Robert Rogers Coward was born 3 August 1866 in Cowarts, North Carolina, the tenth and youngest child of Nathan Coward (1818-1909) and his first wife, Jane Rogers Coward (1820-1885). He was married to Lena Euella Allen (1869-1969) on 20 April 1886 in Waynesville, NC. They had twelve children from 1887 to 1911, three of whom died as children. He worked as a farmer and merchant. They lived first in Cowarts, NC, then later relocated to Greenville, SC, then to Sullivan, Laurens County, SC. He succumbed to heart disease on 4 May 1943 in Ware Shoals, SC at the age of 76 and was interred at Graceland West Cemetery.

Obituary: Robert Rogers Coward (1866-1943)
Robert Rogers Coward, age 76, died suddenly from a heart attack at 10:30 last Tuesday morning, May 4, 1943 at his home near Ware Shoals, S.C.
He was the son of the late Nathan and Jane Rogers Coward, of Cowarts, N.C., where he had made his home until 1904, at which time he moved his residence to this state. He was engaged in farming and the mercantile business until a few years ago, when declining health forced his retirement. He was a member of the Harmony Methodist Church and the Masonic Lodge of Ware Shoals.
Mr. Coward was the father of the late Nathan Coward, former editor of the Belton News. Survivors include: his widow, Lena E. Allen Coward; four sons, R. Glenn Coward, Belton; Linden J. Coward, Ware Shoals; D.L. Coward, Columbia; and J.C. Coward of Abbeville; three daughters, Mrs. C.S. McKnight, Jr., Charlotte; Mrs. C.P. Hasemeyer, Texas; and Mrs. Bland Harper, New Jersey; two half-brothers, Frank and Homer Coward, and two half-sisters, Miss Jane Coward and Mrs. Frances Glenn, all of Sylva, N.C.
Final rites will be held from the Harmony Methodist Church, at 11 o'clock this morning, conducted by the Rev. P.G. Curry. Interment will follow in the Graceland cemetery, Greenville, S.C.
Pallbearers will include: S.S. Beeks, John K. Buzzhardt, H.H. Beeks, Clifton Balentine, W.P. Knight, and Ira W. Meeks. The honorary escort wll be composed of members of the Ware Shoals Masonic Lodge and the Bible class of Harmony Church. (The Belton News, Belton, SC, ca. Friday, 7 May 1943)