MCGOWAN FAMILY CELEBRATES 125th REUNION YEAR
In 1886 the families of brothers George and Eli McGowan began holding annual reunions.
This year marks 125 years since that first gathering. Family members will come from as
far away as Alaska to meet at noon, Sunday, August 8th at the McGowan-Johnson American
Legion, in Paw Paw, Michigan. This post was named for Claire McGowan, who, in WWI, gave
his life serving his country.
George McGowan and wife Carolyn Pickering moved from Indiana to Hartford, Michigan in
1865, and the next year settled in Lawrence Township. In 1871 his brother Eli McGowan and
wife Mary Ann Dobson, coming from Quincy, Michigan, joined them.
George, drafted at the age of 40, served during the last months of the Civil War. Eli
attended college in Ohio, taught school for several years, and went to California in the
early 1860's to search for gold. At the end of 1862 he volunteered, and became a
Regimental Quarter Master in the Civil War. After the war Eli took up farming. Like his
father and grandfather, George became a brick maker and farmer. In Lawrence Township near
the old town of Corwin, the two brothers built cabins, and then homes next door to each
other. Their children attended the one room school in Corwin.
Brothers George and Eli McGowan were two of the ten children of Samuel and Susan Hartzell
McGowan, whose parents came to America in the 1700's from Scotland and Germany.
Samuel and Susan McGowan lived near their parents in Ohio until 1854, then moved to
Orland, Indiana. Samuel and Susan left a proud heritage. Susan Hartzell McGowan's
father and both of her grandfathers were Revolutionary War soldiers. The McGowans and
Hartzells were abolitionists. Samuel McGowan ran a station on the Underground Railroad out
of his home in Orland 1854 to 1859. Son Jonas Hartzell McGowan was a two-term U.S.
Representative from Coldwater. Son John Encil McGowan, a colonel in the Civil War,
became the editor of the newspaper in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Son Fred was a teacher and
prospector, who also served in the Civil War. Son Andrew assisted runaway slaves in
southeastern Iowa.
By the time of the first reunion in 1886, George and Carolyn had twelve children. Eli and
Mary Ann had seven children. Many were grown with families of their own. Reunion minutes
reflect that George and Eli wished to have annual gatherings. The families have met
almost every year since, interrupted only by the deaths of the patriarchs, and by war.
Minutes of the reunions were kept every year, and the event was often recorded in local
newspapers. The minutes are now preserved at Webster Library in Decatur. The first
reunion photograph was taken in 1887. This photo has been preserved, and may be seen at
Webster Library. Siblings, cousins, and descendants from all over the country have
participated in the reunions over the years.
Since that first reunion, seven generations of this family have grown to hundreds in
number. Its members include many Southwest Michigan area families, who may not know they
are descendants of George or Eli McGowan. Their daughters and granddaughters married:
Joseph Brown, Lawrence; Charles F. Dillenbeck, Lawrence; Milo Gettig, Benton Harbor and
Geneva; Arthur Johnson, Lawrence; Thomas William Van Ess, California, John H. MacDonald,
Dowagiac; Versel McCracken, Lawrence; Carroll Whittington, Lawrence; Eugene Sheridan,
Florida, William H. Mitchell, Hartford; C. L. Solomon, Kalamazoo; Joseph E. Gregory,
Kalamazoo; Harold Lewis, Battle Creek; Charles A. McClelland, Hillsdale; John D. Davis,
Toledo; Pearl H. Fraser, Evart; Don L. Jennings, De Kalb, Indiana; Frank W. Haddix,
Butler, Indiana; Raymer W. Miller, Bowling Green, Ohio; Marion Miller, Edgerton, Ohio;
Abraham Lincoln Edwards, Williams County, Ohio; Stanton I. Thomas, Lawrence; Moses B.
Cullom, Hartford; Beldon Forbush, Kalamazoo; Roy A. Moore, Kalamazoo; Joseph F. Finley,
Hartford; Adrian C. Williams, Ashland; Harry E. Hough, Hartford; and Donald Gager, Grand
Rapids. Anyone descended from one of these men is also a McGowan descendant.
Other McGowan relatives from Ohio also moved to Michigan in the mid 1800's. A cousin,
Hamilton McGowan, came to Sodus in Berrien County before 1856. Other McGowan cousins
settled in Buchanan. Their families participated in the early reunions. These and all
family members are invited to attend the reunion on August 8th.
For further information or help with McGowan and related family history, contact Diane
McGowan Tichenor, 74 Shorewood Dr., Macomb, IL 61455. Phone: 309 833 1330, e-mail:
dtich6703(a)logonix.net. There is also a free internet site, <
http://www.rootsweb.com>
, which includes an extensive genealogy of this McGowan branch and connected families.
Click on "Family Trees", then "Advanced Search". Type in the name of
your known deceased grandparent or great grandparent (person must have been born before
1930), along with birth or death year. If results are found, click on the matching name
in Database "mcgowan_a".