William Cowper (1778 - 1858)

Born 28 Dec 1778 in Whittington, Lancashire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Hannah (Horner) Cowper — married 11 Apr 1799 (to 1808) in Richmond, North Riding of Yorkshire, England

Husband of Ann (Barrell) Cowper — married 21 Jan 1809 in London, England

Husband of Harriette (Swaine) Cowper — married 1 Mar 1836 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 6 Jul 1858 at age 79 in Macquarie Place, Sydney, New South Wales (Australia)

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Biography

William Cowper is Notable.

William Cowper (pronounced Cooper) was born on 28th December 1778 at Whittington, Lancashire, England; the younger surviving son of yeoman farmer Samuel Cowper and his wife, Isabella nee Sedgwick. William was baptised on 20th June 1779 in St Michael the Archangel Church, Whittington. He was educated at the Sedburgh School at a time when the school was quite run-down and the school master lacked skills in Latin and other core subjects. He did, however, master mathematics and developed a keen interest in astronomy. At seventeen he became a tutor to the family of a clergyman of Northallerton, Yorkshire. Later, he became a clerk in the Royal Engineers' Department in Hull, Yorkshire.

William married Hannah Horner on 11th April 1799 in the Church of St Mary, Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. At the time, he was a Private in the 2nd North Yorkshire Militia. He was discharged on 5th December that year and moved to Drypool, near Hull, Yorkshire. William and Hannah had three sons and a daughter:

• Henry Cowper (1800-49)
• Thomas Cowper (1802-83)
• Mary Stephena (1805-), married surname Brooks
• Sir Charles Cowper (1807-75)

In this centre of evangelical revival William came under the influence of Rev. Thomas Dykes, founder and incumbent of St John the Evangelist Parish Church, Hull. After his conversion, objection to Sunday employment impelled William in the direction of ordination; deacon on 20th March 1808 in Winchester Cathedral and priest on 10th April 1808 in the the Church of St Andrew, Holborn. About that time, Reverend Samuel Marsden, in search of additional chaplains for the growing settlements of New South Wales, came to Cowper's parish and invited him to accept appointment. William was willing, and received a commission as an assistant chaplain to New South Wales at a salary of £260 per annum. His departure from England, however, was delayed by the tragic death in June of his 25 year-old wife after a very short illness.

William married for the second time, to Ann Barrell on 21st January 1809 in St Augustine's Church, Watling Street, London. William and Ann had one further son:

• Very Reverend William Macquarie Cowper (1810-1902)

William Cowper migrated from England to New South Wales.

A few weeks later they sailed on the Indispensable with his four children to New South Wales, arriving in August 1809^[1]. He took up duties as assistant chaplain and as minister of St Philip's Church, Sydney, where for the first ten years of his ministry, he was the only clergyman permanently in Sydney (Marsden, senior chaplain, was based at Parramatta).

The burden of Cowper's clerical and official duties took their toll. In 1812 he suffered from a form of rheumatic fever and his slow recovery marked the beginning of a life of constant ill health. The loss in 1831 of his second wife had also told on him.

On 1st March 1836 in St Phillip's Church he married Harriette Swain,^[2] to whom were born three further children:

• Elizabeth Cowper (1836-38)
• Sedgwick Spelman Cowper (1839-97)
• Isabella (1840-1918), married surname Morrison

In 1842, the formation of cataracts on both eyes compelled him to take leave and return to England for treatment. The address of farewell and appreciation presented to him on his departure from Sydney by his parishioners and the citizens of Sydney revealed the esteem in which he was held, and the gift that went with it paid all the expenses of his journey to England. The treatment of his eyes seems to have been entirely successful and, in 1848, he was able to return to his duties in New South Wales.

Cowper witnessed the growth of Sydney from the centre of a military coup, through the Macquarie Era, the age of pastoral development and the gold rushes. He worked closely with a total of seven governors from Macquarie to Denison (and the illegal military government at the time of his arrival). He also served in an era of regal change: from King George III, to George IV, to William IV, to Queen Victoria. Many of the institutions of the church such as The King's School and St Paul's College, owed much to Cowper's support and activity, but it was in the life of his parish and the daughter parishes that he founded that his main work was done.

Death and burial

Cowper passed away, aged 79 years, on 6th July 1858 at Macquarie Place, Sydney, New South Wales.^[3] He was given a state funeral and then buried in the Devonshire Street cemetery, Sydney. In 1901, as the Devonshire Street cemetery was being re-developed, his remains were re-interred in St Jude's Church Cemetery, Randwick, New South Wales. A memorial tablet, stating that 'He laboured with constancy and zeal for the salvation of his fellow men', has been placed in St Phillip's Church. The tribute would be all that William Cowper would have desired.