Researching John Cowan
Investigate the background of John Cowan using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
![]() | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 6108 people with the Cowan surname? In that year Cowan was ranked number 687 for popularity in the UK. |

The name John means "God is gracious" and is of Hebrew origin.
Records of John Cowan on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of John Cowan in your family tree. Many large databases are available to search covering from births, deaths and marriages, military records, census records and immigration records with many other smaller collections too. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for John Cowan. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for John Cowan. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for John Cowan. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for John Cowan. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for John Cowan. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. If you are lucky then you may find some previously undiscovered Cowan ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Cowan Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for John Cowan and the Cowan Family History
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Cowan Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources listed below it will be possible to locate a birth record and, from that record, a birth certificate may be obtainable which is likely to list the names of the parents, therefore taking you back another generation. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Cowan family tree.
Explore Parish Records for John Cowan at Find My Past.
Search for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of John Cowan using the FreeBMD database.
Look at Genealogy Bank for John Cowan records.
Investigate MyHeritage for John Cowan information.
Look at the LDS Database for records about John Cowan.
Research the Cowan surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Cowan Military records.
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 10542 people with the Cowan surname in the UK? Cowan is now ranked number 547 for popularity in the UK. |
Cowan Family History Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Search the WikiTree database for user contributed records for John Cowan.
Study MyTrees for information on the Cowan family and people looking to contact living Cowan relations.
Explore One Great Family for Cowan records submitted by people who are already researching the Cowan Family Tree.
Find John Cowan from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Cowan Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Cowan surname using Genealogy.com forums .
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 36459 people with the Cowan surname in the USA? Cowan is ranked number 145 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Cowan Databases
Check out the Ellis Island Database for information on John Cowan. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called John Cowan
John Cowan (sheriff)
Sir John Cowan (1774–1842) was a prosperous London chandler and Lord Mayor of London.
An alderman of Broad St Ward from 1831, he was also appointed Sheriff of the City of London for 1831 and elected Lord Mayor for 1837–38. In his year as Lord Mayor he hosted a visit of Queen Victoria to London and was made a baronet on 9 November 1837 in thanks.
He married Sophia, the daughter of James Mullett; they had no children. He died at his home in Forest Hill, south London on 22 October 1842, aged 68, and was buried in the catacombs of West Norwood Cemetery.
Source: John Cowan (sheriff), Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaJohn Cowan (Newfoundland politician)
John Cowan (November 12, 1847 – after 1900) was a businessman and politician in Newfoundland. He represented Bonavista in the Newfoundland House of Assembly from 1897 to 1900 as a Conservative.
He was born in St. John's and was educated at the General Protestant Academy. He first worked as a draper, later working as a bookkeeper for several firms. He became manager at J. & W. Stewart's; when that company ceased to operate in Newfoundland, Cowan took over the business.
Cowan was a prominent member of the local freemason lodge. He married Eliza Julia Earle.
Source: John Cowan (Newfoundland politician), Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Cowan
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Caen Caghan Cagney Cahan Cahani Cahen Cahn Cahoon Cahoone Caime Caimi Cain Caine Cainey Cam Cambeau Cambo Camboia Came Camey Camm Camou Camuy Cana Cane Caneo Caney Cann Canna Cannaway Canney Cannoy Canny Cano Canoy Caughan Caughen Caumo Cayen Caynhooe Ceney Chaigne Chaim Chain Chainey Cham Chamney Chan Chaney Chaugham Cheaney Cheeney Cheine Chen Chenay Chenaye Chene Cheney Cheyenne Cheyne Cheyney Chiene Chin China Chine Chinn Chiono Choma Chowen Chown Chowne Chumney Chuney Chunn Chwenn Ciani Cianni Cigno Cima Cina Cino Cioni Coan Coen Cohan Cohane Cohani Cohen Cohn Com Comb Combe Combi Comboy Comby Come Comeau Comee Comi Commo Como Con Cona Conaghy Conahy Conaway Cone Coneau Conew Coney Conmee Conn Connah Connaway Conneau Connew Connow Connue Conway Cooknoe Coom Coomb Coombe Coome Coomo Coon Cooney Couen Coughan Coumbe Couwehowen Cowen Cowham Cowin Cowmbe Cown Cowne Coyne Cuen Cuene Cueni Cuiney Cumbe Cumbee Cumbie Cumbo Cumby Cumm Cumo Cunah Cuneio Cuneo Cunha Cunio Cunnah Cunney Cunnow Cunow Cuny Cuomo Cynowa Czene Tchayan





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