The compilation of the McGowan genealogy involved research in Nova Scotia. Most of the early records came from the Archives in Halifax, the Simeon Perkins House in Liverpool, census, church and vital records. the James McGowan Family Bible, and vital records of Maine and Massachusetts.
The McGowan name originated in Scotland or Ireland. "Gowan" was the same in Gaelic or Scotch as the word. "Smith" in English. The Mc or Mac means "son of", so some of the sons of Smiths in Scotland and Ireland acquired the name "McGowan".
There were many mcGowans with various spellings who migrated during the eighteenth and nineteenth century to Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and the United States.
Michael McGowan was a native of Ireland or Scotland, and settled in Liverpool, Queens County, Nova Scotia by l781. In the Archives at Halifax, Nova Scotia, the L. B. Smith Collection says that Michael was a native of Ireland. Dr. R. R. McLeod of Calidonia, Nova Scotia, gave this account of Michael, saying he came from the North of Ireland. Michael's marriage in Liverpool states that he was from Scotland. Historical Notes on Queens County, Vol. 16, 1912, says that Michael came from Scotland.
Cynthia Hill