Sunday, July 1, 2012

Tid-Bits Cynthia Morgan Cowan

Received in an email:

 Patricia Burger's Email message gives date and place of birth
death date and burial site. She is buried in the Red Hill Cemetery near Whitwell,
Cynthia Morgan Cowan lived  for 25 year more after the death of her husband in 1865. She died after a falling and hitting her head on a bed post.


Notes from Cindy Henslee Stamps:

Cynthia Morgan Cowan listed Tennessee as her birth place in 1850, 1860 and 1870 Marion County Tennessee Censuses. Her Granddaughter, Alice Cowan Lewis, daughter of Benjamin Franklin Cowan, recalls in her memoirs of being told by her mother that Cynthia Morgan was from Kentucky and had come to visit some relatives in Tennessee about 1820. Apparently, according to Alice, she must have met William Cowan and married him. By 1830 they are listed in the Marion County, Tennessee census. Early marriage records for Marion County do not exist, but the date of their marriage, 25 January 1822, is given in the Bible records of their son, B.F. Cowan. She lived most of her life in Marion County, except for a brief time in the late 1820's when the family moved to Jackson County, Alabama. She also reportedly moved to Kansas for a brief time with her son Joseph, but was unhappy there and returned to Marion County.

Her eldest son, Seabird, and his family moved from Dekalb County, Alabama after the Civil War ended to live with her. They later moved to Tarrant County, Texas. Her second son, Samuel C., left Marion County in late 1849 or early 1850 with his bride, Polly Majors, her Family, and a large number of other Marion County residents. In 1878 her fifth child, William, also moved his family to Tarrant Count, Texas. Joseph Cowan also moved there.

Alice Cowan Lewis wrote that her grandmother used to come for several weeks at a time to stay with them. She wore a black lace cap in the daytime, that was the custom of older ladies at that time. She wore a woolen shawl about a yard wide folded in a triangle around her shoulders. She smoked a clay pipe, and Alice recalled that many times she had taken coal out of the fireplace to light her grandmother's pipe. Alice remembered that her grandmother never helped with any of the work, but she was not ill any way.

Alice Lewis wrote that her grandmother was of French extraction and was about 5ft. 3in. tall with black eyes and dark, curly hair. Alice remembered that her grandmother's hair was not gray when she knew her. She had a dark complexion. Alice believed that she had inherited her coloring from Cynthia Morgan Cowan. Some reports list her as a descendant of General Daniel Morgan, others as a descendant of General Henry Morgan. At this time nothing more is known about her ancestry.

1880 census she was living with son Benjamin age 38 who was farming, his wife Manervy 35, their daughters. Cyntha age 17 and Easter age 10, and sons William age 15, Joseph age 13, John S age 7 and Virgel B. age 3. She was 73 and born in OH. ( this is not correct all other census said she was born in Tennessee)

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