Henry M. Cowden Founder of Cowden Illinois information
I am a descendant of Henry M. Cowden, the founder of Cowden , Illinois, and I have found and taken pictures of the tombstones of Henry M. Cowden, his first wife Mary Cowden, and their sons, Joseph, George, and Charles.
Henry M. Cowden married the former Mary Dush on February 7, 1856 in Shelby County, Illinois.
The first son of Henry and Mary Cowden was named Joseph H. Cowden and he was born on March 30, 1857 and died on June 12, 1859. Joseph Cowden is buried next to the graves of his mother Mary Cowden, and his father Henry Cowden.
The tombstone for Mary Cowden says that she died on September 11, 1860. The tombstone doesn't say when she was born or if it did it has now faded away and can't be read.
The tombstone for Henry M. Cowden says that he died on October 10, 1873 aged 41 years, 6 months, and 14 days. From this information I was able to calculate that Henry Cowden was born on March 26, 1832.
These three graves are all located in the older cemetery just several miles north of Cowden, Illinois. The cemetery is called Neil Cemetery and you can get to the cemetery by following these directions.
Go north out of Cowden, Illinois on route 128 until you get to the Mound Cemetery, which will be on the east side of the road.
There will be an asphalt county road that runs along the south edge of Mound Cemetery called 300 North. Go east on this 300 North county road until the road starts to curve to the north. Once the road starts to curve to the north you will see some tombstones on the right hand side of the road. This is the older cemetery called Neil Cemetery.
The graves of Henry, Mary, and Joseph Cowden are all in the first two rows of graves closest to the asphalt road.
The tombstones for Mary and Henry Cowden have fallen over and have sunk into the ground so that the tombstones are about a half inch below the level of the soil. But you can still read the inscriptions on Henry's tombstone. I had to use aluminum foil to take a rubbing of Mary's tombstone in order to read it. Her tombstone was made out of a red stone that has deteriorated badly and is now hard to read with the naked eye. Joseph's tombstone is the only one of the three tombstones that is still standing upright.
I found the tombstones for the other sons of Henry Cowden.
Henry and Mary Cowden had one other son before Mary died. This son was George H. Cowden.
George H. Cowden was born in 1859 and died in 1911. He is buried in Mound Cemetery, which is several miles north of Cowden, Illinois on the east side of Route 128.
I have seen people on this website and other places say that Henry M. Cowden's middle name was Marcus, but I haven't found any mention of what his middle name was in any of the legal documents that I have copies of.
I have numerous legal documents for Henry Cowden, because he was sued by three different individuals while he was alive.
The three lawsuits were about money that was promised to be repaid to these individuals and then wasn't repaid by Henry Cowden and his partner.
I also have a copy of the estate papers for Henry Cowden showing all of the property in his possession at the time of his death. I also have marriage license records for Henry Cowden and his two wives Mary Dush, and Mrs. Susan C. Timbers.
After the death of his first wife, Mary, Henry M. Cowden then married a widow named Susan C. Timbers on September 25, 1864.
Henry and Susan Cowden then had a son named Jacob E. Cowden. Jacob Cowden was listed as being 3 years old in the 1870 census records so he must have been born in 1867 or 1868.
I found in the 1930 census records for Oakland City, Alameda County, California that a Jacob E. Cowden was living there with his wife the former Jennie J. Moore.
The census records say that Jacob Cowden was also a barber. So I guess that cutting hair must have run in the family, since his brother Charles Cowden was also a barber.
Henry and Susan Cowden had one more son before Henry Cowden died in 1873. The final son was named Charles Anson Cowden, my Great Grandfather. He was born on September 27, 1871 in Shelby County, Illinois and he died on December 23, 1934 in Decatur, Illinois.
Charles Cowden was a barber and he was working in his barber shop cutting a cutomer's hair when he suffered a fatal heart attack and died.
I have the obituary from the Decatur newspaper microfilms and December 23, 1934 was on a Sunday. Charles Cowden is buried in Mound Cemetery, which is located several miles north of Cowden, Illinois on the east side of Route 128.
After Henry Cowden's death in 1873, Susan Cowden later married a man named James Mara on November 18, 1874 in Shelby County, Illinois.
Susan Cowden Mara and her third husband James Mara are buried in Center Cemetery, which is located several more miles farther north of Mound Cemetery on the west side of Route 128.
I will be willing to e-mail anyone copies of the pictures and documents that I have for the Cowdens.
You can e-mail me at this address:
[email protected]
Henry Brown