10. Wallace Owen Cowan 1907
Wallace was born Sept. 16th, 1907, twin brother to Walter at Valley City, ND.
When the twins were born, Inga was 42 years old and their oldest sister,
Mae, was already 16. Their oldest brother Willie died of pneumonia at age 19
when the twins were just seven years old. The boys and Pearl were quite a bit
younger than the others.
Jim and Inga moved a few miles west from Valley City to the town of Enderlin a couple of years
after the twins were born and the twins attended school at Enderlin. Photographs of their first grade
class show them sitting at their desks in the classrooms; one of Wallace and the other of Walter.
There are several photographs of the boys as toddlers and some portraits of them as they were
growing up, of them at harvest time, of working and some playing in the fields, also of the old farm
machinery and of the old homestead at Enderlin.
In the mid 1920's Jim and Inga moved to Minneapolis and a couple of years later they moved back to
North Dakota to farm at Granville. Although there was little money to be made inNorth Dakota
farming at that time, Jim was a farmer and city life wasn't suited to him. By the time they moved up
to Granville, most of the kids were married and settling down on their own or working in Minneapolis
and so only Pearl who was only about 14 returned to Granville with them.
There were few jobs in North Dakota farming whereby one could make a living and, even if you had
your own farm, families could hardly get by. History tells us, in fact, that about 80% of the young
folks during that period left the state for work elsewhere. But most of the young people had little
formal education beyond grammar school and they had few skills that could get them a good job in
the city. The Cowan kids were among the thousands of young people from North Dakota who trickled
into the cities during those years looking for work and to find a place to build a life.
By the spring of 1928, all of Jim and Inga's children except Mae, Lloyd and Margaret were living in
Minneapolis. Those living in Minneapolis were Wallace and his brothers Walter, Bud, Tip, and Marty,
and sisters Harriet and Pearl. And most of the kids were married: Wallace was married to Gladys;
Bud to Audrey; Tip to Myrtle; and Harriet to Earnest (Whitey). Walter and his sister Pearl and his
brother Marty weren't yet married. Marty married Frances Zahradka of Minneapolisabout a year
later on September 10, 1929 at Minneapolis and Walter married Esther Seims a month later on
October 6, 1929 also in Minneapolis. Sister Pearl married Chester Clairmont a year after that on
August 5, 1930 at Minneapolis. Brother Lloyd was living at Granville and married to Louise Van Horn
and sister Mae was living at Little Fork, Minnesota and married to Paul Penfield. Mae, Lloyd, Tip and
Harriet had been married for a number of years by then and had growing children. I'm not sure
what sister Margaret was doing during those years - - she was probably working odd jobs on and off.
Brother Willie had died several years earlier in 1913.
In Minneapolis, Wallace worked at a gas station for a while and had other jobs including dish washing
and Chinese food delivery. During the late 1920's in Minneapolis, Wallace got jobs as a local boxer -
He was known as "Kid Wallace" and was known for his purple trunks. Wallace used to try to get his
brother Walter to spar with him, but every time he tried, Walter would just break out laughing and
Wallace would chase him around the ring. They had a good time but, I guess, Walter wasn't much
of a boxer.
Shortly after Wallace's brother Walter was married, Wallace worked together with sister Pearl and
Walter and Esther at a Chinese restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. Esther and Pearl waitressed while
Wallace and Walter worked in the back and did deliveries. Esther says the cook was an excitable man
and wanted his cooking just right. So if the meat delivery wasn't just right or the meat not to his liking,
he would holler in Chinese at the deliveryman and chase him around the place with his hatchet!
When Wallace and Walter were sent out to do deliveries they had a habit of stopping off to get in a
game of pool. And then Pearl would get hollered at, "Where are your brothers!?" When the Chinese
manager would get mad he would holler and swear at people in Chinese. But when he hollered at Esther,
she would holler back in nonsense Chinese gibberish and it would stop their being mad and they would
laugh! One story told is that if Wallace or his brother got in trouble, they would simply blame the other
to confuse the owner!
Wallace met a waitress there named Gladys Haiskary and they started going out together. She was Swedish
girl. Wallace and Gladys were married shortly thereafter in Minneapolis on _____.
Here is a story about a trip up to Granville shortly after they were married of which there are several
photographs. Winter was over and it was now late spring of 1929. Wallace and Gladys, together
with his brother Walter and his wife Esther, and his sisters Pearland Harriet, spent some time at their
dad's farm at Granville. While there, they took the old Ford out and went to pick chokecherries.
Wallace was driving along the road and said, "Let's just go in here," so he turned off the road and
crashed through the brush into the fields and woods.
The several photographs of their time together show the gallon of chokecherries they collected and
how they had a good laugh and enjoyed themselves that afternoon. Esther was in her early pregnancy
with Shirley and they were happy. Just about all of Wallace's brothers and sisters were up at the farm at
Granville that spring and many pictures were taken.
The 1940 Minneapolis City Directory shows Wallace and his wife Gladys living at 2100 East 224th Street
in Minneapolis (near Washington Ave and the Third Ave Bridge) and Wallace was working as a cab driver
for Yellow Cab Company. In their years in Minneapolis, Wallace and Gladys had five children:
Children of Wallace Date of Birth Date of Death
Darlene Sep. 20, 1932 Apr. 03, 1997
Wallace Richard Gerald Dec.08, 193? May 10, 1988
Donald Alvin May 23, 1933 Oct. 7, 1975
Ronald ____ (Buddy) May 06, 1936 Jun. _, 1994
Gary John William May 16, 1947
[Dates need checking and correction]
The social life for Wallace and Gladys was not unlike that of his brothers in Minneapolis in those years
and they spent time in the bars and Wallace liked to play pool. Wallace also liked to gamble. According
to my sister Mary Ann, Gladys during that time liked to socialize in bars and because Wallace was devoted
to Gladys and busy working he didn't do much about it.
Developing relationships was hard in the family because of what some call a Cowan family trait of not
talking openly and the result was sometimes abuse of the children. There are indications that up at the
farm in North Dakota Wallace and the other younger children were subject to physical and emotional
abuses particularly by the older brothers. Their father Jim worked hard on the farm all of his life until
the time that he had a stroke in 1932 and I'm told that Jim left the bringing up of the children to Inga
and the disciplining of the younger children to the oldest son Bud. When it was time for Jim to relax,
however, it was time to have a drink and a good time. Their mother Inga was hard working farm woman
with strict moral heritage. And so it goes.
In the early years, I am told that Wallace and Gladys' children felt the abuses of their parents as is related
in several stories. These stories are fifty years old and the extent of the truth of them is probably impossible
to tell. For example, during the early 1940's when Wallace would come home from work, Gladys would tell
him that the children have been bad and they need a spanking and so Wallace would beat them all with a belt.
I am told he didn't even know what they did that was bad. Darlene was twelve (1944) when she ran away
from home to aunt Pearl's house. Wallace and Gladys came for her and took her back home. Darlene
confided in her play friend and cousin Mary Ann that her mother told her that all of her relatives hated her.
Mary Ann remembers that episode because she remembers that she responded to Darlene that it wasn't true
at all.
After that episode, Wallace and Gladys didn't keep in touch much with the rest of the family and, shortly
thereafter moved his family to Detroit where Wallace worked at the General Motors auto assembly plant
for many years. Wallace and Gladys at first lived in an apartment and the children were in their preteen
or teenage years. Wallace worked two jobs for a while - He'd go to one job; then sleep in the car for a while
and go to the other.
In the early 1950's, Wallace and Gladys divorced and Gladys went to California and remarried. Darlene
was married to Frankie Koshinski and living in Californiaand so was Buddy. About that time Richard left
and joined the Marines and seldom contacted his family again. Gladys later divorced the person she was
married to and I am told that she took to living in a car and later under a bridge. In her later years, she
developed terrible emphysema. In the end she was hospitalized and during a bronchoscopy, developed a
collapsed lung. She was in the hospital for about a month before she died on ____, 1958, 29 years after
she and Wallace were married. May Gladys rest in peace.
After Wallace and Gladys were divorced, Wallace married Elsie _____. His daughter Darlene says that
they in fact were married twice.
I spoke with Wallace's son Gary on March 15 of 1996 and he told me that Wallace, now 88 years old was
hit by a car a few months ago and broke his arm in two places. He was in the hospital for two weeks and
then in a convalescent home for another two weeks.
Wallace has eight grandchildren and many great-grandchildren and at the time of this writing, Wallace is
age 89 and is the sole surviving child of Jim and Inga Cowan. Wallace lives an apartment in Detroit and
his son Gary and his grandchildren visit often and care for him.
Address is 16885 Lahser Road, #A2, Detroit, MI 48219 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
Update summer 2003: Carol Cowan called me and told me that Wallace died at a nursing Home in Detroit
on Aug 25, 2003 and was cremated. No memorial service was held. Carol got the information from her
daughter who was told by Gary’s daughter Tammy. Otherwise she wouldn’t have known. Apparently,
whatever last arrangements for Wallace were handled by Gary (or not?). After hearing of his death, several
relatives in Minneapolis asked about sending flowers but there was nobody to send them to. Wallace’s only
living son Gary has left no address for where he can be contacted.
So Wallace died and thus ended the saga of the lives of the eleven children of Jim and Inga Cowan.
It seems that something sage and poetic should be said here to conclude this saga but nothing comes forth.
1J-1 Darlene ____ Cowan
Born Sep. 20, 1932 and died Apr. 03, 1997. Since I began collecting this genealogical record back in 1972,
I have learned that our lives are affected by situations over which we seem to have no control; that we
carry with us not only how we were brought up but also how our parents and their parents lived and the
joys and troubles that they went through. Often times we carry difficult baggage and so we do things to
ourselves and to those we love that hurt and that unfortunately control the direction of our lives and send
us where we don't wish to go. I am convinced of the truth of the African proverb "It does take a village to
raise a child;" not only by caring family but also by people who understand the hurts.
I have not known Darlene but relate here the stories I have been told. Darlene and my sister Mary Ann were
close buddies when they were little and some of what I write is from her. Some is from her brother Gary,
from my mother and from Darlene's friend Tammy Dillon of Clearwater, Florida, to whose children Darlene
was like their grandmother. When I think on her life, I am reminded the lyrics of a song by Linda Ronstad:
"Who can I turn to
When I cry like a rainstorm,
When I howl like the wind?"
Darlene was born Sept. 20, 1932 in Minneapolis and died April 3, 1997 at the age of 64 at Clearwater, Florida.
Darlene spent her childhood in north Minneapolis where the family lived. She was a pretty girl. The family
often visited with Wallace's twin brother Walter and his family and she often played with her cousin Jacqueline
(daughter of Walter and Esther later renamed Mary Ann). Mary Ann and Darlene were close and Mary Ann
remembers her fondly.
My sister Mary Ann says that it was due to drinking and gambling that the family had difficulty. But some
say this kind of thing was simply a continuation of what was characteristic of the family in North Dakota.
Darlene was the oldest of the children and became the family housekeeper and baby sitter. Mary Ann tells
a story that one of the younger kid's diapers would be messy and he'd be bawling but Darlene wasn't allowed
to change his diapers until she finished cleaning the house. Elsewhere, I've already told the story of when
Gladys would tell Wallace upon his arrival home from work that all of the children needed spankings so
Wallace would whip them all with his belt even though he didn't know what they had done.
At age twelve (1944), Darlene ran away to live with Wallace's sister Pearl and her family. She didn't want
to go home but her mother Gladys took her back and told her that all of the family and relatives hated her
so she’d better not try that again. Darlene confided in Mary Ann about what her mother said and Mary Ann told
her that it wasn't true. After that incident, Wallace and the family didn't keep in touch with the relatives as much.
Eventually, Wallace took the family to Detroit where he began work in the GM auto factory.
In Michigan, Darlene married Frankie Kochinski [sp]. They moved to California and they had one child
whom thy named Sherryl. Frankie and Darlene divorced many years ago. Darlene then married ___
and they were married about six years when he ran off with her daughter Sherryl who was then age
fourteen. Sherryl eventually left him and later married Bob Amell and they have three children.
Darlene took back her old name and has gone by the name Cowan since. She sold the house they had
lived in and moved to a mobile home at Clearwater, Florida.
Carol Cowan of Romulus, Michigan tells a different story of the separation between Darlene and her
daughter Sherryl. She says that Darlene’s husband and Scherryl did not run off together but moved
out for Sherryl’s own well being because Darlene was not a fit mother. They got an apartment in
Detroit and Carol was in touch with them for many years. I think the truth is somewhere between
these two stories.
Darlene had two close friends at Clearwater: Susie Henson and Tammy Dillon. But they would sometimes
get mad at one another and fight. They have even stopped talking to each other for lengthily times, but
Tammy said it was never a matter of not loving her. I talked to Tammy Dillon in July of 1997 after Darlene
died and she said Darlene had a good heart, loved children and took in foster children. She also says that
Darlene was like a mother to her and she loved her. Tammy's children considered Darlene their
grandmother and called her gramma. Darlene bought the children gifts for holidays and birthdays and
Tammy always saw to it that Darlene had a Christmas tree. These children were perhaps the only brightness
in her life.
In the early 1990's, Darlene was in a serious auto accident and has been disabled since. In addition to the
injury from the accident, Darlene suffered from lupus, diabetes and heart disease. Darlene's brother Buddy
was suffering from alcoholic liver disease but he came down to Florida to help her after the accident. If it
weren’t for Buddy, said Tammy, Darlene would have had to be placed in a nursing home. He even took
care of her personal toilet needs. Buddy died about a year later in June of 1994 of liver disease.
In the spring of 1996, I located Darlene's address and passed it on to my sister Mary Ann. Mary Ann
hadn't seen Darlene for many decades but Mary Ann contacted her and later in the year she and Esther
(Darlene's aunt, Mary Ann's mother) flew out to Floridato visit her. They took Darlene out a bit including
an excursion boat trip on the gulf and bought her some clothes and things. A melancholy story here that
typifies her condition is that Darlene had lost a lot of weight and her old slacks fell down as she got onto
the boat. Mary Ann had to help her pull them up and then found some pins to hold the slacks up again.
This story would be funny if it wasn't so sad. Darlene lived in mobile home park on the gulf coast at
Clearwater, Florida for several years and it was there that she died.
Her address was 24698 US HYW 19 North, Lot 218, Clearwater, FL34623. Phone (813) 724 1713 .
Darlene's neighbor Gordon ___ said that on Easter Sunday she was really sick and, sadly, Darlene died
four days later on Thursday, April 3, 1997 sprawled across her bed with no one to tend to her. Her body
was discovered a day and a half later. Darlene's friend Tammy Dillon said the doctor told her it may have
been a ruptured abdominal aneurysm but no autopsy was done. Tammy took care of her arrangements
and cremation and of disposing of her few possessions and the mobile home that were to go to Darlene's
brother Gary. According to Darlene's wishes, Tammy and Susie spread her ashes out over the gulf.
Tammy can be contacted at 1034 Bass Blvd., Dunedin, FL 34698 (813) 736 8580 and Susie Henson's
phone number is (813) 736 8321 .
Did Darlene have happy times and good times? I'm sure she did, but the general span of her life was
marked with difficulty and obstacles.
1J-1a Sherryl Kochinski
B. _____. Married to Bob Amell. Three children. (216) 274-0672_highlighting. Sherryl has said she is
interested in tracing the family history. Lives in Ohio. More information? The three children must
be in their middle and late 20’s in the year 2000.
1J-1a-1 ________ ______ Amell. b. ____
1J-1a-2 ________ ______ Amell. b. ____
1J-1a-3 ________ ______ Amell. b. ____
1J-2 Wallace Richard Gerald Cowan (Dickie),
b. Dec. 8, 193__. d. May 10, 1988 at age 57. His cousin Mary Ann Cowan says he was called Dickie in
his younger years. Dick married Geraldine Grimsby (sp) and they have five children. Geraldine was born
in 1933 and died April __, 198(3?) at age 50. Dick was 21 and Geraldine was 20 when Carol was born.
Dick joined the Marine in about 1953. He served in the Marines in the Korean Conflict and was wounded t
hree times by machine gun fire and was awarded the Purple Heart Medal. After the war Dick and the
family lived at Long Beach, California and later at Los Vegas for a number of years. Since about 1970,
Dick had no contact with the family but was said to be living in California. Knowledge of Dick's whereabouts
came about only after he died when his son Rick contacted Gary's daughter Tammy in Detroit. He thought
to call her because she has the same name as his daughter. More information? Dick's children are:
1J-2a Linda Cowan
b. ____ Linda was the firstborn and
Rick says she was born in the late 1940's when Dickie was still a teenager. Linda died at a young age of
tuberculosis. The family was quiet about her and apparently only a few folks actually knew of her.
After her death, little was said of her. Linda is probably buried at Long Beach, California.
1J-2b Carol Ann Cowan
b. April, ___1954 at Zieger Hospital in Detroit. Carol was 6 months old when the family moved to San J
ose, California. In her early teens, Carol moved away with a family she babysat for and left no forwarding
address. I have been told that she left to get away from what may have been a sexually abusive situation
in her family. Carol Ann was known to be in Ohio some years ago and her brother Rick is searching for her.
Rick says he last saw her almost thirty years ago back in about 1969. Gary says Carol’s married name is
Fry (sp) and that she was in Toledo. I have located a number of persons named Carol Fry or C. Fry in
Ohioand these need to be followed up. I found a Carol A. Fry in Mansfield who is deceased. Her husband's
name is Lewis Fry and he is retired from Lumberman's Insurance Company and I haven't been able to locate
him.
1J-2c Richard Gerald Cowan
b. April 12, 1959 at San Jose, California. Rick married Terry Eaton, b. June 24, 1961, at Riverside, California
on July 4, 1980. Rick and Terry and their three children live at 4775 Palma Drive, Lot 305. Kissimmee, FL
34746-5911(407) 396-9577. Terry is a muscular dystrophy carrier and the boys both have the disease.
Rick and Tammy don't get out much and, I am told, spend most of their time with their children and
caring for the boys full time. More information?
1J-2c-1 Richard Gerald Cowan
II “Ricky” b. August 28, 1979. Riverside, CA. In 1997 Ricky is 18, has muscular dystrophy and is confined
to his wheelchair.
Obituary: Ricky, age 25 was called to heaven Sunday, April 3, 2005. He was born in Riverside, Ca on
August 28, 1979. He graduated from Poinciana High School in May of 2001. He loved to watch movies,
sports and of being a sports announcer. The family will be having a small ceremony to celebrate Richard’s
life at his home on Sunday, April 10, 2005 at 7PM. His loving family includes Daddy, Mommy, his brother
Nicky, his sister, Tammy, brother-in-law Angel; nephews, Angel and Isaiah; nieces, Trindy and Alisha;
Grampa; aunt Debbie, Pam and Vicky: uncle Bruce; 13 cousins; Nick and Hector. Grissom Funeral Home,
330 Emmett Street, Kissimee, FL is in charge of arrangements.
1J-2c-2 Nicky David Cowan b. October 16, 1981. In 1997 Nicky is 16, has muscular dystrophy and
is confined to his wheelchair, as well.
1J-2c-3 Tammy Lynn Cowan b. Sept. 7, 1983. Married to Angel ____. Four children.
1J-2c-3a Angel _____
1J-2c-3b Isaiah _____
1J-2c-3c Trindy _____
1J-2c-3d Alisha _____
1J-2d Vickie Lynn Cowan
b. _____, 1960. Vickie was born in California -possibly at San Josewhere Rick was born. Rick says that
Vickie was last seen in Houston, Texas when she was about age 13 (1973). I am told that she also was
the subject of abuse in her family prior to her running away. No further information.
Rick would like to find her, also. Update summer 2003: Vickie located her brother Rick and has visited
him in Florida and with her Aunt Carol Cowan in Michigan. She has been looking to find any records of
her family and has visited the graves of her parents and is looking into records of her sister Carol Ann
in Ohio. I visited with her Aunt Carol on the phone and she wrote to me that she was so excited to see
Vickie again.
1J-2e Mark Lee Cowan
b. 1961 d. Dec 198(3). Mark was the youngest of the children of Dickie and Geraldine. Mark died some
years ago at age 22 at Phoenix, Arizona of alcoholism and of acute alcohol poisoning at about the same
time that his mother died. He was buried by the State of Arizona. No further information. Before he died
Mark fathered a daughter at Long Beach, CA born to Ms ___ Morales in the early 1980's.
1J-2e-1 Michelle ____ Morales born ___ in the early 1980's at Long Beach, CA. No further
record. Gary knows some about her.
1J-3 Ronald Cowan,
(Buddy or Bud) b. May 6, 1936 d. June, 1994 Married to Joyce Honeycutt. Joyce died in March of 1994.
Two children. More information?
1J-3a Renee ____ Cowan
b. June 2, 1960 Married Mark Taylor. They have six children.
37839 Marsala, Palmdale, CA 93552 805.272. 1867 (805) 272 1867
1J-3a-1 April Taylor, b. June 16, 1984
1J-3a-2 Joshua Taylor, b. March 14, 1986
1J-3a-3 Zachery Taylor, b. Feb. 13, 1988
1J-3a-4 Samantha Taylor, b. June 20, 1990
1J-3a-5 Rachel Taylor, b. Sept. 19, 1991
1J-3a-6 Sassadna Taylor, b. Oct. 11, 1995
1J-3b Deborah (Debbie) ___ Cowan
b. May 23, 1961. Debbie is married to David Sunter and they have two children.
1051 7th Avenue North, St Petersburg, FL 33705-1305 813.895.1198 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
1J-3b-1 Autumn Sunterb. Oct. 8, 1991
1J-3b-2 Faith Sunter b. July 6, 1995
1J-4 Donald Alvin Cowan.
Born May 23, 1933 and died Nov. 7, 1975. Married to Carol Marie Fairbanks. Donald died at age 42 of
Sarcoidosis. I was told that he picked this up from volcanic ash while in the military. Carol has kept the
Cowan name and has kept in touch over the past years. Mother says that Carol is a sweetheart and
I've heard comments from several folks that their family is real nice. Donald and Carol have one child.
Carol lives at 6045 Metro. Romulus, MI 48174. 313.291.3273
1J-4a Lynne Marie Cowan
b. Jan 31, 1957. Married to Jeff Voss but now divorced. Two children.
21226 Annapolis, Dearborn Heights, MI 48125. 313.730.9251 Interested in family history.
1J-4a-1 Diana Marie Voss b. Jan. 11, 1983
1J-4a-2 Jeffrey Allen Voss b. Oct. 1, 1984
1J-5 Gary John William Cowan
born May 16, 1947. Married to Nadeen Levere in September of 1969 and they divorced some
years ago. Since 1984, Garyhas been in a partner in a carpet cleaning business in Detroit. Gary
and Nadeen have three children. Gary lived with his father to care for him since his accident
during the winter of 1995 - 1996 Gary now lives with Debbie ___, his fiancée at 28730 Grand
River, Lot 19, Farmington Hills, MI 48336. 248.471.2106
(248) 471-2106 Update: Gary and Debbie were married on Nov. 21, 1997. Another update: Gary
and Debbie are no longer together. More information?
1J-5a Tammy Dawn Cowan
b. Dec. 2, 1971. Tammy has lived with her boyfriend Brian ___ for several years and doesn't keep
much in touch with her dad. Tammy and Brian have two children.
Tammy and Brian live at 2162 Homeplace Street, Dearborn, MI 48124-2435 (313) 724 0548.
1J-5a-1 Elizabeth Dawn Cowan b. Nov. 24, 1990
1J-5a-2 Samantha Anderson b. April 17, 1997
1J-5b Gregory Joseph Cowan
b. April 5, 1976. On July 12, 1997, Gary says he hasn't heard from Greg for about a year.
1J-5c Marcy Michelle Cowan
b. Jan. 3, 1979 On July 12, 1997, I talked with Gary, her dad and he said that Marcy stopped by the
day before to say goodbye as she and her boyfriend were moving to Florida to live near Rick at
Kissimmee, FL. 407. 396 9577
August 2006 - Marcy married Timothy Walls in March of 2005 and they live at 28730 Grand River #6,
Farmington Hills, MI 48336 and her phone # is 313.459.1979
When the twins were born, Inga was 42 years old and their oldest sister,
Mae, was already 16. Their oldest brother Willie died of pneumonia at age 19
when the twins were just seven years old. The boys and Pearl were quite a bit
younger than the others.
Jim and Inga moved a few miles west from Valley City to the town of Enderlin a couple of years
after the twins were born and the twins attended school at Enderlin. Photographs of their first grade
class show them sitting at their desks in the classrooms; one of Wallace and the other of Walter.
There are several photographs of the boys as toddlers and some portraits of them as they were
growing up, of them at harvest time, of working and some playing in the fields, also of the old farm
machinery and of the old homestead at Enderlin.
In the mid 1920's Jim and Inga moved to Minneapolis and a couple of years later they moved back to
North Dakota to farm at Granville. Although there was little money to be made inNorth Dakota
farming at that time, Jim was a farmer and city life wasn't suited to him. By the time they moved up
to Granville, most of the kids were married and settling down on their own or working in Minneapolis
and so only Pearl who was only about 14 returned to Granville with them.
There were few jobs in North Dakota farming whereby one could make a living and, even if you had
your own farm, families could hardly get by. History tells us, in fact, that about 80% of the young
folks during that period left the state for work elsewhere. But most of the young people had little
formal education beyond grammar school and they had few skills that could get them a good job in
the city. The Cowan kids were among the thousands of young people from North Dakota who trickled
into the cities during those years looking for work and to find a place to build a life.
By the spring of 1928, all of Jim and Inga's children except Mae, Lloyd and Margaret were living in
Minneapolis. Those living in Minneapolis were Wallace and his brothers Walter, Bud, Tip, and Marty,
and sisters Harriet and Pearl. And most of the kids were married: Wallace was married to Gladys;
Bud to Audrey; Tip to Myrtle; and Harriet to Earnest (Whitey). Walter and his sister Pearl and his
brother Marty weren't yet married. Marty married Frances Zahradka of Minneapolisabout a year
later on September 10, 1929 at Minneapolis and Walter married Esther Seims a month later on
October 6, 1929 also in Minneapolis. Sister Pearl married Chester Clairmont a year after that on
August 5, 1930 at Minneapolis. Brother Lloyd was living at Granville and married to Louise Van Horn
and sister Mae was living at Little Fork, Minnesota and married to Paul Penfield. Mae, Lloyd, Tip and
Harriet had been married for a number of years by then and had growing children. I'm not sure
what sister Margaret was doing during those years - - she was probably working odd jobs on and off.
Brother Willie had died several years earlier in 1913.
In Minneapolis, Wallace worked at a gas station for a while and had other jobs including dish washing
and Chinese food delivery. During the late 1920's in Minneapolis, Wallace got jobs as a local boxer -
He was known as "Kid Wallace" and was known for his purple trunks. Wallace used to try to get his
brother Walter to spar with him, but every time he tried, Walter would just break out laughing and
Wallace would chase him around the ring. They had a good time but, I guess, Walter wasn't much
of a boxer.
Shortly after Wallace's brother Walter was married, Wallace worked together with sister Pearl and
Walter and Esther at a Chinese restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. Esther and Pearl waitressed while
Wallace and Walter worked in the back and did deliveries. Esther says the cook was an excitable man
and wanted his cooking just right. So if the meat delivery wasn't just right or the meat not to his liking,
he would holler in Chinese at the deliveryman and chase him around the place with his hatchet!
When Wallace and Walter were sent out to do deliveries they had a habit of stopping off to get in a
game of pool. And then Pearl would get hollered at, "Where are your brothers!?" When the Chinese
manager would get mad he would holler and swear at people in Chinese. But when he hollered at Esther,
she would holler back in nonsense Chinese gibberish and it would stop their being mad and they would
laugh! One story told is that if Wallace or his brother got in trouble, they would simply blame the other
to confuse the owner!
Wallace met a waitress there named Gladys Haiskary and they started going out together. She was Swedish
girl. Wallace and Gladys were married shortly thereafter in Minneapolis on _____.
Here is a story about a trip up to Granville shortly after they were married of which there are several
photographs. Winter was over and it was now late spring of 1929. Wallace and Gladys, together
with his brother Walter and his wife Esther, and his sisters Pearland Harriet, spent some time at their
dad's farm at Granville. While there, they took the old Ford out and went to pick chokecherries.
Wallace was driving along the road and said, "Let's just go in here," so he turned off the road and
crashed through the brush into the fields and woods.
The several photographs of their time together show the gallon of chokecherries they collected and
how they had a good laugh and enjoyed themselves that afternoon. Esther was in her early pregnancy
with Shirley and they were happy. Just about all of Wallace's brothers and sisters were up at the farm at
Granville that spring and many pictures were taken.
The 1940 Minneapolis City Directory shows Wallace and his wife Gladys living at 2100 East 224th Street
in Minneapolis (near Washington Ave and the Third Ave Bridge) and Wallace was working as a cab driver
for Yellow Cab Company. In their years in Minneapolis, Wallace and Gladys had five children:
Children of Wallace Date of Birth Date of Death
Darlene Sep. 20, 1932 Apr. 03, 1997
Wallace Richard Gerald Dec.08, 193? May 10, 1988
Donald Alvin May 23, 1933 Oct. 7, 1975
Ronald ____ (Buddy) May 06, 1936 Jun. _, 1994
Gary John William May 16, 1947
[Dates need checking and correction]
The social life for Wallace and Gladys was not unlike that of his brothers in Minneapolis in those years
and they spent time in the bars and Wallace liked to play pool. Wallace also liked to gamble. According
to my sister Mary Ann, Gladys during that time liked to socialize in bars and because Wallace was devoted
to Gladys and busy working he didn't do much about it.
Developing relationships was hard in the family because of what some call a Cowan family trait of not
talking openly and the result was sometimes abuse of the children. There are indications that up at the
farm in North Dakota Wallace and the other younger children were subject to physical and emotional
abuses particularly by the older brothers. Their father Jim worked hard on the farm all of his life until
the time that he had a stroke in 1932 and I'm told that Jim left the bringing up of the children to Inga
and the disciplining of the younger children to the oldest son Bud. When it was time for Jim to relax,
however, it was time to have a drink and a good time. Their mother Inga was hard working farm woman
with strict moral heritage. And so it goes.
In the early years, I am told that Wallace and Gladys' children felt the abuses of their parents as is related
in several stories. These stories are fifty years old and the extent of the truth of them is probably impossible
to tell. For example, during the early 1940's when Wallace would come home from work, Gladys would tell
him that the children have been bad and they need a spanking and so Wallace would beat them all with a belt.
I am told he didn't even know what they did that was bad. Darlene was twelve (1944) when she ran away
from home to aunt Pearl's house. Wallace and Gladys came for her and took her back home. Darlene
confided in her play friend and cousin Mary Ann that her mother told her that all of her relatives hated her.
Mary Ann remembers that episode because she remembers that she responded to Darlene that it wasn't true
at all.
After that episode, Wallace and Gladys didn't keep in touch much with the rest of the family and, shortly
thereafter moved his family to Detroit where Wallace worked at the General Motors auto assembly plant
for many years. Wallace and Gladys at first lived in an apartment and the children were in their preteen
or teenage years. Wallace worked two jobs for a while - He'd go to one job; then sleep in the car for a while
and go to the other.
In the early 1950's, Wallace and Gladys divorced and Gladys went to California and remarried. Darlene
was married to Frankie Koshinski and living in Californiaand so was Buddy. About that time Richard left
and joined the Marines and seldom contacted his family again. Gladys later divorced the person she was
married to and I am told that she took to living in a car and later under a bridge. In her later years, she
developed terrible emphysema. In the end she was hospitalized and during a bronchoscopy, developed a
collapsed lung. She was in the hospital for about a month before she died on ____, 1958, 29 years after
she and Wallace were married. May Gladys rest in peace.
After Wallace and Gladys were divorced, Wallace married Elsie _____. His daughter Darlene says that
they in fact were married twice.
I spoke with Wallace's son Gary on March 15 of 1996 and he told me that Wallace, now 88 years old was
hit by a car a few months ago and broke his arm in two places. He was in the hospital for two weeks and
then in a convalescent home for another two weeks.
Wallace has eight grandchildren and many great-grandchildren and at the time of this writing, Wallace is
age 89 and is the sole surviving child of Jim and Inga Cowan. Wallace lives an apartment in Detroit and
his son Gary and his grandchildren visit often and care for him.
Address is 16885 Lahser Road, #A2, Detroit, MI 48219 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
Update summer 2003: Carol Cowan called me and told me that Wallace died at a nursing Home in Detroit
on Aug 25, 2003 and was cremated. No memorial service was held. Carol got the information from her
daughter who was told by Gary’s daughter Tammy. Otherwise she wouldn’t have known. Apparently,
whatever last arrangements for Wallace were handled by Gary (or not?). After hearing of his death, several
relatives in Minneapolis asked about sending flowers but there was nobody to send them to. Wallace’s only
living son Gary has left no address for where he can be contacted.
So Wallace died and thus ended the saga of the lives of the eleven children of Jim and Inga Cowan.
It seems that something sage and poetic should be said here to conclude this saga but nothing comes forth.
1J-1 Darlene ____ Cowan
Born Sep. 20, 1932 and died Apr. 03, 1997. Since I began collecting this genealogical record back in 1972,
I have learned that our lives are affected by situations over which we seem to have no control; that we
carry with us not only how we were brought up but also how our parents and their parents lived and the
joys and troubles that they went through. Often times we carry difficult baggage and so we do things to
ourselves and to those we love that hurt and that unfortunately control the direction of our lives and send
us where we don't wish to go. I am convinced of the truth of the African proverb "It does take a village to
raise a child;" not only by caring family but also by people who understand the hurts.
I have not known Darlene but relate here the stories I have been told. Darlene and my sister Mary Ann were
close buddies when they were little and some of what I write is from her. Some is from her brother Gary,
from my mother and from Darlene's friend Tammy Dillon of Clearwater, Florida, to whose children Darlene
was like their grandmother. When I think on her life, I am reminded the lyrics of a song by Linda Ronstad:
"Who can I turn to
When I cry like a rainstorm,
When I howl like the wind?"
Darlene was born Sept. 20, 1932 in Minneapolis and died April 3, 1997 at the age of 64 at Clearwater, Florida.
Darlene spent her childhood in north Minneapolis where the family lived. She was a pretty girl. The family
often visited with Wallace's twin brother Walter and his family and she often played with her cousin Jacqueline
(daughter of Walter and Esther later renamed Mary Ann). Mary Ann and Darlene were close and Mary Ann
remembers her fondly.
My sister Mary Ann says that it was due to drinking and gambling that the family had difficulty. But some
say this kind of thing was simply a continuation of what was characteristic of the family in North Dakota.
Darlene was the oldest of the children and became the family housekeeper and baby sitter. Mary Ann tells
a story that one of the younger kid's diapers would be messy and he'd be bawling but Darlene wasn't allowed
to change his diapers until she finished cleaning the house. Elsewhere, I've already told the story of when
Gladys would tell Wallace upon his arrival home from work that all of the children needed spankings so
Wallace would whip them all with his belt even though he didn't know what they had done.
At age twelve (1944), Darlene ran away to live with Wallace's sister Pearl and her family. She didn't want
to go home but her mother Gladys took her back and told her that all of the family and relatives hated her
so she’d better not try that again. Darlene confided in Mary Ann about what her mother said and Mary Ann told
her that it wasn't true. After that incident, Wallace and the family didn't keep in touch with the relatives as much.
Eventually, Wallace took the family to Detroit where he began work in the GM auto factory.
In Michigan, Darlene married Frankie Kochinski [sp]. They moved to California and they had one child
whom thy named Sherryl. Frankie and Darlene divorced many years ago. Darlene then married ___
and they were married about six years when he ran off with her daughter Sherryl who was then age
fourteen. Sherryl eventually left him and later married Bob Amell and they have three children.
Darlene took back her old name and has gone by the name Cowan since. She sold the house they had
lived in and moved to a mobile home at Clearwater, Florida.
Carol Cowan of Romulus, Michigan tells a different story of the separation between Darlene and her
daughter Sherryl. She says that Darlene’s husband and Scherryl did not run off together but moved
out for Sherryl’s own well being because Darlene was not a fit mother. They got an apartment in
Detroit and Carol was in touch with them for many years. I think the truth is somewhere between
these two stories.
Darlene had two close friends at Clearwater: Susie Henson and Tammy Dillon. But they would sometimes
get mad at one another and fight. They have even stopped talking to each other for lengthily times, but
Tammy said it was never a matter of not loving her. I talked to Tammy Dillon in July of 1997 after Darlene
died and she said Darlene had a good heart, loved children and took in foster children. She also says that
Darlene was like a mother to her and she loved her. Tammy's children considered Darlene their
grandmother and called her gramma. Darlene bought the children gifts for holidays and birthdays and
Tammy always saw to it that Darlene had a Christmas tree. These children were perhaps the only brightness
in her life.
In the early 1990's, Darlene was in a serious auto accident and has been disabled since. In addition to the
injury from the accident, Darlene suffered from lupus, diabetes and heart disease. Darlene's brother Buddy
was suffering from alcoholic liver disease but he came down to Florida to help her after the accident. If it
weren’t for Buddy, said Tammy, Darlene would have had to be placed in a nursing home. He even took
care of her personal toilet needs. Buddy died about a year later in June of 1994 of liver disease.
In the spring of 1996, I located Darlene's address and passed it on to my sister Mary Ann. Mary Ann
hadn't seen Darlene for many decades but Mary Ann contacted her and later in the year she and Esther
(Darlene's aunt, Mary Ann's mother) flew out to Floridato visit her. They took Darlene out a bit including
an excursion boat trip on the gulf and bought her some clothes and things. A melancholy story here that
typifies her condition is that Darlene had lost a lot of weight and her old slacks fell down as she got onto
the boat. Mary Ann had to help her pull them up and then found some pins to hold the slacks up again.
This story would be funny if it wasn't so sad. Darlene lived in mobile home park on the gulf coast at
Clearwater, Florida for several years and it was there that she died.
Her address was 24698 US HYW 19 North, Lot 218, Clearwater, FL34623. Phone (813) 724 1713 .
Darlene's neighbor Gordon ___ said that on Easter Sunday she was really sick and, sadly, Darlene died
four days later on Thursday, April 3, 1997 sprawled across her bed with no one to tend to her. Her body
was discovered a day and a half later. Darlene's friend Tammy Dillon said the doctor told her it may have
been a ruptured abdominal aneurysm but no autopsy was done. Tammy took care of her arrangements
and cremation and of disposing of her few possessions and the mobile home that were to go to Darlene's
brother Gary. According to Darlene's wishes, Tammy and Susie spread her ashes out over the gulf.
Tammy can be contacted at 1034 Bass Blvd., Dunedin, FL 34698 (813) 736 8580 and Susie Henson's
phone number is (813) 736 8321 .
Did Darlene have happy times and good times? I'm sure she did, but the general span of her life was
marked with difficulty and obstacles.
1J-1a Sherryl Kochinski
B. _____. Married to Bob Amell. Three children. (216) 274-0672_highlighting. Sherryl has said she is
interested in tracing the family history. Lives in Ohio. More information? The three children must
be in their middle and late 20’s in the year 2000.
1J-1a-1 ________ ______ Amell. b. ____
1J-1a-2 ________ ______ Amell. b. ____
1J-1a-3 ________ ______ Amell. b. ____
1J-2 Wallace Richard Gerald Cowan (Dickie),
b. Dec. 8, 193__. d. May 10, 1988 at age 57. His cousin Mary Ann Cowan says he was called Dickie in
his younger years. Dick married Geraldine Grimsby (sp) and they have five children. Geraldine was born
in 1933 and died April __, 198(3?) at age 50. Dick was 21 and Geraldine was 20 when Carol was born.
Dick joined the Marine in about 1953. He served in the Marines in the Korean Conflict and was wounded t
hree times by machine gun fire and was awarded the Purple Heart Medal. After the war Dick and the
family lived at Long Beach, California and later at Los Vegas for a number of years. Since about 1970,
Dick had no contact with the family but was said to be living in California. Knowledge of Dick's whereabouts
came about only after he died when his son Rick contacted Gary's daughter Tammy in Detroit. He thought
to call her because she has the same name as his daughter. More information? Dick's children are:
1J-2a Linda Cowan
b. ____ Linda was the firstborn and
Rick says she was born in the late 1940's when Dickie was still a teenager. Linda died at a young age of
tuberculosis. The family was quiet about her and apparently only a few folks actually knew of her.
After her death, little was said of her. Linda is probably buried at Long Beach, California.
1J-2b Carol Ann Cowan
b. April, ___1954 at Zieger Hospital in Detroit. Carol was 6 months old when the family moved to San J
ose, California. In her early teens, Carol moved away with a family she babysat for and left no forwarding
address. I have been told that she left to get away from what may have been a sexually abusive situation
in her family. Carol Ann was known to be in Ohio some years ago and her brother Rick is searching for her.
Rick says he last saw her almost thirty years ago back in about 1969. Gary says Carol’s married name is
Fry (sp) and that she was in Toledo. I have located a number of persons named Carol Fry or C. Fry in
Ohioand these need to be followed up. I found a Carol A. Fry in Mansfield who is deceased. Her husband's
name is Lewis Fry and he is retired from Lumberman's Insurance Company and I haven't been able to locate
him.
1J-2c Richard Gerald Cowan
b. April 12, 1959 at San Jose, California. Rick married Terry Eaton, b. June 24, 1961, at Riverside, California
on July 4, 1980. Rick and Terry and their three children live at 4775 Palma Drive, Lot 305. Kissimmee, FL
34746-5911(407) 396-9577. Terry is a muscular dystrophy carrier and the boys both have the disease.
Rick and Tammy don't get out much and, I am told, spend most of their time with their children and
caring for the boys full time. More information?
1J-2c-1 Richard Gerald Cowan
II “Ricky” b. August 28, 1979. Riverside, CA. In 1997 Ricky is 18, has muscular dystrophy and is confined
to his wheelchair.
Obituary: Ricky, age 25 was called to heaven Sunday, April 3, 2005. He was born in Riverside, Ca on
August 28, 1979. He graduated from Poinciana High School in May of 2001. He loved to watch movies,
sports and of being a sports announcer. The family will be having a small ceremony to celebrate Richard’s
life at his home on Sunday, April 10, 2005 at 7PM. His loving family includes Daddy, Mommy, his brother
Nicky, his sister, Tammy, brother-in-law Angel; nephews, Angel and Isaiah; nieces, Trindy and Alisha;
Grampa; aunt Debbie, Pam and Vicky: uncle Bruce; 13 cousins; Nick and Hector. Grissom Funeral Home,
330 Emmett Street, Kissimee, FL is in charge of arrangements.
1J-2c-2 Nicky David Cowan b. October 16, 1981. In 1997 Nicky is 16, has muscular dystrophy and
is confined to his wheelchair, as well.
1J-2c-3 Tammy Lynn Cowan b. Sept. 7, 1983. Married to Angel ____. Four children.
1J-2c-3a Angel _____
1J-2c-3b Isaiah _____
1J-2c-3c Trindy _____
1J-2c-3d Alisha _____
1J-2d Vickie Lynn Cowan
b. _____, 1960. Vickie was born in California -possibly at San Josewhere Rick was born. Rick says that
Vickie was last seen in Houston, Texas when she was about age 13 (1973). I am told that she also was
the subject of abuse in her family prior to her running away. No further information.
Rick would like to find her, also. Update summer 2003: Vickie located her brother Rick and has visited
him in Florida and with her Aunt Carol Cowan in Michigan. She has been looking to find any records of
her family and has visited the graves of her parents and is looking into records of her sister Carol Ann
in Ohio. I visited with her Aunt Carol on the phone and she wrote to me that she was so excited to see
Vickie again.
1J-2e Mark Lee Cowan
b. 1961 d. Dec 198(3). Mark was the youngest of the children of Dickie and Geraldine. Mark died some
years ago at age 22 at Phoenix, Arizona of alcoholism and of acute alcohol poisoning at about the same
time that his mother died. He was buried by the State of Arizona. No further information. Before he died
Mark fathered a daughter at Long Beach, CA born to Ms ___ Morales in the early 1980's.
1J-2e-1 Michelle ____ Morales born ___ in the early 1980's at Long Beach, CA. No further
record. Gary knows some about her.
1J-3 Ronald Cowan,
(Buddy or Bud) b. May 6, 1936 d. June, 1994 Married to Joyce Honeycutt. Joyce died in March of 1994.
Two children. More information?
1J-3a Renee ____ Cowan
b. June 2, 1960 Married Mark Taylor. They have six children.
37839 Marsala, Palmdale, CA 93552 805.272. 1867 (805) 272 1867
1J-3a-1 April Taylor, b. June 16, 1984
1J-3a-2 Joshua Taylor, b. March 14, 1986
1J-3a-3 Zachery Taylor, b. Feb. 13, 1988
1J-3a-4 Samantha Taylor, b. June 20, 1990
1J-3a-5 Rachel Taylor, b. Sept. 19, 1991
1J-3a-6 Sassadna Taylor, b. Oct. 11, 1995
1J-3b Deborah (Debbie) ___ Cowan
b. May 23, 1961. Debbie is married to David Sunter and they have two children.
1051 7th Avenue North, St Petersburg, FL 33705-1305 813.895.1198 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
1J-3b-1 Autumn Sunterb. Oct. 8, 1991
1J-3b-2 Faith Sunter b. July 6, 1995
1J-4 Donald Alvin Cowan.
Born May 23, 1933 and died Nov. 7, 1975. Married to Carol Marie Fairbanks. Donald died at age 42 of
Sarcoidosis. I was told that he picked this up from volcanic ash while in the military. Carol has kept the
Cowan name and has kept in touch over the past years. Mother says that Carol is a sweetheart and
I've heard comments from several folks that their family is real nice. Donald and Carol have one child.
Carol lives at 6045 Metro. Romulus, MI 48174. 313.291.3273
1J-4a Lynne Marie Cowan
b. Jan 31, 1957. Married to Jeff Voss but now divorced. Two children.
21226 Annapolis, Dearborn Heights, MI 48125. 313.730.9251 Interested in family history.
1J-4a-1 Diana Marie Voss b. Jan. 11, 1983
1J-4a-2 Jeffrey Allen Voss b. Oct. 1, 1984
1J-5 Gary John William Cowan
born May 16, 1947. Married to Nadeen Levere in September of 1969 and they divorced some
years ago. Since 1984, Garyhas been in a partner in a carpet cleaning business in Detroit. Gary
and Nadeen have three children. Gary lived with his father to care for him since his accident
during the winter of 1995 - 1996 Gary now lives with Debbie ___, his fiancée at 28730 Grand
River, Lot 19, Farmington Hills, MI 48336. 248.471.2106
(248) 471-2106 Update: Gary and Debbie were married on Nov. 21, 1997. Another update: Gary
and Debbie are no longer together. More information?
1J-5a Tammy Dawn Cowan
b. Dec. 2, 1971. Tammy has lived with her boyfriend Brian ___ for several years and doesn't keep
much in touch with her dad. Tammy and Brian have two children.
Tammy and Brian live at 2162 Homeplace Street, Dearborn, MI 48124-2435 (313) 724 0548.
1J-5a-1 Elizabeth Dawn Cowan b. Nov. 24, 1990
1J-5a-2 Samantha Anderson b. April 17, 1997
1J-5b Gregory Joseph Cowan
b. April 5, 1976. On July 12, 1997, Gary says he hasn't heard from Greg for about a year.
1J-5c Marcy Michelle Cowan
b. Jan. 3, 1979 On July 12, 1997, I talked with Gary, her dad and he said that Marcy stopped by the
day before to say goodbye as she and her boyfriend were moving to Florida to live near Rick at
Kissimmee, FL. 407. 396 9577
August 2006 - Marcy married Timothy Walls in March of 2005 and they live at 28730 Grand River #6,
Farmington Hills, MI 48336 and her phone # is 313.459.1979