Sent this to Cowan-D on 2 April 2002. It hasn't been posted yet....thought I might have sent it to the wrong place. Thanks. Anita Cowan ----- Original Message ----- From: Anita Cowan Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2002 8:54 PM To: Cowlist Subject: My Cowan ancestor search Hi Cousins, Here I am..still searching for a hand-up over my brickwall... trying to find the ancestry of William Wallace Cowan of Bradley County, TN. Wouldn't it be great if some of my information would be what you are looking for? Well, here goes... I am a gggranddaughter of William Wallace Cowan,(1800-185?). According to 1850 Bradley County,TN. census records, he was born in TN. In 1833, W.W. Cowan is either buying land or acting as some sort of pay agent during the Cherokee removal in eastern TN (I cannot determine his role from the Cherokee Immigration Records, but his name is listed repeatedly with small sums of money alongside). I used to think that indicated he was buying land cheap...now I'm not so sure. In 1839, he marries Isabella Cozby of Rhea County,TN (marriage records). (Sidebar: Isabella's parents were John Cozby(1775-1842) and Abigail McBee ,sometimes written as Magby (1789-1864). Isabel's paternal grandparents were Col./Dr. James C. Cozby(1753-1831) and Isabella Woods (1747-1830). There is extant research on the Cozby ancestry. Note that these were folks from Albemarle County, VA and Castle's Woods in earlier generations.) After marrying in 1839 in Rhea Co, TN, William Wallace Cowan and Isabella Cozby appear to reside near Charleston, Bradley County, TN. In the 1850 Bradley Co. Census (where the name is spelled Cowen) William Wallace Cowan, the elder, is listed as owning 8,000 acres. They had five children who were: Sarah b. 1840 Martha b. 1842 - 1882 William W. b. 1844 - 1911 Ellen b. 1846 -1903 Evelina b. 1848 I find no further reference to William Wallace Cowan, the elder, after the 1850 census and assume that he died in the late 1850s. (death date and burial place unknown) There are two black men with the name in the 1870 Bradley census and this might be owing to the political/economic relationships of the times. William Wallace Cowan, the younger, enlists at age 17, in Company A ( Bradley County men) TN 29th Infantry, CSA in 1861, stays with it 2 1/2 years, and goes AWOL in November, 1963...a critical time when Bradley County shifts from Confederate to Union control. Family oral tradition has it that after Chickamauga he went home to help his mother get the crop in. He signs the Oath of Allegiance in Chattanooga, TN in 1864. There's also a tale that after the war, he received his inheritance early so that he could go "somewhere else". Meanwhile, his mother, Isabella Cozby Cowan had married John M. Bates (appeared to be a neighbor and friend. He and W.W. ,the elder, have signed some of the same petitions through the years) . John Bates and Isabella Cozby Cowan Bates then have children, Cora and John. both born in the 1860s. While I have no clue yet re the oldest and youngest full siblings of W.W.Cowan, the younger, I find his sister, Ellen Cowan, in marriage, census, and cemetery records for neighboring McMinn Co., TN. According to data in TN Marriages 1820-1870,she marries a Wallace N. Hoge (1841-1902). Ellen Cowan Hoge and Wallace N. Hoge are buried in the Cedar Grove Cemetery, Athens, McMinn Co., TN alongside probable children: Wallace (1867-1911), William S. Hoge (1869-1903), John Hoge(1872-?), Cora T. Hoge(1877-1967) and Isabell Hoge(1879-?). Also, I now know of rigorous research available on the descendants of the sibling, Martha Cowan. She married Thomas Andrew Jackson Bates (1834-187?) of Bradley County, TN in 1859 and went to Denton Co., TX in the 1870s. After her husband reportedly was killed by Indians in Texas, she sold out to her brother William Wallace Cowan, the younger, in 1881(Denton County, TX records) and returned to Bradley County, TN. with her eight children. So, at this point, ca 1872, I have two Cowan daughters, Sarah and Evelina, whereabouts beyond birth in Bradley County, TN, unknown; one Cowan daughter settling in McMinn County, TN: and one son and one daughter immigrating to Denton County, Texas. These arriving in north Texas are settling just a few miles from their uncle (mo's bro), James Trimble Cozby(1826-1914). Thus, there was a stream of folks coming from Bradley County, TN and going west to Denton Co., TX in the 1870s and, predictably, the Cozbys and the Cowans were related. William Wallace Cowan lived out his life in the community of Elizabethtown, Denton County, TX (now defunct except for the historical cemetery). He was Justice of the Peace 1878-1880, ran an inn, and farmed. I don't know if it was his Tennessee background, his manner, or his size (reportedly 6'6") but they called him "Squire". He married Eliza Peace (1856-1931) in 1875. Their house stood on a rise overlooking Elizabeth Creek. Some say the creek was the first night's stop on the cattle drives from Fort Worth up to Kansas and beyond. They had four children: Isabelle b. 1876 - 195? m. John C. Hysinger Maud b. 1878- 1880 William Wallace b. 1880- 195? m. Veda Carruthers James Arthur b. 1884 - 1944 m. Carrie Jackson Ogletree (my grandparents) W.W.Cowan, Eliza Peace Cowan, James Arthur Cowan, Carrie Jackson Ogletree Cowan (and one of their four sons, Emory Clay Cowan) are buried in the Elizabethtown Cemetery, Denton Co., TX. To wrap up, three scraps of remembered oral history from 40+ years ago and a few of my own thoughts and questions. Oral history first: 1) from my grandmother "they had a mercantile store back in Tennessee, but it burned and they lost all their records"; 2) from my father "the first boy must always be named William Wallace and the first girl Isabella"; 3) from my father" the Cowans are Scotch-Irish and there were several brothers that originally came over". Thoughts: By 1830, there had been several marriages (over several generations) between Woods, Cowans and Cozbys. Was the marriage of W.W.Cowan, the elder, to Isabelle Cozby in 1839, a part of that long-standing association/migration of allied families? Was there a relationship between the earliest Cowan in Bradley County documents (a John Cowan who kept a tavern), and this William Wallace, my ancestor? Questions: 1) Would someone who has a subscription to Genealogy.com's library, take a look at the Cherokee Immigration Records and tell me what you think those amounts of money were alongside the name W.W.Cowan? Just type in W.W. Cowan the search box and it should come up. 2)Does anyone know a few more details about the Oath of Allegiance( taken by W.W. Cowan) in Chattanooga, TN in 1864. I know some signed as a condition of their release as POWs, but did others voluntarily sign it by just showing up? 3)On the gravestone of Ellen Cowan Hoge's son, William S. Hoge, there are the letters I.O.O.F and F.L.T. I know what I.O.O.F stands for, but can anyone tell me what F.L.T. means? (I suppose it's First something of Tennessee). So there you have it...another William W. Cowan in eastern TN...and I'm looking for his ancestry. Hope to hear from anyone with information. Thanks to all who work to keep this site one of the most active and informative. Anita Cowan Denton, TX