The sun was setting low when the driver of the lone covered wagon pulled his team to the side of the road near a water tank. After he unhitched the team and placed hobbles on them, Ernest Cowan freed the team to graze. He unloaded the dutch ovens and built a fire so that Repsy Cowan would cook supper. Ernest and Repsy Cowan, with three small children; Frances, age 4, William, age 3, and Thurman, 10 months, had arrived in Dickens County, Texas in September 1922.Ernest and Repsy Cowan had moved to Dickens from Central Texas, Coryell County, for health reasons. They had sold their largest pieces of furniture in order to buy a team and wagon. They brought only a few family necessities to Dickens including a barber chair and a fiddle.
They first camped near Afton and picked cotton during the fall harvest. At the end of the season, Ernest drove the family to Spur in the covered wagon. There they camped in the wagon yard, sold the team, and used the money to buy lumber to build a small house. In Spur, Ernest worked on a railroad repair crew, worked in a cafe, and later, worked as a barber in a three-chair barbershop on Main Street. Ernest played the fiddle and was in great demand for playing at musicals and dances. He was nicknamed "Mac" by his friends and co-workers.
Typhoid fever struck the family in November 1923. Four of the Cowans had the fever - Repsy, a new baby, Stella Mae, and the two boys, William and Thurman. All four survived with the help of Dr. Hale, a registered nurse, and relatives. Frances had the typhoid vaccine, so escaped the disease. Ernest had the fever at an earlier age.
In 1924, the Cowans decided to move from Spur to the country. Ernest went to barbering again with Jess Powell in Afton. Here he met Mr. William Austin and began to farm his land on the "halves". After 3 years, Ernest bought his own teams and began to farm on thirds and fourths, thus renting land in several communities of Dickens County. The children attended schools in the communities of Spur, Afton, Red Hill, Prairie Chapel, Duck Creek, Wichita, and Dickens.
In 1932, the Cowans bought 100 acres of the John Rogers land in the Wichita Community from Ellsworth Ham. Later, the land was sold to Thurman M. and Avis Rogers Lewis, who still own it. After selling the land in 1944, the Cowans moved to Hurlwood, Texas in Lubbock County. Ernest worked as a civilian in the maintenance department at Reese Air Force Base. He retired after 23 years at Reese.
Ernest and Repsy were faithful members of the Church of Christ where ever they lived. Repsy died in 1958. William, their oldest son, died of leukemia in 1936 at age 17. A baby daughter, Rosella Marie, died at age 10 months in 1915. Stella Mae, the youngest daughter, married Don Martin. They had 5 children (4 surviving). Stella Mae died in 1966 and is buried in Hobbs, New Mexico. Frances married Wade Hash and they reside in Mission, Texas. They have 4 children. Thurman married Thelma Carson and they have 3 daughters. Thurman lives in Hazen, Arkansas. Thelma lives in Lubbock, Texas.
Ernest met and married Ella Branum in 1959 in Lubbock County. He lived to be 84 years old and died in July 1979. He is buried in Dickens Cemetery beside Repsy and their son, William.
By Frances Cowan HashSource: "Dickens County, Its Land and People", Dickens County Historical Commission, ©1986
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