Robert Cowan’s Revolutionary service
Robert Cowan is buried at the Cowan-Delaney Cemetery in Sullivan County. From careful research, it has been determined that he did not serve in this unit from Pennsylvania. The grave marker was placed by an unknown person about 1935, and it is incorrect.
Donna Atkinson has located what she believes to be proof of his service in North Carolina. It is entirely possible that Robert served in the 7th of the North Carolina Continental Line. That unit served at Brandywine and Germantown, wintered at Valley Forge, and was then released.
“The release time, the service time and the fact that Robert got land from North Carolina tied to his service leads me to believe this is his unit but I haven’t been able to prove it.
“When I went to Sullivan last year, the only information at either the Tennessee Archives or the Library in Blountville was from a Bennett Cowan who outlined the family. He states ‘as of this date’ there is no information on the parentage or origins of Robert Cowan.
“I find this amazingly puzzling. This man lived from 1782 to 1826 (my figures) in Sullivan (North Carolina). His land is where the Cowan-Delaney Cemetery is located. I have copies of all his land deeds and he had a considerable amount of land (including the Knobs) at the time of his death. His wife was a founding member of a Sullivan County church in 1824 and their children married into almost all the known names around the area – Dulaneys, Rutledges, Carmacks, Susongs – many Revolutionary War names, but when histories tell their stories they only say that Robert Cowan married Nancy Rutledge. Nothing else is said. The silence is deafening! I am working hard to find more information on this man.
“He is also supposed to have been a founding member of the Tinkling Springs (?) Church in Pennsylvania/Virginia but contact with the churches indicates this is not true either. They were also supposed to be involved in the Saltville Church but I haven’t seen evidence of that either, although other members of the family had businesses there.
“A hunt for the marriage in Augusta County (where other researchers said they were married) did not produce any documents for them, nor in Orange County. Sullivan, used by many people as their marriage place in 1780, would have been a new county and of course, those marriage records were lost.”
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
Donna Atkinson adonna70 (at) gmail.com
Donna: I don’t know anything about Cowan but I do know some things about Augusta Co VA marriage records & the Tinkling Springs Church. Many of the marriage records for Augusta Co are missing, not sure why, but either the records have been lost or the ministers didn’t record all of them. My Erwins lived there & married there, at least some of them, and there are no records of their marriages! Tinkling Springs is a presbyterian church and it was founded by the Scot-Irish. Many of the the Scot-Irish first settled in Pennsylvania and then later moved into the Shennodoah valley where Tinkling springs is located. The first presbyterian founded in Sullivan Co had its early records lost/destroyed so the only records for that church date from a decade or two after its founding. Cowan certainly sounds like it might be a Scottish-Irish name. You might find info in the Pennsylvania records. Good Luck! -Candace
Another thought: Chalkley’s Chronicles. There is a Robert Cowan listed, son of a James Cowan but I didn’t look at the records for him. If you haven’t checked there, you might want to take a look. – Candace
I think instead of Saltville church that should read Paperville, but C owan descendants had businesses in Saltville. I may have confused them but can’t check it out right now.
Thanks to the responders. I have checked all the sources listed and haven’t located the parents of Robert Cowan b. 1744.
If anyone has a story or comment, I would love to hear it. It is now 2020 and I don’t think I will ever find his parents:)
Donna Cowan Atkinson
I just noted that Robert Cowan’s birth year and death year are still shown incorrectly. He was born in 1744 and died either in 1824 or 1826. The dates shown on the Bronze Plaque (formerly called a DAR plaque which it is not) are the dates of his wife, Nancy Rutledge Cowan.
April 2020
Hi Donna
I’ll add to the mystery.
I have a Robert Cowan who is listed in the 1840 census for McMinn Co … indicates 1 male (60-70) and 1 female (60-70) … so, born between 1770 and 1780. (Who is this Robert Cowan? He and his wife were born 1770 and 1780.)
See below … he was the father of Charlotte Cowan m. Richard Spradling … and from a contemporary newspaper, he was in the Revolutionary War. So, what do we/you know definitely about the Robert Cowan in Sullivan Co … and do you possibly have any info in your files on this Robert Cowan in McMinn as a Rev. War soldier??
I’ve been trying to unravel the Cowans in McMinn Co. for a number of years.
I have reason to believe that a number of Cowan and Walkers left Blount, Jefferson, and Sevier Co and moved to McMinn Co when it was created in 1820 … later Bradley Co was created in 1836 and several Cowan families are found there in the 1840 and 1850 census.
During the 20th century, no one seems to have claimed a connection to any of these McMinn Cowans, which I’ve found perplexing. It’s as if those who moved to McMinn were shunned … and not acknowledged by descendants of those families remaining in Blount, Jefferson, and Sevier.
In looking at McMinn land records there are successive entries where Walkers and Cowans purchase land on the same date, successive lines, and adjacent land to one another.
Even recently, some professional researchers discount such claims of connection to those counties … but DNA indicates differently (and still some say it’s not possible).
What I’ve found interesting is that the Cowans tied to John and Rosanna seem to always be on the edge of Indian lands that were about to be opened up to settlement. John and Rosanna were in Alabama just before it became a state, McMinn was created in 1819 also, and Bradley Co was created from the Ocoee District in 1836 and Cowans moved from McMinn to neighboring Bradley co.
Anyway, to continue the saga.
Charlotte Cowan m. Richard Spradling. Her descendants claimed their family info stated Charlottes’s father was Robert Cowan but had no documentation to prove it. Recently, I ran across an 1894 article about Richard’s family. It stated that he’d married Charlotte Cowan and that “Miss Cowan’s father, Robert Cowan, was a revolutionary war soldier.”
One would “logically” conclude that this was the Robert Cowan who married Nancy Rutledge???? If not the Robert Cowan who married Nancy Rutledge … is there any info on other Robert Cowans who were Revolutionary War soldiers who died in this area of TN?
As to my earlier assertion that people migrated to McMinn from Blount, Jefferson, and Sevier …
My ggg-grandfather was John [Alexander] Cowan m. Rosanna Gillespie and had 10 known children. John had lived at one point in Warren Co. When John and Rosanna left Warren to move to Alabama, a son (James Walker Cowan) remained in Warren Co.
John died in 1821 in Selma, AL. Rosanna and their son, James Gillespie Cowan, received Letters of Administration for John’s estate. At some point Rosanna returned to McMinn Co., TN with their children … was a founding member of the Mars Hill Presbyterian Church, and is found in the 1830 McMinn census. Three sons … Campbell, Robert, and David … also appear in the 1830 McMinn census.
So, my theory is Rosanna returned (with her sons and their families) to McMinn because there was family already there or that were left behind when they moved to Alabama.
Additionally, we “all” know there was an Andrew Cowan who married Mary Reneau in Jefferson County in 1800 … and no one knows anything about what happened to either one of them. There is an Andrew Cowan and wife, Mary R, buried in the Fort Hill Cemetery … from his tombstone he was born 02 Jan 1793 and died 09 Jan 1846. This Andrew was in the 1830 McMinn and 1840 Bradley Co.. census. He can’t be the Andrew who married Mary Reneau, unless the birthdate on the tombstone is wrong, because he was only 7 when Andrew and Mary Reneau married; however, there are Reneaus in Bradley Co.
In the 1820 Alabama (State) census … John and Rosanna Cowan’s family is Dallas Co., AL … plus son, David, has just turned 21 and enumerated alone. Addititional family members in this Alabama census are John’s brother (Robert) who’s married to Elizabeth Colville … Also, a James Cowan I can’t account for, but is of the same age bracket as Rosanna and Robert (is he John’s cousin? An unknown brother?) David and Robert appear in the 1830 McMinn census. The mysterious James is very likely either the James Sr or James In the 1830 McMinn census.
(In 1830 James Sr is 50-60 and in 1840 he’s 60-70 … same age bracket as John [Alexander] Cowan and his wife, Rosanna.
The other James is 20-30 in 1830 and 30-40 in 1840. Likely father and son?).
The Robert Cowan in the 1830 McMinn Co., TN census is in Benton Co., AR in the 1840 census … and, thus, is NOT the Robert Cowan found in the 1840 McMinn Co., TN census.
The William Cowan listed in the 1830 McMinn census is NOT Rosanna’s son, Dr. William L. Cowan … this William is William Wallace Cowan, son of James Cowan and Elizabeth Clingan of Meigs Co. So, there was also a James Cowan in the neighboring county (Meigs) and is not either the James Sr. or James in McMinn Co.
Thus, I can account for all the Cowans in the 1830 McMinn census … except for the two James Cowans.
Another mystery in the 1840 Bradley Co. census is the listing for a Joseph Cowan … his family consists 2 males (under 5), 1 male 30-40, 1 male 80-90 (!!!!!) … 1 female under 5, 1 female 15-20. So is Joseph the 30-40 male or the 80-90 male? (If not the 80-90 male, could this be a COWAN male???)
One other note about Cowans from Blount, Jefferson, and Sevier moving to McMinn …
There were two Andrew Cowans in 1840 Blount Co. TN who were merged/combined in a book by the TN Archives.
One Andrew (W. Dvsn. Blount Co.) was married to Jane Woods and died in 1840. His children were Alfred, James H, Margaret, Jack, Albina, and Letitia. The confusion is with Andrew Cowan (E. Dvsn) m. Hetty Houston … this Andrew was the enumerator for the 1840 Blount Co. census … and sometime during the 1840s, he moved to Flint Hill, Bradley Co, TN … and is buried at the Flint Hill Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
LOL! So, since there was already an Andrew Cowan living in Bradley Co., these two Andrews have also been confused as being one in the same person.
If anyone has info on the McMinn Cowans (especially if you have information on either/both of the James Cowans in McMinn Co), I would be delighted to share info with you.
You can reach me at mcowan @(at) rcn.com
Please … if you find errors in what I’ve posted, let me know.