Notes |
- We do not know the exact year of Hugh Cowan's birth; it was in or near 1700.
Mrs. Evelyn King Sheets From Her Genealogical Records:
"Hugh Cowan, a native of Newry, County Down, Ireland, emigrated to America between 1717 and 1720 with three brothers, David, William, and John."
Robert W. Ramsey's "Carolina Cradle, p.18:
"The Cowans, who were in Pennsylvania as early as 1721, resided in the West Caln-Salisbury District, on the border between Chester and Lancaster Counties."
"When Hugh Cowan married, the log structure was in readiness for residence. His first wife was Ann Mathias who was born in 1701. Since the Scotch-Irish had not begun settling in Pennsylvania that early, it can be assumed that she, too, was born in one of the Ulster counties. Many years ago an interesting statement concerning the marriage of Hugh Cowan to Ann Mathias was made by one of their descendants, to wit, 'Hugh Cowan and Ann Mathias, were married January 20, in the year of our Lord 1723, and he brought her home on the first day of February'."
Hugh's son, "Mathias Cowan was mentioned in his father's will. Since his name was Mathias, Hugh Cowan's first wife's maiden name - that he was their son and she, possibly died in childbirth."
".....there have been preserved a few glimpses into his religious life, and these show that he zealously participated with other religious leaders in the establishment of an excellent order of Christian faith in that part of his County.
"Presbyterianism came into Pennsylvania with the arrival of the Scotch-Irish; however, it did not gain in strength until churches were organized. Among the first Presbyterian Churches to be established in Pennsylvania were Fagg's Manor, New London, and Upper Octorara."
"Upper Octorara, the second oldest Church in Chester County was organized in the Fall of 1720 by Scotch-Irish emigrants from Northern Ireland who were among the first settlers in this part of Pennsylvania."
"Hugh Cowan was vitally associated with the early life of this Church. Most likely he helped to bring about its organization in 1720. He was one of its earliest Elders."
SOURCES: "The Cowans From County Down" (Ireland), by John Kerr Fleming, printed by Derreth Printing Co., Raleigh, NC, Copyright 1971 by John K. Fleming. Purchased from Synod of North Carolina, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Raleigh, NC 27605.
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=cjhill&id=I02442
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