Peter Magowan (March 22, 1762 – June 19, 1810)
was a lawyer and political figure in
Prince Edward Island. He represented
Kings County Kings County or King's County may refer to:
Places Canada
*Kings County, New Brunswick
*Kings County, Nova Scotia
*Kings County, Prince Edward Island
** King's County (electoral district), abolished in 1892
Ireland
* County Offaly, formerly call ...
in the
Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 1790 to 1810. His surname also appears as McGowan or Macgowan.
Born in
Bridgnorth,
Shropshire, (the
Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online states that he may have been a native of
Ireland)
Magowan was educated in
England and was admitted to practice as an attorney of the King's Bench in 1782. In 1788, he married Ann Stainforth.
He immigrated to St. John's Island (later Prince Edward Island) in 1789 from
London. He was first elected to the colony's assembly in 1790. For some time, he and Attorney General
Joseph Aplin
Joseph Aplin (c. 1740 – April 26, 1804) was a lawyer and political figure in colonial Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. He represented Barrington Township in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1785 to 1787.
He was born in Rhode Isl ...
were the only practicing lawyers on the island. Magowan was deputy to
Thomas Desbrisay
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
, secretary and registrar, from 1795 to 1800. He was named acting attorney general in 1798 when Aplin was relieved of his duties and became attorney general in 1800, serving in that post until his death in
Charlottetown
Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...
in 1810. Magowan was reelected to the assembly in 1803 and 1806.
His grandson
Alexander Henry Boswall MacGowan
Alexander Henry Boswall MacGowan (April 14, 1850 – April 23, 1927) was a businessman and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Vancouver City from 1903 to 1916 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a Conserva ...
later served in the British Columbia assembly.
References
1810 deaths
Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Prince Edward Island
Members of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island
Year of birth uncertain
1762 births
Attorneys General of the Colony of Prince Edward Island
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