Matthew Cowden and Martha Johnston

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Husband Matthew Cowden ^{1 2}

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           Born: Abt 1707 - northern Ireland
     Christened: 
           Died: Jul 1773 - Paxtang Twp, Lancaster (later Dauphin) Co, PA 1
         Buried: 

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         Father: William Cowden (      -      ) 1 2
         Mother: 

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       Marriage: 1730 1 3

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Wife Martha Johnston ³

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            AKA: Martha Johnson 1
           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried:  - Paxtang Cemetery, Paxtang, Lancaster Co, PA

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Children

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1 M William Cowden ^{1 4}

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           Born: 11 Jan 1731 1 4
     Christened: 
           Died: Feb 1782 1 4
         Buried: 

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2 F Margaret Cowden ^{1 4}

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           Born: 1733 4
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

         Spouse: John Gilchrist (      -      ) 1 4

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3 M John Cowden ^{1 4}

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           Born: 1735 - Paxtang Twp, Lancaster (later Dauphin) Co, PA 1 4
     Christened: 
           Died: Aug 1776 - Cumberland Co, PA 1 4
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Mary Reynolds (      -      ) 5
           Marr: Abt 1750

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4 M Col. James Cowden ^{4 6 7 8 9}

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           Born: 16 Jun 1737 - Paxtang Twp, Lancaster (later Dauphin) Co, PA 1 4 6
     Christened: 
           Died: 10 Oct 1810 - Paxtang, Dauphin Co, PA 4 6 10
         Buried:  - Paxtang Church Cemetery, Paxtang, Dauphin Co, PA

         Spouse: Mary Crouch (1757-1848) 4 6 7 9
           Marr: 20 Mar 1777 11 12

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5 F Mary Cowden ^{1 13}

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           Born: 10 Dec 1739 1
     Christened: 
           Died: 5 Jul 1809 1
         Buried:  - Derry Church, Dauphin Co, PA

         Spouse: David Wray (1728-1805) 1 13
           Marr: 23 Jan 1777 12

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6 F Elizabeth Cowden ^{1 13}

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           Born: 1741 1 13
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Robert Keys (      -      ) 1 13

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7 F Rebecca Cowden ^{1 13}

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           Born: 1743 1 13
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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8 M Benjamin Cowden ^{1 13}

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           Born: 1745 1 13
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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General Notes: Husband - Matthew Cowden

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He came to America prior to 1729, and took up a tract of land in Paxtang, upon which he resided until his death.

In the year 1728 or 1729 he left his home [Ireland?] and made the journey to Pennsylvania, landing at Philadelphia. He made his way to the eastern bank of the Susquehanna River and settled near where the city of Harrisburg was later located.
In 1749 he paid taxes on 300 acres in what later became Paxtang township, Dauphin County.

They may have been buried in the old Covenanter Church cemetery, about six miles from Harrisburg. Another source believes they were buried in Paxtang Cemetery, Paxtang, Lancaster (later Dauphin) County.

1 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 143.

2 Rev. James Marcus Welch, Ancestry and Kin of the Cowden and Welch Families (Indiana, PA: 1904), Pg 12.

3 Rev. James Marcus Welch, Ancestry and Kin of the Cowden and Welch Families (Indiana, PA: 1904), Pg 14.

4 Rev. James Marcus Welch, Ancestry and Kin of the Cowden and Welch Families (Indiana, PA: 1904), Pg 20.

5 Rev. James Marcus Welch, Ancestry and Kin of the Cowden and Welch Families (Indiana, PA: 1904), Pg 22.

6 William Henry Egle, History of the County of Dauphin in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: Everts & Peck, 1883), Pg 476.

7 Editor, Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania (Chambersburg, PA: J. M. Runk & Company, Publishers, 1896), Pg 174.

8 William Henry Egle, Historical Register: Notes and Queries, Historical and Genealogical (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Company, 1894), Pg 402.

9 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 143, 145.

10 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 144.

11 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 145.

12 William Henry Egle, Historical Register: Notes and Queries, Historical and Genealogical (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Company, 1894), Pg 163.

13 Rev. James Marcus Welch, Ancestry and Kin of the Cowden and Welch Families (Indiana, PA: 1904), Pg 21.