Cowger family research

I am studying the Cowger / Gauger family and related families and am glad to exchange information.

The Cowger surname seems to originate with the family of John Conrad and Anna Barbara (Probst) Cowger, who moved from New Jersey to what is now Pendleton County, West Virginia, in about 1760. John, originally Johann Conrath Gauger, immigrated from Germany in 1736 (probably from the area around Stuttgart), landing in Philadelphia. His name and the name of Georg Nicholas Gauger, probably a brother, can be seen on the ship's list at www.mcn.org/2/noel/ShipsList.jpg.

Currently I am researching the descendants of Henry Jacob and Susanna Christina (Harper) Cowger, who were both born in Pendleton County and married there in 1885. Henry was a great-great-grandson of John Conrad Cowger. In 1736, after the birth of Henry and Susanna's first child in Moorefield, Hardy County, they moved west, eventually settling in Monterey County, California, where their other four children were born.

Family Photos

• Henry and Susanna Cowger (112 KB)
  My grandfather, Winslow Cowger, is at the far right, beside his mother. This photo was taken about 1906.
• A Cowger Family Bible (front & spine) (29 KB)
  This bible, printed in 1803, was given to Henry Cowger and Elizabeth Randall for their wedding in 1805. Henry Jacob Cowger, a grandson of Henry and Elizabeth, brought this bible west to California where it has been passed down three more generations.
• A Cowger Family Bible (open to the title page) (23 KB)
  To feel the leather trimmed cover of this bible and to open it brings to mind the many relatives who read these pages in joy and sorrow and in everyday life.
• A Cowger Family Bible (scanned title page) (77 KB)
  This shows more detail of the title page. The burn marks on the upper right corner are present to a less and less extent on the next 20 pages. The pages are nearly 8" x 10".
• A Cowger Family Bible (family records) (83 KB)
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• A Cowger Family Bible (family records) (91 KB)
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• A Cowger Family Bible (family records) (74 KB)
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• A Cowger Family Bible (family records) (77 KB)
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• A Cowger Family Bible (family records) (63 KB)
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• A Cowger Family Bible (family records) (56 KB)
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