Family:Samuel Cowan and Sarah Keith (1)

Sources

Intermediate Source: FamilyTreeMaker Charles A. Cowan-Redding Website

Notes

From:Ancestry FamilyTrees

On page vii of COWAN Connections, © 1994, by Michael S. Cole, M.D., are these two paragraphs: "There is no known proven list of children for Samuel and Sarah (KEITH) COWAN. The list used is based on what COWAN genealogists have accepted for many years. From my research I have no doubt that Riley, Eli, and Stephen COWAN were sons of Samuel and Sarah. I believe the evidence is compelling to count James Harvey and John Borden COWAN as sons. Though the tradition has been held for quite some time now, I have seen nothing to convince me that William and Samuel C. COWAN were sons of Samuel and Sarah. These two are included in this book because nothing has surfaced to prove that they were not sons of Samuel and Sarah.
Evidence is accumulating that a different William COWAN was very possibly a son of Samuel and Sarah. He was born about 1812 in Tennessee. He married Sarah HICKEY circa 1833 in McNairy Co., TN. He died in the 1850's in Texas. He can be found in the census records of 1836 Tishomingo Co., MS; 1840 Franklin Co., AL; and 1850 Titus Co., TX."

A DOM of 1785 is sometimes given for this couple, based on "the Old Piano Book" record of Stephen Cowan, son of Samuel and Sarah. That record gives

Sarah Keeth married Samuel Cowan the Latter Part of 1785 in S Ala

Michale S Cole, a noted researcher in this family line states that

Although this important family record was written in Stephen COWAN's song book, it is unlikely that he or his wife wrote this. The dates prior to 1892 were evidently from someone's memory. While there is no question that Stephen's parents were Samuel COWAN and Sarah KEITH, it is doubtful that they were married as early as 1785, when Sarah was probably no more than 7 years old. It is unlikely that they married in Alabama, but more probably in Tennessee where Sarah's siblings lived and married.
From:Michael Cole Website, extracted 26 December 2013

Cole also Summarizs data ^[2]