Peter M^cOwan (M^cCowan, MacOwan) Peter's Headstone clearly reads MacOwan
b. 28 DEC 1790 baptized 29 DEC 1790 d. 29 MAY 1863 Peter is buried in Willard Grove Cemetery L2 OP, Channahon (WILL) near Joliet, Il. Peter purchased a large plot in this cemetery on 4 OCT 1850. Many family members are buried in this original plot. Click Here to see original family farm.
Peter was born at Bridge end, (now Dunblane) Scotland and at the age of 22 made the bold decision to come to America.  Dunblane at this time was in rapid decline because the skill of hand loom weaving had been superseded by the use of water powered machinery. Dunblane went from being a very prosperous community to a very poor one. Peter sailed to America in 1812.  It took nine weeks to make the Atlantic crossing.  By trade Peter was a weaver and at that time he was prohibited to make the crossing due to Scottish law. This probably had something to do with the War of 1812.  Peter  sailed without being registered.  After 3 days at sea a revenue boat overtook their ship but since his name was not on the registry, his deception was not discovered.

His arrival in America took him to Falls River, Mass. where he was a foreman in a cotton mill. Prior  to 1826 Peter moved to New York where he married and began his family.  In 1835 the family moved to Will County, Illinois where he began farming.  Records from Will County indicate that he had several parcels of land. It was Peter who changed the spelling or the surname from McOwan to MacOwan. It is interesting to note that several of his children retained the McCowan name.
Arthur Hutchison noted the following.
"Peter MacOwan, who was born in Dunblane, Scotland, died May 2, 1863, aged 65 yrs, 5 mos." He is believed to have been born 29 Dec 1796 at "Bridge
End," Dunblane. (other accounts state Edinburgh.
In the Willard Grove Cemetery (a small country cemetery (L2 OP ) in Will County, Illinois,. is found the following:
Next to Peter's grave is found: "In Memory of Arabella Newton, wife of Peter Macowan, who died Jan. 25, 1848, aged 43 y's. & 6 mo. buried Channahon (L2 OP).  She was a devoted wife, and an affectionate mother, An Honest Woman, Virtue & kindness ever was her aim." She is believed to have been born 2 July 1804 in Bonsel, Derbyshire, England.  Her name has also been seen as Arabella or Isabella Newton Tarrant.
Peter and Arabella were married 18 Feb 1825 in Hudson, Columbia County, New York, U.S.A.
A history of Fall River, Massachusetts, states that he was a foreman in the cotton mills there, having been a weaver in Scotland. This was prior to his marriage. The family moved from New York to Illinois in the 1830's where he became a farmer, an activity he followed for the remainder of his life.

Other information on Arabella includes her parents were Anthony Tarrant and Arabella Newton Tarrant. They came to America from Bonsall Derbyshire England in 1816 and settled in Valatia, Columbia County New York and are buried there.

Anthony Tarrant born 29th of April 1771.  He married Arabella Newton born September 14th 1767

In the U.S.A., his issue have been seen with the surname variants above noted, a few with a final "-en." McOwen is another variant.

Arabella Newton Tarrant 
and Daughter Libbie

      Peter's children included: Click on name to see their ancestry
             1)  John M. b. 2 DEC 1826  d.21 JUN 1908
             2)  Andrew Smith McOwan. b.  4 FEB 1829  d. 31 AUG 1910 
             3)  Charles b. 7/28/1832 . 
             4)  William Irivng  b. Illinois (click name to see this page)
             5)  Elizabeth Libbie .  b. about 1834-  d. 15 Nov 1857
                  according to our family history... age 23 buried in
                  Channahon, Willard Grove cemetery (L2 OP).
              6)  Elizabeth Helen b. 1842 Channahon Township (WILL)
                     Illinois lived to be middle aged? No other information

Below is the description, number of acres purchase and total cost of 80 acres of land that Peter purchased in 1835.  This spelling was McOwen.
Click here to see exact location of this Land Grant.

The Illinois &  Michigan canal system was built in the 1830s and 1840s along the portage between Lake Michigan and the Illinois River, which had long been used as an American Indian trade route. The canal rapidly transformed Chicago from an isolated crossroads into a critical transportation hub between the East and the developing Midwest. The Illinois & Michigan Canal was completed in 1848,  It rapidly transformed Chicago from a small settlement to a critical transportation hub between the East and the developing Midwest. The towpath trail along the canal is a State park that runs through a rural and wooded landscape linking a number of towns laid out by the original canal commission. Today a 61-mile recreational trail follows the canal towpath.  
Peter's land bordered this canal and additional land purchases by Peter expanded his land holdings to 307 acres by 1854.