James Cowden was born around 1815 in Pennsylvania. He married a woman Ann Chambers, and they had at least four children: Matthew, born on January 8, 1841; Ann, born around 1844; Sarah, born around 1846; and William, born around 1868. They lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, until the 1840s, when they moved to Columbia, Pennsylvania. Cowden worked as a merchant, and by 1850, he owned $2,700 of real estate. By 1870, they were living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He died in Philadelphia on July 21, 1877.