 Birth | about 1802 Note: Birth place/year based on 1850 Census |
 Historical Event | The Louisiana Purchase 1803 (Age 12 months)Note: Napoleon Bonaparte agrees to sell 828,000 square miles of land to the United States for $15 million - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase |
| Historical Event | War of 1812 between 1812 and 1815 (Age 10 years)Note: War of 1812 between the Americans and the British. The Creek (or Red Stick) War in Alabama had different origins, but it coincided with the war of 1812, and the U.S. treated it as a part of the larger war, with Jackson and his forces also in charge of defeating the Creeks - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812 |
 Marriage | Elizabeth Ullery — View this family June 13, 1826 (Age 24 years) |
 Census | June 1, 1830 (Age 28 years) |
| Historical Event | Cholera Epidemic 1832 (Age 30 years)Note: Cholera killed 4,340 people in New Orleans & over 3,000 in New York City - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholera_outbreaks_and_pandemics |
| Historical Event | The Texas Revolution between October 1835 and April 1836 (Age 33 years)Note: The Texas Revolution (or Texas War of Independence) was fought from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836 between Mexico and the Texas (Tejas) portion of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. The Texas Revolution erupted in 1836, after Texas declared its independence from Mexico. Mexico responded by invading Texas, where General Santa Anna won decisive victories in the battles of the Alamo and Goliad. The war ended at the Battle of San Jacinto (about 20 miles) east of modern day downtown Houston) where General Sam Houston led the Texas Army to victory in 18 minutes over a portion of the Mexican Army under Santa Anna, who was captured shortly after the battle. The conclusion of the war resulted in the creation of the Republic of Texas - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Revolution |
 Birth of a son#1 | William Cowgill April 13, 1839 (Age 37 years) |
| Death of a wife | Elizabeth Ullery before 1840 (Age 38 years) Note: Presumed she died before 1840 because she did not appear in the 1840 Census with her family |
| Census | June 1, 1840 (Age 38 years) |
| Historical Event | Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848 (Age 44 years)Note: The Mexican-American War was an armed conflict between the United States of America and the United Mexican States from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas, which Mexico considered part of its territory despite the 1836 Texas Revolution - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican%E2%80%93American_War |
| Census | August 7, 1850 (Age 48 years) |
| Historical Event | Influenza Epidemic between 1857 and 1859 (Age 55 years)Note: In 1857-1859, there was an extremely severe worldwide outbreak of influenza - http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3884 |
| Historical Event | American Civil War between April 1861 and May 1865 (Age 59 years)Note: In the spring of 1861, tensions between the northern and southern United States over issues including state's right versus federal authority, westward expansion and slavery exploded into the American Civil War - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War |
| Historical Event | The Alaska Purchase 1867 (Age 65 years)Note: The Alaska Purchase was the purchase of 586,412 square miles of new territory by the United States from the Russian Empire (a bargain at two cents an acre) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Purchase |
| Historical Event | Yellow Fever Epidemic 1867 (Age 65 years)Note: 3,093 perished from yellow fever in New Orleans - http://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/306 |
| Historical Event | Transcontinental Railroad completed 1869 (Age 67 years)Note: The First Transcontinental Railroad was a 1,907-mile contiguous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 across the western United States to connect the Pacific coast with the existing Eastern U.S. rail network - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Transcontinental_Railroad |
| Historical Event | Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878 1878 (Age 76 years)Note: Over 13,000 deaths occurred from yellow fever in lower Mississippi Valley - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_yellow_fever |
| Historical Event | Spanish-American War between April 1898 and August 1898 (Age 96 years)Note: The Spanish-American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, the result of American intervention in the Cuban War of Independence - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War |
 Death | unknown |