First found in on the Isle of Iona, where they were seated from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Dalriadan families proliferated in North America. Their descendants still populate many communities in the eastern parts of both the United States and Canada. Some settled in Canada as United Empire Loyalists, in the wake of the American War of Independence. Families on both sides of the border have recovered much of their heritage in the 20th century through clan societies and highland games. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Dowie or a variant listed above: William Dowie who settled in Philadelphia in 1839; Edward Dowey settled in Philadelphia in 1876 with his brother Patrick.

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