Ogle Gowan and Orangeism in Upper Canada

Abstract

This chapter examines the early career of Ogle R. Gowan, the founder of the official Orange Order in Canada and his quest for respectability in political life and within the colonial establishment. Gowan introduced a more belligerent construction of Irish loyalist manliness than had existed prior to his arrival in Upper Canada. His public representation of Irishness centred on defending Protestantism, the fraternalism of the Orange lodge, and extreme loyalty to the Crown. The chapter traces his path from Co. Wexford to Upper Canada, and how he presented Orangeism as a vital transatlantic link between Ireland and the Canadas. The chapter also investigates how Gowan’s wife, Frances, was involved with his first cousin, James R. Gowan, and the implications which that close relationship had on James’ decision to abandon Orangeism in favour of a successful public career that his cousin Ogle was never able to attain.