Scotland Stirling 260614 (24)
John Cowane, also known as Auld Staneybreeks was born around 1570 and was a contemporary of Guy Fawkes. The Cowane family were one of the best known merchant families in the Stirling area.
All available evidence suggests that John Cowane started his apprenticeship in his fathers booth on Broad Street. After some time as a merchant John Cowane decided that life would be more advantageous to him if he became a money lender. This activity brought our benefactor great wealth and he then invested in several shipping ventures which it is understood gave him the opportunity to travel abroad. Some unkind persons have stated that our benefactor was a pirate or at best a privateer but there appears to be little evidence to support this suggestion which no doubt was put forward by those who were obviously jealous of his position and wealth.
Not only was John Cowane a successful and wealthy merchant he was a Town Councillor for some time, became a member of Parliament for Stirling in the Scots Parliament and was also elected Dean of Guild in October of 1624.
Although John Cowane did not marry he fathered a son. This fact can be ascertained from the records of the Kirk Session of the Holy Rude Kirk in Stirling who fined John Cowane the sum of £6.00 for his offence. The poor woman who not only suffered the indignity of being an unmarried mother in 1611 was fined by the Kirk Session for her indiscretion and ordered to do public penance. It would appear that John Cowane was able to “buy out” his penance as there is no record of him being required to make any public demonstration of his repentance.
Scotland Stirling 260614 (24)
John Cowane, also known as Auld Staneybreeks was born around 1570 and was a contemporary of Guy Fawkes. The Cowane family were one of the best known merchant families in the Stirling area.
All available evidence suggests that John Cowane started his apprenticeship in his fathers booth on Broad Street. After some time as a merchant John Cowane decided that life would be more advantageous to him if he became a money lender. This activity brought our benefactor great wealth and he then invested in several shipping ventures which it is understood gave him the opportunity to travel abroad. Some unkind persons have stated that our benefactor was a pirate or at best a privateer but there appears to be little evidence to support this suggestion which no doubt was put forward by those who were obviously jealous of his position and wealth.
Not only was John Cowane a successful and wealthy merchant he was a Town Councillor for some time, became a member of Parliament for Stirling in the Scots Parliament and was also elected Dean of Guild in October of 1624.
Although John Cowane did not marry he fathered a son. This fact can be ascertained from the records of the Kirk Session of the Holy Rude Kirk in Stirling who fined John Cowane the sum of £6.00 for his offence. The poor woman who not only suffered the indignity of being an unmarried mother in 1611 was fined by the Kirk Session for her indiscretion and ordered to do public penance. It would appear that John Cowane was able to “buy out” his penance as there is no record of him being required to make any public demonstration of his repentance.