Willis Cowling's date of birth is unknown but is estimated as 1788 since Shockoe Hill Cemetery burial records indicate he died August 12, 1828 of dysentery at the age of 40. Many details of his comparatively short life are shrouded in mystery and are based on unsubstantiated traditions from the Perrow family.

His name is mentioned in Fillmore Norfleet's "Suffolk in Virginia" (1954) under the story of the old Rising Sun Tavern on Suffolk's Main Street adjacent to the Castle Inn. Willis Cowling, I, who died about 1786, originally owned the tavern, and after his death, according to the book, it passed to his nephew, John M. Cowling, who died around 1805. According to Mr. Norfleet, Willis Cowling II, the brother of John M. Cowling, acquired it thereafter. This information suggests that Willis II's father, Josiah Cowling, had a brother named Willis. This first Willis Cowling, uncle of the subject of this sketch, married Abigail Granberry, daughter of William Granberry. Mr. Norfleet also stated that Willis Cowling, a cabinet maker, moved to Richmond before 1817, where he founded another cabinet and furniture business. The identity of this Willis Cowling of Suffolk and Richmond as the same one of the name who was the father of Urania Virginia Cowling Perrow has been distinctly established.

Willis Cowling was among the prominent citizens of Richmond, Virginia. He was a member of the American Colonization Society, whose purpose was to assist free African-Americans in their colonization of Liberia in Africa, which had been established in 1822 under the administration of President James Monroe, probably a distant cousin of Willis Cowling, since his mother was a Monro. Whether Cowling became involved in this movement out of beneficent Christian concerns, or simply out of a prejudicial concern to rid America of African-Americans, as so many intended, is unknown.

The obituary of his son-in-law, Captain William C. Perrow, stated that Willis Cowling, Esquire was at one time the Mayor of Richmond, but a list of Richmond's past mayors does not show his name. However, he could have served an interim term on the mayoralty. In a deed in the possession of the Virginia Historical Society dated 1826, Willis Cowling's signature appears as a justice of the peace, so perhaps this office could have been embellished over the years by his Perrow descendants and account for the rumor that he was once mayor. There are also original letters of correspondence between Willis Cowling and others concerning American Colonization Society matters that are now in the possession of the Virginia Historical Society.

Willis Cowling was married three times, according to information given by his great-great-nephew, Lt. Col. William Couper (1884-1964), in his genealogy manuscripts. His first wife, the mother of his three children, was Euphan N. Shepherd, known as Fanny, born about 1793, who died December 6, 1822 at Richmond at age 29. This was due to giving birth to her third child, Willis Josiah Cowling, two weeks earlier. After her death, he married a Miss or Mrs. Brown, and then was married (third) to Mrs. Matilda Wilson Dunn, who died August 6, 1828, one week before him.

Much information regarding Willis Cowling's property assets at the time of his death in 1828 has been preserved in the files of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) at Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The many inventories of Willis Cowling's estate show that he made more than just cabinets, although his burial record in Richmond's Shockoe Hill Cemetery gave his occupation as cabinet maker. Perhaps the term furniture maker would adequately describe Cowling's occupation after he moved to Richmond. The MESDA files also contain newspaper clippings from the Richmond "Enquirer" which refer to Cowling's business, including a help-wanted advertisement dated March 6, 1816 from W. Cowling asking for four journeyman cabinetmakers for his shop on E Street between 19th and 20th Streets. Apparently Willis' nephew-in-law, William Ritter, who married his brother Thomas' daughter Mary Ann Cowling, was an upholsterer and paper hanger in his shop as well, having come from the North. Mrs. Ann Perkins Pearson Hicks (1939-2007), a great-great-great-granddaughter of Willis and Euphan Shepherd Cowling and also a great-great-great-granddaughter of his brother Thomas Montgomery Cowling, obtained a long inventory of Willis Cowling's property from the MESDA files.

Willis Cowling's will of August, 1828 leaves two unanswered questions. He provided that a lot be sold to Mrs. Fanny Wilson to pay off debts to her. The fact that her name was "Fanny," which his first wife Euphan was known as, opens up the possibility that Mrs. Wilson could have been related to her in some way. Or she may have been related to one of Willis Cowling's other two wives.

The following indenture, located about 1998 by Mrs. Hicks while researching at the Surry County, Virginia courthouse, Deed Book 8, page 88, proves that Willis Cowling's third wife, Matilda, was the daughter of Sampson Wilson:

Indenture made 15 Dec. 1826 between Willis Cowling and Matilda his wife of the city of Richmond and state of Virginia of the first part and Andrew Woodley of the County of Isle of Wight and state of Virginia of the second part.
Consideration--$2,600.00. One tract of land in county of Surry being a part of a tract of land devised to the said Matilda Cowling by her father Sampson Wilson.
Bounds north side of the White Marsh on James Whites line, Wheadons line, Ellinsworths line and Wilsons line.
655 acres according to a survey made by Uzzell, deputy surveyor of the county of Isle of Wight.
[Signed]
Willis Cowling
Matilda Cowling
Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of Corporation of Richmond to wit:
We John H. Eustace and A. Pleasants aldermen of the said corporation in the state of Virginia examined Matilda...

A granddaughter of Willis and Euphan Cowling, Ora Naylor Perrow Harvey (1851-1937) of Lynchburg, Virginia, once told a Cowling cousin that her mother, Virginia Cowling Perrow, was raised by her step-grandmother. This was mentioned in a 1933 letter from Miss Mary Florence Cowling of Suffolk, Virginia to Colonel William Couper. The pronoun reference is unclear, as one cannot tell from the letter whether Virginia was raised by her step-grandmother or by her daughter's step-grandmother. If the latter is correct, it would mean Virginia was raised by her stepmother, Matilda Cowling, who was her father's third wife, but records indicate she actually died six days before her father. Phanie Perrow Flynn (1903-1995), a great-granddaughter of Willis and Euphan Cowling, said her grandmother, Urania Virginia Cowling Perrow, was promised an inheritance from her stepmother (?) who raised her if only she stayed with her instead of marrying William C. Perrow of Campbell County, Virginia at the age of fifteen in 1836, but Virginia refused and married him anyway. The mystery remains as to what happened to Virginia after she became an orphan at age eight in 1828 when her father died. Colonel William Couper stated that Willis Josiah Cowling, the youngest of Willis and Euphan's three children, was raised by his uncle, Thomas Montgomery Cowling (1774-1832) in Nansemond County. But Thomas M. Cowling himself died three years after his brother Willis and was a widower at the time of his death, so what happened to Willis Josiah afterwards is unknown. Colonel Couper stated that on November 13, 1829, a deed of trust was enacted between Fletcher M., Willis J., and Virginia M. Cowling of Richmond and Edmund Lockett of Chesterfield County, Virginia.

In Deed Book 25, page 203, of "Henrico County, Virginia Deeds and Wills," preserved on microfilm in the Richmond City Hall, can be found a reference to land purchased by Willis Cowling on June 5, 1823. The deed was made January 12, 1912 between the heirs of Willis Cowling and an August Repp of Richmond, who supposedly acquired the land without a title when it still belonged to the heirs of Willis Cowling. Most of the deed's text is difficult to read, but in summary it appears that this deed settled the dispute amicably by acknowledging the transfer of the title to Repp (?) provided he paid back taxes on the property to the Cowling descendants. The deed was signed by nearly all of the then-living heirs of Willis Cowling of legal age before notaries public in Campbell County, Virginia, Mercer County, West Virginia, and elsewhere. This list of heirs in the deed provides interesting and useful details concerning Cowling descendants up to 1912.

The obituary of Euphan Shepherd Cowling was reproduced by Colonel Couper in his Cowling manuscripts and was taken from the Richmond "Enquirer" of December 14, 1822. It is quoted thus:

Departed this life on Friday the 6th inst. after a short illness, Mrs. E.N. Cowling, consort of Willis Cowling...

Matilda Cowling's obituary, taken from the August 9, 1828 "Richmond Whig," reads:

...DIED. On Wednesday morning, last (August 6), Mrs. Matilda Cowling, wife of Mr. Willis Cowling, of this city."

Willis himself had a much longer obituary, reproduced from the August 20, 1828 "Richmond Whig" as follows:

...Departed this life on Saturday, 16th instant, Mr. Willis Cowling. This gentleman, unostentatious in his manner, possessed that unbounded benevolence which assured him the esteem and kindest regard of all who knew him, and in its lively exercise he created with many the most enduring ties which friendship know. He was a bright ornament of the Methodist Church, and both in living and dying, he adorned the doctrines of Christ his Redeemer--for redeemed he was...

As mentioned earlier, Willis, Euphan, and Matilda were buried in Shockoe Hill Cemetery in Richmond. This historic cemetery is in view of Interstate 64 as it intersects with Interstate 95 in Downtown Richmond, just north of the James River. Notable persons buried in this cemetery include Chief Justice John Marshall; the noted judges Dabney Carr and Robert Stanard; Jane Stith Stanard, inspiration of Edgar Allan Poe's poem "To Helen;" Elmira Shelton, inspiration of Poe's poem "Lost Lenore;" and Bishop Richard Channing Moore. Euphan was reinterred next to Willis. No tombstones mark their graves, and it is unknown as to whether there were ever markers over their graves or whether there were tombstones that have disappeared or sunk beneath the ground, but a map of the plots enables one to know exactly where their plot is since the neighboring plots have tombstones. It is next to a large tree and only a couple of rows behind the enclosed plot of the John Marshall family. Interestingly, there are Sheppards (the William Y. Sheppard family) buried in front of the Cowling plot. Although Euphan's name seems to have been spelled Shepherd, there is a possibility they were related, or else it seems coincidental they happened to be buried behind the Cowlings. There was a James Shepherd who died in 1841 and is also buried in the cemetery, so it is possible he was her father or some other relation.

Large portraits of Willis and Euphan Shepherd Cowling were passed down to their daughter, Urania Virginia Cowling Perrow (1820-1884), who in 1862 became the mistress of the old Henry estate, "Shady Grove," in Campbell County, Virginia. Virginia's second daughter, Ora Perrow Harvey (1851-1937), inherited them and displayed the portraits in her home at 1382 Rivermont Avenue in Lynchburg, Virginia. Her spinster sister, Miss Minnie Cowling Perrow (1861-1945), and niece, Miss Lizzie T. Perrow (1887-1969), later lived with her and kept the portraits in the home after Ora's death. In her will, Minnie stipulated that the portraits were to go to her great-nephew, State Senator Mosby Garland Perrow, Jr. (1909-1973) of Lynchburg, after Lizzie's death. Senator Perrow's heirs now own them.

In the Winter 2001 issue of the "Journal of Early Southern Decorative Arts," pages 51-75, J. Christian Kolbe, Senior Research Archivist at the Library of Virginia, analyzes Cowling's business records in his article "Willis Cowling (1788-1828) Richmond Cabinetmaker." This article is quoted in part, pages 51-68, omitting three appendices and endnotes on pages 69-75:


The Library of Virginia contains an interesting set of papers that document the business affairs of Richmond cabinetmaker Willis Cowling (1788-1828). Collected by a special commissioner appointed to settle Cowling's estate, the papers were not disposed of after the settlement--which was usual--but were stored among the Richmond city court records and are now housed at the Library of Virginia.

The Cowling Papers provide a wealth of information pertaining to Cowling's activity as a cabinetmaker, as well as his mercantile activity. They contain correspondence to Cowling, accounts, invoices, furniture price lists, and cancelled checks. This research note uses this documentation to look at three aspects of Cowling's career: his connection to northern cabinetmakers and merchants, his role in relation to other Virginia cabinetmakers, and his price lists. ...

Marianne Sheldon in her dissertation "Richmond, Virginia: The Town and Henrico County to 1820" suggests that from 1780 to 1820 Richmond attempted to become a commercial center, but failed because it was not able to capture the market of the Virginia backcountry. Commercially Richmond was overshadowed by New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. After 1820 Richmond began to shift its focus to becoming a manufacturing center in the areas of flour, tobacco, and coal and iron. Cowling's entrepreneurial activities, which are discussed later, involved selling coal and tobacco in New York. Richmond's move to become a manufacturing center placed it in further contact with a national economy which in turn provided for a further influx of northern furniture. The Cowling papers show how Willis Cowling dealt with the problem of northern competition.

Willis Cowling, the son of Josiah Cowling and his wife, Urania Munro, was born in Nansemond County, Virginia. Nothing is known of his training or early work as a cabinetmaker. The first record of Cowling as a cabinetmaker is found in the Prentis Papers at the University of Virginia. From 1811 to 1813, Joseph Prentis of Suffolk, Virginia, patronized Cowling's shop for repairing and making furniture. In 1815 Henry Gray, administrator of Joseph Gray, deceased, of Isle of Wight County, Virginia, paid Willis Cowling $1.00 for making a coffin for a slave. The personal property tax was paid in the county or city where one was a resident. The Nansemond County personal property taxes do not survive before 1815, and Willis Cowling is not on the list for 1815. In Appendix II of Fillmore Norfleet's book "Suffolk in Virginia," is the listing for Cowling & Driver, cabinetmakers, dated 1811. While the author does not explain where he obtained this information, Suffolk was the only large town in Nansemond County [and it now embraces all of what was that county]. In 1816 Cowling appears for the first time on the personal property tax list for the city of Richmond.

On coming to Richmond, Cowling entered a cabinetmaking community which was seeking to come to grips with the specialization and increased production from the furniture business in the northeast. From an understanding of the first four decades of the cabinetmaking tradition of Richmond city, the reader should consult Alice Zeno's thesis, "The Furniture Craftsmen of Richmond, 1780-1820." In the 14 September 1816 issue of the "Richmond Commercial Compiler," Camillus Taylor, turner, advertised that he could be found at Mr. W. Cowling's shop on the corner of F and 13th Streets. In a letter of February 1817 to Joseph Prentis of Suffolk, Virginia, Cowling stated that he and fellow Richmond cabinetmaker, Robert Poore, was going to purchase $1000-$1150 worth of mahogany. Thus began Cowling's long friendship with Robert Poore. In his will, Cowling made the following request of his executors,

"I therefore direct, that my executors will in all transactions that they may have with my esteemed friend Robert Poore, acts towards him with all lenity and indulgence, and do at his instance any act concerning my securityships and endorsements for him that will not in their opinion injure my estate."

The 1819 Richmond Directory lists Cowling's shop on the west side of 13th Street between F and 7th Street. Cowling's 1820 policy with the Mutual Assurance Society describes the property as "A Ware Room & Dwelling house--Walls Brick Roof Slate 3 Stories high" and "B Cabinet Maker's Shop Walls Brick Roof Slate 3 Stories high." Next to parcel "A" was the brick tenement of Robert Poore. While the term "Ware Room" is used in describing parcel "A," there is no record in Cowling's papers that he was selling Northern furniture in a cabinet warehouse. For more information, see Forsyth Alexander's article, "Cabinet Warehousing in the Southern Atlantic Ports, 1783-1820."

He continued his cabinetmaking business in Richmond until his death in 1828. By a codicil to his will Cowling provided the following directions to his executors:

"It is my will & desire that my Cabinet-making business shall be carried on after my death as now under the direction of my said executors, untill the stock on hand shall be worked up into furniture, if they think it is prudent to do."

Cowling's executors continued to operate the shop after his death. The executor had problems with the estate, however, and the Husting Court of the city of Richmond appointed a special commissioner to settle the estate. Cities in Virginia which have been incorporated by act of the legislature have their own court of record which is called a Hustings court. The equivalent court of record for a county was the county court. Upon finishing his task, the special Commissioner would have brought his accounts and any accompanying paperwork into court to be examined by the justices. If the justices found the Commissioner's accounts correct, they would order the estate settled and a record of the settlement would be recorded. Normally any accompanying papers were not retained by the court. As previously stated, in the case of the estate of Willis Cowling this did not happen, and his business papers remained in the Richmond City court records now housed at the Library of Virginia. The papers cover the years 1818-1828.

Most of the correspondence with northern cabinetmakers and merchants to Cowling was from New York City, with the rest of the correspondence being from Newark, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. The letters concern wood, hardware, and upholstery materials that Cowling ordered from his northern contacts. Some letters indicate that Cowling sent Virginia coal and tobacco to be sold in northern markets. Zeno, in her thesis on Richmond furniture craftsmen, describes cabinetmakers who sold other items besides the furniture they made as "merchant craftsmen."

Letters and accounts also document the shipping of logs, boards, veneers, and hardware from New York cabinetmakers and merchants to the South. Mahogany was the wood most frequently mentioned in correspondence...

Typically the letters mention the sale of mahogany at auction, and the sawing of mahogany logs into boards or veneers. A letter of 27 May 1820 from Isaac Cross of New York City describes the measuring of mahogany logs and the use of catalogues at auctions. New York being a major port was able to provide a greater quantity and selection of goods such as mahogany. Other letters document the use of maple... While maple is found in the South and there are pieces of southern furniture made out of local maple, the wood is more commonly found in northeastern United States. ...

In 1820, Cowling purchased from the estate of Richmond merchant, Charles Whitlock $173.68 worth of furniture hardware. The merchandise purchased consisted of such items as brass bed castors, commode knobs, brass desk locks, and claw castors. An account booklet in box 1 of the Cowling papers shows that be bought furniture hardware for the period March to December 1827 from Richmond merchant Robert Johnson. In 1829 Johnson sued the executors of Cowling's estate for furniture hardware purchased from him for the period January to August 1828. Cowling purchased hardware from New York as well as from local merchants. Isaac Cross sent Cowling ferrils, bed joints, and lion's paw casters. The term "ferril" or ferrule is described as "a ring or cap usually of metal put around the end of a post, cane or the like to prevent splitting." Cowling would have used these on the bottom of a turned leg, the turned foot of a desk or chest of drawers. Cowling purchased from John Dolan brass knobs, bureau locks, lion's paw casters, and four different patterns for knobs. ...

Letters and accounts from the Cowling papers document that he was able to offer his customers upholstered furniture. There is no evidence that Cowling was trained as an upholsterer, and he may have subcontracted this work out. In 1816, William Ritter [who married Mary Ann Cowling, a daughter of Willis Cowling's older brother Thomas Montgomery Cowling], a Richmond city upholsterer, advertised that he could "be found at Mr. Robert Poore's, or Mr. Willis Cowling's, Cabinet-Makers, 13th street. He purchased from Isaac Cross of New York the following materials: curled hair, springs, and hair cloth. From John Dolan Cowling purchased webbing and hair cloth. ...

Cowling's papers cast an entrepreneurial light on cabinetmakers' activities during this period. While Isaac Cross consistently appeared on the New York city directories as a cabinetmaker, his purchase of furniture materials for Cowling seems characteristic of a merchant. In the case of New York cabinetmaker John T. Dolan, he is listed in the New York City directory in 1816 as a hardware merchant. Cowling had Virginia coal and tobacco sold in New York, and the evidence suggests that he served as middleman to rural Virginia cabinetmakers, supplying them with imported goods and materials. The business activities of Cowling and his New York colleagues exemplify how cabinetmakers moved from artisan to merchant (which is mentioned by Charles Montgomery in his book, "American Furniture: The Federal Period 39").

As previously mentioned, Cowling's papers document the shipping of raw materials from northern cabinetmakers and merchants to the South. A similar situation has been documented by Kathleen Catalano for Philadelphia cabinetmakers for the period 1820-1840. Jason Busch in his thesis on furniture patronage in antebellum Natchez has documented the shipping of furniture parts from Pittsburgh and New York to Natchez. The shipment of pre-made furniture parts from New York and Newark, New Jersey, to southern cabinetmakers is a logical extension of the trade in raw materials and other supplies. Letters to Cowling document the practice of buying parts of furniture that were already finished. Isaac Cross of New York sent Cowling turned posts, presumably to be used for bed posts. ...

These pre-finished parts and carving raise some important questions. Why did Cowling not have this work done in Richmond? Were Richmond craftsmen not able to do the work at a cheaper price? Also large cities like New York were capable of supporting craft specialization such as carvers, upholsterers, turners, etc. Zeno, in her thesis on Richmond furniture, states that New York furniture was the standard by which other furniture was judged. Thus, a sense of style may have been a cause for importing pre-made parts from New York. In 1817, Samuel Mordecai of Richmond wrote the following to his sister, Rachel, concerning the purchase of furniture from Richmond for their brother Moses in Raleigh, North Carolina, "My advice would be to obtain them from New York, where they would be obtained better and cheaper, with certainty of conveyance."

In the area of provenance there are also questions to be answered. If the turning and carving on some of Cowling's work was from New York, might not his work be erroneously attributed to a New York cabinetmaker? Cowling's involvement in the intercoastal furniture trade consisted of buying pre-made parts of furniture. There is no evidence in his papers that he retained northern-made furniture in Richmond.

Were Cowling's dealings with New York merchants and cabinetmakers typical of Richmond and Virginia? Answers to this question are found in the Cowling Papers. Letters from Isaac Cross and John T. Dolan document that veneers and carved work were sent to Richmond cabinetmaker Robert Poore. In his letter of 8 December 1821, Isaac Cross mentions that Richmond cabinetmaker George Hendree purchased veneers from him and wood from mahogany yard owner Jean Marie Joseph Labatut. On 16 July 1826 George Hendree wrote Cowling from New York asking him if he wanted to buy mahogany for him. Isaac Cross in his letter of 6 August 1822 mentioned William Ritter, a Richmond upholsterer being in New York. In the same letter Cross stated that D.H. Sumner of Suffolk, Virginia, on Cowling's recommendation, had purchased material from him. The following letter from John T. Dolan documents his connection with the firms of Potts & Sully and Winston & Duiguid. In June of 1818 cabinetmaker, Chester Sully, and J. Potts opened a lumberyard in Richmond. Winston & Duiguid were cabinetmakers in Lynchburg, Virginia. ...

It is interesting to note that Lynchburg cabinetmaker Samuel Duiguid's account book has an entry dated 27 May 1825 for a trip to New York. Cowling's dealings with New York merchants and cabinetmakers was not unusual for the more successful cabinetmaking shops in Richmond and other areas of Virginia.

New York merchants and cabinetmakers supplied Cowling with wood, furniture hardware, and upholstery material. Cowling, in turn, provided a similar service for cabinetmakers in Virginia. The Lynchburg firm of Winston & Duiguid requested two gallons of varnish from Cowling. Lynchburg cabinetmaker James Frazier purchased mahogany from Cowling. William Sumner, probably of the Suffolk cabinetmaking firm of Copeland & Sumner, requested mahogany for tables and hair cloth for sofas. W.J. Darden of Smithfield asked Cowling for hair cloth and moss to stuff an easy chair. ...

Because of the scarcity of American furniture price lists, especially southern ones, the discovery of the Cowling price lists is significant. One of the lists is dated 1822, and the other two lists are undated. The three lists provide the price paid journeymen for making a specific furniture form. All three lists are similar in format: they list the type of furniture, its base price, followed by the same form with extra features, and the cost. The lists for Appendix II and Appendix III show an original price and a revised price for certain items. The two undated lists are a list of prices paid by Robert Poore and Willis Cowling "for Journey work." The fact that both Cowling's and Poore's names appear on the price list probably indicates more of a friendly working relationship than a partnership. However, the fact that James Thurston sued Cowling and Poore together in 1826 may indicate that they had, by that time, formed some sort of partnership. The need for established price lists may indicate labor problems between master cabinetmakers and journeymen in Richmond. The description of the furniture on these price lists shows that Cowling and Poore were producing furniture in the Empire style. The listing of furniture forms such as Grecian couches, sofas, and easy chairs indicate that Cowling either had an upholsterer in his shop or was contracting his work out to an upholsterer.

The Cowling papers are significant for students of the southern decorative arts for several reasons. First, they contain one of the few known southern price lists. The items listed indicate that Richmond was aware of the current Empire style of furniture found in New York and other major east coast cities. The upholstered furniture on the list indicates that Cowling had access to an upholsterer. This fact and the numerous references in the Cowling papers to veneers and carved furniture parts reflect the specialization in the furniture making that had occurred in cities in early nineteenth-century America.

Second, the papers show the interaction between urban and rural cabinetmakers in early nineteenth century Virginia. New York cabinetmakers/ merchants Isaac Cross and John Dolan supplied Cowling with raw materials and pre-made furniture parts. Cowling in turn assumed the role of cabinetmaker/ merchant in providing the same goods to his fellow cabinetmakers in the interior of Virginia.

Third, the papers provide documentation of a cabinetmaker's entrepreneurial activities. Through his New York connections such as Isaac Cross, Cowling sold Virginia coal and tobacco. Cabinetmakers who could financially manage it engaged in entrepreneurial activities to further increase their capital. Eighteenth century Charleston cabinetmaker, Thomas Elfe, increased his income by owning rental property and a plantation.

Finally, the papers concern southern cabinetmakers and northern furniture. In the nineteenth century southern cabinetmakers were having to compete with northern imports. Some southern cabinetmakers became retailers of northern furniture while others moved to towns further inland to escape this competition. Cowling seemed to have taken a middle of the road approach. He continued to operate his cabinetmaking shop, but imported raw materials and premade parts from the North. Thus regional stylistic features that existed in Richmond furniture would begin to give way to the national Empire style in furniture. In conclusion it is hoped that this article will encourage others to further research the points mentioned above as well as identify furniture by Cowling and other early-nineteenth-century Richmond furnituremakers.

J. Christian Kolbe is the Senior Research Archivist at The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.


APPENDIX I

A list ot prices paid by Robert Poorc and Willis C'owling for Journey work as
follows:

French Sideboard 6 feet i I LONG four readed collums 40.00
backboard to corresponde with the Front

Plane Streight front ditto 4 door Back bord 25.00

Extra for them when the legs are readed 3.00

Small Ditto three doorsi 6.00

Extra for cases on the tops 4.00

Plane secretary deski 8.00

Ditto when Pannill end Extra 2.00

Ditto Do. When with collums & collums & legs readed 24.00

Plane Bureau 3F 9I long 3F 9I high solid ends 10.00

Extra tor 2 small drawers in the upper part 1.50

Small Bureau 8,00
all desks & Bureaus to be cockbeaded

Chinea doore Bookcase 12.00

Plane Ditto g.oo

French Wardrobe 20.00

D= . with shelves only 12.00

Double wardrobe 3 drawrs below pannel doors & 4 Trays 25.00

Bedstead of all Highpost 3.00

circular washstand 4.00

Extra for stracher .50

Square ditto common sise 2.00

Extra for Backboard i.oo

Candle stand 2.50

4 feet 6 Inch Dining table 5$ 14.00
Ends 4F 61 to ditto S4.50 each

4 feet Ditto 4s Ends to do 4$ 12.00

Tea Table i Drawr r4.oo

deduct for draw .75

Pillar & claw Tea Do. Single pilar lO.OO
Ditto Extra for 4 Pillars

card tables the same price 3.00

Plane card tables 12.00

Double case chine press. 18.00

Plane china D=« 4 doors for [?] 25.00

Grecian couches 18.OO



WILLIS COWLING (1788-1828) 69



Plane sofas ii.oo

Easy chairs 4.00

Price for Reading Table legs i/-

D°° for Reading stand chair i/-

Do for Sidebord collum 1/6 —

Do Do Stump Foot 9/' —

Do. Front ot Side board leg 1/

[on the outside wrapper]

Panne! and Bureau with halt Column Reeded S13.50

Grecian Couch halt back Twisted Reed Front & Back ?o—

Column tront Sideboard with i Columens & cases

Twisted Reed ^'i.oo



APPENDIX II

Richmond Oct. loth 1822

Sideboards 6 Feet 3 Long 4 collums 4 doors $30.00

with plinth readed collums 25

Ditto 6 Feet Long 4 doors 2 Colums & plinth 16 20.00

Ditto 5 Feet Long 3 Doors & 2 drawrs

Readed half collum 12 15.00

Ditto plane without collums 10 14.00

Single pillar & claw dining table 4 Feet 6 long with [leaves] 30.00

to the End claws Readed

Extra For reading the Tops 2.00

Ditto for the same Kind without [leaves] to the End 2vOO

Ditto Tea table Claw 8- 10.00

Ditto card tables [?] 16 20.00

Plain Card tables 10 12.00

Plain Tea tables with i draw 4.00

Deduct For a draw when none is made .~'s

Dining Tables 4F 6l plane 13.50

Do. D. 4 Feet Do.

Single Dining table 4F 61 plane

End 4.6 4.00

Single Do. 4 plane

Ends the Same

[Wing] wardrobe with 4 doors

3 draw & trays - door veneered & a Plane cornice

French wardrobe with draws 18 and travs



70 JOURNAL OF E.'^RLY SOUTHERN DECORATIVE ARTS WINTER 2001



14.00


12.00


5.00


4.SO


4.00


4.00


30.00


20.00



Ditto with Shelvs onlysi 2. oo 12.00

Large double case wardrobe with 3 draws in the lower 22.00

case and Trays in the upper 10

Large China press For Side board 4 doors 10 25.00

Book case sash doors 10 12.00

Do. Without 8 9.00

Plain Secretary panil Ends 16 18.00

ditto with coUums 18 20.00

Extra for 2 Top draws 1.50 2.00

Bureaus with 4 draws Sollid end 7 8.00

Ditto Panil 8 lo.oo

Ditto collems 10 12.00

Ditto with collims &: l draws on li 13-50

the top

it is understood the Feet & collums are to be readed if required

Circular washstand with drawr 3.50 4.00

squar Ditto with a draw 1.50 2.00

extra for Back board 75 1.00

candlestand 2.00 2.50

common china press with in 18 20.00

1 cases

Greecian couch halfback read 30.OO

do. Couch Back read & tront is 18.00

Readed or Venered

Square Sophas 4 legs in tront 10 12.00

Easy chairs 4.00

Reading table legs 9/- 16

do stand Claws 9/- 16

sideboard - collms

when in One Extra collem 1/6 1 25

stump feet g/"* 12 Vi

Front of sideboard legs 9/- 16

High post bedstead of all Kinds 3.00

French Do. 2.00

Trunnel Do. 1.80 2.00

It is to be understood that all work is to be done in the best manner in point of
workmanship and I am willing to pay the prices specified on this bill for one year
and if terms should call for an alteration either tor the better or worse then to be

[altered]

W. Cowling



WILLIS COWLING (1788-1828)



lO.OO



torn



APPENDIX III

A list of prices paid by Robert Poore and Willis Cowling for Journey work as fol-
lows:

French Side boards 6 feet 2 inches Long $30.00

four readed Collums back bound to correspond with the front

Collumn front Side boards with two collums and Cases Twisted Read 2S.00

Plane front ditto 4 doors backboard 20.00

extra for them when the Legs are Readed 3.00

Small ditto with Three doors " 14.00

extra tor cases on he Tops " 400

Plane Secretary Desk iS.oo

ditto when extra pannel Ends i-oo

ditto ditto when with Collumns

Collums and Legs readed & 2 small draws 24.00

Pannel end Bureau with half 12.00

Collumn readed with 2 small draws 13.00

cases on the top extra 3°°

Plane Bureau 3 ft 9 in Long 3 k 3 in high Plain Panill Ends

extra for 2 Small draws in the

upper part

Small Bureau 8.00

all desks and Bureau's are to be cock beaded

China Door Book Cases " " 12.00

plane ditto Do. 900

French Wardrobe 20.00

Ditto with Shelves only 12.00 15.00

double Wardrobes 3 draws below

Pannel doors & 4 Trays 22.00

Bed Steads of all high posts 300

Circular wash Stands 4°°

extra for Stracher -SO

Square ditto Common Si^e 2.00

extra for Back Board i-oo

Candle Stand i-50

4 feet 6 Inch dining tables $5.00

End 4 ft 6 in. do. @ 4.50ea 14.00

4 feet Ditto $4.00 Ends to Ditto (?' $4.00 Ea 12.00

Tea Table with one drawer 4-00

deduct for drawer 4/6 75

Pillar & Claw Tea ditto Single Pillar 10.00

ditto extra for four Pillars soo

Card Tables the Same price



72 JOURNAL OF EARLY SOUTHERN DECORATIVE ARTS WINTER 2001



Plane Card Tables iz.oo

Double Case China Press 18.00

Plane China Ditto 4 Doors for zvoo

Grecian Couch half Back Twisted 18.00
Read front & Back
do. couches

plane Sofas i[>]

Easey Chairs 4.00

price for reading Table Legs i/- 17

Do. Do. Reading Stand Chair i/- 17

Do. Do. Seide board Column 1/6 25
Do. D. Stump foot [9^]

12 [v.]

Do. Front of side board letrs i/- 17



ENDNOTES

1. Alice Bohmer Rudd, ed. Sbockoc Hill Caiietfry, Register of Internments. April 10. iS22~
December ji. i8$o. vol I. Washington, D.C.: A.B. Rudd, i960: 6.

2. Census for 1810, Washington, Gates & Seaton 1821, reprinted by Norman Ross Publish-
ing Inc, 1990.

3. Marianne P. B. Sheldon. "Richmond, Virgmia: The Town and Henrico Countrv' to
1810." Doctor.d dissertation, Univcrsif)' of Michigan, 1975: 333, 337-38, 342, 344, 366. 476-77,
480.

4. William Couper. "Couper Famil}-." Virguua Magazine of History and Biography S9 (lan-
uary 19S1): 127.

5. Webb-Prentis Collection, Accession No. 4316, Box No. 6. Folder 1812-1S26, Willis
Cowling to Joseph Prentis, Jr., Manuscript Department, University- of Virginia Archives,
Charlottesville, Virginia (hereinafter as UVA).

6. Isle of Wight County, Virginia, Will Book No. 15, 1817-1821, 542.

7. Personal Property Taxes, Nansemond Count)', 1815. Library of Virginia, (henceforth cit-
ed as LVA), Archives Division, Richmond, Virginia.

8. Filmore Norfleet. Suffolk in Virginia. Richmond: Whittet & Shepperson, 1974: 177.

9. Personal Propert)' Taxes, Richmond Cit)', 1816, LVA.

10. Aline H. Zcno. "The Furniture Craftsmen of Richmond, Virginia, 1780-1820." M.A.
thesis, Unviersity ot Delavvate, 1987: 2S-30, 32, si. 65-68, 71-79, 84, 86-88.

11. Richmond Commercial Compiler, 14 September 1816, 1-4.

12. Webb-Prentiss Collection, Accession No. 4316, Box No. 6, Folder 1812-1816 letter of
1817 from Willis Cowling to Joseph Ptentis. UVA.

13. Richmond City Flastings Corut, Will Book No. 4, 1824-1S28, p. 446.

14. The Richmond Directory iSig. Richmond: John Maddox, 1819: 40 (hereafter cited as
RCD. iSigi.



WILLIS COWLING (1788-1828) 73



15. Mutual Assurance Socien,- of Virginia, Declarations, Vol. S7. Polio,- No. 1475, LVA.

16. Forsyth M. Alexander. "Cabinet Warehousing in rhe Southern Atlantic Porrs, 1783-
iSio," Journal of Early Southern Decorative Am. Vol. XV, No. 2 (November 1989): 3, S, 13-16.

17. Personal Papers, Centenary Methodist Church. Richmond, Virginia, Register of Classes
i827-t837. Accession No. 15147, i. LVA.

18. Richmond City Hustings Court, Will Book No. 4, 1824-1828, 447.

19. Richmond City Hustings Court, Will Book No. 5, 1828-1831, 138-48.

20. Ibid, 133.

21. Richmond Cit)- Court Records, Willis Cowling Papers (hencelorth cited as CP). LVA.

22. Latham Clark to Willis Cowling, 25 October 1825, CP, LVA.

23. Robert West to Willis Cowling, 16 March 1821, CP, LVA.

24. Isaac Cross to Willis Cowling, i January 1S20, 10 July 1820, 18 September 1820, 4 No-
vember iSio, 25 May 1822; GifFord & Gourlay to Willis Cowling 5 Januar)' 182"; Gilford &
Gourlay to Robert Poore 6 December 1826. CP, LVA.

25. Isaac Cross to Willis Cowling, i Januar' 1S20, 18 September 1S20, 15 May 1S21, 28 July
1821, CP, LVA.

26. Zeno, 71.

27. Isaac Cross to Willis Cowling, 20 September 1820, CP, LVA.

28. Isaac Cross to Willis Cowling, 27 May 1820. CP, LVA.

29. Isaac Cross to Willis Cowling, 20 January 1820, CP, LV.'.

30. RCD, iSiQ. 73.

31. Account of Willis Cowling with the estate ot Charles Whitlock, dec. 22 November
1820, CP. LVA.

32. Box I, Folder, 21 March iS2~-iS December 1S2-. CP. LA.

33. RCD, 1S19. 52.

34. Richmond City, Hustings Court, Suit Papers, Box 125, January-May 1829, i June 1S29,
Johnson vs. Cowling, CP, LVA.

35. Isaac Cross to Willis Cowling, i January 1820, CP, LVA.

36. Richmond Commercial Compiler, 14 Seprember 1816, 1—4.

37. John Dolan to Willis Cowling, 19 January 1826, CP, LVA.

38. Information on Isaac Cross and John T. Dolan from New York City Directories pro-
vided to the author by Martha W. Rowe, MESDA Research Associare, 15 October 1997.

i9. Charles Montgomer'. American Furniture.- The Federal Period. New York: Viking,
1966: 13.

40. Karhleen M. Cat.iIano. "Cabinetmakmg in Philadelphia 1820-1840, Transition from
Craft to Industn,'." Winterthur Portfolio n (1979): S2-84.

41. Jason Busch. "Furniture Patronage and Consumption in Antebellum Natchez, Missis-
sippi." M..^. thesis, Universiry of Delaware, 1998: 19, 31-33.

42. Isaac Cross ro Willis Cowling. 4 February 1820, March 1820, CP, LVA.

43. Latham Clark to Willis Cowling, 25 October 1825, CP, LVA.

44. Michael Walsh to Willis Cowling, 12 January 1828. 27 April 1828, CP, LVA.

45. John T. Dolan to Willis Cowling, 24 June 1825, CP, LVA.

46. Montgomen,'. 12.

47. Zeno, 3!.

48. Kenneth Joel Zogry. " "Plain and Handsome": Documented Furnishings at Mordecai
House, 1780-1830." Journal of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Vol. XY, No. 2 (November
1989): 96.

49. Isaac Cross to Willis Cowling, ^ April 1820; John T. Dolan to Willis Cowling. 24 June
1825, CP, LVA.



74 JOURNAL OF EARLY SOUTHERN DECORATIVE ARTS WINTER 200I



50. RCD, iSig, 50.

51. Isaac Cross to Willis Cowling, 8 December i,S;i, CI', LVA; Kenneth Scott, ed. luirly
New York N.uimilizatwni. 1-92-1840. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogicil Publishing Cximpany,
1981: 3t.

51. George Hendree to Willis Cowling, 16 July 1826, CP, LVA.

53. Isaac Cross to Willis Cowling, 6 August 1822, C"P, LVA.

54. Ronald L. Hurst. "Cabinetmakers and Related Tradesmen m Norfolk, Virginia:
1770-1820." M.A. thesis, College of William and Mary, 1989: 138-44. Richmond City, Hus-
tings Court, Suit Papers, April 1819, Bulloch vs. Pom & Sully. David Bulloch sues Potts & Sully
for rent of a warehouse. Judgment executed on rwenrj'-one gilt framed looking glasses, nine
Dutch looking glasses, forty-three mahogany framed looking glass, one brass top stove, and
two pere[?]il! iron stove.

55. Rosa F. Yancey. Lynchburg and Its Neighbors. Richmond: J.W. Fergusson & Son, 1935:
300.

56. John T. Dolan to Willis Cowling, 9 May 182s, CP, LVA.

57. Diuguid's Burial Records, Diuguid Furniture Co. (1820-1830) Accession 132402b, Cash
Account entry for 27 May 1825, Jones Memorial Librar)', Lynchburg, Virginia.

58. Winston & Diuguid to Willis Cowling, 27 October 1818, CP, LVA.

59. Information on James Prazier from the MESDA Research Files provided to the author
by Martha W. Rowe, MESDA Research Associate, 20 February 1991. Purchase of mahogany
from Cowling found in William Bird to Willis Cowling, 18 October 1821, CP, LVA.

60. U.S. 1820 Industrial Census For Virginia, Nansemond County, 211.

61. William Sumner to Willis Cowling, 29 July 1825, CP, LVA.

62. W.J. Darden to Willis Cowling, 31 May 1821, CP, LVA.

63. W.J. Darden to Willis Cowling, 2 June 1821, CP, LVA.

64. Shelby Johnson to Willis Cowling, 28 September 1822, CP, LVA.

65. Richmond City, Hustings Court, Suit Papers, 13 Dec. 1826, Thursron vs. Poore &
Cowling. Robert Poore, Willis Cowling bound to James Thurston for si, 122. 16. Judgment
against Poore & Cowling amounting to $581.81. Following property seized: five sideboards, five
hair sofas, sue bureaus, three setts dining tables, one pair of black horses and one Negro Julian.

66. Montgomery, 13.

67. John Christian Kolbe. "Thomas Elfe, Eighteenth Century Charleston Cabinetmaker."
M.A. Thesis, University of South Carolina, 1980: 58-66, 87.

68. Jonathan Prown. "A Cultural Analysis of Furniture-making in Petersburg, Virginia,
17 6o-i%zo." Journal of Early Southern Decorative Arts. Vol. XVIII, No. i (May 1992): 2, 82-83,
85, 87-88, 104, iio-II, 113. Ronald L. Hurst and Jonathan Prown. Southern Furniture
i68o-i8}o: The Colonial Williamsburg Collection. New York: Harrj- N. Abrams, Inc., 1997: 483.

69. Hurst and Prown, 162-65, 487-89.

*********************************************************
Searching for the parents of first wife, Euphan Shepherd
Comments by Bryan S. Godfrey, great4-grandson:

One of the great mysteries of this branch of the otherwise well-traced Cowling family, and in the otherwise very well-traced ancestry of my matrilineal great-grandmother, Virginia Perrow Pearson, is the origin of her great-grandmother, Euphan Shepherd, first wife of Willis Cowling and mother of his three children. There are no known extant traditions or records concerning who her parents were or where she was from. A death notice in a Richmond newspaper refers to her as Mrs. Euphan N. Cowling, consort of Willis Cowling. By doing a google search on Willis Cowling and Euphan Shepherd in 2006, I discovered a record of their marriage in Gates County, North Carolina on 25 March 1813, indicating she was probably from there or the neighboring county of Nansemond in Virginia (present-day City of Suffolk) where Willis was from. However, I was unable to find any clues in the Gates County Courthouse. Because Euphan's daughter Virginia named one of her daughters Ora Naylor Perrow, it is likely that Naylor may have been the middle name of Euphan N. Shepherd and hence a family name. When Ora's name was listed in notes of her niece-in-law, Elizabeth Stone Perrow, a comment was handwritten beside the name Naylor that this was a Cowling family name. Virginia named one of her daughters Euphan Shepherd, and this is probably how Virginia's mother's maiden name was preserved by tradition long enough for Col. William Couper to record it when he was researching the Cowling family in the 1920's and 1930's. However, Virginia and her husband, William C. Perrow, also gave several other children of theirs middle names with no known family significance, such as Fletcher Childs (or Chiles) Perrow and Willis Lankford Perrow. The only possible clue regarding Euphan's family is the fact that in a Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia description of Willis Cowling's property at F and 13th Streets in Richmond, the names Robert Poore, William Cowling, and James Shephard appear as signatories at the bottom. Perhaps this James Shephard was connected with Euphan Cowling, probably her father or brother. Google searches involving the names Euphan, Sheppard/Shepherd, and Naylor together lead to sites on the Latimer family of Elizabeth City County, Virginia (present-day City of Hampton), one of whom married a Minton or Minson, a name also found in association with Cowlings in Nansemond.

The name Euphan has been preserved through five generations of the Cowling-Perrow family. Euphan Shepherd Cowling's only daughter, Virginia Cowling Perrow, named her eldest daughter Euphan Shepherd Perrow (later Mrs. Patrick Henry Moon), and Virginia's youngest son, W. Adolphus Perrow, named his seventh surviving daughter Euphan Haley Perrow (later Mrs. Charles Lewis Carter). Euphan and her husband Charlie, in turn, named their sixth and youngest child Euphan Helen Carter (later Mrs. Stanley Irving Goldsmith), who is generally known as "Helen" to persons outside her family but as "Baby" to her family.

************************************************************
Another Shepherd buried in Shockoe Hill Cemetery:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=shepherd&GSiman=1&GScid=52134&GRid=57164211&


Inscription:
Sacred
to the memory of
William Shepard
who departed this life
the 16th of Feb. 18[1]3
in the 73rd year
of his age.

Note: Buried on 18 Feb 1843. Age at death: 73. Shockoe Cemetery Burial Register lists surname as Shepherd and year of death as 1843. Headstone transcription shows surname as Shepard and year of death as 1813.

************************************************************
The fact that the names Sheppard, Naylor, Minson/Minton, and Euphan occur together in the below family makes it worthy of serious consideration that Euphan Shepherd Cowling was of this family, perhaps a daughter of John Sheppard, Jr. and granddaughter of John Sheppard and Ann Latimer.

Kimball G. Everingham's Genealogical Database
Entries: 135514 Updated: 2011-12-24 07:19:48 UTC (Sat) Contact: Kimball G. Everingham

1. John Sheppard Jr. was born BET 1750 AND 1770 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. He was the son of 2. John Sheppard Sr. and 3. Ann Latimer.

Ahnentafel, Generation No. 2

2. John Sheppard Sr. was born BET 1725 AND 1740 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died ABT MAR 1779 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. He was the son of 4. Baldwin Sheppard.

3. Ann Latimer was born BET 1725 AND 1740 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. She was the daughter of 6. Thomas Latimer and 7. Ann Lenoir.

Children of Ann Latimer and John Sheppard Sr. are:

i. Elizabeth Sheppard was born BET 1750 AND 1760 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. She married Sikes.
ii. Ann Sheppard was born BET 1750 AND 1760 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died BEF 1787 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. She married John Smelt BEF 1777 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. He died BET 11 DEC 1787 AND 28 FEB 1788 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.
1. iii. John Sheppard Jr. was born BET 1750 AND 1770 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.
iv. Baldwin Sheppard was born BET 1750 AND 1770 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.
v. Sarah Sheppard was born BET 1750 AND 1770 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.
vi. Jean Sheppard was born BET 1750 AND 1770 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.

Ahnentafel, Generation No. 3

4. Baldwin Sheppard was born BET 1707 AND 1720 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died 04 OCT 1757 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. He was the son of 8. John Sheppard.

Children of Baldwin Sheppard are:

2. i. John Sheppard Sr. was born BET 1725 AND 1740 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died ABT MAR 1779 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. He married Ann Latimer ABT 1750 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, daughter of Thomas Latimer and Ann Lenoir. She was born BET 1725 AND 1740 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.
ii. Susanna Sheppard was born BET 1725 AND 1740 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.
iii. Sarah Sheppard was born BET 1725 AND 1740 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.

6. Thomas Latimer was born BET 1694 AND 1710, and died BET 23 APR 1767 AND 21 JAN 1777. He was the son of 12. Edward Latimer and 13. Sarah Bushell.

7. Ann Lenoir was born 1708 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died 07 JUL 1774 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.

Children of Ann Lenoir and Thomas Latimer are:

i. John Latimer was born BET 1725 AND 1740 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. He married Elizabeth.
ii. William Latimer was born BET 1725 AND 1740 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. He married Euphan AFT 1782 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.
iii. Thomas Latimer Jr. was born BET 1725 AND 1740 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.
iv. Elizabeth Latimer was born BET 1725 AND 1740 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. She married William Houghton.
v. George Latimer was born BET 1725 AND 1740 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died BET 13 NOV 1789 AND 22 JUL 1790 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. He married Mary Cooper BET 1750 AND 1760. She was born BET 1725 AND 1740 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died BET 08 APR 1794 AND 25 SEP 1794 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.
3. vi. Ann Latimer was born BET 1725 AND 1740 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. She married John Sheppard Sr. ABT 1750 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, son of Baldwin Sheppard. He was born BET 1725 AND 1740 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died ABT MAR 1779 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.
vii. Jean Latimer was born BET 1725 AND 1740 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. She married James Naylor BET 1750 AND 1759 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. He was born ABT 1725 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died 07 FEB 1776 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.
viii. Euphan Latimer was born BET 1725 AND 1740 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. She married Minton.

Ahnentafel, Generation No. 4

8. John Sheppard was born ABT 1680 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died 1721 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. He was the son of 16. Baldwin Sheppard and 17. Elizabeth.

Child of John Sheppard is:

4. i. Baldwin Sheppard was born BET 1707 AND 1720 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died 04 OCT 1757 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.

12. Edward Latimer was born ABT 1675 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died 1732 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.

13. Sarah Bushell was born ABT 1675 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died ABT 1736 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.

Children of Sarah Bushell and Edward Latimer are:

i. Ann Latimer was born BET 1694 AND 1710.
6. ii. Thomas Latimer was born BET 1694 AND 1710, and died BET 23 APR 1767 AND 21 JAN 1777. He married Ann Lenoir ABT 1725 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. She was born 1708 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died 07 JUL 1774 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.
iii. Frances Latimer was born BET 1695 AND 1712 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. She married Drew Holstead. He was born BET 1680 AND 1710 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.
iv. James Latimer was born BET 1700 AND 1715 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died BET 21 DEC 1760 AND 03 FEB 1761 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. He married Mary Copeland BET 1730 AND 1735 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, daughter of William Copeland and Mary Brittain. She was born ABT 1715 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died BET 1743 AND 1747 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.

Ahnentafel, Generation No. 5

16. Baldwin Sheppard was born ABT 1660 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died ABT JUN 1697 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. He was the son of 32. John Shepard.

17. Elizabeth.

Child of Elizabeth and Baldwin Sheppard is:

8. i. John Sheppard was born ABT 1680 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died 1721 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia.

Ahnentafel, Generation No. 6

32. John Shepard died BEF 09 JUN 1665. He was the son of 64. Thomas Shepard.

Children of John Shepard are:

i. Anne Shepard died ABT JAN 1740. She married James Wallace 11 JUL 1695. He was born ABT 1667 in Errol, Perthshire, and died 03 NOV 1712. She married Quintellian Gutherick BEF 21 APR 1689. He died ABT NOV 1689. She married Thomas Wythe BEF 10 MAR 1693/94, son of Thomas Wythe and Ann. He was born 1670.
16. ii. Baldwin Sheppard was born ABT 1660 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and died ABT JUN 1697 in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. He married Elizabeth BEF 27 FEB 1697.


I think that we can safely presume that James Naylor and his wife Jean Latimer had a daughter Ann who married Joseph Cooper, and had a son James Naylor Cooper from this will.

And here is a will of John Naylor, who died in 1694, who has a ton of our names in it--
This is probably James Naylor's grandfather. He does name a son James, but I don't think that it is the above James--too old to have died in 1776, but possible. More likely that the following John is this James Naylor's grandfather:

Naylor, John--Leg.- son Thomas land bought of Col. John Lear, adjoining my father's land;
daughter Ann; daughter Sarah land on which William Williams now lives; daughter Elizabeth with reversion of bequest to youngest daughter Mary Naylor; wife Sarah; son JAMES; my sister Westwood cattle at Richard Thursleys; to godson JOHN HOUSE; to Thomas and William Sorrell; balance to my wife and five children. Execs. wife Sarah and son Thomas Naylor. Overseer Major William Wilson. Dated 9-27-1694. Recorded 10-10-1694. WIt. CHRISTOPHER COPELAND, THOMAS HOUSE, Thomas Francis, BALDWIN SHEPPARD. book 1689-1699, pg. 195. Appraisal and divison of estate by BALDWIN SHEPPARD, THOMAS BAYLEY, CHRISTPOHER COPELAND, AND Thomas Francis. 4/3/1696. Boook 1689-1699, pg. 227

Marriage 1 Jean Latimer b: BET 1725 AND 1740 in Elizabeth City County , VA•Married: BET 1750 AND 1759 in Elizabeth City County, VA
Children1.Has Children Ann Naylor b: BET 1750 AND 1760 in Elizabeth City County , VA
2.Has No Children Susanna Naylor b: BET 1750 AND 1765
3.Has No Children Euphan Naylor b: BET 1750 AND 1765
4.Has No Children Mary Naylor b: BET 1750 AND 1765
5.Has No Children Sarah Naylor b: BET 1750 AND 1765

Sources: 1.Title: will of Thomas Latimer, dated 4/23/1767 Elizabeth City County, VA
2.Title: Book 1758-64, pg. 432, Original will and estate documents of Hursley Carter, Elizabeth City County, VA
3.Title: will of James Naylor, 1776, Elizabeth City County, VA

************************************************************
Information on Jean Sheppard: Note the mention of a Euphan pears(?...)

•Name: Jean Sheppard 1
•Sex: F
•Birth: BET 1750 AND 1770 in Elizabeth City County , VA
•Death: 08 NOV 1779 in Elizabeth City County , VA

Will of Jean Sheppard, Elizabeth City County, VA
leg.--mother Ann Sheppard, sister Sarah; brother Johney Sheppard. Dated 11-8-1779. Wit. Joseph Cooper, Euphan pears. Original Will.

This would be proof that Jean Sheppard died at a young age, and never married. Probably died of the massive smallpox epidemic that hit Hampton at that time.
**********************************************************
Further remarks by Bryan Godfrey:

Euphan Naylor, daughter of James Naylor, would have been a first cousin of John Sheppard, Jr. and Baldwin Sheppard, one of whom I believe is the father of Euphan N. Shepherd Cowling. I have no proof that Euphan Shepherd Cowling's middle name was Naylor, but I think it was, which is why Euphan's daughter Virginia named her daughter Ora Naylor Perrow, and that Euphan was named for her father's first cousin, Euphan Naylor. The rarity of the name Euphan, and its occurrence multiple times among the Latimers, Wallaces, and Naylors of Hampton who intermarried with the Sheppard family, convince me that it is a reasonable conclusion to place Euphan with this family, albeit with a question mark beside her probable father John Sheppard's name. John is more likely her father than Baldwin because I was able to find records of a John Shepherd/Sheppard in Nansemond, in land records and in regard to a Copeland account book, but unable to find Baldwin Sheppards there.

And, better yet, perhaps John Sheppard, Jr. married his first cousin, Euphan Naylor, and hence Euphan was named directly after her mother and was descended from Sheppards, Naylors, and Latimers. The James Shephard listed in Willis Cowling's Richmond property records could have been her brother and named for their maternal grandfather, James Naylor. But all this is speculation that, even if true, may never be proveable.

Willis Cowling's will named Richard Whitfield one of the executors of his estate and guardian for his children, and there was a Thomas Whitfield mentioned in deeds and wills of the Latimers of Hampton. However, according to findagrave.com, there is a Richard Whitfield (1777-1866) buried in Shockoe Hill Cemetery, and he is listed as being a native of England.

Of interest to descendants of Euphan Shepherd Cowling's grandson Fletcher Childs Perrow is the fact that her probable first cousin about five times removed, Euphan Wallace, granddaughter of James Wallace and Anne Sheppard, was the first wife of Col. William Dandridge (ca. 1689-1743), who came from Oxfordshire, England and settled first at Hampton, Virginia, where they were married, and after her death, he married Unity West of West Point, Virginia. Col. Dandridge and second wife Unity West were great-great-grandparents of Sarah Ann ("Sallie") Payne, wife of Fletcher Childs Perrow and mother of his three sons. Col. William Dandridge was an uncle of first First Lady Martha Dandridge Custis Washington.

In 2013, I took a weekend field study course on the Underground Railroad through Norfolk State University, and the class and its readings seemed to tie right in with both the Cowling and Shepherd sides of my ancestry. On our walking tour of historic downtown Portsmouth, we walked past the General John Hodges house, and some of his slaves have been researched in connection with the Underground Railroad. I soon realized one of his wives was a descendant of Thomas Godwin, Willis Cowling's ancestor. Then we learned the story of the slave George Latimer, whose escape from slavery in Portsmouth or Norfolk to Boston made him famous when a fugitive slave court case ensued, and he was the father of Lewis Latimer, an inventor who, among other endeavors, worked with Thomas Edison in developing the light bulb. George Latimer's father was a white man, Samuel Mitchell Latimer, a brother of Edward A. Latimer who owned George, and this Latimer family appears to have come from Hampton and so it seems nearly certain he was related to Euphan Shepherd Cowling.