Cowee History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland

The ancient Scottish name Cowee was first used by someone who worked as a tender of cattle. The name is an adaptation of the Old English word cuhyrde, of the same meaning. It derives from the roots, cu, meaning cow, and hierde, meaning herdsman. The family were "mainly from the ancient barony of Cowie in Kincardineshire." 1 2

Early Origins of the Cowee family

The surname Cowee was first found in Kincardineshire (Gaelic: A' Mhaoirne), a former county on the northeast coast of the Grampian region of Scotland, and part of the Aberdeenshire Council Area since 1996. Cowie is a small village "situated at the mouth of the river Cowie, which falls into a bay of that name, forming a small and commodious harbour." 3

Cowie Castle is a ruined fortress nearby and is thought to have been the site of a royal hunting lodge in the Middle Ages. Cowie Chapel also known as the Chapel of St. Mary and St. Nathalan is a ruined chapel but is one of the oldest surviving structures in Kincardineshire.

One of the first records of the family was Herbert de Cowy who witnessed a charter by Nicholas de Dumfres in 1394. Years later, John Cowy was admitted burgess of Aberdeen in 1505. 1

Early History of the Cowee family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cowee research. Another 174 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1040, 1394, 1505, 1512, 1600, 1642 and 1646 are included under the topic Early Cowee History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cowee Spelling Variations

In the era before dictionaries, there were no rules governing the spelling or translation of names or any other words. Consequently, there are an enormous number of spelling variations in Medieval Scottish names. Cowee has appeared as Cowie, Cowey, Cowy, Covie, Cowye, Covey, Cowwie, Cowwey, Coavie, Coawie, Kowie, Kowey, Kovey and many more.

Early Notables of the Cowee family

More information is included under the topic Early Cowee Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cowee migration to the United States +

The freedom, opportunity, and land of the North American colonies beckoned. There, Scots found a place where they were generally free from persecution and where they could go on to become important players in the birth of new nations. Some fought in the American War of Independence, while others went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestors of all of these Scottish settlers have been able to recover their lost national heritage in the last century through highland games and Clan societies in North America. Among them:

Cowee Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

James Cowee, who landed in New England in 1745 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Cowee (post 1700) +

Arthur Cowee (b. 1859), American Republican politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Rensselaer County 2nd District, 1916-22; Defeated, 1922 5

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html