Emily Cowling Warren

Emily Cowling Warren
Photo and digital image in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

Emily Cowling Warren
Born: 1843 in the United States
Mother: Emily Leach Cowling, born in England 15 February 1810, came to America 16 May 1836
Father: James Cowling, born in England 30 January 1810, came to U.S.A. 16 America 1836
Married: 24 March 1861 to Isaac Warren
Died: 1932 in New Brighton

Children:
William, b. 1863
Mary “Molly,” b. 1865
Emily b. 1869
Adalaide, b. 1871
James Raymond, b. 1875
Agnes Loretta, b. 1877
Hannah, b. 1879
Edward Isaac, b. 1880

Siblings:
Mary E./Mare Ethel Ella, born 1845, married Walter Morris
Eleanor, born 1848, married Samuel J. Bennett
Mariah Margaret, born 1851

Emily was born in the United States to Emily Leach and James Cowling of London, who had married in England, and immigrated to America aboard The Ship Napier, arriving in New York in 1836. They were both 26 years old. Emily was born 1843, but it is unclear where she was born. According to my mother, family lore tells of her crossing the Allegheny Mountains in a covered wagon as a young girl, with the sugar firkin shown below:

This sugar firkin belonging to Emily Cowling Warren has been passed down to me.
Firkin and digital image in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Inside the lid of the sugar firkin belonging to Emily Cowling Warren.
Firkin and digital image in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

According to my mother, “When she got to Pittsburgh, her parents had her protrait painted. It hung in the home of Miriam Carter [Emily’s grand-daughter] until her death, when it was mysteriously stolen by a scoundrel Warren cousin!” I remember my parents telling the story this way: My aunt Miriam was very dear to my mother, and since Miriam had no children of her own, she left much of her estate to my mother. When Miriam died in the 1960s, my parents went up to clean out her house. While they were working, they heard the front door slam, and ran to the window, where they saw a man running away with the portrait. They believe that the portrait was stolen to be sold for cash, rather than for sentimental reasons. What a shame. How I wish I could see what Emily looked like when she was little!

By 1850, Emily is listed on the 1850 U.S. Federal Census as living in western Pennsylvania, in Allegheny County (this is the county where Pittsburgh is located) Ward 4, with her parents and two sisters, Mary and Eleanor. Her father is listed as a tailor, a profession he had learned in England.

The 1860 U.S. Federal Census lists 17-year-old Emily as living with her parents and sisters Mary E. (15), Eleanor (12) and Mariah (9) in Patterson, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. James Cowling is now listed as a merchant. 

Emily married Isaac Warren on March 24, 1861.

Isaac Warren

Their marriage certificate (shown below) reads: “This certifiies that the rite of Holy Matrimony was celebrated between Isaac Warren of Old Brighton, Pa., and Emily Cowling of Old Brighton, Pa., on 24 March 1861 at Mr. Cowlings by William Reeves, V.D.oll; James Cowling, Witness.”

Marriage Certificate for Emily Cowling and Isaac Warren
Document and digital image in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

The 1870 U.S. Federal Census shows Emily (age 27) living with Isaac (age 31, a soap manufacturer) and their first three children, William (7), Mary “Molly” (5) and Emily (1).

By 1880, the U.S. Federal Census shows Emily (age 37) living with Isaac; by this point they had added four more children: Adelaide, James, Agnes Loretta, and Hannah. Son William, now 17, appears to have joined his father's business, as he is listed as a soap maker, too.

Emily Cowling Warren is seated, far right. 1880s-90s. I believe the other women are her three sisters:
Mary E./Mare Ethel Ella, Eleanor, and Mariah Margaret. Photo and digital image in the possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp.

In 1900, when Emily was 57, the U.S. Federal Census shows her and Isaac living with James (a photographer), Edward (a day laborer) and Isaac (their grandson, age 16).

The 1910 Census has just Emily (age 67) and Isaac; it also lists Emily as the mother of 14 children, with only 7 alive at that date.

Warren family members, about 1915-1920
Photo and digital image in possession of Susan Brubaker Knapp

There were no names on the back of this photo (above), but I believe I can identify the following people:
1. Warren E. Brashears, seated in first row, far right (son of Hannah Warren and Claude E. Brashears)
2. Lynn McKee Carter, seated in first row, second from right (son of Agnes Loretta Warren and Thomas Lynn Carter); my grandfather
3. Miriam Leedom Carter, kneeling in second row, above and slightly to the right of Lynn (daughter of Agnes Loretta Warren and Thomas Lynn Carter)
4. Emily Cowling Warren, the oldest woman, standing at the center with her arms crossed
5. Agnes Loretta Warren Carter (daughter of Emily Cowling and Isaac Warren), standing in the back row, with just her head showing, to the right of the woman in black looking at the pointing baby. (Agnes is my great-grandmother.)
6. Hannah Warren (daughter of Emily Cowling and Isaac Warren), just to the right of Agnes Loretta, wearing a white dress.
It is possible that the oldest man in the photo, who is standing on the far right at the back, in a partially faded-out section of the photograph, is Emily’s husband Isaac Warren.

In the 1920 Census, Emily was 77 years old, and Isaac, 81. As in previous censuses, they appear to live near their daughter Hannah, who had married Claude E. Brashears (listed as a garage owner).

Emily’s husband Isaac died in 1922. In the 1930 Census, Emily, age 87, is listed as living only with a maid, Jennie Lahnson. Hannah and her family still lived nearby.

Emily died in New Brighton on May 15, 1932. She is buried with Isaac in Beaver Cemetery, Beaver County, Pennsylvania.