Person:James Cowan (70)

Contents 1 Related 2 Overview 3 Child List 4 Public Trees 5 Notes		Cowan Tapestry Register Data Notebooks Analysis Bibliography Graphics YDNA Cowan Links Index
	……………………..The Tapestry Families Old Chester OldAugusta Germanna New River SWVP Cumberland Carolina Cradle The Smokies Old Kentucky

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Related

Records for Cowans in the US 1810 Census for Kentucky

Notebook: On the family of James C. Cowan of Cumberland, KY

Overview

From a cursory review of James (70) data on Ancestry (see below) it would seem that his mother was "Mary" presumed by some to be "Mary Campbell", but there is no consistency in the identity given for his father. Some have him as David Cowan, some as David Marshall, some as Andrew Cowan. Most do not identify him. A number of possibilities can be considered to explain this, including

1. His genetic father died early on, and Mary remarried perhaps to David Marshall. James, however, retained the surname of his biological father
2. Mary was a single parent, and the identity of the father is largely unknown or at least not recorded beyond the surname.

Seeking original source documentation may help evaluate which of the above is correct, or formulate other alternatives. See Notes from Dot Hall, below

1880 Kentucky census entry GIves his fathrs POB as Virginia, mothers POB as Kentucky, and wife's name as Gemima This suggests that his father moved to Kentucky where he married his mother. That would place his parents in Kentucky prior to 1819 when he was born.

Child List

Martha Cowan 1844

George A Cowan 1847

Mary Cowan 1849

Juliza Cowan 1851

James Cowan 1856/1858 (conflict in census records)

William Cowan 1859

Champ Cowan 1862

Samuel Cowan 1868

Public Trees

From Ancestry, extracted from Public Member Trees 20 September 2013

Notes

Civil War Draft Registeration Gives name as James Cowan, Jr. Age 44 on 1 July 1863, estimated DOB 1819, born in Kentucky This may indicate his father's name was also James. (Jr. and Sr. can sometimes be used simply to distinguish between two different persons by the same name, but by 1865 the use of middle names was so common that the Jr.-Sr. convention was becoming used more to indicate father-son relationships. James, Jr. for example, was more commonly known as James Campbell Cowan.

From Dot Doll, 13 October 2013, researching the history of James Campbell Cowan: (Slightly modified for WeRelate

A son of my oldest proven ancestor, James Campbell Cowan had a son named James B. Cowan, who wrote a book called "Cowan Corridors". ^[2] Within, he states his father's name was as I stated here. He notes his grandfather was Andrew Matthew Cowan, son of Andrew Cowan who married Rebecca Patterson, son of Andrew Cowan who married Mary Walker. Unfortunately, he lists no resources.

I've spend many years combing records of those counties I mentioned in my message and those of Jefferson, Sevier, and Franklin Counties of TN., thus have discovered many items, but alas, little to prove the "CowanCorridors" claim. Still, it seems reasonable that he may have remembered his father and grandfather names. The closest I've come is Cumberland/Clinton county resident named Andrew Cowan b. 1791 VA d.1856 Clinton Co KY. Andrew's death record notes his father was Andrew Cowan My known ancestor would fit into Andrew's census records, but, is married and not noted by name in Andrew's later census records. I'm unable to find a birth or death record for my known ancestor, James Campbell Cowan, B 1819, in order to prove his parents. It is interesting to note that my ancestor was married twice, and in each set of children the first born son was named, Andrew. (the first son Andrew died young).

Confusing the search are other claims by the well admired county historian who claims that James was the son of David Cowan, son of James Cowan and Elizabeth Montgomery, son of Andrew C. Cowan. David, James, and Andrew are documented as born in VA per census records.

An Andrew Martin Cowan who married REBECCA PATTERSON, his father was Andrew Martin Cowan, Sr. This is listed in the historian's account.

Further confusion are old letters of possible relationship to Andrew Cowan of Jefferson Co, TN, as well as Andrew Cowan born in Russell Co VA who married Mary Alexander and migrated to Pulaski County, Ky.

From:Source:Taylor, 1944. This work has a complex publication history. The original work was (apparently) written by Gordon Armour Taylor in 1944, as the main author, but the Family History entry for this work adds Ruth Virginia Henry Taylor-Davies as an "added author". The actual publication of the work seems to be by " G.A. Taylor" in 1994. Speculating on this, Taylor and Taylor Davies were probably husband and wife, and G.A. Taylor may be their son.

Cover title: Cowan corridors : our ancestral odyssey through the British Isles and America. Andrew C. Cowan (1741-1798), a Revolutionary War solder, was born in Augusta County, Virginia, the son of John and Jennett Cowan. He and his wife, Mary Walker, had at least two sons, ca. 1760-ca. 1767. Record follows line of descent to James B. Cowan (1855-1940). He was born in Clinton County, Kentucky, the son of James C. Cowan (1819-ca. 1885), a Confederate soldier. He migrated west to Texas in 1870 and lived there several years. He migrated to Minnesota in the 1880s and was living at St. Paul, Minnesota, by 1886. He married Georgiana Irene Fuchs (d. 1893). They had seven children, 1889-1893. He married his children's Irish nanny, Bridie Doherty (1873-1947), in They had nine children, 1873-1915. The family moved to a homestead near Janesburg in western North Dakota in 1907. J.B. and Bridie moved to Pasadena, California, in 1934 or 1935. Children lived in California, Oregon, and elsewhere. Record chiefly gives the family of their daughter, Martha Esther Cowan (1897-1988), and her husband, Ira William Herbert (1893-1964), of Salem, Oregon. Includes the Doherty, Herbert and other related families.

1. ↑ 1880 Kentucky Census
2. ↑ This seems to be the work Source:Taylor, 1944. See abstract below.