Person:William Cowan (12)

Burial

While many written sources claim William Cowan was buried in Clarks Grove Cemetery, there are questions and reservations about where he died and where he is buried. The bronze marker erected by the DAR is in the middle of a row of approximately 12 tombstones for Christopher Columbus Cowan and his descendants. This row of stones is in chronological order beginning with Christopher Columbus Cowan (d. 1873) and ending with Margaret (Eagleton) Cowan (d. 1904). It would be difficult for someone to plan things out so that William, who is thought to have died in 1809, would be buried in the exact middle of that future row of graves. This suggests that at a minimum, he is not buried where the marker is placed. It may also be that he is not buried in Clarks Grove cemetery at all.

The question arises whether William Cowan and Jane (Walker) Cowan died in Blount Co., TN -- as he does not appear on the Blount Co. tax rolls for several years immediately preceeding his death. In 1803, he settled/lived on land owned by sons Robert and David in Warren Co., TN.

• Womack, Walter; McMinnville at a Milestone, 1810-1960; Standard Publishing Co., Inc. & Womack Printing Co., McMinnville, TN; 1960, p. 120-121. [DAR Library]

“The Bentley papers aver that Robert and David Cowan were living somewhere on the eastern side of the present Riverside Cemetery [need the county] as early as 1803. The same source states that a grant to William Cowan in 1803 is described as beginning at a poplar tree on the north bank of Baren Fork at Polly Black’s ford.”]

Thus, there is reason to believe that he and wife, Jane, were living in Warren Co., TN when they died. Think this has been disproven. Need update. Q 08:01, 7 April 2011 (EDT)

Records

Printed Sources:

1. Clarks Grove Cemetery, Maryville, Blount Co., TN ... transcriptions at DAR Library.
2. Cowan Bible Records in possession of Margie Cowan, Reston, VA (as of August 2006) ... starts with John [Alexander] Cowan and his wife, Rosanna Gillespy/Gillespie.
3. Fischer, David Hackett, Albion’s seed: Four British folkways in America, Oxford University Press, New York, 1989 (ISBN: 0195037944)
4. Fleming, John Kerr; Cowans of County Down, Derreth Publishing Co., Raleigh, NC; p. 371-376. (DAR Library)
5. Houston, Blaine and others, Maxwell History and Genealogy; C. E. Pauley & Co., Indianapolis Engraving Co., 1916, p. 6. [DAR Library]
6. Houston, Samuel Rutherford, Brief Biographical Accounts of Many Members of the Houston Family accompanied by a genealogical table, Elm Street Printing Co., Cincinnati, 1882. [DAR Library]
7. White, Emma Siggins; Genealogy of the Descendants of John Walker of Wigton, Scotland, with Records of a Few Allied Families. Also War Records and Some Fragmentary Notes Pertaining to the History of Virginia. 1600-1902, Tiernan-Dart Printing Company, Kansas City, MO; 1902, p. 282-283. [DAR Library]
8. Wiseman, Eugene M.; The Warren County Story, Genealogy Publishing Service, Franklin, NC 28734, 1995 (DAR Library)
9. Womack, Walter; McMinnville at a Milestone, 1810-1960; Standard Publishing Co., Inc. & Womack Printing Co., McMinnville, TN; 1960, p. 120-121. [DAR Library]
   
     Other Sources:
10. Clarks Grove Cemetery, Maryville, Blount Co., TN ... personal tombstone photos taken by Margie Cowan (many posted at Find-a-Grave.com). See the online transcription for ... Clarks Grove Cemetery.
11. TN Land Grant #544 for William Cowan [Tennessee State Archives, Nashville, TN] ... dated October 17, 1783 for 250 acres in Greene Co., NC (part of Greene became Sevier Co., TN; then part of Sevier became Knox Co., TN; then part of that became Blount Co., TN)
12. TN Maps -- 1820-1840
13. Key document to establishing identity of several of William Cowan & Jane Walker's children is Andrew Finis Cowan's (AFC) Letter (June 7, 1906; Indian Territory/Oklahoma) to Columbia Cowan (John Alexander⁴, Campbell Gilmer³, John [Alexander]², William¹) in Pierce City, Lawrence Co., MO.
    (Original in possession of James E. Freeman (Ruth (Ginder) Freeman⁶, Florence Edna (Cowan) Ginder⁵, Richard Tankersley⁴, Campbell Gilmer³, John [Alexander]², William¹), Camas, WA as of August, 2006).
    Note:   A copy of the AFC letter was included with Margie Cowan's First Families of Tennessee applications for William Cowan and John [Alexander] Cowan (William¹)
    • Of note, Andrew Cowan (William¹), father of Andrew Finis Cowan, was 90 when he died in 1872.
    • Since Andrew Finis Cowan was 43 when his father died, it is likely he heard many stories first hand about his grandparents (William & Jane) as well as his aunts/uncles, interacted with the remaining aunts & uncles and/or their children (his first cousins), was aware of correspondence between the families, and/or that the families visited each other ... especially so since many of these aunts/uncles remained in Knox/Blount/Loudon counties, which were in relatively close proximity to McMinn and Bradley counties, where AFC and his father lived for many years.
    • The letter was written by Andrew Finis Cowan (Andrew², William¹), who was 77 years old (b. December 1829), in an apparent response to Columbia’s request for information about their ancestors, initiated because of a “claim” (scam?) that the Cowans were potential heirs to a part of Central Park and she was trying to “prove” whether her Cowan ancestors tied into the Central Park “ancestors”.
    • Thus, Andrew responds with information about his aunts and uncles, makes “honorable” mention to several of their children, and a reference to his grandmother, Jane (Walker) Cowan.
    • While Andrew Finis Cowan's eldest three aunts and uncles died at relatively young ages (either before AFC was born or shortly thereafter), their spouses did not die until many years later.
    • The 1857 letter written by Andrew Cowan (William¹) to Rosannah (Gillespy/Gillespie) Cowan shows, that despite considerable distance, the two branches of the family remained in contact.
14. Key document to establishing relationship of Andrew Cowan to John [Alexander] Cowan is the letter written Andrew Cowan (William¹) on May 17, 1857 from Bradley Co., TN) to Rosanna (Gillespy/Gillespie) Cowan (addressed as "Dear Sister Roseanna") ... original in possession of James E. Freeman, Camas, WA (as August, 2006).
    (Copy of the Andrew Cowan's 1857 letter was included with Margie Cowan's First Families of Tennessee applications for William Cowan and John [Alexander] Cowan, along with a copy of his pension application for War of 1812 service to prove that the signatures matched on both documents.)
    
    Both letters below have similar details to the AFC letter and/or either further substantiate his info or add further details of family relationships.
15. W. E. Parham Letter to W. D. Newberry re Cowans [McClung Library, Knoxville, Parham Collection; Blount Co., TN Library]
16. R. M. Johnston (Jane Walker (Cowan) Johnston³, Andrew², William¹) letter to first cousin, James H Cowan (George Washington³, Samel², William¹) [McClung Library, Knoxville, Parham Collection; Blount Co., TN Library]
    • R. M. Johnston's mother was Jane Walker (Cowan) Johnston (Andrew², William¹), a daughter of Andrew Cowan (William¹) and his wife, Esther F. "Hettie" (Houston) Cowan.
    • Thus, R. M. Johnston was a grandson of Andrew & Hettie ... and AFC's nephew.
    • (The Johnston family is buried at Steekee Creek Cemetery, Loudon, Loudon Co., TN. ... listed at findagrave as [Steekee Cemetery]. While I have many pictures of Johnston tombstones, I have not had time to post them at findagrave. However, see the online transcription of the Steekee Creek cemetery ... Part 1 and Part 2)

    
    

      Cemetery Records/Tombstone Photos

17. Clarks Grove Cemetery (Findagrave.com), Maryville, Blount Co., TN ... Clarks Grove Cemetery transcriptions.
18. William Cowan's DAR marker, Clarks Grove Cemetery, Maryville, Blount Co., TN
    
19. Eleanor Gillespy's tombstone, Clarks Grove Cemetery, Maryville, Blount Co., TN.

Bibliography

• First Families of Tennessee applications for William Cowan
  
  

Two Tennessee DAR books list William’s children:

• Bates, Lucy Womack, TN Society NSDAR, Roster of Soldiers and Patriots of the American Revolution Buried in TN, 1974 (revised 1979 by Helen Crawford Marsh), p. 42 … lists children: “Andrew b 5/2/1780 m Hetty Houston; Samuel b. 7/23/1799 m. Ester Jane Houston; Eleanor b. 1774 m. James Gillespie; John Alexander; James; Robert; David. Ref: DAR #435539 [Barbara Gillespie]”
• Hudson, Mary Kay Parrish, TN Society DAR, Register of Qualified Soldiers and Patriots of the American Revolution Buried in Tennessee, p. 24 … lists children: Andrew, Samuel, Eleanor Gillespie, John Alexander, James, Robert, David.

The dates listed above for Andrew, Samuel, and Eleanor are also found in DAR applications 475597 (Francis Thornton Bryant) and 489340 (Lorinda Farley Thornton).

• Hagy, James W., Castle's Woods Frontier Virginia Settlement, 1769-1799, Masters Thesis for Department of History East Tennessee State University, 1966 [Virginia State Library, Richmond, VA ... by interlibrary loan]

• DAR Applications, National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1776 D Street, NW, Washington, DC.

The following is a list of applications submitted to the DAR on the Revolutionary War service of either William Cowan or James Gillespy, Sr.

Most of the applications are on James Gillespy Sr’s service, through his son (James “Smoking Jimmie” Gillespy). The (S) beside the child’s name indicates this was a supplemental application applying for membership based on William Cowan’s service, through his daughter Eleanor Cowan.

(Copies of DAR applications are available from the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, 1776 D Street, NW, Washington, DC. Cost is $10 for each application, which includes the four pages of each application.)

DAR #	Date	Applicant's Name	Cowan Child's Name	Rev. War Ancestor
088306	10/04/1911	Annie (Cowan) Stephens	Andrew Cowan	William Cowan
224549	06/09/1926	Bessie Helen (Cowan) McCall	Samuel Franklin Cowan	William Cowan
166093	03/20/1943	Mayme R (Maxery) Bissnar	Eleanor Cowan	James Gillespy, Sr.
265374	10/15/1930	Sallie E. (Gillespie) Ambrister	Eleanor Cowan	James Gillespy, Sr.
281000	04/01/1933	Maude (Ambrister) Wyche	Eleanor Cowan	James Gillespy, Sr.
362422	10/11/1946	Carrie Irene (Ambrister) Clark	Eleanor Cowan	James Gillespy, Sr.
379812	09/17/1980	Emma Elizabeth (Ambrister) Carpenter	Eleanor Cowan	James Gillespy, Sr.
423729	11/20/1953	Sabina E (Ambrister) Beckman	Eleanor Cowan	James Gillespy, Sr.
426464	04/17/1954	Elizabeth (Gillespy) Brinegar	Eleanor Cowan	James Gillespy, Sr.
435539	02/25/1955	Barbara (Gillespy) Jarrett	Eleanor Cowan	James Gillespy, Sr.
475597	09/20/1960	Francis (Thornton) Bryant	Eleanor Cowan	James Gillespy, Sr.
489340	08/10/1962	Lorinda (Farley) Thornton	Eleanor Cowan	James Gillespy, Sr.
608878	04/06/1976	Lorinda (Thornton) Williams	Eleanor Cowan (S)	James Gillespy, Sr.
667362	07/15/1982	Lorinda Christine (Thornton) Orlowski	Eleanor Cowan (S)	James Gillespy, Sr.
706026	12/11/1986	Lynne (Farley) Williams	Eleanor Cowan (S)	James Gillespy, Sr.
712988	10/25/1987	Mary (Wyche) Rescendes	Eleanor Cowan	James Gillespy, Sr.
717908	08/01/1988	Ann Maude (Rescendes) Guttierez	Eleanor Cowan	James Gillespy, Sr.
781773	09/30/1997	Kenlyn Christina (Foster) Spencer	Eleanor Cowan	James Gillespy, Sr.

• 1906 letter written by Andrew Finis Cowan (Andrew², William¹) to Miss Columbia Cowan (John Alexander⁴, Campbell Gilmer³, John [Alexander]², William¹)
  

• Columbia Cowan, the recipient of the letter, was living in Pierce City, MO.
  
• At the time the letter was written, Andrew was 77 years old (b. December 1829) and was living in Indian Territory (later Oklahoma).
  
• AFC's father, Andrew (William¹), was 90 when he died in 1872 in Bradley Co., Tn.
• AFC's three eldest aunts and uncles died at relatively young ages either before Andrew Finis Cowan was born or shortly thereafter:
  

• Eleanor (William¹) (d. 1831),
• John [Alexander] Cowan (William¹) (d. 1821), and
• Samuel Cowan (William¹) (d. 1828).
  

• Many of the remaining aunts and uncles remained in Tennessee in neighboring counties to McMinn and Bradley Co., TN.
  
• Thus, it is likely he interacted with them and/or their children (his first cousins), was aware of correspondence between the families, and/or that the families visited each other.
  
• Therefore, he likely knew first-hand at least the names of aunts and uncles (living or dead), cousins and some details of their lives, as well as information about his grandparents (William Cowan and Jane Walker).
  
  

The original of this letter is in possession of James Freeman, Camas, WA. (A scanned digital copy of this letter was submitted by Margie Cowan with applications for First Families of Tennesse for William Cowan and John [Alexander] Cowan ( William¹). Interested researchers can obtain a copy either from the McClung library, Knoxville, TN or from Margie Cowan.)

Footnotes

</references>

Links

• Smoky Mountain Photos
• Finley & Gillespie Research
• Cowan Clan United
• Cowan DNA Project
  

1. ↑ There is reason to believe that William at least considered moving to Kentucky, and may have done so before finally settling in Blount County. Emory Hamilton notes that:

   DAVID GASS - Capt. David Gass was born in Pennsylvania in 1729. He settled early in Albemarle Co., Va., where he was serving in the militia in 1758. In 1769 he moved to Castlewood and prepared to go with Boone to Kentucky in 1773. After the Indians attacked Boone's party in Powell Valley, Boone came to Castlewood and lived in a cabin on Capt. Gass' land until he moved to Boonesboro in 1775. Capt. Gass made seven trips to Kentucky before finally moving his family there in 1777. Gass sold his home place on the Clinch to his brother-in-law, Capt. WILLIAM COWAN, who in turn sold it to James Osborne. Gass died in Madison Co., Ky."

   From this we can conclude that William Cowan married David Gass' sister, as his own wife was Jane Walker. A land transaction in Kentucky (see Notbook:William Cowan Land records) shows that a in 1787 a William Cowan acquired a parcel in Madison County Ky, based on a warrant from a David Gist. David Gist is presumably David Gass, and the brotherinlaw of William Cowan (12).