, predecessor = , successor = The Hon. Sir

William Collis Meredith Sir William Collis Meredith, (23 May 1812 – 26 February 1894) was Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Quebec, Superior Court for the Province of Quebec from 1866 to 1884. In 1844, he was offered but refused the positions of Solicitor General ...

, term_start = 1849 , term_end = 1866 , office2 = 2nd Chancellor of

Bishop's University Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebe ...

, predecessor2 = The Hon. William Walker , successor2 = The Hon. John Samuel McCord , term_start2 = 1856 , term_end2 = 1858 , birth_date = , birth_place =

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a population of 5,281 (a ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, death_date = , death_place =

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

, resting_place =

Mount Hermon Cemetery Mount Hermon Cemetery is a garden (or rural) cemetery and National Historic Site of Canada. It is located in the Sillery district (french: quartier) of the Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge borough (french: arrondissement) of Quebec City, Quebec, ...

, Sillery , nationality = , spouse = Eliza Davidson , party = , relations = , children = 16 , residence = , alma_mater =

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

Academy , occupation = , profession = , cabinet = , committees = , portfolio = , religion = , signature = , website = , footnotes = Edward Bowen (December 1, 1780 – April 11, 1866) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-born lawyer, judge and political figure in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

. He was the first Chief Justice of the

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

for provincial

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, and the second

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

, in

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

Life

Born in

in 1780, he was the son of James Bowen (1740–1796), Staff Surgeon in the British Army, who died at

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

. His mother, Isabella, was the daughter of Richard Sheffield Cassan of Sheffield,

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

, and his wife Isabella Hamilton, sister of the Rt. Rev. Hugh Hamilton,

Bishop of Ossory The Bishop of Ossory () is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Provinces of Ireland, Province of Leinster, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remain ...

. Educated at

Academy, Bowen came to

in 1797, with his great-aunt Anne Hamilton, and her husband, Lt.-Colonel

Henry Caldwell Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Caldwell ( c. 1735 – 1810) was a Canadian army and militia officer, a successful businessman and a member of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada. Early life The youngest son of Sir John Caldwell (d. 1744) 3rd ...

. He studied law and entered the offices of

Jonathan Sewell Jonathan Sewell (born Jonathan Sewall; June 6, 1766 – November 11, 1839) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Lower Canada. Early life He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the son of Jonathan Sewall, the last British attorney gen ...

. He was called to the bar of Lower Canada in 1803. Bowen served as Lieutenant and then Captain in the Quebec

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. In 1808, he was chosen as attorney general for Lower Canada by Governor Sir

James Henry Craig General Sir James Henry Craig KB (1748 – 12 January 1812) was a British military officer and colonial administrator. Early life and military service Craig came from a Scottish family whose father was a judge of the civil and military cour ...

; he was forced to step down after

Norman Fitzgerald Uniacke Norman Fitzgerald Uniacke (ca 1777 – December 11, 1846) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Lower Canada and Nova Scotia. He represented William-Henry in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada from 1824 to 1825. He was born, pr ...

was chosen by the authorities in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He was named

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1809, and also served as acting attorney general from 1810 to 1812. In 1809, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of ele ...

for William-Henry; he supported the English party. In 1812, he was named judge in the Court of King's Bench at Quebec. He was named to the Legislative Council in 1824. In 1849, he was named chief justice to the newly appointed Superior Court. Bowen also served as French translator for the Executive Council and French secretary for the province. He died at

in 1866, and was buried at

, section A, in the formerly independent city of Sillery, which was

amalgamated Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan ama ...

into Quebec City, in 2002. The Rev. G. V. Housman, of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, was the officiating clergyman. Bowen was the owner of the cemetery's land in 1830. For many years a portrait of Edward Bowen hung in the Senate chamber in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Family

In 1819, Bowen built a commodious two-story house cut from local stone, of six or seven

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

. Two end bays projected forward from the central two bays, suggestive of both French and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

architectural influence, but in contrast to the earlier French traditions at Quebec. The house stood on Mount Carmel Street (formerly Cathedral Street) in

. In 1807, Bowen had married Eliza, the daughter of James Davidson, a surgeon formerly attached to the Royal Canadian Volunteers. They had eight sons and eight daughters: *Alicia Catherine Aubigvey Bowen *Ann Emily Bowen *Charlotte Louise Caldwell Bowen *Eliza Cecilia Bowen, married The Hon. Edward Hale, of Quebec *Isabella Cassan Bowen *Louisa Aylmer Bowen *Lucy Irwin Bowen *Mary Sophia Bowen *Charles Marshall Bowen *Charles William Bowen *Edward Henry Bowen *Francis Nathaniel Burton Bowen *George Frederick Bowen *George Mountain Bowen *James Bowen *Noel Hill Fox Maule Bowen *William Hamilton Bowen A photograph of Bowen's daughter Isabella Cassan is on exhibit at

Piney Grove at Southall's Plantation Piney Grove at Southall's Plantation is a property listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Holdcroft, Charles City County, Virginia. The scale and character of the collection of domestic architecture at this site recalls the vern ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, United States. A portrait of Bowen's granddaughter, Isabella Forsyth Bell, and photograph of his great-grandson, Frederick Noel Bell Hyndman, are also exhibited. Piney Grove at Southall's Plantation remains in possession of the family. The furnishings of Piney Grove at Southall's Plantation includes pieces of furniture and silver that may descend from the Bowen family in Canada.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Edward 1780 births 1866 deaths 19th-century Irish people Irish expatriates in Canada Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada Politicians from County Cork Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Canadian King's Counsel Lower Canada judges Province of Canada judges Attorneys-General of Lower Canada Immigrants to Lower Canada People from Kinsale Burials at Mount Hermon Cemetery