It's 1619, and fourteen-year-old John Gowen's world was just destroyed. All he has known of his former home in Africa is lost. John, and 350 other Angolans, were captured as spoils of war by Portugal, loaded onto two slave ships, and sailed for the Americas. Deep in the belly of The White Lion, he sits among the dead and dying as he makes the months-long voyage. Yet, despite his tragic beginnings, he grew up to be a man of significance.
When I researched my distant ancestors and my DNA results came in, I discovered ninety 5th great-grandparents. On my direct paternal line was Thomas Christopher "Sobering Wind" Gowen (black, white, and part Cherokee). I was shocked and amazed. How could that be? I had reddish/blond hair, freckles, and blue eyes.
Researching Thomas, I discovered my 7th great-grandfather, John Gowen. He was among the first twenty to thirty Africans to come to the British Colonial American settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619, ten years before the Pilgrims landed. What he did with his life as a fourteen-year-old, black, indentured servant, alone in an unchartered new world, who became one of the first freed black men in North America, was amazing.
I've included prompts in A Man of Significance to help you learn about one of your ancestors. You can take joy in the distant one you find, erase disappointments of the past, and embrace love. You may be surprised by what you find and enjoy the basic truth that family is everything.
You must hear John Gowen's story. He was truly a man of significance. This narrative nonfiction book is for everyone.
Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D., is an author, psychologist, educator, and speaker. Her books are loved by all those who read them. Doris enjoys painting and drawing, including the covers of three of her books and the interior pages of one. She has spoken before many groups, has sung for many others, and has written songs she shares. Rapp continues to be fascinated with the many ancestors she has found through DNA testing. Their names aren't enough, however. She has started researching all she can find, starting with her 7th Great-grandfather, John Gowen. While still a full-time psychologist, Doris directed Taylor University and Bethel University's Counseling Centers. She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in psychology at local universities. Rapp taught a graduate course in Counseling at the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology in Kingston, Jamaica.Doris and her husband, Bill, reared six children. Now that they are grown, Doris and Bill enjoy their small-town life. She loves the stories that come to her, and Bill still serves as a pastor and Chaplin. Dr. Rapp's desire for all of you - "I hope you live all of your life."
