Cowdrey

The Cowdrey family had its origin in France where the name was Coudrae. Later it was Anglicized and became Cowdery and finally Cowdrey. The first settlers in America came to Long Island where they had an estate called Hazelhurst.

The Cowdrey family is one of Marion County's oldest. In 1822 Dr. James M. Cowdrey came from Charleston, South Carolina, where he had been reared and educated. Having graduated from medical college at an early age, he came to Arkansas and became one of the leading pioneer physicians. During the Civil War he became a surgeon for the Confederacy and was in General Price's army. After the war, he took up his professional duties. His wife was Agnes McCubbin of Izard County, who preceded him in death in 1858. He died in 1866. Their children were: Harriet (Mrs. Joseph Bawcorn) died in Texas; J. W.; Elizabeth married Captain Dowd of Oakland in Marion County but moved to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; Henry W.; Mary A., wife of Colonel James A. Wilson; John S.; Caroline, wife of R. P. Wilson; Emma, wife of A. M. Sloan; and Cornelia, wife of A. W. Wickersham.

Henry Cowdrey and his wife spent their lives in Marion County. They were the parents of John Allen, Doc, William, Bud, Joe, Bob, Harriet, Mary Agnes (Mamie), Fannie, and Esther. Harriet married a Howard and later T. L. Medley. Mary Agnes married Arthur Hurst; Fannie and Esther married brothers named Cartmill. Two of the Arthur Hurst children made Marion County their home. Della married George Cochran and lives in Yellville. Dick Hurst was a well-known business man and an active member and minister of the Baptist Church. He died in 1976.

John S. Cowdrey was born in 1846. At sixteen he became a member of Company C of the First Arkansas Cavalry. He served until the end of the war. For a short time following the close of the war, he farmed near Yellville. Afterward, he became a clerk in a store in Springfield, Missouri. He returned to Yellville in 1869 and was connected with the mercantile business until his retirement. He was associated with the Miners and Citizens Bank for many years, serving as both Vice-president and President.

In 1872 John married Helen Berry, daughter of J. H. Berry, a former partner of Mr. Cowdrey. Mr. Berry was a cousin of Senator James H. Berry of Bentonville. Mrs. Cowdrey's mother, Mr. Berry's first wife, was Eliza Wilson, daughter of I. C. Wilson.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Cowdrey were: Annie (Mrs. Victor Wilbur); Ernest who married Louise Thompson; Daisy (Mrs. H. R. Payne); Roscoe who married Ethel Le Seur; Mabel (Mrs. Cam Weast); Helen (Mrs. W. R. Crawford); and Lillian (wife of Dr. Ernest Horner). Mrs. Crawford, the last member of the J. S. Cowdrey family, lived near the home her father built about 1906 until her death in 1976. This home near the Crooked Creek bridge is one of the finest in North Arkansas. It is such a large residence that it attracts the attention of all visitors. It is now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd C. Blasdel.