Duncan Cowan (1771 - 1848)

Born 28 Mar 1771 in South Leith, Midlothian, Scotland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 24 Nov 1848 at age 77 in Edinburgh

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Greg Webber [send private message]

Biography

Duncan was born in 1771. He was the son of Charles Cowan. He passed away in 1848.

"Duncan Cowan was partnership with his father in the tea and paper business carried on in Moray House, in which his brother Alexander joined him later. His wife died in Moray House, 1/1/1824 (probably buried in Canongate Churchyard, Canongate, as also he). He occupied Moray House after his father's death in 1805 till 1828 when he removed to 8 St. John Street, remaining there till 1835, while he entered 1 Carlton Terrace, where he died.

"One of his great interests in Carlton Terrace was planning and laying out the gardens on the Calton Hill.

"He was Merchant Councillor in 1809, and Captian of the Orange Colours-his medal hangs among the others on the Trained Bands Snuff Mull in the Municipal Museam. The crest on it is not the usual escallop but a naked sword between two olive sprays; the motto, "Pacisque bonus bellique minister." Neigher crest nor motto occurs in Fairbairn,

"In 1814 the was Old Bailie and Admimiral of Leith. He was a member of the Pitt Club. Sir Walter Scott alludes to him in the introductory epistle to The Fortunes of Nigel (xxxvii., First Edition, 1822), as "Honest Duncan the paper manufacturer." Sir Walter dined with him in Moray House in the summer of 1816 to meet Joseph Pitcairn, husband of "Pamela," Lady Edward Fitzgerald, American C(Council) at Hamburg, who had been very helpful to Sir Walter in giving him valuable foreign information, not otherwise obtainable (see Charles Cowan, MP, Reminiscences, p.30l also Pitcairn Tree)."^[1]

• Fact: Christening (07 Apr 1771) , South Leith, Midlothian, Scotland
• Fact: Residence (1771) South Leith, Midlothian, Scotland
• Fact: Residence (1841) Leith, Midlothian, Scotland
• Fact: Burial (26 November 1848) Scotland, United Kingdom

Sources

1. ↑ Watson, Charles B. B. “Supplement to 'Alexander Cowan of Moray House and Valleyfield (Founder of A. Cowan & Sons), His Kinsfolk and Connections;” FamilySearch. Accessed October 19, 2020. https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/419176-supplement-to-alexander-cowan-of-moray-house-and-valleyfield-founder-of-a-cowan-sons-his-kinsfolk-and-connections?viewer=1.

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 29 April 2020, 23:07), entry for Duncan Cowan(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:MVGN-7KV); contributed by various users.
• Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950
• Scotland, Select Marriages, 1561-1910
• https://ewh.org.uk/iconic-buildings-and-monuments/moray-house/