Rebecca Bogan
Second Wife of Andrew McIntyre
Rebecca Bogan was the fifth daughter of William Bogan, Sr. and Elizabeth Pullen. William was of Irish decent, his father was Andrew Bogan, from County Cork, Ireland. The name Bogan is derived from the Irish Gaelic language for the word bog, the soft ground of a marsh or swamp, and similar to the marshes and peat bogs of Scotland. According to an article written by Dallas R Bogan in 2004, the people that lived in these conditions were called “bog-ans”. In Ireland the surname is spelled “O’Bogain”. The Scots Gaelic word for bog is similarly spelled as “boglach”. Although initially here was little distinction between the Scots and Irish in Virginia and North Carolina where the immigrants settled, that began to change as families moved north and west and established their own identities as Americans. Most of the Northern Irish immigrants were Protestant as were the Scottish, leaving their country of birth to find religious freedom as well as opportunities to farm without the heavy taxations of their respective land owners. My father, Roderick Larue McIntire would refer to our family as being “Scot’s-Irish” because in his mind, they were all the same to him. Looking back, our family didn’t have a strong Scottish identity nor did we adhere to Scottish or Irish customs and celebrations. They were content to be in this country, being mostly farmers and getting on with their lives without the need to hold onto a past they knew nothing of.
This important excerpt below is from and article written by Dallas R. Bogan. He discusses how the family of Rebecca Bogan came from Boutetourt, Virginia to Clinton County, Indiana. Many other interesting articles by Mr. Bogan may be found on the Bibliography and Resources page of this website. The article being referenced here may be found by clicking the link below. articleand a link to his extensive published articles may be found in the Bibliography and Resources.
"William (Senior, Rebecca's father) and Benjamin (his brother) came to the Clinton and Warren County area in the fall of 1833. It is not known the route they took from Virginia, perhaps over the mountains and possibly they came by flat boat from Pittsburgh to the Cincinnati area and then by road to Clarksville, Ohio, which is located in Vernon Township (Clinton County). They also settled in Washington Township, which is located in the eastern part of Warren County". He continues, saying that "many of the children of John, William and Benjamin married in Warren and Clinton counties. John and William's families moved from this immediate area to the area of Kirklin Township, Clinton County, Indiana. This migration started about 1836. The bought land in that territory paying $1.25 per acre. A church was started in the Kirklin area in the year 1843. Among its original charter members were David Bogan, Elizabeth Bogan, William E. Bogan, Jane Bogan, Margaret Bogan, Rebecca Bogan, Andrew Bogan, Jane Wallace and Nancy Wallace; the two last ladies were formerly Bogans. The original church was a log structure but has since been built as a frame structure. It is still standing" (he wrote this in 2004).
Rebecca’s mother Elizabeth had passed away when Rebecca was about ten years of age, leaving her to help look after her siblings. Besides her four older sisters, there were several brothers and another sister younger than herself, one being about a year old when her mother passed away. She was in her early thirty’s when she met and married Andrew McIntire. It is not hard to understand how as Jane described, she was unable to read or write given all the responsibilities she must have had. Andrew’s first wife Sarah had only been gone about a year when Rebecca and Andrew married, and she quickly assumed the role of step-mom to his younger children still at home. Not long after their marriage she gave birth to the first of their five children. In her letter Jane recounted being 17 children from both families, 10 from her father’s first marriage and “seven of us”, however the records only show there were five in her family, with herself being number two. Either way, it was a large blended family!
We are fortunate to have images of some of Andrew and Rebecca’s adult children. The quality is not what our current digital standards are, but rather a glimpse of their likeness. George Parker on the far right and his father Andrew on the left have strikingly similar long facial features, and high cheekbones. This is a much younger photo of Jane than previously posted and she certainly resembles her younger brother Andrew Washington. Missing from this family is their eldest son Joseph and youngest son Albert. And of course, Rebecca! Anyone?
Note to my fellow researchers~
The subject of this page is currently being researched, including contact with a Bogan family in Indiana. So hang tight and hopefully this update won’t take long! Check back soon!
Teri