Thomas Cowan (South Australian politician)

Thomas Cowan (5 December 1839 – 14 September 1890) served one term as a member of the South Australian House of Assembly for the Electoral district of Yatala.

Mr

Thomas Cowan

MP
Member for Yalata
Member of the South Australian House of Assembly
In office
17 May 1875 – 15 Apr 1878
Personal details
Born(1839-12-05)5 December 1839[1]
County Tyrone, Ireland (now Northern Ireland)
Died14 September 1890(1890-09-14) (aged 50)
Milang, South Australia
NationalityBritish
Spouse(s)Mary Jane Armstrong[2]
RelationsJames Cowan (brother)
John Cowan (son)
John Lancelot Cowan (grandson)
Children5 sons and 2 daughters
ResidenceNorth Adelaide, Two Wells, Redbanks, Islington, Milang
OccupationFarmer, Publican

Early life

Cowan who was born in County Tyrone, Ireland (now Northern Ireland), was the eldest son of John Cowan, a ploughman and shepherd, and his wife Margaret, née Lammey. Cowan, his parents and four younger siblings immigrated to South Australia, arriving in Adelaide on 3 August 1852.[3] The family initially settled in North Adelaide where Cowan assisted his father with a horse-drawn taxi business operating between North Adelaide and Adelaide. His father later purchased property at Two Wells (39 km north of Adelaide) where Cowan assisted with the operation of several businesses including a farm, a tavern and a post office. Cowan later started farming in the Two Wells area.

Political career

Cowan served on the District Council of Port Gawler as a councillor from 1868 to 1872 and as the chairman from 1873 to 1875.[4][5][6][7] In 1875, Cowan nominated and was elected to the Electoral district of Yatala. However, the result was ruled invalid when his nomination papers were declared informal. However, he was subsequently elected along with Wentworth Cavenagh in a re-election triggered by the resignation of one of the sitting members, the Hon. Lavington Glyde.[8][9][10] Cowan did not re-stand for election in 1878.[11]

Late Life

During the 1880s, Cowan encountered business difficulties and was on the verge of becoming insolvent.[12][13] Cowan considered re-standing for the Electoral district of Yalata when a vacancy was created in July 1890 by the death of James Cowan, his younger brother who was the one of the two current sitting members. Cowan nominated but later stood down for medical reasons. The vacancy was subsequently filled by Richard Butler who had unsuccessfully stood for the seat earlier in 1890.[14][15] Cowan died on 14 September 1890 at Milang, pre-deceased by his wife which died in June 1890 and survived by five sons including John who would also serve as a South Australian parliamentarian, and one daughter.[16][17][18][19]

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See also

References
  1. 'Thomas Cowan, 1839-1890,' FamilySearch Community Trees, , retrieved 27/08/2012.
  2. ‘Marriages’, South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA), Saturday 24 August 1861, page 2, , retrieved 26/08/2012.
  3. 'The ship Epaminanados', The Ships List at , retrieved 26/08/2012.
  4. 'District Councils’, South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA), Saturday 4 January 1868, page 4, , retrieved 26/08/2012.
  5. 'Association of District Chairmen', South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA), Friday 2 April 1869, page 3, , retrieved 26/08/2012.
  6. 'District Councils’, South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA), Monday 15 July 1872, page 3, , retrieved 26/08/2012.
  7. Two Wells, Mallala and District History Book Committee, (1985), Life around the Light; a History of the Mallala District Council Area, The Community Development Board of the Council District of Mallala, Mallala, SA, page 50, (ISBN 0 9588959 0 2)
  8. 'The Nominations', The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA ), Friday 14 May 1875, page 3, , retrieved 30/08/2012.
  9. 'Abstract of News', South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA), Thursday 20 May 1875, page 6, , retrieved 30/08/2012.
  10. Parliament of South Australia. Statistical Record of the Legislature 1836 - 2007; Compiled in the Offices of the Clerk of the Parliaments and the Clerk of the Legislative Council (PDF). p. 56.
  11. 'The representation of Gumeracha', The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA), Thursday 28 March 1878, page 6, , retrieved 30/08/2012.
  12. 'Meeting of Creditors', South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA ), Tuesday 24 March 1885, page 4, , retrieved 30/08/2012.
  13. 'Insolvency Court', South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA ), Tuesday 15 November 1887, page 3, , retrieved 30/08/2012.
  14. 'Election for Yatala', South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900), Tuesday 5 August 1890, page 6, , retrieved 26/08/2012.
  15. 'Election for Yatala', South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA), Thursday 14 August 1890, page 7, , retrieved 26/08/2012.
  16. 'Funeral Notices', South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA), Tuesday 10 June 1890, page 2, , retrieved 30/08/2012.
  17. ‘The Death of Mr T. Cowan,’ The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA), Monday 15 September 1890, page 4, retrieved 26/08/2012.
  18. 'Deaths,' The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA), Thursday 12 June 1890, page 4, , retrieved 27/08/2012.
  19. McGill, Maryanne, 'Cowan, Sir John (1866–1953)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, , retrieved 27 August 2012.

Further reading
  • Coxon, H., Playford, J. and Reid, R.; (1985), Biographical Register of the South Australian Parliament 1857 -1957, Wakefield Press, Netley, page 51. (ISBN 0 9492682 4 0)
  • ‘Mr Thomas Cowan’ at Former Member of Parliament Details, , retrieved 25/08/2012.
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