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Agness Martin Cowan This article was written by Mrs. Jenny Lou Brock and published in the Cowan Bell, Vol. I, No. 15, October 3, 1974 SHADES OF THE PAST Lying broken on the ground, soon to be lost to the ravages of time, is the tombstone of Agness Martin Cowan, wife of Major John Cowan. She died in 1827 and is buried beside her husband. Both of these stones are unusual, not only for the inscriptions found on them but for the way in which the letters are formed. What appears to be a capital J is an S, a small h is a p, and two s's written together in a word look like f's. In all the cemeteries we have searched, only three are written this way, these two and one in Montgomery Cemetery. We should remember, too, that words were spelled as they sounded and what may seem to us as unacceptable spelling was not considered so then. The words which John Cowan had inscribed for his wife's epitaph tell us something of the quality of life they shared together. She was his wife, his companion, his partner. They had shared together the life of the pioneer since their marriage in 1788. John Cowan chose two special words to describe his wife - consort, which means not only companion but partner or colleague; and patron, which means one chosen or honored as a special guardian, protector and supporter. Her inscription reads: Sacred to the memory of Agness the wide and consort of Major John Cowan
(spelling corrected)
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