Person:Samuel Cowan (15)

Several sources claim that seven Cowan brothers migrated to America in 1729. Some researchers believe that the father of these 7 brothers was a Samuel Cowan, who was in Chester County, Pennsylvania as early as 1716. More research is necessary to prove a relationship.

From Rootsweb.com posts:

JG>>> I now have some copies of research provided to me by Robert Cowan of North Carolina that shows the findings of Mrs. H. J. Dunavant, National and State Chairman, Genealogical Records Committee, Daughters of the American Revolution, of May 1947. The research shows there was a Samuel Cowan in Chester County, PA as early as 1716. This Samuel Cowan was a minister and is probably the "Cown" referenced in "Abstracts, from Minutes of Presbytery, Sept. 1716,<<<

AMERICA AND THE NEW WORLD

PENNSYLVANIA

Many Scotch-Irish immigrants of the 1720's came in through Philadelphia and originally settled in inland Pennsylvania.

The Cowan immigrants discussed in this book, were part of this general movement and settled just west of Philadelphia, in what is now Lancaster and Chester Counties. Most of them were not to dwell there long.

At this point, a little must be said regarding the general population movements in Eastern America. The English occupied mainly the eastern coastal areas and along the larger waterways, leaving the inland areas mainly to the Indians. Not much was known of the areas beyond the mountains and south of the Great Lakes area.

The French and English had ventured into the Mid West via the northern route, mainly north of Pennsylvania and the English were in the far south coastal areas. This left most of the country west of the Appalachian Mountains an unexplored wilderness. There was really no known way of crossing the mountains except to use the northern route or to come up from the south. The Indians were the only people with suitable knowledge to live and move about in the mountains.

With the Coast occupied mainly by the English and the impassable mountains by the Indians, the newer arrivals, which included the Scotch-Irish, headed inland. A great majority of these immigrants, having come in through Philadelphia and Baltimore, headed into Pennsylvania. When this area began to fill, the movement redirected southerly into the Great Valley of Virginia. This is a broad valley, nearly 500 miles long, leading from Pennsylvania to Tennessee. It is located between the Blueridge to the east and the wider expanse of the Appalachians to the west and today is partially known as the Shenandoah Valley. Over a period of approximately 125 years the settlers slowly migrated southward through Virginia, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, and then headed west. These were people always on the frontier.

In this process, gaps were found in the mountains and people began spilling into the areas to the west. The biggest opening came by way of Cumberland Gap in Southern Virginia. It was through this area that Daniel Boone carved out the famous Wilderness Road, which funneled untold thousands of pioneers into the West.

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THE COWAN IMMIGRANTS

This section relies heavily on the work presented by Rev. John Fleming in his book, THE COWANS FROM COUNTY DOWN.

The Cowan family in Southeast Alabama has always had a tradition that four Cowan brothers emigrated from Ireland to America. Mr Flemming found evidence that four Cowan men had indeed immigrated into Pennsylvania about 1720. All these had emigrated from Newry in County Down, Ireland. The four were brothers: David, Hugh, John and William Cowan. They were joined by seven others in 1726.

The second group were also brothers: Andrew, David, James, John, Matthew, Samuel and William Cowan.

There was a Samuel Cowan who some think was the father of these seven brothers. He lived and died in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Not much else is known about him.

Another emigrant of the same general time, Robert Cowan, is thought to be closely related to both groups of brothers.

The seven brothers apparently were passengers on a ship commanded by Richard Walker.

After years of exhaustive research, the writer is convinced that the Cowans of Southeast Alabama are descended from Immigrant James Cowan, one of the seven brothers. From here, we will concentrate on this man and his descendants.

These Cowan Immigrants followed the population movement through Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the Carolinas. Some of their offspring continued the southern trek into Georgia, Alabama, and then westward into Mississippi, Texas and beyond.

At least two of these cowan families moved into Erwinton, (present Eufaula, AL) in the 1840's and are responsible for many of the Cowans now in Southeast AL and adjoining states.

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/c/o/w/Marcia-R-Cowan/GENE1-0001.html

According to several Cowan researchers and John K. Fleming, in his "The Cowans From County Down", there were three early Cowan immigrations to the American Colonies. All of the immigrants came from the same general area in Northern Ireland, so it can be assumed that they were related. In the first group, there were the four brothers: David, Hugh, John and William. They came from the Port of Newry, County Down, to Chester County, Pennsylvania, between 1717 and 1720. Then there was Robert Cowan, who also settled in Pennsylvania during the 1720's. He is known to have had the following children: James, Adam, Thomas, David, Joseph, Elizabeth and Margaret. The final group is the one of this report - the seven brothers whose family immigrated c. 1726, and specifically, "John the Immigrant".

NOTE: The surname, Cowan, originated in Scotland and is believed to be a derivative of Clan Colquohon.

Children of COWAN are: 2. i. JOHN2 COWAN, b. Bet. 1717 - 1719, County Down, Northern Ireland. 3. ii. JAMES COWAN, b. Abt. 1719, County Down, Northern Ireland; d. Bet. 1798 - 1810, Abbeville Co., South Carolina.

 iii.   GEORGE COWAN, b. Bet. 1720 - 1726. 
 iv.   ANDREW COWAN, b. Bet. 1720 - 1726. 
 v.   WILLIAM COWAN, b. Bet. 1720 - 1726. 
 vi.   SAMUEL COWAN, b. Bet. 1720 - 1726. 
 vii.   MATTHEW COWAN, b. Bet. 1720 - 1726. 
 viii.   MARGARET COWAN, b. Bet. 1715 - 1725; m. JOHN GASS.