Alex and Margaret McKittrick McGowan, with their children, emigrated from Ballyhalbert, County Down, Ireland in 1849, first settling in Ohio. They moved to Warren township, Waushara County, Wisconsin, in 1850. Alex apparently farmed and taught occasional Latin classes. His son Robert served in the 33rd and 47th Regiments, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry with the rank of captain during the Civil War. After the war he moved to Iowa, becoming a merchant in 1865 at Iowa Falls.
