John Thomas COWIE 1888 - 1967

 John's birth was not registered and his birth date has been estimated as 28 September 1888 at Croydon Bush, 10km west of Gore SLD. Interestingly, Clinton School records list his date of birth as 21 Sep 1889. His father John Robertson COWIE arrived in New Zealand with his family in 1877 at the age of 13 years on the Marlborough from Clyde, SCT. His mother, Mary Ann, nee BATES, was the second daughter of Nathaniel BATES and Ann PAULEY, nee WILLIAMS.
NZSG School Records (APWs)
Name COWIE John T School Clinton Register Number 195 Admission Date 20 Jan 1896 Parent / Guardian John COWIE Birth date 21 Sep 1889 Last School Last Day 18 Dec 1896 Destination Clydevale.
   
John spent his childhood years at Berwick, Goodwood and his youth in South Otago around Kaitangata. He then moved to Central Otago with his family, where he met Ada GAUDIN who had worked at Cadbury’s at Dunedin for a time when she first left school. Ada and John married on the 25 June 1913, folio 3948, at Luggate and began married life in what was known as the ‘haunted house’, nearby at Rocky Point with Ada’s parents, George and Annie Gaudin.
Granddaughter Kate Anderson recalls Alf told us grandad worked on a shove loading roads 6 days a week in the IDA Valley  and would walk home over Thompsons pass on sat night, walk back Sunday night. He left his horse at the Ida Valley to rest one day a week. Grandad told the kids he always had two shovel fulls in the air and one on the ground, he was so fast.(sounds like a grandad story) He later drove a Ellis Chalmer Planer for the Vincent County.

Being the middle child in a family of six, I used to love staying at Grannie and Grandad's as a child in the early 1960's. They used to take me to Cromwell to visit Aunty Bell and they would buy me a length of dress material to take home. I loved to help Grannie with the baking and recall Grandad  telling me the cake we were making would flop because I was left handed and the was using the hand beaters backwards! Grandad loved playing patience and I treasure an old pack of cards he gave me all those years ago. He  always had a supply of cigars that he enjoyed in the evening and would sit and list to Bills’ records, especially Mary Ann Regrets sung by Burl Ives, with tears streaming down his cheeks.

I saved up my money to buy my sweetheart some flowers
For Saturday's date and I restlessly counted the hours.
Then today in the mail I received this short little note
And I broke down inside at the message that her mother wrote.

Mary Ann regrets she's unable to see you again;
We're leaving for Europe next week, she'll be busy till then.
They know that she loves me, but poor boys don't fit in their plan.
Good-bye true love, good-bye my sweet Mary Ann.

The weeks have gone by not a word have I heard since then;
In the papers I read of the faraway places she's been.
I can't eat, I can't sleep for over and over again
My mind reads that letter and I cry for my Mary Ann.

Mary Ann regrets she's unable to see you again;
We're leaving for Europe next week, she'll be busy till then.
They know that she loves me but poor boys don't fit in their plan.
Good-bye true love, good-bye my sweet Mary Ann.

My Mary Ann died, they said she just wasted away;
If I could have seen her I know she'd be living today.
For we loved each other and if they'd have left us alone,
Today she'd be wearing my ring, not a blanket of stone.

Mary Ann regrets she's unable to see you again;
We're leaving for Europe next week, she'll be busy till then.
They know that she loves me but poor boys don't fit in their plan.
Good-bye true love, good-bye my sweet Mary-Ann

John died on 3 Aug 1967 at Dunedin Hospital and was buried with his wife Ada at Cromwell Cemetery.

Except from Our Cowies from Scotland to Otago complied by Marie Heilbrunn 2013