James Robert Gowan

Who was James Robert Gowan?

Sir James Robert Gowan, KCMG, QC was a Canadian lawyer, judge, and senator.

Born in Cahore, County Wexford, Ireland, the son of Henry Hatton Gowan and Elizabeth Burkitt, he was educated privately in Dublin. In 1832, he emigrated to Canada and settled outside of Toronto. In 1833, he became a student in the law office of James Edward Small and later practiced law there. He married Anne Ardagh in 1854. They had no children. In 1843, he was appointed judge of the newly created Simcoe District, the largest jurisdiction in Upper Canada. He was the youngest judge ever commissioned in the British empire at the time. He retired in 1883. In 1885, he was appointed a Senator on the advice of John Alexander Macdonald representing the senatorial division of Barrie, Ontario. A Liberal-Conservative, he served for 22 until his resigning in 1907.

He was created a C.M.G. in 1893 and knighted in 1905.

He was related to Ogle Robert Gowan, Emily Gowan Murphy née Ferguson, and Thomas Roberts Ferguson.