Jonas Hartzell McGowan (April 2, 1837 – July 5, 1909) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. McGowan was born in Smith Township, Ohio (then part of Columbiana County, now Mahoning County). He was the eighth of ten children of Samuel and Susan McGowan. His paternal Scotch-Irish ancestors had fled religious persecution and settled in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. His father was a pioneer in Columbiana County, Ohio, where he cleared a tract of government land and occupied it as a homestead. In 1854, Samuel moved his family to Orland, Indiana, where he died in 1860. McGowan's mother was of German descent and survived the father for another four years. McGowan's father was an abolitionist and his house served as a depot on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

. McGowan attended a seminary in

Alliance, Ohio Alliance is a city in eastern Stark County, Ohio, United States. With a small district lying in adjacent Mahoning County, the city is approximately northeast of Canton, southwest of Youngstown and southeast of Cleveland. The population was 21 ...

and the Orland Academy. He graduated from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

in 1861 and taught in the city schools of

Coldwater, Michigan Coldwater is a city in Branch County, Michigan, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,945. It is the county seat of Branch County, located in the center of the southern border of Michigan. The city is surrounded by Co ...

for one year. In 1862, he married Josephine Pruden, then preceptress at the High School in Coldwater. During the Civil War, McGowan served in the Fifth and Ninth Regiments, Michigan Volunteer Cavalry. In August 1862, he enlisted as a private in the Fifth Regiment and was soon promoted to Sergeant of his Company. In November 1862, he was made a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the Ninth Regiment, and went into the field early in 1863. Their first service was chasing

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

General John Hunt Morgan, who made incursions into southern Indiana and Ohio on Morgan's Raid. McGowan took part in the

Battle of Salineville The Battle of Salineville occurred July 26, 1863, near Salineville, Ohio, during Morgan's Raid in the American Civil War. It was the northernmost military action involving an official command of the Confederate States Army. The Union victory sha ...

, which resulted in the capture of Morgan in July 1863, near Salineville, Ohio. He went into campaigns in East Tennessee with General Ambrose Burnside, until he was forced to resign in 1864 for reasons of poor health. McGowan returned to Coldwater, where he studied law, was admitted to the

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in 1867, and commenced practice. He served as prosecuting attorney of Branch County from 1868 to 1872. He was also director of the Coldwater school board for six years. He began serving as a member of the University of Michigan board of regents in 1870 and served until 1877 when he resigned after being elected to Congress. He also represented the 10th district in the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

from 1873 to 1874. In 1876, McGowan was elected as a Republican from Michigan's 3rd congressional district to the

45th United States Congress The 45th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1877, ...

. He was re-elected to the

46th Congress The 46th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1879, ...

and served from March 4, 1877 to March 3, 1881. He declined to be a candidate for re-nomination in 1880. Jonas H. McGowan resumed the practice of his profession in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, until his death in 1909. He was interred in Oak Grove Cemetery, Coldwater, Michigan.

References

The Political Graveyard
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGowan, Jonas H. 1837 births 1909 deaths Republican Party Michigan state senators University of Michigan alumni Regents of the University of Michigan People from Mahoning County, Ohio Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan People from Orland, Indiana 19th-century American politicians