The Years Move On and the Fabric of the Family Changes
Each of us one-by-one grows old and, although in many ways we remain the same; our stations and roles in life change. We’re cared for as children; then have children of our own; our children move away and finally, we hope we are watched over and cared for in our old age and then are gone. In the introduction to this anthology, you may remember my statement that, “For everyone’s life, there is a story - - a tale that is meaningful and important; for in its fabric is woven the very fact of existence. But after a while that story is forgotten.” Some may have noted how this statement is a parody of William Shakespeare’s mocking comments that, “Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury; signifying nothing.” I’m sure ol’ Will meant for us to wrestle with that issue.
So I believe it is because of how life changes that we need to keep in mind what went on before and to remember. And so families change - -Children are born; they grow up; they move on and we grow old. Bill’s children have a wide span of years between them with the oldest born in 1874 and the youngest born in 1898, twenty-four years later. The oldest married in 1890 and the youngest married in 1920. As you will see below, the fabric of Bill’s family changes during that span of thirty years as the children marry, move away and have children of their own.
I now move ahead to the turn of the century to about the time when the children move on: four of the children have married and moved away; two of the children have died; and only one child - -Lee - - is at home up to the time that his dad died in 1918. I then move to a chronology of the period of 1793 to 1968 - - from the time of the birth of William’s grandfather to the death of his last child.
Granville, The Gathering Place
It is interesting to note that Bill’s four children by Margaret (Lizzie, Robert, Jim and Stan), eventually set up farming in the Granville area, a small town about two hundred miles to the northwest up by Minot. Their remaining child at home, Lee, married a girl from Lisbon and they stayed there.
I believe that the reasons that the children moved to the Granville area are twofold. First, of the seven children, two are daughters and in 1897 their daughter, Lynne, age 8, died and their daughter Lizzie, now age sixteen, moved away with her husband, Ira Nead to homestead a place at Granville. They moved there because this is where Ira’s family is from and I would guess that Ira and Lizzie moved there to be near his family. Secondly, and no small thing, farming seemed to be good in the area and homesteading was available. It appears, then, that Lizzie was the first to move to the Granville area and she and Ira were the reason that the rest of the family eventually moved there. So after Lynne’s death, Lizzie was the only girl in the family - - and notwithstanding other reasons for homesteading around Granville, Lizzie and her husband must have been well liked for her brothers to also make that move with their families to be near their sister and her husband. Again, I believe that this points out that the strength of family ties should not be underestimated, particularly for the Cowans during that span of years.
So in 1897 Bill’s daughter Lizzie and her husband Ira moved from Sheldon to homestead a farm near his family. That town happened to be Granville - - a town about twenty miles east of Minotand two hundred miles northwest of Sheldon. Then in 1905 Robert and his wife Anna homesteaded a farm at Douglas - -a town just south of Minot near Granville. By 1912 Stan and his bride Mae were also living at Granville. So when Jim and Inga moved up to Granville from Minneapolis some time after 1924, all of Margaret’s children (Except their brother Thomas who had died a few years earlier and Lizzie who died of pneumonia two years earlier) were brought together in north central North Dakota. The only other sibling was Lee who was Dell’s son and quiet a bit younger than the rest.
Jim’s daughter Mae married Paul Penfield and they moved to Minnesota and had five children. Mae and Paul later separated and Mae and the children then moved back to Granville where they lived for many years while the five children were growing up. Except for times away teaching, Mae lived for the most part, at Granville up to close to the time that she died in 1973. As her children married, most of them stayed in the Granville area as well.
Also Inga’s sister Hattie and her husband Krogh Ovre and their family farmed to the south a few miles at Mercer.
So, my goodness, as you may imagine life at Granville up until the early 1940 included many family gatherings, weddings and special occasions.Jim was good on the violin and provided much entertainment before his stroke in 1932. There are many photographs of life at Granville, I’m sure, spread out among the family. My mother Esther has a number of pictures which Walter had which were taken during the middle and late 1920’s showing the kids growing up and work on the farm there at Granville.
A Chronicle 1793 - 1968
The following is a chronology of events that took place during the period of 1793 - 968, beginning with the birth of Bill’s grandfather and concluding with the death of his last child. Of particular interest are the years of 1897 to 1920 when the family moved to the Granville area. There are many stories as yet untold. For an excellent chronicle of North Dakota people; why they came during the pioneer days, the expectation of prosperity, and why many left during the 1920’s, see the North Dakota video “Where Have All the Children Gone.”
The video is available from Filmmakers Library,
124 E.40th St., Ste 901,
New York, NY 10016.
1 (800) 555-9815
or the North Dakota State UniversityLibrary at Fargo.
The story is a mirror of our family and it tells of
the hopes and tenacity of a people who sought
to bring prosperity from the earth and found
many obstacles.
1793 November 15th. Robert McMichael, son of Thomas and ______ McMichael of Hillend, was baptized at Dumfriesshire, Scotland. At about age 26 or earlier, Robert marries Grizel Niveson, b. June 17, 1799 of Conmouth.
1819 Eliza Gunson Child of Richard and Francis Gunson, was christened 6 September, 1819, Barrow Upon Humber, in Lincolnshire County, England.Barrow Upon Humber is on the coast of a large inlet on the North Sea south of Edinburgh. Although a direct link to this person has not been established, she is about the right age to fit and no other persons with this name have been found.
1821 March 21. Thomas Victor was born to Robert and Grizel McMichael at Dumfriesshire.
1840 Robert and Eliza nee Gunston Cowan arrive in Canada from Scotland.
1840 William Cowan was born to Robert and Eliza Cowan at Quebec.
1842 Robert and Grizel McMichael came to Canada together with their children and settle at Seaforth in Ontario.
Thomas Victor McMichael and his bride Elizabeth McMillan are with them.
1845 Margaret McMichael was born to Thomas and Elizabeth McMicheal at Seaforth.
1864 Inger Akre (Inga) was born at Highlandville, Iowa. At age 26 she will marry William M.
Cowan’s son William James (Jim) and they will have 11 children.
1866 William M. Cowan and Margaret McMichael were married at the Canadian Presbyterian Church of Clinton, Ontario.
1870 Dellia Carr was born at Melbourne, Ontario. At age 27 Dell will marry William M. Cowan.
1874 William James was born to William and Margaret Cowan at Seaforth.
1876 Thomas was born to William and Margaret Cowan at Seaforth.
1879 Robert A. was born to William and Margaret Cowan at Seaforth.
1879 Elizabeth McMichael (Margaret’s mother) was placed in an insane asylum in Huron County and dies within a month of blood poisoning from injuries.
1880 William M. and Margaret Cowan moved with their family in March of 1880 from Seaforth, Ontario to Owego Twp. near Sheldon, North Dakota.
1881 Elizabeth Jane was born to Bill (Wm) and Margaret Cowan at Sheldon.
1885 Stanley was born to Bill and Margaret Cowan at Sheldon.
1889 Daughter Lynne was born to Bill and Dell.
1889 - Nov 2nd The Dakota territory is split into the north and south and they become the 39th and 40th states of the union.
1890 Bill’s wife Margaret died and is buried at Sheldon.
1890 Bill’s Son Jim, age 16 married Inger Akre and they live at Sheldon.
1895 Bill’s daughter Lizzie, age 13, married Ira Nead.
1895 December 15 Lizzie had a childMargaret Ann, named after her grandmother, who lived just 5 weeks and was buried at Sheldon near Margaret, her grandmother.
1897 December 31 BillCowan and Dell Carr were married at Lisbon.
1897 Springtime, Daughter Lizzie, now fifteen, and her husband Ira Nead moved away from Sheldon and homestead a farm near Granville.
1898 Springtime, Son Jim and his wife Inga move away from Sheldon to Anselm, a few miles south of Sheldon, to begin their own farm there.
1897 Fall, Son Thomas was looking for work and an ad appears in Sheldon Enterprise.
1898 November 15, Son Lee was born to Bill and Dell at Sheldon.Article appears in Sheldon Enterprise.
1901 Son Robert married Anna Donovan and moved away from Sheldon to Lisbon, a few miles south of Sheldon and Anna’s hometown, to set up a livery stable there. Shortly thereafter, they move up to Norwich, a town about four miles west of Granville.
1901 Bill is 56 years old, Dell was 32 years old; the family was small now and Bill doesn’t have much help for the farm or to help with work any more. Bill’s son, Jim and his family were living at Anselm; his son, Robert and his family were now living at Lisbon and about to move to Norwich.The children at home are Lynne, age 12; Thomas, age 24; Stanley who is now 16 and Lee who is 3.
1902 or later Bill and Dell’s daughter Lynne died and is buried at Sheldon near Margaret, Bill’s first wife.
1905 Bill’s son Robert and his wife Anna moved from Norwich to homestead at Douglas, just south of Minot. Bill is now 60 years of age and Dell is 36. Stanleyis twenty and Lee is seven.
1909 (Year uncertain) Stan, now 24 and living at Granville, married Mae ___ of Devonshire, Englandand they live at Granville.
1910 (Year uncertain) Jim and Inga’s daughter Mae returned with her five children from Little Fork, Minnesota to live at Granville.
1910 Bill’s son Thomas, now age 33,was listed in a 1910 atlas as still living on the farm in Sheldon at Owego Township. Dudley Cowan told me back in 1972 that Thomas was said to have epilepsy; that he never married and died young. Dudley said that he was buried at Enderlin, a few miles to the north of Sheldon. I have found no further information about Thomas. No grave marker is found for him in the county around Sheldon so it is likely he is buried in an unmarked grave. My guess is that he died shortly after 1910 in his mid 30’s.
1918 Bill, husband of Dell, dies at age 77. He was buried at Sheldon. No records show any of his family living at Sheldon at the time of his death. Bill is buried at Sheldon cemetery, block 12, lot 8 in an unmarked grave. Bill died on June 4, 1918.
1918 (Year uncertain) Dell, now age 49, married George Griffin, a widower who owns a farm at Granville.
1920 On May 4th, Jim and Inga’s son Lloyd, now in his early twenties and living at Enderlin and playing on the Owego ball team, marriedLouise Van Horn of Lisbonand start a farm of their own at Granville. They later move, together with Lee and Kate, to Washington State to work in the navy shipyards.
1920 (Appr.– Year uncertain) Bill and Dell’s son Lee, now age 20 and living at Owego and playing on the ball team there, married Louise Van Horn’s sister Kate. They moved to Lisbonwhere Lee operated his own livery stable and Kate waitressed at a cafe. At Lee’s age 21, their daughter Doris was born at Lisbon. They later move to Washington along with Lloyd
and Louise.
1922 Bill’s daughter Lizzie died at age 41 of pneumonia and is buried at Sheldon near her infant daughter Margaret Ann. Lizzie and Ira have a number of descendants.
1923 (Appr.) Jim and Inga sold their farm at Enderlin and moved to Minneapolis and live there for a year or so. They have eleven children - - Mae, their oldest child, is 32 and Pearl, the youngest, is just fourteen.
1924 (Year uncertain) Jim and Inga moved to a small farm in the Granville area.
1932 Bill’s son Jim had a stroke on the farm in Granville and can no longer work. Many of Bill’s descendants live in the Granville area. Dell still has family in the Sheldon area.
1936 Lizzie’s husband Ira suffered a stroke and died in the state hospital at Jamestown at age 66. He is buried at the state hospital cemetery about a half-mile in from the road.
1938 Dell and George have lived at Granville for a number of years. Dell died in 1938 at the age of 68 and is buried at Granville, North Dakota.
1940 Inga Cowan, wife of Bill’s son Jim, died at Minneapolis General Hospital at age 75.
1942 Bill’s son Jim died in the State Hospital at Rochester, Minnesota. Jim and Inga are buried in adjacent graves at Crystal Lake Cemetery, section 26 at Minneapolis. They have many descendants..
1957 Bill’s son Robert died at Minneapolis. Robert and Anna are buried at Minot, North Dakota and have many descendants.
1963 Lee, son of Bill and Dell died in California at age 65. Lee and Kate are buried at __?
March 13, 1968: Bill’s son Stan died at age 83 at Minneapolis.
1983 Stan’s wife Mae died in a nursing home in Blaine,Minnesota (A suburb of Minneapolis) in 1983 about 15 years after Stan at age 95.Stan and Mae are laid to rest at Crystal Lake cemetery, section 26 at Minneapolis. Stan and Mae have one daughter, Maud and leave no descendants. Maud and her husband, Jay Munson, are buried adjacent to her parents, Stan and Mae.
The death of Stan closes the saga of the immediate family of William M. Cowan of Quebec, of Seaforth, and of Sheldon. Thanks be to God. Amen. Blessed be the memory of these people who are our family and of all who have died. In this year of 1996 after the birth of Christ over 400 descendants of William M. Cowan are recorded.
A Benediction Forevermore:
Jesus said. “I AM the resurrection and the life, said the Lord: He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” So we commend these who have died to Christ Jesus in his mercy and we look to the resurrection of the dead and to life everlasting. May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, now and forevermore. Amen.
So I believe it is because of how life changes that we need to keep in mind what went on before and to remember. And so families change - -Children are born; they grow up; they move on and we grow old. Bill’s children have a wide span of years between them with the oldest born in 1874 and the youngest born in 1898, twenty-four years later. The oldest married in 1890 and the youngest married in 1920. As you will see below, the fabric of Bill’s family changes during that span of thirty years as the children marry, move away and have children of their own.
I now move ahead to the turn of the century to about the time when the children move on: four of the children have married and moved away; two of the children have died; and only one child - -Lee - - is at home up to the time that his dad died in 1918. I then move to a chronology of the period of 1793 to 1968 - - from the time of the birth of William’s grandfather to the death of his last child.
Granville, The Gathering Place
It is interesting to note that Bill’s four children by Margaret (Lizzie, Robert, Jim and Stan), eventually set up farming in the Granville area, a small town about two hundred miles to the northwest up by Minot. Their remaining child at home, Lee, married a girl from Lisbon and they stayed there.
I believe that the reasons that the children moved to the Granville area are twofold. First, of the seven children, two are daughters and in 1897 their daughter, Lynne, age 8, died and their daughter Lizzie, now age sixteen, moved away with her husband, Ira Nead to homestead a place at Granville. They moved there because this is where Ira’s family is from and I would guess that Ira and Lizzie moved there to be near his family. Secondly, and no small thing, farming seemed to be good in the area and homesteading was available. It appears, then, that Lizzie was the first to move to the Granville area and she and Ira were the reason that the rest of the family eventually moved there. So after Lynne’s death, Lizzie was the only girl in the family - - and notwithstanding other reasons for homesteading around Granville, Lizzie and her husband must have been well liked for her brothers to also make that move with their families to be near their sister and her husband. Again, I believe that this points out that the strength of family ties should not be underestimated, particularly for the Cowans during that span of years.
So in 1897 Bill’s daughter Lizzie and her husband Ira moved from Sheldon to homestead a farm near his family. That town happened to be Granville - - a town about twenty miles east of Minotand two hundred miles northwest of Sheldon. Then in 1905 Robert and his wife Anna homesteaded a farm at Douglas - -a town just south of Minot near Granville. By 1912 Stan and his bride Mae were also living at Granville. So when Jim and Inga moved up to Granville from Minneapolis some time after 1924, all of Margaret’s children (Except their brother Thomas who had died a few years earlier and Lizzie who died of pneumonia two years earlier) were brought together in north central North Dakota. The only other sibling was Lee who was Dell’s son and quiet a bit younger than the rest.
Jim’s daughter Mae married Paul Penfield and they moved to Minnesota and had five children. Mae and Paul later separated and Mae and the children then moved back to Granville where they lived for many years while the five children were growing up. Except for times away teaching, Mae lived for the most part, at Granville up to close to the time that she died in 1973. As her children married, most of them stayed in the Granville area as well.
Also Inga’s sister Hattie and her husband Krogh Ovre and their family farmed to the south a few miles at Mercer.
So, my goodness, as you may imagine life at Granville up until the early 1940 included many family gatherings, weddings and special occasions.Jim was good on the violin and provided much entertainment before his stroke in 1932. There are many photographs of life at Granville, I’m sure, spread out among the family. My mother Esther has a number of pictures which Walter had which were taken during the middle and late 1920’s showing the kids growing up and work on the farm there at Granville.
A Chronicle 1793 - 1968
The following is a chronology of events that took place during the period of 1793 - 968, beginning with the birth of Bill’s grandfather and concluding with the death of his last child. Of particular interest are the years of 1897 to 1920 when the family moved to the Granville area. There are many stories as yet untold. For an excellent chronicle of North Dakota people; why they came during the pioneer days, the expectation of prosperity, and why many left during the 1920’s, see the North Dakota video “Where Have All the Children Gone.”
The video is available from Filmmakers Library,
124 E.40th St., Ste 901,
New York, NY 10016.
1 (800) 555-9815
or the North Dakota State UniversityLibrary at Fargo.
The story is a mirror of our family and it tells of
the hopes and tenacity of a people who sought
to bring prosperity from the earth and found
many obstacles.
1793 November 15th. Robert McMichael, son of Thomas and ______ McMichael of Hillend, was baptized at Dumfriesshire, Scotland. At about age 26 or earlier, Robert marries Grizel Niveson, b. June 17, 1799 of Conmouth.
1819 Eliza Gunson Child of Richard and Francis Gunson, was christened 6 September, 1819, Barrow Upon Humber, in Lincolnshire County, England.Barrow Upon Humber is on the coast of a large inlet on the North Sea south of Edinburgh. Although a direct link to this person has not been established, she is about the right age to fit and no other persons with this name have been found.
1821 March 21. Thomas Victor was born to Robert and Grizel McMichael at Dumfriesshire.
1840 Robert and Eliza nee Gunston Cowan arrive in Canada from Scotland.
1840 William Cowan was born to Robert and Eliza Cowan at Quebec.
1842 Robert and Grizel McMichael came to Canada together with their children and settle at Seaforth in Ontario.
Thomas Victor McMichael and his bride Elizabeth McMillan are with them.
1845 Margaret McMichael was born to Thomas and Elizabeth McMicheal at Seaforth.
1864 Inger Akre (Inga) was born at Highlandville, Iowa. At age 26 she will marry William M.
Cowan’s son William James (Jim) and they will have 11 children.
1866 William M. Cowan and Margaret McMichael were married at the Canadian Presbyterian Church of Clinton, Ontario.
1870 Dellia Carr was born at Melbourne, Ontario. At age 27 Dell will marry William M. Cowan.
1874 William James was born to William and Margaret Cowan at Seaforth.
1876 Thomas was born to William and Margaret Cowan at Seaforth.
1879 Robert A. was born to William and Margaret Cowan at Seaforth.
1879 Elizabeth McMichael (Margaret’s mother) was placed in an insane asylum in Huron County and dies within a month of blood poisoning from injuries.
1880 William M. and Margaret Cowan moved with their family in March of 1880 from Seaforth, Ontario to Owego Twp. near Sheldon, North Dakota.
1881 Elizabeth Jane was born to Bill (Wm) and Margaret Cowan at Sheldon.
1885 Stanley was born to Bill and Margaret Cowan at Sheldon.
1889 Daughter Lynne was born to Bill and Dell.
1889 - Nov 2nd The Dakota territory is split into the north and south and they become the 39th and 40th states of the union.
1890 Bill’s wife Margaret died and is buried at Sheldon.
1890 Bill’s Son Jim, age 16 married Inger Akre and they live at Sheldon.
1895 Bill’s daughter Lizzie, age 13, married Ira Nead.
1895 December 15 Lizzie had a childMargaret Ann, named after her grandmother, who lived just 5 weeks and was buried at Sheldon near Margaret, her grandmother.
1897 December 31 BillCowan and Dell Carr were married at Lisbon.
1897 Springtime, Daughter Lizzie, now fifteen, and her husband Ira Nead moved away from Sheldon and homestead a farm near Granville.
1898 Springtime, Son Jim and his wife Inga move away from Sheldon to Anselm, a few miles south of Sheldon, to begin their own farm there.
1897 Fall, Son Thomas was looking for work and an ad appears in Sheldon Enterprise.
1898 November 15, Son Lee was born to Bill and Dell at Sheldon.Article appears in Sheldon Enterprise.
1901 Son Robert married Anna Donovan and moved away from Sheldon to Lisbon, a few miles south of Sheldon and Anna’s hometown, to set up a livery stable there. Shortly thereafter, they move up to Norwich, a town about four miles west of Granville.
1901 Bill is 56 years old, Dell was 32 years old; the family was small now and Bill doesn’t have much help for the farm or to help with work any more. Bill’s son, Jim and his family were living at Anselm; his son, Robert and his family were now living at Lisbon and about to move to Norwich.The children at home are Lynne, age 12; Thomas, age 24; Stanley who is now 16 and Lee who is 3.
1902 or later Bill and Dell’s daughter Lynne died and is buried at Sheldon near Margaret, Bill’s first wife.
1905 Bill’s son Robert and his wife Anna moved from Norwich to homestead at Douglas, just south of Minot. Bill is now 60 years of age and Dell is 36. Stanleyis twenty and Lee is seven.
1909 (Year uncertain) Stan, now 24 and living at Granville, married Mae ___ of Devonshire, Englandand they live at Granville.
1910 (Year uncertain) Jim and Inga’s daughter Mae returned with her five children from Little Fork, Minnesota to live at Granville.
1910 Bill’s son Thomas, now age 33,was listed in a 1910 atlas as still living on the farm in Sheldon at Owego Township. Dudley Cowan told me back in 1972 that Thomas was said to have epilepsy; that he never married and died young. Dudley said that he was buried at Enderlin, a few miles to the north of Sheldon. I have found no further information about Thomas. No grave marker is found for him in the county around Sheldon so it is likely he is buried in an unmarked grave. My guess is that he died shortly after 1910 in his mid 30’s.
1918 Bill, husband of Dell, dies at age 77. He was buried at Sheldon. No records show any of his family living at Sheldon at the time of his death. Bill is buried at Sheldon cemetery, block 12, lot 8 in an unmarked grave. Bill died on June 4, 1918.
1918 (Year uncertain) Dell, now age 49, married George Griffin, a widower who owns a farm at Granville.
1920 On May 4th, Jim and Inga’s son Lloyd, now in his early twenties and living at Enderlin and playing on the Owego ball team, marriedLouise Van Horn of Lisbonand start a farm of their own at Granville. They later move, together with Lee and Kate, to Washington State to work in the navy shipyards.
1920 (Appr.– Year uncertain) Bill and Dell’s son Lee, now age 20 and living at Owego and playing on the ball team there, married Louise Van Horn’s sister Kate. They moved to Lisbonwhere Lee operated his own livery stable and Kate waitressed at a cafe. At Lee’s age 21, their daughter Doris was born at Lisbon. They later move to Washington along with Lloyd
and Louise.
1922 Bill’s daughter Lizzie died at age 41 of pneumonia and is buried at Sheldon near her infant daughter Margaret Ann. Lizzie and Ira have a number of descendants.
1923 (Appr.) Jim and Inga sold their farm at Enderlin and moved to Minneapolis and live there for a year or so. They have eleven children - - Mae, their oldest child, is 32 and Pearl, the youngest, is just fourteen.
1924 (Year uncertain) Jim and Inga moved to a small farm in the Granville area.
1932 Bill’s son Jim had a stroke on the farm in Granville and can no longer work. Many of Bill’s descendants live in the Granville area. Dell still has family in the Sheldon area.
1936 Lizzie’s husband Ira suffered a stroke and died in the state hospital at Jamestown at age 66. He is buried at the state hospital cemetery about a half-mile in from the road.
1938 Dell and George have lived at Granville for a number of years. Dell died in 1938 at the age of 68 and is buried at Granville, North Dakota.
1940 Inga Cowan, wife of Bill’s son Jim, died at Minneapolis General Hospital at age 75.
1942 Bill’s son Jim died in the State Hospital at Rochester, Minnesota. Jim and Inga are buried in adjacent graves at Crystal Lake Cemetery, section 26 at Minneapolis. They have many descendants..
1957 Bill’s son Robert died at Minneapolis. Robert and Anna are buried at Minot, North Dakota and have many descendants.
1963 Lee, son of Bill and Dell died in California at age 65. Lee and Kate are buried at __?
March 13, 1968: Bill’s son Stan died at age 83 at Minneapolis.
1983 Stan’s wife Mae died in a nursing home in Blaine,Minnesota (A suburb of Minneapolis) in 1983 about 15 years after Stan at age 95.Stan and Mae are laid to rest at Crystal Lake cemetery, section 26 at Minneapolis. Stan and Mae have one daughter, Maud and leave no descendants. Maud and her husband, Jay Munson, are buried adjacent to her parents, Stan and Mae.
The death of Stan closes the saga of the immediate family of William M. Cowan of Quebec, of Seaforth, and of Sheldon. Thanks be to God. Amen. Blessed be the memory of these people who are our family and of all who have died. In this year of 1996 after the birth of Christ over 400 descendants of William M. Cowan are recorded.
A Benediction Forevermore:
Jesus said. “I AM the resurrection and the life, said the Lord: He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” So we commend these who have died to Christ Jesus in his mercy and we look to the resurrection of the dead and to life everlasting. May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, now and forevermore. Amen.