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Dictionary of Miramichi Biography

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NOWLAN, JAMES GREGORY (1872-1936)

NOWLAN, JAMES GREGORY, steamer captain; b. Chatham, 19 Nov 1872, s/o Reuben Nowlan and Martha Spelman; m. 1903, Josephine Couhig, d/o Michael Couhig and Ellen Riordan, of Chatham; d. there, 2 Jan 1936.

James G. Nowlan was the son of a ship pilot who moved to Chatham from Escuminac. He was enumerated in the census of 1891 as a steamboat fireman and in the census of 1901 as the mate of a steamer. In 1905 he succeeded Alexander R. Goodfellow as captain of the steamer Alexandra. This vessel carried freight, mail, and up to 400 passengers on a Chatham to Escuminac route. A main attraction was the kitchen on board, from which hot meals were served. In the summertime the ferry was used for holiday and moonlight excursions, with live music, dances, and parties.

Until 1920 the Alexandra was owned by the Miramichi Steam Navigation Co., and after that date by the Miramichi River Service Co., of which John G. Burchill was president. She was sold in 1924 to Sims Bros of Little Current, Ont., and burned to the water line at the Little Current wharf in December 1927.

Soon after the Alexandra was withdrawn from service Nowlan was named captain of the Frances Ullock, the ferry on the Chatham crossing, and he retained this command until his retirement in 1934. He and his wife, Josephine Couhig, who died in 1918, had two sons and three daughters.

Sources

[b] church records [m] World 25 Nov 1903 [d] Leader 10 Jan 1936 / Advocate 18 Mar 1924; Arbuckle; Hist. Bay du Vin; World 9 Jan 1918


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