 6

Relationship: Daughter 

10. Cloyce Washington Gowens

Age: 2

Relationship: Son 

11. Crystal Elizabeth Gowens

Age: 10

Relationship: Daughter

This post was inspired by Steve Little's article here: https://aigenealogyinsights.com/2025/12/19/fun-prompt-friday-group-portrait-keys/

Charity Evelyn (Gowens) Ray (1887-1983) Biography

 Charity Evelyn (Gowens) Ray (1887-1983) Biography

A Biography of my 3/4 great-grandaunt

Charity Evelyn Gowens was born on August 29, 1887, in Old Silver Valley, Coleman County, Texas, the daughter of General Washington Gowens and Rachel Ann Needham. She entered the world in a rural ranching and farming community during a time when Coleman County was still relatively young, its small settlements closely tied by kinship and shared labor.

Tragedy struck early in Charity's life when her mother, Rachel, died on April 9, 1891, leaving four-year-old Charity and her older siblings in the care of their father. In the years that followed, General Washington Gowens remarried, and Charity became the eldest sister to a large blended family of half-siblings born between 1893 and 1913. Sadly, not all survived infancy—Charity experienced the early deaths of her half-brother Moses in 1893, her half-sister Lola May in 1898, and her half-brother Joseph Calvin in 1908.

George Leonard Ray and Charity Evelyn (Gowens) Ray

By 1900, the thirteen-year-old Charity was living with her father, stepmother, and younger siblings in Justice Precinct 6 of Coleman County. On September 25, 1904, at the age of seventeen, she married George Leonard Ray, a man eleven years her senior. The couple made their home in Silver Valley, where George worked in farming and stock-raising. Their first child, George Washington Ray, was born in 1905, followed by Ida Mae Ray in 1907 and Willis Raymond Ray in 1910.

In February 1914, Charity endured one of the most painful moments of her life when she gave birth to twins, Charity Ann Ray and Jerry Dan Ray, both of whom died the following day. More than a decade later, on March 25, 1926, she welcomed her youngest child, Rosa Evelyn Ray.

The Rays remained rooted in Coleman County throughout their marriage. Census records from 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, and 1950 document Charity's life as a farmer's wife, raising children, tending to the household, and helping maintain the family's livelihood through decades of economic change, including the Great Depression and World War II.

Charity's life was also marked by the continual bonds and losses within her extended family. She lived to witness the passing of her father in 1945, her husband in 1957, and many of her siblings and half-siblings over the decades. Yet she also saw her children grow to adulthood and establish their own families, and she became a grandmother and great-grandmother many times over.

50th. Wedding Anniversary in 1854

Gowens' Siblings in the early 1970s

 

In her later years, Charity lived in Coleman, where she remained part of the close-knit community she had known all her life. On August 12, 1983, at the age of 95, she died at 11:05 a.m. at the Holiday Hill Care Center in Coleman. Funeral services were held two days later at Stevens Funeral Home, officiated by David Coffman of the Novice Church of Christ. She was laid to rest in Coleman Cemetery beside her husband.

Photo by Ralph Terry

Spanning nearly a century, Charity Evelyn Gowens Ray's life reflected the endurance, faith, and family-centered values of rural Texas women of her era. Her legacy lives on in the many descendants who carry her memory forward.

Written from facts by J. Paul Hawthorne (3/4 great-grandnephew) and AI (ChatGPT) 08/13/2025.

3/4 relationship? Even though Charity was my maternal grandmother’s 1/2 sister (different mothers), Charity’s maternal great-grandparents were also my grandmother’s great-grandparents! This is called pedigree collapse. Maybe 3/4 is not the correct term. 

Maggie Lucille (Gowens) Galloway Friendship Quilt

    My grandmother, Maggie “Lucille” (Gowens) Galloway (1913-2008), referred to this as a "Friendship Quilt." Lucille created and assembled the quilt in Texas between 1932 and 1934. She was just out of High School when she started and finished just after she was married. My grandmother would send each square to family members, who would then hand-embroider their name, date, and location onto the fabric before sending it back to her. After she had all the pieces back, she stitched them together.

My grandmother's "Friendship Quilt"

Provenance:

   After the death of my grandmother in 2008 in Klamath Falls, Oregon, it was handed down to her daughter, Juanita (Galloway) Fallon. Last year (2024) Aunt Juanita gave it to my mother, Faye (Galloway) Hawthorne, during a family reunion.

My mom with the quilt 

The Squares

There are twenty squares: Four across and five down.

In the following descriptions I will number each square left to right, top to bottom.

1.     This is most likely Mary (Jones) Bass, the mother of her sister-in-law, Minnie Bell (Bass) Gowens. Minnie married Lucille’s older brother, Slyvester Bernard Gowens.

2.     Debra Shaw could be a friend. I have found no family connections yet.

3.      Rosa Evelyn Ray is her niece, the daughter of her older ½ sister, Charity Evelyn (Gowens) Ray. But, Rosa would have been 5 years old, so maybe it was completed by her mother?

4.     Mrs. Charlie G. Ray is her older sister, Charity Evelyn (Gowens) Ray. Note: She is also the same person in square #15.

5.     Nadine is her niece. Daughter of her older sister, Stella Vera (Gowens) Perry.

6.     Lena Georgia (Gowens) Perry is her older sister.

7.     Frances Delilah McCallister is her niece. Daughter of her older sister Lena (Gowens) McCallister and Henry Matt McCallister.

8.     Nota Mae (Phariss) is her maternal 1^st. cousin. Daughter of her maternal uncle Joseph William Phariss and Maude Mae Close.

9.     Crystal Elizabeth (Gowens) Reedy is her older sister.

10. Mother is her mother Frances Emily (Phariss) Gowens. I am not sure why it says “Lubbock.” They lived in Crosbyton, which is almost 40 miles east.

11. Cordie Loraine Gowens is her older sister.

12. Lora Eva (Atchison) Gowens is her sister-in-law. The wife of her older brother Clarene Preston Gowens.

13. Maude Mae (Close) Phariss is her aunt-in-law. The wife of her maternal uncle Joseph William Phariss.

14. Minnie Belle (Bass) Gowens is her sister-in-law. The wife of her older brother Sylvester Bernard Gowens.

15. Charity Evelyn (Gowens) Ray is her older sister. The same person as in square #4.

16. Tishe [?] Bass. I have not identified this person yet. There is Theresa (Davis) Bass, wife of Henry Bass, who was living in Crosby County at the time.

17. Virginia Lea Reedy is her niece. Daughter of her older sister Crystal Elizabeth (Gowens) Reedy and Charles Leslie Reedy.

18. Lila Mae Reedy is her niece. Daughter of her older sister Crystal Elizabeth (Gowens) Reedy and Charles Leslie Reedy.

19. Sarah S. (Millican) Perry is the step-mother-in-law of her older sister Stella Vera (Gowens) Perry. Clyde Perry’s step-mother.

20. Juanita Linsly[?] I have not identified. Could be a friend. But, my grandmother’s maternal great-grandmother was Emily (Linsley) Phariss who died in Coleman County, Texas. There may be a connection there.

TOP ROW (L-R)

NEXT ROW (L-R)

NEXT ROW (L-R)

NEXT ROW (L-R)

BOTTOM ROW (L-R)

 

   My grandmother learned how to sew from her mother. She became a seamstress for the rest of her life. She made all the clothes for her children when they were young. After they moved to California in 1942, she worked for several companies, including one in Costa Mesa that only made men's suits. She learned to use the big industrial sewing machines that they had. My mom said she made her a skirt to wear the next day at school all in one night! 

Lucille Gowens and Sammie Galloway - Wedding Day 1933 Scurry Co., Texas