Person:Elijah Cowan (2)

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Sources

Google Books, The Georgians:genealogies of Pioneer Settlers. Gives summary of Will

Related

Person:Elijah Cowan (1)

Family:William Cowan and Sarah Stewart (2)

Overview

Elijah is sometimes identified as the child of Family:William Cowan and Sarah Stewart (2), but the evidence for this is not clear.

From:Rootsweb

William Cowan...settled in Rowan County, NC in the 1750s with uncles, cousins, brothers and other relatives (including other Williams). Here he married Sarah Stewart on 23 Dec 1759. They remained in Rowan County until 1784, when they sold out and moved to Wilkes County, GA. William died here ca. 1791. Sarah and children remained in the area--in that part that became Jackson Co. She died sometime after 1807. They were the parents of the following children:

1. James Cowan, 1760s-1820s, mar. Rachel McDowell

2. George Cowan, 4 Sept 1763-27 Nov 1855, mar. Marjorie Scott

3. Isaac Cowan, 1770s-1820s, mar. Ann Scott

4. Person:Elijah Cowan (2), 1770s-c1811, mar. Prudence Stovall

5. Thomas Cowan, 1780s-1809, mar. Polly Williamson

6. Stewart Cowan, 1774-1850s, mar. Mary Stewart

7. Mary Cowan, 17 Nov 1779-17 Aug 1852, mar. John Crockett

8. Daughter Cowan, mar. Robert Simpson

9. Daughter Cowan, mar. Thomas Poage

10. Joseph Cowan, d. c1832, mar. Mary

Stewart Cowan and Mary Cowan married their spouses while in Jackson Co., GA. Between 1812 and 1820, both families moved to Franklin County, Tennessee. They apparently lived in the part of the county that became Coffee County. Grundy County was formed from part of Coffee County, so that in 1850 the Crocketts were in Coffee County and the Stewart Cowans in Grundy County. Yet they were actually neighbors. The Crockett Cemetery is just over the line into Coffee County. All these Cowans left this part of TN before 1860, except Moses, who died childless about 1885."

The forgoing source identifies William as the son of Person:John Cowan (39), Flemings 1720 immigrant. This William probably did move to NC, but current thinking is inconsistent with the data above.

Notes

Abstracted Wills Book A abstracted - Jackson Co., GAJackson Co. WB "A" (1802 1860) ELIJAH COWAN, 2/8/1810:7/6/1812Wife: Prudence. Sons: William Edward, Stephen (not of age). Wits: Ambrose Bleckwell, Agnes Blackwell, David Dickson. http://genforum.genealogy.com/cgi-bin/print.cgi?ga/jackson::645.html Frfom Ancestry Public Member Trees

Will dated 8 feb 1810, Proven July 6, 1812, Jackson County Ga.

Will names wife Prudence, sons William and Edward, and Stephen

Wife identified as Prudence Stovall

May have had a brother George, as Elijah's son William was living in the household of George Cowan 1850 census, Jackson County, Ga.

From Terry Cowan, August 2012, personal communication to WMWILIS

Elijah Cowan. In my early research, I assumed he was a son of William and Sarah simply on the basis of his being in Jackson County, Georgia early on. But once I delved into the records, I found no overlapping connections of any sort between the Elijah Cowan family and the William Cowan family—as there were among all the other Cowans in Jackson County, and as we find in Rowan County, NC before, and as we found in Lancaster County, PA before that. Then, he was not listed among the Cowan heirs in the Volume E, Page 444 of the Jackson County Deed Records. Finally, I believe it is “Cyndi from Baltimore” who is a descendant of this Elijah Cowan, and in the last couple of years she finally found a YDNA participant who proved she belonged in another grouping.

Second, there is no hard proof that William Cowan was son of John the immigrant. Here is what we do have: Each of the 3 immigrant brothers had a son named William (per their wills.) Immigrant William, Sr.’s son, William, Jr. (1741-1806), married his cousin Ann Jenkins, and his life and descendants are well documented in Rowan County, NC records. Immigrant David, Jr.’s son, William (1742-1814) lived out his life in Lancaster and Chester County, PA, and his life is indisputably recorded in those counties. Immigrant John’s son, William, was alive at the time of his father’s will in 1758 and his mother’s will in 1775. In the 1758 will, the farm was divided between sons Thomas and Henry who remained on the land, whereas sons John, Jr. and William received nominal sums. This was often the case where some sons were already provided for and/or they had moved on to the frontier, never to return. This seems to be the case with John, Jr. and William, sons of John Cowan the immigrant. Just looking at the document alone, it would seem that John, Jr. and William Cowan were probably far removed from Lancaster County by 1758. John Cowan, Jr. was in NC by 1750. We do not know when my William arrived there, other than he married there in 1759 and purchased a large tract of land in 1760. The question is this: if my William (c.1734-1789) was not son of John and Elizabeth of Lancaster County, then who was his father? The question put another way: if my William (c.1734-1789) was not son of John and Elizabeth, then where was this son? Finally, there is this: In 1962, my granddad (b.1885) penned a short outline of the family to my cousin. He spoke of his great-grandfather, his great-great-grandfather, his 3rd great-grandfather and his 4th great-grandfather. Unfortunately, he didn’t write down their actual names (which added about 20 years to my research), except for the immigrant ancestor. The name of that man? He said it was John Cowan. Also, there is no more hard evidence to connect John Cowan the Gunsmith of Rowan County (John, Jr. in my designation above) to John the Immigrant than there is to connect my William to John the Immigrant. If we disallow William, we must disallow John the gunsmith, and I am afraid the howls of outrage from Rowan County would be too much to bear ;)