John COWLES

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He is said to have been born in the west of England; was among the early settlers at Hartford and not long after 1640, located at Farmington, where he served as Townsman and in 1652, was one of those who organized the church there, being one of the "Seven Pillars." His land was on the corner at the north end of Farmington Village. Selling this property, he bought three lots just south of the present meeting house and built his house there. He was a farmer; was Deputy to the General Assembly from Farmington at the October and November sessions of 1653 and the May session of 1654. It has been erroneously said that he was one of the "signers" who started the settlement at Hadley, (Judd's Hadley, 1905 edition, p. 11.) He was one of the twenty-five "engagers" in Hadley to establish themselves at Hatfield, "cross the River" before March 25, 1661, and his record there begins in January, 1660/1; Freeman 1666. He was Townsman of Hadley, 1667. It is said that he spelled his name "Cowles" to distinguish himself from another man in the place named cole, but this seems doubtful. He may have been a brother of James of Hartford.

He probably came from Gloucestershire, where the Cowles family were more numerous than in any other part of England at that time, but a limited search of the records there and elsewhere in England by the College of Arms and a search by the compiler of the printed English records available, have failed to locate the place from whence he came or to trace his ancestry.

His name appears as Coll, Colles, Cole, Coles, Coal, Coale, Coales and Coalles in the earl record and for the first time as Cowles in the record of a court held at Hartford in 1659, at which he was a juror and again in two similar records and as appraiser of an estate in 1662-3. It appears as Cowles in his own will and that of his wife Hannah, in Farmington land records in 1666, in the record of his son John's marriage in 1668 and in that of his own death at Hatfield, Mass., Sept. 1675. It was the common belief of the genealogists of the last century that he changed his name from Cole to Cowles in order to distinguish his family from that o another John Cole of the same town, and some went so far as to say that he originated the name Cowles and that all who bore it were his descendants. But none of this is true for the reason that he signed his name by mark and could not have changed its spelling, that the name Cowles is an ancient one in England, antedating 1553, and that there are several Cowles families inAmerica who are not his descendants. However there is good reason to believe that the name Cowles was derived from that of Cole at some time prior to 1553 when it first appears of record in several counties in England almost simultaneously. If all of these families were descended from the same Cowles ancestor he must have lived at a much earlier period, but the probabilities are that each family derived its name independently from that of Cole. In the early records the Cowles family usually appears in the same neighborhood as the Cole family and sometimes the name of the same person is spelt first one way and then the other.

John Cowles was a farmer and doubtless had but little spare time or inclination for public office; yet as a good citizen he served in the various capacities noted in his record. After raising and educating a large family of children he left comparatively good estate, and his children all married into some of the most prominent families in New England.

Family/Spouse: Hannah ?. Hannah was born about 1613; died on 16 Mar 1683/4 in Hartford, Hartford Co., Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Son of John and Hannah Cowles of Hartford, Conn.

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He was one of the eighty-four proprietors of Farmington in 1672; inherited his father's estate there and became one of the leading citizens. He was a man of energy, enterprise and possessed what passed for wealth at that time. Joined the church with his wife in 1690; was the progenitor of the Connecticut branch of the Cowles family as his brother John was of the Massachusetts branch.

Samuel married Abigail STANLEY on 14 Jan 1660/1. Abigail (daughter of Timothy STANLEY and Elizabeth ?) was born in Hartford, Connecticut; died in 1736 in Farmington, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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John Cowles went with his father to Hadley, Mass., and settled in that part afterwards called Hatfield. He may have accompanied his father in 1660, but whether he remained there or returned to Conn., and went back again with the family in 1664 is not known. He was selectman in 1682, 1683 and 1689; Constable March 1690; freeman May 30, 1690. In 1698 he signed his name to an agreement as John Cols, but it appears as Cowles in the record of his marriage and the settlement of his estate. His estate, inventoried at L591-2-0, was settled Dec. 11, 1711, at Northampton, Mass. He was a large landholder.

John married Deborah BARTLETT on 22 Nov 1668. Deborah was christened on 18 Mar 1646/7 in Hartford, Hartford Co., Connecticut; died on 11 Dec 1711. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Hannah married Capt. Caleb STANLEY about 1663. Caleb (son of Timothy STANLEY and Elizabeth ?) was born in Mar 1642; died on 5 May 1718. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Sarah married Nathaniel GOODWIN about 1664. Nathaniel (son of Ozias GOODWIN and Mary WOODWARD) was born about 1637; died on 8 Jan 1713/4. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Esther married Deacon Thomas BULL on 29 Aug 1669 in Farmington, Connecticut. Thomas (son of Thomas BULL and Susanna ?) was born in 1646 in Hartford, Connecticut (probably); died on 13 May 1708 in Farmington, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Elizabeth married Richard LYMAN on 26 May 1675 in Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts. Richard (son of Richard LYMAN and Hepzibah FORD) was born about 1647 in Windsor, Connecticut; died on 4 Nov 1708 in Lebanon, New London Co., Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Daughter of John Cowles

Mary married Nehemiah DICKINSON in 1671. Nehemiah (son of Deacon Nathaniel DICKINSON and Anne ?) was born about 16 Aug 1643 in Wethersfield, Hartford Co., Connecticut; died on 09 Sep 1723 in Hadley, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]