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Genealogical Keynotes[]

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Vita[]

  • Born: 22 Jun 1784 in Washington Co., VA
  • Married: c. 1808? in Warren? Co., TN
  • Died: 17 Sep 1869 in Lowell, Benton Co., AR
  • Burial: Sep 1869, Goad Springs Cemetery, Lowell, Benton Co., AR

Ancestry[]

Robert Cowan was the son of William COWAN‎ and Jane Walker (1755-1806)

Spouse(s)[]

Elizabeth Colville b: 15 Apr 1793 in TN d: 26 Dec 1865 in Lowell, Benton Co., AR (daughter of Joseph Colville and Sarah Lusk)

Child List[]

  1. William S______ COWAN b: 08 Apr 1810 in TN
    m. Nancy ______ WILMOTH / WILMOUTH
  2. Sally Louisa COWAN b: 17 Sep 1813 in TN
  3. Larkin Farrell COWAN b: 31 Jan 1816 in TN d: 1856 in Benton Co., AR
    m. Martha Evelyn STROUD b: Abt. 1823 in Warren Co., TN
  4. Samuel C______ COWAN, dsp b: 17 Nov 1817 in TN d: 23 Mar 1821 in TN
  5. Jane Lusk COWAN b: 04 May 1820 d: 1893 in Benton Co., AR
    m#1. George Lewis CREAGER b: 21 Nov 1815 d: Abt. 1855 in AR
    m#2. Charlie Dee JOHNSON
  6. Laura Catherine COWAN b: 14 Jul 1823 in TN
    m. George McGARRAH b: Abt. 1824
  7. Martha Ann COWAN b: 24 Apr 1825 in Warren Co., TN d: 02 Jan 1900 in Benton Co., AR
    m. Christopher Columbus NAIL b: 1825 in Roane Co., TN d: 02 Aug 1899 in Benton Co., AR
  8. John Gillespie COWAN b: 29 Aug 1827 in Athens, TN d: 06 Jan 1915 in Lowell, Benton Co., AR
    m. Elvira ______ HUBBARD b: Abt. 1829 d: 1919
  9. Marvel Volero COWAN b: 30 Nov 1829 in TN
    m#1. Mary PEAKS
    m#2. Mary McCALL
  10. Walker S______ COWAN b: 16 Mar 1833 in Benton Co., AR d: 1866
    m. Nancy WILMOUTH
  11. Mary Elizabeth COWAN b: 31 Mar 1835 in Benton Co., AR


Family History[]

  • Waterhouse, Carmack, Certain topics on the Ingham, Waterhouse, and allied families (Supplement to), Oak Ridge, TN, 1974, p. 76:
    Robert and James W. Cowan were sons of William (1750-1809) and Jane Walker of Washington Co., VA. who came to Blount Co., TN with Joseph III and George Colville. Robert married Elizabeth and James W. married Catherine, daughters of Joseph Colville III , and lived in Warren and McMinn Cos., TN until around 1830 when they came to Benton Co., AR with Joseph Colville V, to take up land and settled near Lowell. Many of their families are buried at Goad Spring Cemetery. In 1837 Robert Cowan served as a commissioner to select the county seat of Benton Co. His six oldest children were born in Warren Co., TN. Daughter, Martha Ann, married Chris C. Nail from Roane Co., TN. Son John Gillespie, born in McMinn Co., TN. was a farmer and a carpenter. Son, Marvel V., the last born in TN, was a blacksmith in Big Springs township, and son Walker went to Barry Co., MO.
  • Robert and James Cowan settled about eight miles south of Bentonville. A brother-in-law of the Cowans, by the name of Colville, settled in the same locality. Colville Township derives its name from the latter. Colville went to California in 1850, and on one occasion he left the camp by himself and comrades and went out prospecting, and was never afterward heard from. Robert Hubbard, the first representative of Benton County in the State Legislature, settled near the Cowans, and Benjamin and Jefferson Hubbard settled lower down on the Osage. (Chuck Gibson posting)
  • 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.”

  • Orphan Court minutes in Dallas County, AL tie brothers Robert (William1) and John (William1) together ... separate transactions, but on the same day and same page. (Dallas Co., AL Orphan’s Court records, p. 73-74 … where (i) there are 2 transactions at the top of the page involving Robert and a (ii) third transaction at the bottom of the page where Robert (William1) and John (William1) are involved in the estate of David Mitchell and, in the same transaction, James G. Cowan (John [Alexander]2, William1) is named guardian of the Mitchell minor children.)

  • Additionally, the 1820 Dallas Co., AL State census shows three Cowan brothers: John (William1), Robert (William1), and David Cowan (William1) residing in Dallas Co.


Alternative Interpretation[]

Records[]

  • 1820 census, AL STATE census, Dallas Co.
    COWAN, Robert   M 1(21+) 3(-21)   F 1(21+) 2(-21)   Total White = 7   Total Inhabitants = 7
    Also in Dallas Co. are his brothers, John, David, and James.
  • 1830 census, TN, McMinn Co.
    COWAN, Robert p.172;   M 2(under 5) 1(10-15) 1(20-30) 1(40-50)   F 2(5-10) 1(10-15) 1(15-20) 1(40-50)   Total = 10
  • 1840 census, AR, Benton Co.
    COWAN, Robert   M 1(5-10) 2(10-15) 1(20-30) 1(40-50)  F 1(5-10) 2(15-20) 1(20-30) 1(30-40) 1(40-50)  Total = 11
  • 1850 census, AR, Benton Co., Osage, M432_25, 11/12/1850, p. 73B; l. 8-13.
    Res Family Last Name First Name Age Sex Occupation Value Born
    388 388 COWAN Robert 66 M Farmer 500 VA
    Elizabeth 57 F TN
    John 22 M Carpenter TN
    Louisa 37 F TN
    M V 20 M None TN
    Walker S 17 M AR
  • 1860 census, AR, Benton Co., Colville Township, Apple Orchard, M653_14, 08/17/1860, p. 189; l. 19-23
    Res Family Last Name First Name Age Sex Occupation Value Value Born
    1229 1223 COWAN Robert 76 M Farmer 1,600 600 VA
    Elizabeth 67 F TN
    CREAGER Larkin 17 M TX
    Living next door to Martha Cowan and also in the household is Wesley Stroud's family



References[]

Printed Sources:

Two Tennessee DAR books list William Cowan'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.

  • Fleming, John Kerr; Cowans of County Down, Derreth Publishing Co., Raleigh, NC; p. 371-376. (DAR Library)
  • Wiseman, Eugene M.; The Warren County Story, Genealogy Publishing Service, Franklin, NC 28734, 1995 (DAR Library)
  • Womack, Walter; McMinnville at a Milestone, 1810-1960; Standard Publishing Co., Inc. & Womack Printing Co., McMinnville, TN; 1960, p. 120-121. [DAR Library]

  • Cowan, Jessie Lee, Bloomington-Lowell Bits and Pieces, August 1976.
    • Three Cowan brothers from Tennessee settled in Benton County, Arkansas, about 1830-1832. Robert and James settled eight miles south of Bentonville near what is Lowell, Robert homesteading the north side of the mountain SW of Lowell known then as Cowan Mountain. This homestead never changed hands from the time it was homesteaded until a long time after his death.
    • Members of the Cowan families are buried here (Goad Springs Cemetery, Benton County, Arkansas). No marked stone for them has been found - for Robert and wife, Elizabeth. There are a lot of graves with large sandstone markers. Since most of his children and his brother's family are buried here, Robert and Elizabeth's graves must have been here at one time.

Other Sources:

  • Ancestral File®, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Publication; Copyright© 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January 1998 (Note: NS534013)


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