I recently visited the Pequa Valley of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. David Cowan emigrated here from Scotland about 1720. He was the father of what is usually termed the “4 brothers immigrant group,” or the “1720 immigrant group” among Cowan researchers. Up until earlier this year, these Cowan were erroneously lumped together with the Hugh Cowan family of neighboring Chester County. There were 4 known brothers, but they did not include Hugh, as DNA evidence confirms. The known brothers were Henry, John, David and William. I have taken to calling them the “Pequa Valley Cowans,” to head-off any confusion that may linger from the earlier designations.

These early Cowans were members of St. John’s Episcopal Church, founded in 1729, and a number are buried in the adjoining cemetery. Technically, this church and cemetery is in West Caln Township, Chester County, PA. One could toss a rock into Lancaster County from the cemetery fence. Most of the early families lived to the west, in the Pequa Valley of Salisbury Township, Lancaster County, but that still doesn’t change the fact that the church and cemetery are located in Chester County.

The Cowan plot is in the very oldest portion of the cemetery, surrounded by the graves of their early neighbors: the Skiles, the Darlingtons, the Douglasses, the Lytles. There are only 5 remaining marked Cowan family graves in this section, as follows:

Olevia Cowan Fleming, 21 September 1807-19 March 1895
(daughter of William and Mary Rutter Cowan)

William Cowan, no dates
(son of Thomas Cowan and Susannah Cowan)

Mary Rutter Cowan, no dates
(wife of William Cowan)

George Cowan, 1762-21 February 1799
(son of Thomas Cowan and Susannah Cowan)

Susannah Cowan Cowan Connell, 20 March 1744-19 March 1829
(daughter of William Cowan and Susannah Fleming, wife of cousin Thomas Cowan, wife of Philip Connell—tombstone simply says “Susan Cowan)

There is a long empty row to the north of these 5 graves. Here undoubtedly lie the graves of those Cowans whose markers have been lost through the years. These would certainly include:

David Cowan, the immigrant
Henry Cowan, immigrant
John Cowan, immigrant, d. 1760
Elizabeth Cowan, his wife, d. 1777
Thomas Cowan, their son, d. 1770
John Cowan, son of Thomas and Susannah Cowan, d. 1771
David Cowan, immigrant, d. 1757
Mary Fleming Cowan, his wife
Robert Cowan, son of David and Mary Fleming Cowan
Henry Cowan, son of David and Mary Fleming Cowan, d. 1760
David Cowan, son of David and Mary Fleming Cowan, d. 1785

There would undoubtedly be others. I visited with a member of the cemetery committee at St. John’s and we discussed erecting a single marker in the old Cowan plot in memory of these Cowans. If anyone is interested in this project, please contact me.


Other Cowans buried outside the old family plot in St. John’s include:

Rebecca Cowan Clemson, 30 September 1796-14 February 1890
(daughter of William Cowan and Mary Rutter)

Davis Clemson, 15 October 1787-29 November 1871
(husband of Rebecca Cowan)

James Clemson, 12 July 1822-12 April 1891
(son of Davis Clemson and Rebecca Cowan)

Mary Ann Fleming, 06 April 1821-27 December 1914
(daughter of Davis Clemson and Rebecca Cowan)

Susan Rebecca Clemson, 11 August 1835-4 January 1910
(daughter of Davis Clemson and Rebecca Cowan)

Harry H. Clemson, 1858-1902
(son of Davis Clemson, Jr.)

Anna L. Clemson, 1864-1899
(wife of Harry H. Clemson)

There are undoubtedly others whose married names I do not yet know.

In 1819, a new parish was founded about 6 ½ miles west of St. John’s Episcopal Church. This was Christ Episcopal Church. This church was actually much closer to the old Cowan property, and some of the remaining family members in the area transferred to that congregation. Cowan family members buried in the Christ Episcopal Church Cemetery include:

Joseph C. Cowan, 1814-27 October 1842
(son of William Cowan and Mary Rutter Cowan)

Nathaniel Rutter Cowan, 1808-26 March 1833
(son of William Cowan and Mary Rutter Cowan)

Thomas Cowan, 1812-March 1837
(son of William Cowan and Mary Rutter Cowan)

James Fleming, 1804-24 January 1844
(husband of Olevia Cowan who is buried at St. John’s)

Nathaniel Rutter, d. November 1844 (?)
(husband of Ann Cowan)

Ann Cowan Rutter, ca. 1766-16 May 1842
(daughter of Thomas Cowan and Susannah Cowan, wife of Nathaniel Rutter)

Note: There are many Rutters buried in this cemetery, some in close proximity to Nathaniel and Ann. Some are undoubtedly children of this couple, including perhaps, James Rutter, 24 June 1792-1 June 1828, and Anderson Rutter, 1796-2 September 1851.

Terry J. Cowan
23 June 2009