forth with the Democratic party, which elected him to the state senate in 1873-4. In the latter year he was made its president. As a young man Mr. Gove was engaged in the Washingtonian temper- ance movement, and spoke and wrote eloquently in aid of the cause. He edited for a short time the " Temperance Banner," published at Concord, N. H.
GOWAN, James Robert, jurist, b. in County
Wexford, Ireland, 22 Dec. 1817. His parents emi-
grated to Upper Canada in 1821. The son studied
Jaw, was admitted to the bar in 1839, and in 1843
was elected judge of the judicial district of Sim-
•coe, Upper Canada. He became associate judge of
•queen's bench and common pleas in 1857, and chair-
man of the board of county judges, w^hich regulates
the procedure of the division courts. He aided in
preparing the bills to make the criminal law uni-
form in Canada, embodying a consolidation of the
criminal laws in force in the several confederated
provinces, with valuable additions and improve-
jnents in procedure, which were enrolled on the
statute-book of 1869, and are now in force. In
1873 he was one of the royal commissioners to in-
vestigate charges against the ministry in connec-
tion with the Canada Pacific railroad contract.
When the consolidation of the statute law for
Ontario was determined in 1870, Judge Gowan was
appointed with other judges on a commission is-
sued for that purpose, and rendered important
service, for which he received a gold medal from
the government of Ontario. He retired from the
bench in 1883. He has been interested in educa-
tional matters, serving as chairman of the board
of public instruction from its foundation, and for
many years as chairman of the senior high-school
board of the county of Simcoe. He was appointed
to the senate in 1885. lu 1855 he established the
first legal periodical in his province, " The Upper
Canada Law Journal," to which he was a frequent
contrilnitor. The degree of LL. D. was conferred
upon him by Queen's college in 1883. " The Ad-
dresses and Proceedings in Connection with the
Retirement from the Bench of His Honor Judge
James Robert Gowan," with selections from print-
ed matter regarding his career, have been published
for private circulation (1884).
GOWAN, Ogle Robert, member of the Canadian parliament, b. in County Wexford, Ireland, in 1790 ; d. in Toronto 21 Aug., 1876. His father, Capt. John Hunter Gowan, of Mount Nebo, was a leading county magistrate and distinguished in crushing the Irish rebellion of 1798. In early lite he edited the " Antidote," a newspaper in Dublin. He removed to Canada in 1829, residing for a time
in Escott, Leeds co., Ontario, and subsequently in
Toronto. During the rebellion of 1837 he was ap-
pointed captain in the Leeds militia, and was pres-
ent at the capture of Hickory island, near Kings-
ton, in 1838. In the same year he was appointed
lieutenant-colonel of militia. At the engagement
between the British troops and the invaders, at
"the Windmill," near Prescott, in November, 1838,
he commanded the right wing of the British forces,
and was three times wounded. For his bravery on
that occasion, Lieut.-Col. Gowan was thanked in
the military general orders, and by a general order
of 4 Dec, 1838, his regiment, as a mark of distinction and approbation, was hereafter to be known as " The Queen's Royal Borderers." He was subsequently appointed to the command of 2d regiment of Leeds militia, and during the McKenzie-Papineau rebellion of 1837-9 he was designated
" the right arm of British power in America," be-
ing the head of a most powerful body of loyal men
organized and sworn to support British supremacy.
For twenty years he was the grand master of the
Orange lodges of North America, of which he was
the founder. He was a member of the Canadian
parliament from 1834 till 1841, and was an ardent
supporter of the administrations of Lords Seaton,
Metcalf, and Cathcart. Mr. Gowan as a post-office
inspector, and afterward a license-officer in Toron-
to. He was the author of " Annals of Orangeism "
and " Orangeism : its Origin and History."
GOWANS, William, antiquarian bookseller,
b. in the parish of Lismahagow. Scotland, 29 March,
1803 ; d. in New York city, 27 Nov., 1870. His par-
ents desired to educate him for the ministry, but
he was disinclined for so sexious a profession and re-
turned to work on his father's farm. In June, 1821,
the family emigrated to the United States, and,
after working on a flat-boat on the Mississippi, Will-
iam became a gardener in New York city in 1825,
and afterward successively a stone-cutter, stevedore,
vender of newspapers, and bill-distributer for the
Bowery theatre. In May, 1827, he obtained a clerk-
ship in a small book-store, and in the following
year began to trade on his own account, buying
at auctions and vending as a book-pedler in the
streets of New
York city. In
1828 he opened a
book-stall on the
sidewalk in Chat-
ham street. Here
he remained two
years, and there-
after opened a
small store in the
" Arcade " build-
ing, but soon re-
turned to Chat-
ham street. In
1837Mr.Gowans
became a book
auctioneer. In
1840 he paid a
brief visit to his
native land, and
on his return to
New York city
once more be-
came a dealer in
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second-handbooks, finally settling in Nassau street, where he remained till his death. His earliest publications were "Phædon " (New York, 1833), and "The Phœnix" (1835). From time to time followed re-publications of rare tracts and pamphlets, in limited editions, most of them historical Americana. After the death of his wife in 1863 he retired from contact with his fellow-men, and spent his time in his store and at the book auctions. At these places it had for a long time become the rule to knock down all lots for which there were no bona-fide bidders at the auctioneer's estimated value to Mr. "Chase," his commercial pseudonym. Many were the anecdotes related illustrating his peculiarities. A single one may be mentioned. While the writer was in conversation with the dealer on one occasion, a person entered the Nassau street shop and asked for a rare book, which was handed to him with the price, in answer to the customer's inquiry. " Is that not very high 1 " the latter asked ; and Gowans, taking the work from his hand,said : "Well, I'll put it higher," and to the astonishment of the clerical customer replaced the volume on the shelf. When the latter remarked that he would take it, the irate antiquarian answered that it was not for sale, and turning his back on him resumed the interrupted conversation with the writer. Gowans's