Skip to main content

Piper Robert Gowan (1800 - 1879)

Prior to 1927 there had always been a Society Piper. The first was Robert Gowan, who joined the Society in 1826.  He arrived in New Brunswick from Ireland in 1818 as a piper in the 74th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot, and was garrisoned here from 1819 to 1823. Robert assisted John Baird as a teacher in the Barrack School for children of the regiment, and when his unit departed, stayed in Fredericton and opened a "Painting, Engraving and Writing" shop on the corner of Regent Street. This is where he was hired to engrave the Society's mull horn in 1826. He later became a bookkeeper in the lumbering firm of Robert Rankin & Co. Later, when the Central Bank of New Brunswick was established in 1834, he was appointed bank cashier, and then in 1839 he entered the Crown Land Office. There he kept meticulous accounts of all lands granted in the province (his six-volume leather bound ledgers are preserved in the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick). 

Robert Gowan was also a respected social reform journalist who wrote for the New Brunswick Courier under the pen name of “John Gape.” His commentaries focussed mainly on attacking the inefficiencies of the Crown Land Office as well as the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Thomas Baillie, and William F Odell – both of whom Robert described as presiding over New Brunswick’s Crown Lands like Scottish lairds. 

Robert Gowan twice served as President of the Society. He lived at 752 King Street, where it is said his ghost can still be found.

The death of Robert GOWAN, Esq. occurred at his residence Thursday last. Mr. Gowan's first appearance in Fredericton city was as a piper in the 74th Highlanders. Shortly after leaving H.M. service, he was employed as book keeper in the firm of R. Rankin & Co. On the opening of the Central Bank, Mr. Gowan was appointed cashier, a position he filled with honor for many years and in 1839 he entered the Crown Land Office as Accountant and was connected with this important Dept. until 1870, when owing to failing health, he was compelled to resign. Mr. Gowan held a prominent place in the Masonic fraternity and for several years he was Honorary Grand Master of New Brunswick. By his death, the St. Andrews Society loses one of its most active members. The funeral of the deceased took place Sunday afternoon and was conducted by the Masonic Society. The cortege was headed by the 71st Battalion Band. Rev. W.W. Brewer conducted the service at the house and assisted the fraternity at the grave.

The location of Robert Gowan's grave is currently unknown. 

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction

Fredericton's Old Burial Ground is located between Brunswick and George streets, on the traditional territory of Wolastoqey People. This Local Historic Place has been recognised as one of the most important cemeteries in New Brunswick. It serves as the final resting place for many individuals who founded New Brunswick, amongst whom are many individuals of Scottish birth. Since 2025 marks the 200 th anniversary of the founding of our Society, we are pleased to share with you the stories behind the memorials you will discover within these serene grounds.
Read more

Scots in the Old Burial Ground

SCOTS AND THE OLD PUBLIC BURIAL GROUND, FREDERICTON  by Dr. Ellen MacGillivray, c. 1991 When John Ross and I were co-historians of the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew from 1985-1987 we had not yet started to sort the Society's documents left in John's care by late Dr. D. J. MacLeod. We became interested in finding the burial plots in the Old Public Burial Ground of the Chartered Members of the Society as well as those of others who came later. But first some notes on the place itself.  THE OLD PUBLIC BURIAL GROUND  According to Dr. Lillian Maxwell (1937) on August 2nd, 1785 the Governor-in- Council appointed Trustees to lay out Fredericton. One of these Trustees was Lieutenant Dugald Campbell who made the survey in 1785-1786: "The Town Plat as first laid out extended from Smythe street to Sunbury street and from the river to Charlotte street. The blocks were laid out to cover four and a half acres, the streets one chain wide. A square was laid out in the middle of th...
Read more