Rosanna Gillespy (1777-1857)

Vita

 * Born: 07 October 1777
 * Married: 23 August 1797 in Blount Co., TN by Gideon Blackburn, Presbyterian Minister
 * Died: 17 August 1857 in Pleasant Hill, Lowndes Co., AL
 * Burial: Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Pleasant Hill, Dallas Co., AL

Ancestry
Rosanna GILLESPY (GILLESPIE) is reportedly the daughter of James Gillespy “Sr.” and Elizabeth Finley ... and sister to James "Smoking Jimmy" Gillespy.

(Elizabeth (Finley) Gillespy’s parents were John Finley and Elizabeth Thankful Doak.)

Spouse(s)

 * John Alexander COWAN (1775 - 1821)

Child List

 * 1) Jane Walker COWAN	b: 25 Aug 1798 in Blount Co., TN	d: 1827
 * 2) Elizabeth Finley COWAN	b: 11 Jul 1800 in Blount Co., TN	d: 16 Dec 1884 in Waco, McLennan Co., TX m. Hezakiah George JOHNSON, Rev.	b: Abt. 1797 in SC	d: 14 Feb 1852 in TX
 * 3) James Gillespie COWAN	b: 27 Apr 1802 in Blount Co., TN	d: 13 Apr 1872 in Pleasant Hill, AL m. #1 Mary MOOR	b: 07 Jul 1799	d: 15 Dec 1846 in Pleasant Hill, AL m. #2 Ann M______ CAMPBELL, Mrs. (Frederick)		d: Sep 1849		m. #3 Virginia CLOPTON	b: 24 Jul 1813 in (Cowan Family Bible)	d: 02 Oct 1876 in Pleasant Hill, AL
 * 4) William L_____ COWAN, MD	b: 1805 in TN	d: 04 May 1859 in Eufaula, Barbour Co., AL m. Ann Silvia PUGH	b: Abt. 1812 in Burke Co., GA	d: 1869 in Union Springs, AL
 * 5) Campbell Gilmer (Gilmore?) COWAN	b: 01 Jan 1807 in TN	d: 01 Mar 1846 in Pierce City, Lawrence Co., MO m. H_____ Elizabeth "Betsy" TANKERSLEY	b: 27 May 1811 in Warren Co.?, TN	d: 28 Jan 1871 in Pierce City, Lawrence Co., MO
 * 6) Ellen Weir COWAN	b: 29 Apr 1809 in Warren Co., TN	d: 18 Oct 1862 in near Uniontown, Bourbon Co., KS (near Ft. Scott, KS????)m. Cowan ______ MITCHELL	b: 29 May 1806 in KY	d: 16 May 1886 in Gibbonsville, ID
 * 7) Maldonata COWAN, (dsp)	b: 04 Jun 1811 in Warren Co., TN	d: 17 Mar 1836 in Pleasant Hill, Lowndes Co., AL
 * 8) Samuel Colvin COWAN, MD	b: 30 Apr 1815 in Athens, McMinn Co., TN	d: 20 Nov 1878 in Union Springs, Bullock Co., AL m. Mary Jane LARKINS	b: 17 May 1821 in Montgomery, AL	d: 18 Oct 1912 in Union Springs, Bullock Co., AL
 * 9) John D______ COWAN	b: 19 Apr 1817 in TN	d: 05 Apr 1838 in Pleasant Hill, Lowndes Co., AL
 * 10) Alexander T[ankersley?] COWAN	b: 26 Mar 1820 in Dallas Co., AL	d: 23 Sep 1827 in McMinn Co., TN

Religious Affiliation
Cumberland Presbyterian Church (see obituary below)

Boyer, Reba B & Duncan, Budd L; A History of Mars Hill Presbyterian Church, On behalf of the Mars Hill Presbyterian Church, Athens, TN; 1973; p. 57-58. [DAR Library]
 * COWEN, Mrs. Rosannah – rc before 9/20/1832; 5/4/1833, moderator reported that he had given her a certificate when she was about to remove from bounds of this ch. (Rosannah Gillespie m. John Cowan in Blount Co., 8/23/1797.  He died ... before she moved to McMinn Co.  She was most certainly an organizing member of Mars Hill.)

Family History
There are a few die-hard Gillespy descendants who do not accept any variation in the spelling of the surname. Thus, they reject out of hand the Gillespie spelling as not being related to James Gillespy and Eleanor Cowan.

However, in researching these lines, I have found many spellings on various documents and census for the same individual – Gillespy, Gillespie, Gillaspy, Gillsapie, Gilaspy, Gilaspie, Gillispy/Gillispie, etc. – sometimes, multiple spellings within the same document.

In following the lines through to the present day, the bulk of the Gillespy descendants at some point elected to use the Gillespie spelling – even though this may not be the spelling used by their original ancestor. Had I ignored the various spellings, I would have missed a lot of relevant family data and clues. For example, the Cowan Bible records has Rosanna Gillaspie, her Blount Co. marriage license has Gillaspy and Gillespy on the inside and Gillespie on the front, and her pension application for her husband's Indian Wars service has Gillespie.

Alternative Interpretation
Tradition claims that Smoking Jimmy Gillespy and Rosannah Gillespy/Gillespie were siblings. Credence is given to this theory by looking at the naming patterns of children of the two sets of siblings: Eleanor Cowan/James Gillespy and John Cowan/Rosannah Gillespy/Gillespie


 * ELEANOR COWAN and James “Smoking Jimmie” Gillespy’s children are well-documented through 16 DAR applications. Husband, James Gillespy’s parents are documented in these applications as James Gillespy “Sr.” and Elizabeth Finley.  Elizabeth (Finley) Gillespy’s parents were John Finley and Elizabeth Thankful Doak.
 * John Finley Gillespy – named for husband’s maternal grandfather.
 * William Cowan Gillespy – named for Eleanor’s father (perhaps, a grandfather? as no one has yet been able to determine who William Cowan’s parents were.)
 * James Houston Gillespy – there is much documentation of intermarriage between the Cowans, Houstons, and Walkers as far back as Virginia.
 * Jane Walker Gillespy – named for her maternal grandmother.
 * Campbell Gillespy – named for one of Eleanor’s maternal relatives.


 * JOHN [ALEXANDER] COWAN married Rosannah Gillespy/Gillespie and their children followed a similar naming pattern as Eleanor's children, incorporating many of the same names used above.
 * Jane Walker Cowan – first daughter named for paternal grandmother.
 * Elizabeth Finley Cowan – as James Gillespy (Eleanor Cowan’s husband) and Rosannah Gillespie were reportedly siblings, this second daughter was named for her maternal grandmother.
 * James Gillespie Cowan – as with above, first son named for maternal grandfather.
 * William L. Cowan – named for paternal grandfather.
 * Campbell Gilmer/Gilmore Cowan – as in Eleanor’s family, son named for one of John’s maternal relatives.
 * Ellen Weir Cowan – could she have used Ellen as a nickname for Eleanor? … thus, being named for her aunt?
 * Maldonetta – not sure where this name came from but it carries through to current descendants of John Alexander Cowan.
 * Samuel Colvin Cowan – perhaps named for William’s brother, Samuel, who married Ann Walker.

Note re Gillespy siblings -- (Note: James HOUSTON m. Mary “Polly” Gillespy in Blount Co., TN on October 6, 1796.  Polly was a sister of Rosannah Gillespy/Gillespie and James Gillespy.)

Note re John [Alexander] Cowan -- Of note is that 5 of John’s children named sons William, and William L. Cowan child named a daughter Willie.

Note re Ellen Weir Cowan -- Ellen Weir [Cowan] Mitchell’s eldest daughter is named Rosanah Maldanettie and six of Ellen’s sons bear the same first names as her six brothers: John, William, Samuel, James, Campbell, and Alexander!

Rosannah was apparently nicknamed Anna and/or referred to as Annie and/or Roseanna.
 * Owen, Mrs. Marie B., State of Alabama Department of Archives and History, Director; Alabama Official and Statistical Register, The Birmingham Printing Company, Birmingham, AL; 1927, p.112: Twenty-Sixth District: Bullock and Macon Counties
 * "COWAN, SAMUEL COLVIN, of Union Springs, Bullock County, was born August 4, 1861, at Aberfoil, Ala.; is the son of Samuel Colvin and Mary Jane (Larkins) Cowan; the grandson of John Alexander and Anna (Gillespie) Cowan and of William L. and Christian Williams (Scott) Larkins...."
 * NOTE: Samuel Colvin Cowan was the eighth child of John [Alexander] Cowan and Rosannah (Gillespy/Gillespie) Cowan.


 * Andrew Cowan (fourth child of William Cowan and Jane Walker) wrote Roseanna (Gillespie) Cowan a letter, written from Bradley Co. TN, dated 17 May 1857. He addressed the letter to her as "Dear Sister Roseanna ..."  (Rosannah's husband had been dead nearly 36 years at this point.  By addressing her as "Dear Sister Roseanna," he establishes a relationship between himself and her deceased husband as siblings/brothers.
 * Original letter in possession of James E. Freeman (as of 2006). The signature on the letter matches the signature on his War of 1812 pension papers at the National Archives, Washington, D. C.


 * Paddock, Capt. B. B, History and Biographical Record of North and West Texas, Vol. II, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, 1906, p. 257-257 ... vanity publication re James Independence Gillespie Cowan, son of Andrew Cowan:
 * "JAMES INDEPENDENCE GILLESPIE COWAN. The birth of Mr. Cowan on Independence day and the exemplary life of a favorite uncle, James Gillespie ..., led his parents to christen their ninth child with the initials J. I. G. C.  His ancestors were among the first of Tennessee's foreign settlers, and about the first years of the nineteenth century his grandfather, William Cowan, enetered that state."


 * Obituary [portion] of Elizabeth Finley (Cowan) Johnson in Waco, McLennan Co., TX:
 * "Mrs. E. F. Johnson was born July 11, 1800 near Merriville [sic], Blount Co., E. Tenn, daughter of John and Annie Cowan, moved to Middle Tennessee in 1804, remained there until 1818 in McMinnville Warren Co Tennessee. Her father moved in 1818 to Alabama near Selma and there [she] married in 1820 to H G Johnson...."
 * NOTE: Elizabeth Finley (Cowan) Johnson was the first child of John [Alexander] Cowan and Rosannah (Gillespy/Gillespie) Cowan.


 * Obituary -- The Dallas Gazette, Cahaba, Alabama, Friday, August 21, 1857, p. 3
 * DIED
 * At the residence of her son, James G. Cowan, near Pleasant Hill, on the 17th August, 1857, Mrs. Anna Cowan, in the 80th year of her age. She was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for the last forty years of her life.

Records

 * Blount Co., TN marriage record
 * Cowan family Bible (in possession of Margie Cowan as of 2006)
 * Rosannah (Gillespy/Gillespie) Cowan's pension application for the military service of her husband, John [Alexander] Cowan -- provides information on their marriage date (27 August 1797, Blount Co., TN by Gideon Blackburn, Presbyterian Minister) and his miltary service: "as a private in the company commanded by Captain Bradford in the Tennessee Regiment of Mounted Volunteers commanded by Col. Dougherty in the War with the Cherokee Indians in the year 1793 or 1794 ... volunteered in Blount County, Ten [sic] and mustered into service at Knoxville, Ten [sic] the month of 1793 or 94 and … was discharged at the close of the expedition in the fall of 1793 or 94 A. D. ... filed 11 April 1856 in Dallas Co., AL"  [Folder at National Archives is marked "Rejected"]
 * Dallas Co., AL courthouse records -- Letters of Administration granted to Rosannah Cowan and her son, James Gillespie Cowan to administer the estate of John Cowan. (Dated:  ___________, 1821 and __________, 18__)
 * Tombstone for Rosannah Cowan, Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Pleasant Hill, Dallas Co., AL.
 * Obituary -- The Dallas Gazette, Cahaba, Alabama, Friday, August 21, 1857, p. 3
 * DIED
 * At the residence of her son, James G. Cowan, near Pleasant Hill, on the 17th August, 1857, Mrs. Anna Cowan, in the 80th year of her age. She was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for the last forty years of her life.


 * Census Records
 * 1820 census, Dallas Co., AL (state census, not federal) -- John Cowan -- M 1(+21), 6(-21); F 1(+21), 1(-21)
 * 1830 census, McMinn Co., TN (husband died 1821), p. 172 -- M 1(10-15), 1(15-20); F 1(10-15), 4(15-20); 1(50-60)
 * 1840 census, Perry Co., AL -- Rosannah appears to be in the home of her daughter, Ellen Weir Cowan (m. Cowan Mitchell) … she cannot be accounted for in the homes of any other children -- MITCHELL, C[owan] -- M 1(under 5) 1(30-40); F 1(under 5) 1(30-40) 1(60-70).
 * 1850 census -- Lowndes Co., M432_8, 10/15/1850, p. 118, l. 6-13 (Rosanna=73)
 * COWAN, James G, 43, M, Planter, 5000, TN
 * COWAN, Virginia, 38, M, GA
 * COWAN, Rosana, 73, M, VA

Definitions
Common Acronyms and Definitions Genealogical Definitions

Contributors
Cowantex