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U. S. Army
World War I

Joe was the youngest of 14 children of Capt. Michael & Alice (née Britt) McGowan of Ringsend, Co. Dublin, Ireland. He was Baptised at the family's parish church, St. Mary's Haddington Road.

After the sudden death of his mother when he was only 8, his father struggled to struggled to care for the younger McGowan children - Joe, Morgan, Michael, Jack & Nance, getting by as best as he could because of the help of Joe's 2 eldest sisters Elizabeth Mansfield, who was already married, and Mary Alice.

In 1911, Capt. Michael began the family's relocation to New York where his brother John McGowan & sister Elizabeth (née Gowan) McCaffrey had been living for a number of years. A few months after the Captain's arrival he sent for Joe's older brother's Tom & Jack. The following year he sent for Joe & Michael.

At the age of 12, Joe & Mike, himself just 16, made the trip from Ireland to Ellis Island alone & settled in Brooklyn. His siblings Elizabeth Mansfield , Willie, Mary Alice & Morgan remained in Dublin, Nance arrived a few years later & Tom returned to Ireland in 1914.

After working for a time as a bell hop at a private club in Manhattan, Joe enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917, remaining stateside as a cook for the duration of WW I. After his discharge he worked on the boats in New York Harbor for the Erie Railroad.

In 1921 he met the newly arrived immigrant from Skerries, Ireland Alice Sherlock. Joe & Alice married in 1923 & had 6 children.

After their marriage, Joe began working for Lehigh Valley Railroad. In his job for the railroad, he was in charge of a lighter, a barge that moved freight to various terminals around New York Harbor.

After buying a home in Brooklyn around the block from his sister & brother in-law Nance & Art McLarney, the Great Depression hit and Joe & Alice & their family lived on & off on a railroad barge for about 10 years. The upper portion of their Brown St. home was rented out for income and his father lived on the ground floor with his wife. His father, Capt. Michael, had married the widow Ellen (née Duff) Flood, who was Alice's aunt.

Joe & Alice's daughter describes their life;   
"My mother and dad were two special people. All they really cared about was their faith and their family. Raising a family during the Depression wasn't easy, but they were young, healthy and loved each other and their children. We lived on a barge with a coal stove, kerosene lamps, no running water, and no bathroom – but we had everything!!!!"

He retired as a Lighter Captain from the Lehigh Valley R.R. in 1967.

Joe passed away unexpectedly while visiting his son in southern California. The concelebrants of his final mass were Msgr. Joseph Scanlan (his son in-law John Scanlan's uncle) & his nephew Rev. Michael Mansfield, his sister Elizabeth's son.

At the time of his passing, Joe had 28 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He is a true American success story.

✞ Joseph Francis Patrick McGowan is buried with his wife Alice at Long Island National Cemetery on Long Island, New York.