COWLEY, WILLIAM; b.; adm. (aged 12) Sep 1750 (Hart's); in school list 1754.
Cownie, Ivor Thomas William, son of W. B. Cownie, of Muswell Hill, Middlesex; b. July 29, 1895; adm. Sept. 23, 1909 (H); left Dec. 1912; served in the 28th Batt. of the London Regt.; obtained a commission in the R.G.A. July 7, 1916; Lieut. Jan. 7, 1918; 17 May 1980.
COWPER, EDWARD, second son of James Cowper, Lincoln’s Inn and Essex; b.; adm.; KS 1676; elected to Trinity Coll. Cambridge, adm. pens. 19 Jun 1680, aged 17, scholar 22 Apr 1681, matr. 1681; adm. Middle Temple 23 Jan 1682/3; buried 14 Jul 1688.
Cowper, James Denis, son of William Cowper, med. practitioner, of Harrow; b. 25 July 1922; adm. Apr. 1936 (A); left July 1938; d. Dec 1974.
COWPER, JOHN, son of Spencer Cowper (b. 1669, qv) and his first wife; bapt. St. Olave’s, Southwark 8 Aug 1694 (IGI); at school under Freind (J. Peile, Biog. Reg. of Christ’s Coll. , ii, 178); Christ’s Coll. Cambridge, adm. pens. 25 Jun 1711, scholar 26 Mar 1713, matr. 1711/2, resided to Mich. 1713; DD 1728; migr. to Merton Coll. Oxford, matr. 14 Oct 1714; BA 1715/6; MA 1718; Fellow of Merton Coll. 1715-22; ordained 1718; Rector of Great Berkhamstead, Herts. , from 1722; Chaplain to King George II (occurs 1748, 1751); patentee for making out Commissions, Commissioners of Bankruptcy (Chamberlayne 1748); m. 1st, Anne, dau. of Roger Donne, Ludham Hall, Norfolk; m. 2nd, 8 Jan 1740/1 Rebecca, widow of Obadiah Marryat, St. Clement Danes, London, and dau. of --- Moxon; d. 10 Jul 1756.
COWPER, SPENCER, younger son of Sir William Cowper, Bart. , MP, and Sarah, dau. of Sir Samuel Holled, Kt. , a London merchant, and brother of William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper, Lord Chancellor; b. 1669; at school under Busby (Howell, State Trials, xiii, 1180); Christ’s Coll. Cambridge, adm. pens. 13 Feb 1685/6, matr. 1686, resided to Mich. 1687; adm. Middle Temple 7 May 1687, called to bar 26 May 1693; Home Circuit; tried with three others at Hertfordshire Assizes Jul 1699 for murder of Sarah Stout, a quakeress, but acquitted; there was practically no evidence of the crime against the accused, and the trial is a curious illustration of the crass stupidity of mens’ minds when blinded by religious and political fanaticism (Howell, State Trials, xiii, 1105-1250); adm. Lincoln’s Inn 21 Oct 1713, Bencher 12 Feb 1715, Treasurer 28 Nov 1715; Bencher, Middle Temple 23 Oct 1718; MP Bere Alston 1 Dec 1705-10, Truro 1715-27; one of the managers of Sacheverell’s impeachment, 1709-10; Attorney-General to Prince of Wales 12 Oct 1714-27, to Duchy of Lancaster from 1727; KC 5 Jan 1715; Chief Justice of Chester 17 Jul 1717-27; a Judge of the Common Pleas (and Serjeant-at-Law) from 24 Oct 1727; m. 1st, 7 Feb 1687/8 Pennington, dau. of John Goodere; m. 2nd, 25 Jul 1728 Theodora, widow of John Stepney; d. 10 Dec 1728. DNB.
COWPER, HON. SPENCER, second son of William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper PC, Lord Chancellor, and his second wife Mary, dau. of John Clavering, Chopwell, co. Durham; nephew of Spencer Cowper (qv); b.; in school list 1727/8; Exeter Coll. Oxford, matr. 16 May 1729, aged 16; BA 14 Mar 1731/2; MA 1734; BD and DD 1746; ordained; Rector of Fordwich, Kent, from 15 Apr 1742; Prebendary of Canterbury 21 May 1742 - Jun 1746; Dean of Durham from 14 Jul 1746; m. 19 May 1743 Hon. Dorothy Townshend, dau. of Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend KG PC, Secretary of State and Lord President of the Council; d. 25 Mar. 1774. DNB.
COWPER, SPENCER, brother of William Cowper (adm. 1730, qv); b.; adm. (aged 7) Jun 1733; left 1742; Worcester Coll. Oxford, matr. 1 Dec 1742; adm. Middle Temple 11 Jun 1741; Ensign, 1st Foot Guards, 17 Jan 1747; Lieut. and Capt., 2 Feb 1753; Capt. -Lieut., 23 Jul 1760; Capt. and Lieut. -Col., 22 Dec 1761; Brevet Col., 25 May 1772; retd. 24 Nov 1773; Lieut. -Gov. Tynemouth (occurs -1774-90-); Major-Gen., 19 Feb 1779; Lieut. -Gen., 28 Sep 1787; commanded a brigade in American War; m. 12 May 1748 (IGI) Charlotte, dau. of John Baber; d. 13 Mar 1797.
COWPER, THOMAS; b.; in school list 1727/8.
COWPER, WILLIAM, son of John Cowper (qv), and his first wife; b. 15 Nov 1731; adm. Apr 1742 (Playford's); left 1749; articled to a solicitor 1750-2; adm. Middle Temple 29 Apr 1748, called to bar 14 Jun 1754; fell in love with his cousin Theodora, but the marriage was forbidden by her father; contributed verses to various papers; a member of the Nonsense Club, chiefly composed of Westminster men who dined together weekly; migrated to Inner Temple, adm. there 17 Jun 1757; owned chambers Inner Temple 1757 - still 1781; a Commissioner of Bankrupts (occurs in annual lists 1758-65); Clerk of Journals, House of Lords c. May - Nov 1763; the stress brought on by his acceptance of the appointment caused a suicide attempt and nervous breakdown; an inmate of Nathaniel Cotton’s private lunatic asylum at St. Albans, Dec 1763 - Jun 1765; lived with the Unwins at Huntingdon 1765-7 and subsequently with Mrs Unwin at Olney, where he was employed by the Rev. John Newton as a sort of lay-reader and district visitor; composed hymns, a number of which are printed in Newton’s Olney Hymns, 1779; became engaged to Mrs Unwin; again deranged 1773-5 and for part of that time a guest in Newton’s house; occupied himself in gardening and writing verse; published Anti-Thelypthora, 1781, an anonymous attack on the defence of polygamy written by his cousin Martin Madan (qv) in the previous year; published Poems, Feb 1782; wrote the famous ballad of John Gilpin, first published in The Public Advertiser, Nov 1782; began translating Homer 1784; published The Task, 1785; removed to Weston, Nov. 1786; again became insane 1787; published his translation of Homer, 1791; undertook to edit Milton; removed in 1795 to East Dereham, Norfolk, where Mrs Unwin died in the following year; a complete edition of his works was published in 15 vols. by Robert Southey (qv) in 1834-7; Cowper’s schooldays, to which he frequently refers in his correspondence, were probably the happiest days of his life, and his recollections of them afforded him much pleasure; he appears to have enjoyed playing cricket and football; his favourite friend was Sir William Russell, Bart. (qv), but he was “much intimate” with Walter Bagot (adm. 1739/40, qv); he had a “particular value” for Warren Hastings (qv), to whom he addressed some lines on his impeachment, and he showed his friendly feeling for Robert Lloyd (qv) in the verse epistle which he addressed to him in 1754; his poem Table Talk contains an interesting allusion to the custom in his time of awarding pieces of Maundy Money for a good copy of verses (lines 507-11); d. unm. 25 Apr 1800. Memorial window in baptistery of Westminster Abbey. DNB.