Ayrshire McCowans
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Acknowledge-
ments

Cumnock and the Lowland Clearances
Translating Family Data into Knowledge

With respect to our research in Cumnock, Scotland,
we are very pleased to acknowledge
the generous assistance of
The Most Honourable, The Late Marquess of Bute, 
his archivists, volunteers with the
Ayrshire Archaeological and Natural History Society,
staff at the Carnegie Library in Ayr and the
Cumnock and Doon Valley District Library 
and Mr. R.D. Hunter M.B.E.,
long-time Town Clerk of Cumnock.

The McCowans of Ayrshire

The raw data on this page and on "The Industrial Age" and "Coalminers" is useful raw input information for the Essay Contest -- "Your Community in a World History Context". Be sure to refer also to "To Sustene The Personis: The Agricultural Revolution" for some details of the period 1600 to 1800 and the dramatic changes that affected the McCowans and many of their neighbours.

The McCowan name in Cumnock, Ayrshire, goes back to at least 1515 when William McCowane was "confusedly apprehended". His ancestors had migrated the dozen or so miles from the Kirkconnel area, adjacent to New Cumnock Parish, but in the Dumfriesshire part of the upper Nith valley. Legend holds that Robert the Bruce had a company of Kirkconnel area McCowans during the Wars of Independence. At this early period, over 400 years ago, the name was commonly seen in the records in variations of McGachan. Some of this old clan who arrived in Cumnock chose to not partially anglicize the name to McCowan -- John McGeachan was one of the Cumnock Covenanting martyrs, killed in an ambush in 1688. Other variations of the name here are McGavin, McGawn, and McGowan, all relatively common in central Ayrshire. Still later, some Cumnock-based McCowans further anglicized their surname to Cowan. There must be many such name-change cases, most of which are likely undocumented and rather untraceable. In some situations, the clerk who took names did not take the time to obtain a correct spelling -- if there was one. For instance, Hugh Mackrowan, in Craigs, New Cumnock, subscribed to "A Body of Practical Divinity" in 1741 -- he could have been one of the McCowans in the New Cumnock area at the time (or perhaps he was a McCrone).

The majority (perhaps 80%) of these Ayrshire McCowan vital statistics (below) were copied from the original Parish Registers in Edinburgh in 1974 and in 1979. Other bits were obtained in the early 1980s from the Church of Latter Day Saints microfilms of some of the Parish registers.  Several family bibles and various other sources provided additional information. A very small handful of  items were obtained on the internet from various persons.

Where Did They Go -- What Did They Do?
And Much More in
The McCowans of Cumnock, Lesmahagow and Scarborough

The Tenant Farmers
1700-1759

Through the first half of the eighteenth century, the McCowans seemed to be among the dominant tenants on the farms of the Earl of Dumfries that were immediately southwest of the village of Cumnock.

McCowan Marriages
In the Ayrshire Parishes of
Ochiltree (Och), Auchinleck (Au),
Coylton (Co), Dalrymple (Da), Mauchline (Ma)

Note: Marriages were not as routinely recorded during this period as we would have hoped. The marriage records for Old Cumnock start in about 1758 (see "Tenants in Transition" section). Marriage records for New Cumnock are not extant for the 18th century.

McCowan Births
In the East-Central Ayrshire Parishes of
Old Cumnock (OC), New Cumnock (NC)
Ochiltree (Och), Auchinleck (Au), Sorn (So), Mauchline (Ma)

Note: Old Cumnock is the Parish of registration unless otherwise indicated. In some cases, the family seems to have actually lived in Old Cumnock, but the mother had presumably been from, eg, Ochiltree, so the baptism was conducted by the Ochiltree Minister.

Note:
In the Old Cumnock baptism registers, the records for the periods 1707 to 1723 and 1747 to 1750 are missing.

The Scarboro Heights Record V11 #12
The McCowans' Who's Who, Vol. 12

 
The Labourers, Wrights and Carriers
Tenants in Transition
1760-1790

We have met with five McCowans who tenanted two or more neighbouring farms concurrently -- Robert McCowan in 1702, William McOwan in 1713, David McCowan in 1728, Hew McCowan in 1742 and Andrew McCowan in 1751. There could, in fact, have been half a dozen or so other Cumnock McCowans in the category of "comfortable tenant farmer" during the first half of the eighteenth century, just prior to the turmoil of the agricultural revolution.

Over the previous centuries, however, younger sons had been left out of the traditional tenancy transfer pattern. Consequently, the precise occupations and social positions of almost two dozen other adult male McCowans in the Cumnock / Ochiltree area, 1700 to 1760, are not known as yet. About half of these lived on farms southwest of the village of Cumnock and within two miles of Dumfries House -- Whitehill, Changue, Leifnorries, Hill, Orchardton, Bartoun, Clattyhouse of Auchinway, Glengyron, Barmilkhill, Barshear, Cairn, Watston, Little Auchingilne (or Auchingilsie). It is probably safe to assume that many of these McCowans were agricultural labourers or cottars. Some of them would end their days elsewhere.

Beginning in the mid 18th century, Lord Dumfries began to consolidate small farms into larger ones -- farming opportunities for the next generation further decreased. Lord Dumfries wrote in 1784:  "I found that yearly a number of my farmers sons go to Glasgow Paisley & c to acquire trades. If that could be done nearer home it would be more comfortable to the poor people". This period of agricultural revolution, 1760-1790, is characterized by "looking for options".  Several Cumnock McCowans became Carriers during this period. Carriers were key because regional transportation of coal, manufactured goods and information was becoming critical to prosperity. Even though the McCowan name virtually disappeared from Cumnock before 1900, at least one relatively recent Cumnock emigrant to Canada somehow knew that McCowans had been renowned carriers in Cumnock (from a conversation in about 1980).

McCowan Marriages
In the East-Central Ayrshire Parishes of
Old Cumnock (OC), New Cumnock (NC)
Ochiltree (Och), Auchinleck (Au)

Note: Old Cumnock is the Parish of registration unless otherwise indicated. The marriage records for Old Cumnock start in about 1758.

McCowan Births
In the East-Central Ayrshire Parishes of
Old Cumnock (OC), New Cumnock (NC)
Ochiltree (Och), Auchinleck (Au), Stair (Sta), Mauchline (Ma)

Note: Old Cumnock is the Parish of registration unless otherwise indicated.

The Scarboro Heights Record V11 #11
The McCowans' Who's Who, Vol. 11

The Weavers
1791-1840

The first half of this period was the golden age of hand loom weaving. A curious parallel exists... weaving then was the short-lived word-processing cottage business of the 1980s and, in some ways perhaps, the html coding industry of the 1990s. Young men were attracted to weaving at least partly by the significant wages offered by the agents from the cities.

McCowan Marriages
In the East-Central Ayrshire Parishes of
Old Cumnock (OC), New Cumnock (NC)
Ochiltree (Och), Auchinleck (Au)

Note: Old Cumnock is the Parish of registration unless otherwise indicated.

McCowan Births
In the East-Central Ayrshire Parishes of
Old Cumnock (OC), New Cumnock (NC)
Ochiltree (Och), Auchinleck (Au)

Note: Old Cumnock is the Parish of registration unless otherwise indicated.

The Scarboro Heights Record, V11 #10
The McCowans' Who's Who, Vol. 10

The Last Farmer
1841-1900

John McCowan, Lowes Muir, may have been the last McCowan to farm in Cumnock.  Rev. Warrick cites the "auction marts" as a major contributing factor in the disappearance of cattle and horse sales from the Cumnock fairs. On June 28, 1866, a "Notice" appeared in a local paper:

Mr. John McCowan, Auctioneer, Cumnock, begs respectfully to announce that he intends to open an AUCTION MART here, for the sale of Fat Stock, Sheep, Horses, Implements, Furniture, & c. & c., and that at the request of a number of influential Farmers, Dealers, & c., he will continue the Sales every Fortnight until further notice...

As an auctioneer, McCowan was "very popular and very successful, and by his jokes (always pointed, if not the most polished) he never failed to keep his audience in the best of humour". He was still active in his auction business until the year of his death in 1884 at the age of 73. Presumably, his success contributed to the eventual disappearance of cattle and horse sales at the Cumnock fairs. (See Fairs and Frolics: Scottish Communities at Work and Play.)

For a variety of reasons, by 1900 the McCowan surname had virtually disappeared from Old Cumnock Parish. From conversations with him, the late Mr. R.D. Hunter, M.B.E., Town Clerk of Cumnock, 1941-75, was clearly proud to be descended from the McCowans of Cumnock.

McCowan Marriages
In the East-Central Ayrshire Parishes of
Old Cumnock (OC), New Cumnock (NC)
Ochiltree (Och), Auchinleck (Au)

Note: Old Cumnock is the Parish of registration unless otherwise indicated.

McCowan Births
In the East-Central Ayrshire Parishes of
Old Cumnock (OC), New Cumnock (NC)
Ochiltree (Och), Auchinleck (Au)

Note: Old Cumnock is the Parish of registration unless otherwise indicated.

Robert was the last McCowan to enter the world in the family's ancestral Parish of Old Cumnock.

The Scarboro Heights Record V11 #9
The McCowans' Who's Who, Vol. 9

See also:

• The Millwrights of Renfrewshire -- Engineers of the Industrial Revolution
• The Coalminers of Lanarkshire
• The Capitalists, Entrepreneurs and Professionals
• Back to the Land -- Farmers in Canada
  

Where Did They Go, What Did They Do?
And Much More in
The McCowans of Cumnock, Lesmahagow and Scarborough

Archibald_McCowan_1791_74:
Writer (lawyer) and  Inspector of the Poor in Cumnock. Died in Cumnock in 1866.

Archibald_McCowan_1823_317:
Farm manager, Brickfield, Cumnock in 1851.

David_McCowan_ca1700:
One of several progressive farmers who tenanted adjacent holdings decades before the landlord ever thought of consolidating farms. It was probably his father who was interviewed by an agent for Lord Dumfries regarding coal working near Glengyron in 1745. (The tenant could have been the father.)

David_McCowan_1775_513:
Mason, living near Paisley, Renfrewshire, by 1800. Probably employed in building the factories of the industrial revolution, as were his McCowan cousins, the millwrights, in nearby Neilston. Emigrated to Trinidad, Dec. 1800. Married Sarah Thomas Packwood. Importer of goods from Britain. An architect in later years, quoting on public buildings. At least two sons: Robert Thomas McCowan and James Anderson McCowan.

David_McCowan_1787_1011:
Infant mortality among weaving families appears to have been high. David and Margaret McCowan's four eldest died young -- all buried in Old Cumnock with the parents. David died Feb 18 1849.

David_McCowan_1826_217:
Highly successful in the new capitalist economy. Philanthropist and Marine Insurance Broker. Married Margaret Walker and died in 1908.

Elizabeth McCowan_1805_85:
This daughter of a weaver was destined to marry a weaver, Robert Moodie. Their daughter, Agnes, married Alex Morton, pitheadsman at a mine in Lesmahagow, in 1859. She was possibly (though not proven) the mother of John Moodie who was in possession of a 1796 weaving apprentice indenture in 1899.

George_McCowan_ca1710:
Probably unsuccessful in renewing the lease of Little Changue farm in Cumnock, 1773.

George McCowan_1754_512:
Although not yet proven, he is believed to be the father of George McCowan, Surgeon to His Majesty's Police of Calcutta, and grandfather of two other medical doctors, Francis da Cruz McCowan and Alexander George McCowan. (If true, then his wife was Margaret Rae.)

George_Richmond_McCowan_1797_418:
Weaver. Two infant children of his wife, Isabella Watson, died young. Isabella was a widow in Ochiltree by 1841.

Hugh McCowan_ca1730:
Quite probably born in Old Cumnock. A Hugh McCowan was buried in Mauchline in December 1767. The  testament of Hugh McCowan, wright in Mauchline was registered in the Commissariot of Glasgow in 1769. A John McCowan was buried in Mauchline in 1766.

Hugh_McCowan_1777_420:
Died 1856, millwright; married twice (Ann McVey; Agnes McGarragh); moved to Neilston, Renfrewshire, by 1808.

Hugh_McCowan_1786_87:
Mason and "Master Builder". Died in Old Cumnock in 1863. Married twice: Margaret Sloan and Jane Thom.

Hugh_McCowan_1815_87:
Died 1863; Banker in Ayr; Married twice (Agnes Crook; Joanna McCall); Father of Sir David McCowan, Baronet, Insurance Executive.

James_McCowan_1773_913:
Died 1834 in Scarborough, Upper Canada. This entrepreneur moved to Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, and became Coalmaster of the Auchanbeg Coalworks. Married Margaret Porteous and emigrated to Scarborough, Upper Canada, in 1833.

James_McCowan_1780_117:
Ploughman for a time. Died 1834 in Neilston, Renfrewshire; 2 of 3 sons raised families in Greenock

James_McCowan_1819_426:
Died 1839 in South Australia

Jane McCowan_ca1750:
Strong supporter of the Secession Church and great-great-great grandmother of John McCrae, author of In Flanders' Fields.

Janet McCowan_1781_316:
Married John Purdie and lived at Auchinbeg, Lesmahagow, until about 1818 when her brother, James, lost the lease of the Coalworks. John was one of the colliers. It is believed that their son, William Purdie, became the renowned botanist in Trinidad, perhaps invited there by Janet's brother, David McCowan .

Janet_McCowan_1820_318:
Died 1866. Moved to Auchenheath, Lesmahagow, with her husband, George Blythe, blacksmith, probably in connection with the coalmines.

John_McCowan_ca1700:
Died before 1758. Held 19 year lease on Hill of Leifnorries signed in 1754. This farm had been tenanted by his ancestors' since the very early 17th century.

John_McCowan_1743_52:
The last McCowan tenant of Hill of Leifnories. Became a Carrier in Cumnock by 1789. Died in Cumnock July 7 1812.

John_McCowan_1760_127:
Believed to have married Ann Wallace and farmed in Auchinleck immediately north of Cumnock.

John_McCowan_1777_714:
Coalminer at Auchinbeg until about 1818, when his brother, James, lost the lease. Married Janet Cunningham. Their son James was a master shoemaker in Hamilton. Another son William was a "gold digger", apparently in Africa, and later a "colliery overseer" near Paisley.

John_McCowan_1810_1122:
Died 1860 in Glasgow, Factory Clerk, Married Margaret Morton in 1832;  11 children including Hugh (plumber, b 1838 appr); Alex (printer, b 1842 appr,  marr. Mary Paul, emig to Australia);  James (Engine Fitter, b 1843 appr,  marr. Mary Shearer); Walter (mechanic, b 1845, marr Margaret Anderson) and David Young (mechanic, b 1850, marr Jessie Hume and emig to New Zealand 1874)

John_McCowan_1810_1116:
One of the last McCowan farmers in the Cumnock area. Later an inn keeper and auctioneer. Cumnock's second Chief Magistrate (Provost) of the Police Burgh, 1878-1881. Died in Cumnock Sept. 25 1884. A son, James, died in West Africa.

John_McCowan_1827_1_26:
Machinist in Greenock. Married Janet Hunter in Neilston, Renfewshire, and later married Margaret Arthur. Died in 1895. His second son, John (b 1867; who had sons John and Arthur) was killed by a boiler explosion in 1916.  His eldest son, James (b 1856) and his wife Elizabeth Campbell Handyside (marr 1877), had a large family in Greenock -- John, Robert H., William, Alexander, Thomas, James Shier and 3 daughters including Janet Hunter.

Margaret McCowan_1784_413:
This daughter of a pan man in the acclaimed Cumnock Pottery married Andrew Alexander, tailor, and lived to the age of 90, dying in Ayr.

Robert_McCowan_ca1670:
One of several progressive farmers who tenanted adjacent holdings decades before the landlord ever thought of consolidating farms.

Robert_McCowan_1782_1025:
Millwright. Married Jean Bryce; first 4 children (John, Margaret, Archibald, Janet) born in New Kilpatrick. Later lived in Neilston Parish near McCowan cousins where they had at least 7 more children. Great-great grandfather of the Late Sir Anthony McCowan.

Robert_McCowan_1821_3_7:
Died 1880, Stockbroker and Chartered Accountant in Glasgow: Married twice (Christina Murdoch Graham and Elizabeth Jamieson); son Robert William also an Accountant and Stockbroker.

Robert_McCowan_1853_63:
Banker in Strathaven, Lanarkshire: "During his years of activity he took a special interest in the agricultural affairs of the district, being recognised as a friend of the farmers in all their business affairs, and it was largely due to his energy that the district cattle show attained its poularity."

Robert_Thomas_McCowan_1809:
Eldest son of David McCowan and Sarah Packwood, born in Trinidad. A military surgeon,  medical doctor and onculist, he returned to the McCowan ancestral Parish of Cumnock and was one of the heroes in stemming the cholera outbreak of the late 1840s. A family story is that this dark complexioned "ship's doctor" once visited his McCowan cousins in Scarborough, Canada. His wife, Jessie Thomas Miller, was born in Montreal.

William_McCowan_ca1670:
Appointed elder in Old Cumnock Parish church 1712. In 1716, he was evidently somewhat central in the serious controversy over the political "Oath of Abjuration", during which period the Lord's Supper was not celebrated in the Parish. William was one of several progressive farmers who tenanted adjacent holdings decades before the landlord ever thought of consolidating farms.

William_McCowan_1735_1010:
Carrier between Ayr and Cumnock. Had many accounts with the Earl of Dumfries during the 1760s. To no small extent, carriers like William McCowan brought rural communities into regional trading patterns, enhancing opportunities for local economic growth and improving the diet and health of the populace.

William_McCowan_1765_214:
Moved to Neilston, Renfrewshire by about 1799. Married Mary Gray.

William_McCowan_1778_15:
Eventually owned real property in Cumnock. Farmer and Carrier. Died Nov 11 1839 in Cumnock.

William McCowan_1779_82:
Moved to Lesmahagow with his brothers and 2 sisters. Still a collier at Auchinbeg Coalworks 1836 -- the Coalmaster was now "Killie Scott". Two of Williams letters, 1836 and 1837, were saved by his nephews in Scarborough and are counted among the family treasures.

William McCowan_1784_94:
Labourer. Married Agnes Alexander. After leaving Templand, Auchinleck, they lived for some years in East Kilbride and in Eaglesham.  Daughters include Ann (b 1812), Margaret (b 1820), Elizabeth (b 1825) and sons John (b 1815) and George (b 1822). William died in Cathcart in 1864.

William_McCowan_1817_531:
Farmer, Capon Acre, Cumnock, 1851. Though not proven, he could have gone to Argus, Australia, via the Waverley in 1853 and died Oct 2 1873 at 55 years.

William_McCowan_1838_417:
"Iron Master". Died 1900. Successful executive industrialist in Whitehaven, Cumberland, England. Early career experience in Ricarton and Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Married Mary Jane Brown. Eldest son, James Crichton McCowan, was Factor and Agent to the Marquis of Salisbury. Second son, John Marshall Bunten McCowan, was a barrister in London.