Biography

John was born 9 Oct 1692 in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts to parents John Cowen and Deborah (Litchfield) Cowen. John married Sarah (Mitchell) Cowen on 25 March 1718, in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island. They had the following children:

1. Mary Cowen 1719–1756
2. Sarah Cowen 1721–1757
3. James Cowen 1722–1815
4. John Cowen IV 1724–1826
5. Joseph Cowen 1727–1801
6. Alice Cowen 1728–Deceased
7. Hannah Cowen 1732–1824
8. Benjamin Cowen 1734–Deceased

Sources

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 19 December 2019, 19:37), entry for John Cowen(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:G3BH-159); contributed by various users.
• Vital records of Scituate, Massachusetts, to the year 1850. (1909). Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, at the charge of the Eddy Town-Record Fund.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5NQ-V2Y : 10 December 2019), John Cowen, 1692.
• "Rhode Island Marriages, 1724-1916," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F8K5-KB2 : 11 February 2018), John Cowen and Sarah Mitchell, 25 Mar 1718; citing Providence,Providence,Rhode Island, reference ; FHL microfilm 914,406.

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Cowing-47 created through the import of oldweymouth families072011.GED on Jul 5, 2011 by Alyson X.

John Cowen, the husband of Sarah Mitchell Cowen is not the son of John Cowen II of Scituate, Massachusetts. We know this because of Y-DNA testing. Three of John's descendants have done Y-DNA testing at familytreeDNA including myself. We are haplogroup EM183 while the descendants of John Cowen I & II are haplogroup R. The mistake of confusing our John Cowen with the John Cowen from Scituate happened in the 1800's by some family members, probably Joseph Cowen, Jr or his descendants. It is noted in a biography of Esek Cowen (1787-1844) that he was a descendant of John Cowen I, so this is a very old mistake.

The following discussion involves various Cowen researchers including Natalie Cowan, whose husband Ronald took a Y-DNA test:

w: John Cowing of Provincetown and John Cowen of Providence Hide Details FROM: LEIGH COWING TO: Diane Stefane CC: Al Nute   Joe W. Cowing   Kathleen "Michaels" Peterson   Natalie Cowan   Message flagged Sunday, September 20, 2009 2:55 PM Hi Diane, Thanks for your through analysis and I for one would like a copy of the excerpt from the Arnold Collection.  I am not sure but I believe Natalie Cowan may be the only member of our group that is claiming the RI line.  I have not kept in touch with most of the old group because most never responded to anything I asked about.  However I am forwarding your analysis to Al, Kathleen, Joe and Natalie as they still do show an interest. Regards, Leigh  

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From: Jazz Babysixfive <jazzbaby65***********> To: LEIGH COWING <lecowing1**********> Sent: Sunday, September 20, 2009 11:50:37 AM Subject: John Cowing of Provincetown and John Cowen of Providence Hello, Leigh,

I trust you arrived home safely, and hope that the hurricane season is kind to you this year.  I've been receiving your emails re the two Johns and their spouses.  I know you have kept in touch with the old group, and will probably have the best idea of who is involved in this line and might be interested in the material.  Please forward it to the appropriate individuals, and encourage them to reach me at this yahoo address.

It's time for me to weigh in on the issue of the John Cowen/Cowings of the third generation.  Originally Chester and I agreed that Rachel Crowell could not be placed in our line because she could not have married either John(2) son of John and Rebecca or John Cowen of Providence, who married Sarah Mitchell.  I never questioned his assertion that John of Providence was our John(3), son of John and Deliverance/Sarah ?, and grandson of John and Rebecca.  This was Chester's direct line: mine is Joshua (3), John (2-1).  I have been looking into this line for the past week or so, and I believe the Providence/Smithfield line needs further consideration.

First, Al, your analysis showing that John of Providence and John of Provincetown could be the same person is masterly - I'd be proud to own the logic.  However, I can offer you the information you ask for in your last paragraph.  ref:  The Arnold Collection - Vital Record of Rhode Island 1636 - 1850 First Series  Births Marriages and Deaths  A Family Register for the People by James H Arnold V3 Smithfield Part VI  (Providence RI:  Naragansett Historical Publishing Company Inc.,  1892)   Page 96 lists the eight Cowen children "of John and Sarah" ( no mention of John and Rachel or children of John with mother not named) as follows:  Mary Feb 28 1719/20, d. 1720; Sarah May 22 1721; John Jan _ 1724/25; James Feb 19 1725/6;Joseph May 1 1727; Alice Feb 28 1728/9; Hannah Apr 25 1732; Benjamin Dec 14, 1734.  I think we have to accept the fact that John of Provincetown and John of Providence were two separate people, although it is easy to see how they could be confused given the similarity of the place names.  I can supply a copy of this record for your files if you want one.

Second, let's look at who Sarah Mitchell COULD NOT have married.  She could not have married John (2) of Scituate and Rochester.  He was married to Desire Hawes Hatch 1719-1723, was "of Cape Cod" in 1724 when he assumed adm. of Josiah Hatch's estate, was "of Rochester 5 Mar 1724/5 when he sold land, "of Provincetown 111 Sep 1727 when he sold land, and he was imprisoned for debt in Plymouth Gaol for the 8 months prior to Sep 1729.  He could not have fathered the first five of the eight children of John and Sarah Cowen in Smithfield RI.  She also could not have married John Cowing of Provincetown as his second wife.  John Cowing married Rachel Crowell 2 June 1726 at Yarmouth and had 3 children at Braintree between 1735 and 1740.  He could not have fathered the last 4 of the eight children of John and Sarah, who were born 1 May 1727 - 14 Dec 1734.

Third, which man was the son of our John(3)?  September 1729, General Session Court, Plymouth - The court ordered his (John 2's) children, "John Cowing of Provincetown, and Joshua, Caleb & Israel Cowing, all of Rochester, to show cause why they should not support their father."  Two secondary sources also show John of Provincetown as our John (3).  The History and Genealogy of the Families of Chesterfield p 107 gives a biographical sketch of the family of Prince (4) Cowing, son of John (3), John(2-1) and Rachel Crowell.  In her 1964 Cowen Genealogy, p 5, Louise Dana Cowan Breckenridge refers to a source which I have not personally seen.  "Genealogical Biographies of South East Massachusetts, on p. 1298, reports that John, son of John Cowen of Scituate married Rachel, daughter of John and Hannah Crowell of West Yarmouth, Massachusetts."  Ms. Breckinridge goes on to decide, as Chester and I did, that Rachel could not have married John 2 or John of Providence, who she states is our John 3, and disposes of Rachel as follows:  "If Rachel married a John Cowen, he may have been a descendant of Ephraim or James, brothers of the first John."  I could not locate any references to this manuscript online.  Is anyone familiar with Genealogical Biographies of South East Massachusetts?  If somone has access to it, I'd like to have a copy of the pertinent page or pages.

I have been through numerous papers that Chester Cowen gave me, and Ms. Breckinridge's manuscript seems to be his source for claiming John of Providence as John 3.  Her work is based on research left to her by her grandfather, Benjamin Rush Cowen and her father Benjamin Sprague Cowen, collected between 1876 and 1958.  Their research draws on family records going back to the Rhode Island family.  Joseph, son of John Cowen and Sarah Mitchell is her direct ancestor.  Her work is well written and cites her sources in the narrative.  It appears that based on an old Boston Transcript item, she subscribes to a three brother theory.  She opens her introduction with the following:  "In the first part of the 17th century Ephraim, James and John Cowen came from Scotland to Massachusetts (Transcript 30 April 1913, #3284).  She goes on to cite Deane's History of Scituate, and Leonard's  History of  Rochester and Mattapoisett as her sources for the first two Johns.  Apparantly, her source for connecting John of Providence to John of Scituate and Rochester is Deane's History of Scituate, in which  he discusses a "remarkable migration" of people from Scituate MA to Scituate and Newport RI in 1710.  John Cowen (husband of Sarah Mitchell) appears in Scituate RI in 1712 or 1713.  She does not mention any direct evidence that ties her John Cowen to the Scituate MA family.  Possibly the Boston Transcript item listed the John 3-2-1 pedigree, but it is doubtful.  She cites and gives direct quotes from her sources, and this item is only mentioned in the introduction.  She does not quote it in respect to John (3).

To those of you who are descendants of John Cowen and Sarah Mitchell, does anyone have any stronger evidence to link the Rhode Island family to the Scituate MA Cowens?  I think Chester and I had the cart before the horse.  It is not Rachel Crowell of Yarmouth who cannot be placed in our line, but John Cowen of Providence.  Until someone comes up with substantive evidence to the contrary, I will accept the Plymouth County General Sessions Court record of September 1729 as proof that John of Provincetown, who married Rachel Crowell, is the son of John of Scituate and Rochester, and grandson of John and Rebecca, and will change my database accordingly.  The next task will be to look at the Crowell pedigree.  I understand that there was some question as to whether Rachel's father, John Crowell was the son of John Jr. or of Yelverton Crowell.  I didn't get involved there, as I had already eliminated Rachel by the time that discussion arose.  I'd welcome anything at all on the Crowell ancestry.

Regards, Diane

From: LEIGH COWING <lecowing1***********> To: Kathleen Michaels Peterson <Katalina40*********>; Diane Stefane <jazzbaby65************>; Joe W. Cowing <jwcowing**********>; Natalie Cowan <rjcowan*********t> Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2009 7:18:20 PM Subject: Fw: Wait a minute!

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From: Alton J. Nute <ajnute**********> To: leigh cowing <lecowing1*********> Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2009 7:02:57 PM Subject: Wait a minute! Hi:     There is a way that the RI line can be the line of John(3) Cowing and he can still be of Provincetown and married to Rachel Crowell and have Prince & Reuben and satisfy all the dates.    This is the method chosen by George Leander Randall and apparently by Craig Cowen. It requires several moves RI-MA. It goes like this:             John(3) Cowing b.Oct.9,1692,Scituate,MA. Married at Providence,RI. March 25,1718, Sarah Mitchell, b. May 9,1690,Duxbury,MA.He was26 yrs and she was 28 yrs.They had children in Smithfield,RI.:                      1.Mary ,b. Feb. 28,1719                       2. Sarah ,b.May 22,1722                       3. James, b. Feb. 19, 1722                       4. John, b. Jan. 26, 1724/25   Then Sarah mustt have died. John(3) would have to have come to the Cape and married Rachel Crowell June 24,1728 ,Yarmouth,MA. She was b. Jan. 20 1703,Yarmouth,MA. He would have been 34 yrs. old and she 23 yrs. Where did 4 little kids stay while John(3) was in Yarmouth getting married? They then returned to Smithfield ,RI where they had about 10 months before Rachel  had:                        5. Joseph, b. May 1 1727                        6. Alice, b. Feb. 26, 1728   They then would have had to moved to Provincetown,MA. by Sept. 1729 for John(3) son of John(2) to be "of Provincetown" on the General Session Court Papers. They would then have to stayed in Provincetown after John(2) death ,apparently > Dec. 1729.  They were there Aug. 28,1731 and Apr. 1, 1732,because John(3) was "of Provincetown" in Maine Deeds.      They must have them moved back to Smithfield,RI. because they had children born there;                       7. Hannah, b. Apr. 25,1732                       8. Benjamin, b. Dec. 14, 1734       They then would have had to moved to Braintree,MA. because Rachel had children there:                       9. Prince, b. Aug. 26,1735                       10. Reuben Crowell, b.pt. Oct. 8, 1738                        11. Reuben, b. Apr. 17, 1740.      Rachel then died in Braintree,MA. on June 21, 1748.She was 45 yrs. old and John(3) was 56 yrs. Who took care of all the little kids? Did John(3) marry again?  Later he moved to Bridgewater,MA. where he died sometime around 1754 or 1760.      All the dates are possible with the deeds and court data,but there sure are lots of MOVES between RI and MA,with lots of young kids . But ,It is possible. A date for Sarah Mitchell's death would help matters,but if it is before 1726 it is no help. Only other way to explain mess is for some deed or document in Smithfield showing that John was married to Sarah Mitchel only or to Rachel Crowell 2nd.,or that the kids born in Smithfield,RI after 1726 and before 1735 were really Sarah's not Rachel's.     It sure sounds strange to me but I've heard stranger stories.    Take care,             Al