We know this McGowan is from Fermanagh

Patrick McGowan was born in Fermanagh circa 1813 and is buried at St. Patrick's, Churdan, Iowa, having died 11/18/1880.  Big block letters at the top of his tombstone in Churdan read "FERMANNA."  Patrick's occupation was listed as day laborer a time or two but, for the most part, Patrick and all of the other related families were farmers.

He was married to Anna McHugh, who was b. 1822 (Ireland or Canada) and died 3/29/1886.  They were Catholicand had 12 children:  the first 3 were baptized at St. Chrysostome, Chateauguay, Quebec; we believe that the next 8 were baptized at St. Malachie de Ormstown, Quebec; and the last was born in Iowa.  In order of birth, their children were:  John (1841), Francis (1843), Catherine (1845), Margaret (1848), James (1850), Julia (1851), Delia/Bridget F. (1853), Patrick (1856), Edward (1858), Mary (1860), John James (1863) and Joseph James (1870).

We have Patrick in Ormstown in the 1842 Quebec census residing next to John Skully.  Many names have been attached to and followed Patrick McGowan and Anna McHugh during their time in Ormstown, their movement down to Marion, Ogle County, Illinois by 1870, and their eventual move from there to Greene County, Iowa by 1880.  Those names are O'Meara/O'Mara, Kane/Cain, Hughes, Scully/Skully, Furlong and Meehan.  These families were all obviously very close to each other.  

Baptismal sponsors and witnesses to events while up in Quebec were: John O'Meara, Catherine McHugh, Thomas McCaffery, Rose Stinson, Michael McCaffery, John McGee, Patrick Murphy, James McHugh, Ann Daly, Patrick Caine, Francis McCaffery, Mary McCaffery, Marcella Furlong, James Caine, and Mary Ann Caine.

Although we are equally interested in both Patrick McGowan and Anna McHugh, a little bit of additional information can be offered for the McHugh side:

You will note that Catherine McHugh, James McHugh and John O'Meara are listed among the baptismal sponsors.  Catherine McHugh ended up marrying John O'Meara in 1850 in Ormstown and listed as her parents James and Catherine McManus McHugh, both from Fermanagh.  The widowed Catherine McHugh O'Meara and children followed Patrick and Anna McHugh McGowan down to Illinois and some of the O'Meara children followed them on to Iowa as well.

James McHugh and his wife, Catherine Scully, also seemed to have followed Patrick and Anna McHugh McGowan down to Illinois because we have them marrying in 1864 in Pine Rock, Ogle County, Illinois.  They also obviously followed Patrick and Anna McHugh McGowan over to Iowa because we have James McHugh dying in Willow, Greene County, Iowa sometime prior to 1885.

My thought is that Anna McHugh McGowan, Catherine McHugh O'Meara, and James McHugh are siblings.  I have both Anna and Catherine being born circa 1822, with Catherine being born in Ireland and not know whether it's Ireland or Canada for Anna.  I have James McHugh being born circa 1829 in Ireland.

During the same time at Ormstown, there is one more interesting McHugh individual.  There was a Suzanne McHugh (b. 1823 and d. 1858 at St. Malachie) who married Bernard Meehan.  There is also a Charles McHugh (b. 1815 County Donegal, d. 1891 Huntingdon, QC) who married a Mary Muldoon (b. 1816 Donegal, d. 1887 Huntingdon, QC), but I don't necessarily think that Charles McHugh is related to the rest of these people because of the Donegal connection and the fact that he and his wife had their first 3 children in Pennsylvania and didn't arrive in Quebec until 1844 or so, but I think that Suzanne McHugh Meehan might well be related.

I think that's all the information that I have.

Thanks.

Pauline Beck, Omaha, NE, USA