William Cowan

Maleabout 1784–1861

Brief Life History of William

When William Cowan was born about 1784, in Stirlingshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, his father, James Cowan, was 34 and his mother, Mary Gibson, was 33. He married Elizabeth Morison on 23 August 1808, in Stirlingshire, Scotland, United Kingdom. They were the parents of at least 1 daughter. He died in 1861, in Stirlingshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, at the age of 78.

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Family Time Line

William Cowan
1784–1861
Elizabeth Morison
1786–
Marriage: 23 August 1808
Helen Cowan
1812–

Sources (4)

  • William Cowan, "Scotland Census, 1851"
  • William Cowan, "Scotland Census, 1841"
  • 1851 Scotland Census

Spouse and Children

  • Marriage
    23 August 1808Stirlingshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
  • Children (1)

    Parents and Siblings

    Siblings (5)

    World Events (7)

    1802 · John Playfair publishes summary of James Hutton's theories of geology.

    Age 18

    In 1802, John Playfair published the Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth. His influence was by James Hutton’s knowledge of the earth’s geology.

    1811 · The Tron Riot

    Age 27

    The Tron riot was a riot which occurred in Edinburgh, Scotland on New Year's Eve. A group of young men attacked and robbed wealthier passers-by. One police officer was killed in the riot. Though the total count of participants is unknown, sixty-eight youths were arrested, with five sentenced to death for their actions during the riot.

    1815

    Age 31

    The defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo marks the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon defeated and exiled to St. Helena.

    Name Meaning

    Scottish and Manx: shortened form of McOwen and McKeown . See also McEwen .

    Sottish and Manx: from a shortened form of Irish Ó Comhdhain and Mac Comhdhain ‘descendant or son of Comhdan’ or Gaelic Mac Comhghain ‘son of Comhghan (‘the twin’). Pronounced to rhyme with Owen, the name sometimes appears as Coan and Cohen in Down, and has been used interchangeably with Irish Coyne in Connacht and McIlhone in Tyrone. In the Isle of Man the name is pronounced /'kauən/ (with Cow- as in English cow).

    Scottish and Manx: sometimes a variant of Colquhoun , pronounced Cohoon in Scotland and Cahoon in Ulster.

    Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.

    Possible Related Names

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