Family Background:
 J. W. Philbrick has written a detailed history of this family:
- In Scotland, members of the McGown sept belonged to Clan Chattan
- Associate names: MacGowen, Gow, Gowen, Gowin, Gowing, Gouen, McGown,
  McGuin, McCown, M'Cuen, McKown, McCoon, Magoon, Megoon, etc.
- Gaelic meaning "smith" from gobha  or gow
- "Mac"  means "son of"
- Family records have been found in nearly all the colonies on the
  Atlantic seaboard from Prince Edward Island to Georgia before 1800.
 J. W. Philbrick compiled his history from family traditions, the
Mcgowan-Dailey Family Bible, Liverpool VR, Perkins House records, T.B.
Smith collection, Robert J. Long records, Liverpool Advance, the Public
Archives of Nova Scotia in Halifax, N.S.
 "The McGowans of Queens, Digby, Annapolis and Kings counties are
mainly descended from Michael McGowan of Ireland or David McGowan of
Galloway, Scotland. There seems to be no recorded connection between
these families which both originally settled near Liverpool although
genealogists have occasionally mixed them up. To add further elements
of doubt, there was a Robert McGowan family from Ireland living in
Amherst, Cumberland Co., in 1770 and a Thomas McGowan, Loyalist, who
settled in Dalhousie, Annapolis Co., by 1820."
                          *  *  *  *  *
I.  MICHAEL McGOWAN, native of Ireland, arrived in Nova Scotia by 1781.
    He settled first at Liverpool, then nearby Port Medway where he
    was a farmer. In Liverpool, on May 4, 1781, Michael was married to
    MARY DOLLIVER, widow of Capt. Angus Chisholm and mother of Anna,
    Sarah, Angus and Lucy Chisholm, residing with Michael and Mary in
    1787 according to the Census of Liverpool for that year.
Family History Insert:-
 "Anna married John, son of Thomas and Susannah Patterson, and
died with her first child. Lucy married Joseph Briggs who died, then
married John Patterson, widower of her sister Anna. Angus, Jr., was
probably the Capt. Angus Chisholm whose wife Experience is buried in
the cemetery on the point in Port Medway.
 Mary Dolliver was the daughter of Samuel and Mary (Mayhew)
Dolliver and came with them from Maine, where she was born. She
married Angus Chisholm in 1770 in Liverpool. Samuel and John Dolliver,
brothers, were original grantees of Liverpool in 1764 along with John
and Thomas Foster, Barnabas, Hezekiah, Samuel, Simeon and Smith
Freeman, George Fancy, Thomas Patterson and others whose descendants
are still in Queens County. The Dollivers came from Portland or North
Yarmouth, Maine, and were grandsons of Samuel, son of Robert Dalyber,
of Gloucester, Mass., through his son, Capt. John Dolliver, who went
to Portland in 1727.
- i -

 Michael and Mary (Dolliver) McGowan had the following children,
recorded in Liverpool:
II.  1. James, b.  2 Sep 1782, d. 3 Nov 1783.
 2. James, b. 19 Sep 1784, d. 3 Oct 1784.
 3. Susanna, b. 1 Sep 1785.
 4. James Dolliver, b. 19 Feb 1788, d. 11 July 1855, in Rosette,
    Queens Co. (Perkins House records say he died at Eagle Head
         near Port Medway).

 Robert Long says that MARY was Michael's second wife and lists
another daughter, MARGARET, who married Michael Huphman, Jr., but both statements
seem to be unconfirmed by the Liverpool VR which indicate
that Michael Huphman, Jr., married a widow Margaret McGowan.[CLANCY]
 Long also says that Susan McGowan married Josiah Freeman of
Kempt but this is also unconfirmed.
 Michael McGowan was living in Port Medway on 25 Nov 1802 when
Perkins records: "House built for Dan'l Bishop at Port Metway collapses
..... Of those in the house making mortar, etc., Mich McGowan
& Patrick Holland received some hurt, I hope not dangerous...."

II. 2. JAMES DOLLIVER McGOWAN, son of Michael and Mary, was married
    to Elizabeth Dolliver at Port Medway by Rev. John Payzant on
    23 Nov 1809.
Family History Insert:-
 James and Elizabeth moved to Westfield, Queems Co., and lived
there until his death in 1855. Although Long and R.R. McLeod imply that
James McGowan settled in Westfield shortly after his marriage in 1809,
Westfield was not actually settled until just after Sir James Kempt
visited the northern district in 1822 and McGowan's obituary in the
Liverpool Transcript indicates that he settled in Westfield about
1832. Family tradition says that his son Robert moved to the Calais,
Maine area at the age of one in 1817, the year after the year of no
summer, with his father and several uncles.
 [Weather records do indicate that 1816 was indeed a bad year
with some snow in every month but the Family Bible states that Robert
was born in 1819 and no Maine records could be found except Robert's
marriage intentions in 1845].

II. ELIZABETH DOLLIVER was born about 1791 at Port Medway and died
 2 Feb 1869 in Caledonia, Queens Co. She was the daughter of
 Gamaliel, son of Samuel and Mary (Mayhew) Dolliver, and Lucy,
 daughter of James and Betsey Briggs.
Family History Insert:-
 Lucy (Briggs) Dolliver's brother George Briggs married Gamaliel
Dolliver's sister Elizabeth in Liverpool in 1762 and was an original
proprietor of Liverpool in 1764. Their father, James Briggs, appears
to have come to Liverpool somewhat later. He was listed on the 1787
Census of Liverpool but had moved to Port Medway by 1788 when he was
one of the inhabitants of Port Medway who petitioned for a magistrate
separate from Liverpool. There is no indication yet as to his origin but probably it was near
Cape Cod where there were many of this name."

III. James D. and Elizabeth (Dolliver) McGowan had the following
 children:-
 1. Lucy, b. 25 June 1811, d. 9 Feb 1859.
 2. James D., b. 27 June 1813, d.s.p. 13 July 1855.
 3. Mary Ann, b. 4 July 1814 or 1815, d. 1. Dec 1896.
 4. Robert D., b. 28 July 1819.
 5. Michael, b. 15 Jan 1822, d.s.p. 18 Mar 1868.
 6. Susannah, b. 22 Aug 1828, d. 21 May 1908 in Granite
           Village, Shelburne Co.
 7. Charles W. D., b. 22 Feb 1832, d. 11 Mar 1840.
 8. Elizabeth, b. 4 May 1834 (in Westfield?).
Family History Insert:-
 Lucy married Wentworth Dailey in January, 1833. He was the son
of James Daley, Loyalist, who came to Shelburne, Nova Scotia when the
British evacuated New York in 1783. James Dailey married Clarissa
Buchanan at Shelburne on 10 Apr 1789 and was one of the petitioners
for land along the new road between Liverpool and Nictaux in 1798. He
settled there, at Brookfield, about 1801 with James Freeman, Isaiah
Barss and others. Wentworth Dailey was born in 1801, supposedly the
first white child born in the North District. His brother, James Dailey,
Jr., settled in Rosette (now North Brookfield) and was the ancestor of
the Daileys still living there.

 James D. McGowan married and lived in Liverpool or Milton but
had no children.

 Mary Ann, daughter of James D. and Elizabeth McGowan, married
Josiah Freeman in January, 1833 (double wedding with her sister Lucy)
and settled in Kempt. They raised a large family which included David
Sire Freeman.
 Josiah Freeman, son of James and Hannah (Barss) Freeman was
born 22 June 1803 in Brookfield and died at Kempt 27 July 1890. James
Freeman came to Brookfield and kept the first Public House in the
North District. Sir James Kempt stayed there on his famous visit of
1822 which greatly encouraged settlement in the North District.
 J. More lists James as a son of Samuel Freeman, Esq., and his
second wife, Mary ______, although the Liverpool VR list a son Frank
with the same birth date (1767) and omits James. Samuel was an original
grantee of Liverpool in 1764 and was from "Harwick, New England".
 Hannah was a daughter of David and Rebecca (Gamon) Barss of
Liverpool and grand-daughter of Benjamin and Jane Barss, probably of
Chatham, Massachusetts. "Harwick" was probably also in the Cape Cod area.

 Michael McGowan married LAVINA HASKINS on 30 Nov 1847, had a
grant on the Westfield River in Westfield (now North Brookfield) and
d.s.p. 18 Mar 1868 (on a river drive, according to family tradition).
 Lavina was born 22 Jan or June 1816 and died 26 Mar 1881.
Around 1880, Lavina presented the James McGowan Family Bible to
Alfred Roland Dailey. It is now owned by his daughter Doris, Mrs.
Richard L. Boyce, of Minneapolis, Minnesota. [This was years ago].

 Susannah McGowan married Augustus Patterson of Caledonia Corner,
Queens Co., in 1846, son of Peter Patterson of Norway and Eunice Smith
and died about 1899. Augustus and Eunice Patterson had the following
children: Michael, Joseph, John, Richard, Michael, Bessie, Janet,
Phoebe and Emily. Several descendants still reside in Caledonia.

 Elizabeth McGowan, daughter of James D. and Elizabeth McGowan,
married David Waugh and lived in Rosette. A descendant of the same
name was living in Charlestown, Massachusetts around 1920.

III. 4. ROBERT DOLLIVER McGOWAN, son of James D. and Elizabeth McGowan,
    married ELIZA McWHA of Calais, Maine or St. Stephen, New
    Brunswick in 1845. (Marriage Intentions filed in Calais,
    Maine on May 13, 1845 by Robert McGowan of St. Stephen and
    Elizabeth McWha of Calais).
Family History Insert:-
 Robert and Eliza McGowan had children born in or near Calais
and moved to McGowan Lake near Caledonia, Queens Co., where the rest
of their family were born, around 1864. Robert was listed as a farmer
living in Westfield on the 1866 Nova Scotia Directory and the 1870
Canadian Dominion Directory. He sold this property around 1868 and
moved to South Range, Digby Co., or Clementsvale, Annapolis Co., to
live with his son James but died soon after. After her husband's
death, Eliza lived with her son Robert Dolliver McGowan in Bridgetown,
Annapolis Co., where she died around 1894.

IV. Robert D. and Eliza McGowan  had the following children:-
 1. JAMES HENRY McGOWAN, b. 29 Sep 1848, m. Alfaretta Ann, dau. of
    Alfred  and Bethia (Burrell) Berry of Clementsvale, Anna. Co.,
         and d. 30 Sep 1916 in Bridgetown, Anna. Co. Alfaretta d. 27
         Dec 1932 in Hartland, Maine. Their descendants live in
         Annapolis County, Maine and Connecticut.

 2. ALMEDA McGOWAN, m. Charles Barnes and lived in Bridgetown.
         They had six children. [Charles Wishart Barnes was one of the
         six children, m. Mabel Sophia Farquhar ...see FARQUHAR].

 3. BESSIE McGOWAN, m. (1) a Mr. Tucker who owned  a business
         college in Saint John, New Brunswick, and (2) William
         Winchester of Round Hill, Anna. Co. Some of her children by
         Tucker moved to United States. As an adolescent, Bessie was
         reputed to be a witch because of her eccentric behaviour and
         super-normal strength and agility.

 4. MICHAEL McGOWAN, m. Mary Mullen and lived in Havelock and
    Weymouth, Digby Co. He was a heavyweight fighter and is said
         to have died at 37 from the effects of a head injury suffered
    in a fight with the father of the formerly well-known fighter,
         Sam Langford. Michael's descendants are living in Digby and
    Kings counties.

 5. CHARLES CUSHING McGOWAN, b. 22 Feb 1852, m. Olive Weatherbee,
    dau. of Wilson and Eliza (Hingley) Weatherbee, Tatamagouche,
    Colchester Co., and d. 1 Jan 1929 in Wytopitlock, Maine. His
    descendants live in Maine and Connecticut.

 6. ROBERT DOLIVER McGOWAN, b. March 1852, m. Harriet Weir, dau.
    of John Weir of Brooklyn, Queens Co., and d. in Bridgetown,
    Anna. Co., in 1937. Most of his descendants live in Annapolis
    County.

 7. OLIVIA JANE McGOWAN, b. 22 June 1858, m. (1) Walter Phinney
    and (2) Stephen O. Walker, son of Henry and Maria (Jefferson)
    Walker, and d. 10 July 1952 in Bridgetown. Most of her
    descendants live in Annapolis county.

 8. DOUGLAS THORPE McGOWAN, b. 30 Mar 1860, m. Ida May Mitchell,
    dau. of Arminson and Catherine (Taylor) Mitchell of Hampton,
    Anna. Co., and d. 23 Apr 1917 in Everett, Mass. His descend-
    ants live in Lunenburg and Hants counties and in Maine and
    Massachusetts. Arminson was son of James and Rebecca (Marshall)
    Mitchell, Catherine dau. of James and Lucy (Foster) Taylor, Jr.

 9. JOHN McGOWAN, d.s.p. at age 21 in Bridgetown, Annapolis Co.

====================================================================

  Translated out of the Original Tongues
and with the Former Translation Diligently
Compared and Revised with Cannes Marginal
Notes and Reference. To which are added
Index.

Concord, N.H.
Published by Luther Robeg
1850

Birth Records

 Lucy McGowan       born June 25, 1811
                         died Feb 9, 1859,
                         age 47 yrs, 7 mo. 14 dys

 James D. McGowan   born June 27, 1813
                         died July 13, 1855,
                    age 42 yrs, 16 dys

 Maryann McGowan    born July  4, 1815

 Robert D. McGowan  born July 28, 1819

 Michael McGowan    born Jan. 15, 1822
                         died Mar. 18, 1868
                         age 46 yrs, 2 mo, 4 dys

 Susannah McGowan   born Aug. 22, 1828

 Charles W.D. McGowan b. Feb. 22, 1832
                         died Mar. 11, 1840
                         age 11 yrs, 9 dys (*)

 Elizabeth McGowan  born May  4,  1834

 (different handwriting)
 Lavinia McGowan Haskins born June 22, 1816
                              died Mar. 26, 1881
                              age 65 yrs, 2 mo, 4 dys (*)

==========================================================

Marriage Record
Port Midway, N.S.

 James McGowan aged 21 years and Elizabeth Dolliver
      aged 19 years were Married November 23, 1809

 Michael McGowan and Lavina Haskins were Married
 Nov. 30, 1847

 Our two Daughters Lucy McGowan and Mary Ann were
 married January 1833 both in one day in N.S.
 Lucy married Wentworth Daly and Mary Ann Married
 Josiah Freeman

 This record made by the request of the above named
 James McGowan at Tisbury U. States of America, in
 Tisbury in the State of Massachusetts by John P. Norton

Information Transcribed by:- Muriel M. Davidson.