801William Alexander Chowning was born at Old Alton in Denton County, Texas, August 10, 1855 to James William “Washington” Chowning and Nancy Myers. The Chowning family migrated from Greene County, Illinois, to the Peters Colony in the Republic of Texas, sometime during the year 1845. Nancy Myers, William's mother, was the daughter of David Myers, a Baptist minister and his wife Letitia Reddish Myers. Nancy’s father, David Myers, traveled around Dallas County organizing Baptist Churches and he became known by the settlers as the “Dallas County Moses.” He established the first Baptist Church in Dallas County, Texas.
William worked many jobs as a young man and on a trip back from working as a cowboy, driving a herd of cattle to the railhead, he met Nancy Ann Elizabeth Loyd. Nancy Ann (later known to the family as Betty) was the daughter of James H. and Melcena Zumwalt Loyd. He met Nancy when he was returning through the Oklahoma Territory in the summer of 1877, he had stopped at a farm on the Washita River to work in the threshing. He and Nancy eloped and were married September 7, 1877 in Indian Territory near what is now Marietta, Oklahoma. They returned to Texas and settled in Dallas County, then Denton County, Wise County, and finally settled on a farm in Cundiff, in Jack County, Texas. Nancy died on April 13, 1945 and William died eight years later on April 25, 1953. Both are buried in Truscott Cemetery, Knox County, Texas.

Children of William Chowning and Nancy Loyd are:
2 i. Florence Jane Chowning, born August 06, 1878 in Dallas Co., TX; died March 03, 1969. She married William E. Good.
3 ii. James William Chowning, born April 03, 1880 in Denton Co., TX; died November 09, 1968. He married Clementine Nichols.
4 iii. Martin Van Buren Chowning, born July 31, 1883; died January 11, 1959. He married Mary Elizabeth McCruit.
5 iv. Nancy Anna Lena Chowning, born February 22, 1886; died June 27, 1969. She married Edgar Ernest Ellis.
6 v. William Edward Chowning, born March 17, 1888; died November 29, 1902.
7 vi. Maude Ethel Chowning, born March 11, 1891; died February 02, 1968. She married George Albert Mahler.
8 vii. Beulah Mae Chowning, born April 04, 1893. She married James E. Cox.
9 viii. Mabel Pauline Chowning, born December 13, 1895; died May 05, 1963. She married Roy E. Dennis.
10 ix. Ola Blanche Chowning, born July 31, 1898; died 1997. She married Lenard O'Neal.
11 x. Letress Fay Chowning, born July 09, 1902. She married (1) Joe L. White. She married (2) Hale Kirby. She married (3) Harvey P. Gardner.

Submitted by Kathy Sprawls -- ksprawls@co.lubbock.tx.us