George Cowan was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, for the riding of Cariboo

Cariboo (provincial electoral district)

Cariboo was one of the twelve original electoral districts created when British Columbia became a Canadian province in 1871. Roughly corresponding to the old colonial electoral administrative district of the same name, it was a three-member riding until the 1894 election, when it was reduced...

. He was first elected in a byelection in 1877 at the encouragement of George Walkem

George Anthony Walkem

George Anthony "Boomer" Walkem was a British Columbian politician and jurist.Born in Newry, Ireland, Walkem moved to then Colony of British Columbia in 1862 and served as a member of the appointed Legislative Council of British Columbia from 1864 to 1870 and was a supporter of Canadian confederation...

, the former and, at the time, future Premier. Cowan defeated the incumbent A.E.B. Davie

Alexander Edmund Batson Davie

Alexander Edmund Batson Davie, QC who is usually referred to as A. E. B. Davie, was a British Columbia politician and lawyer, and was premier of British Columbia from 1887 until his death.Called to the bar in 1873 he was the first person to receive his entire law education in British...

, also a future Premier, who sought to win a seat in the House via the Cariboo byelection but who unlike Cowan did not have the advantages of Walkem's influence and support in the Cariboo riding (Davie would seek election successfully in the Lillooet riding

Lillooet (electoral district)

The Lillooet electoral district was a riding in the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on the town of the same name and with various boundaries...

 in the subsequent general election of 1878

British Columbia general election, 1878

This was the third election held after British Columbia became a province of Canada on July 20, 1871.- Non-party system :There were to be no political parties in the new province...

). Cowan was re-elected consistently until retiring before the 1890 election

British Columbia general election, 1890

This was the sixth election held after British Columbia became a province of Canada on July 20, 1871. The number of members was increased for this election from 27 in the previous election to 33, although the number of ridings was decreased to 18....

.

He was born June 25, 1831 in Leeds County, Ontario, where his father was a farmer. At the age of 20, he went to the gold rush

Victorian gold rush

The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...

 in Australia and worked in hardrock and placer mining for seven years, but returned to Ontario in 1859. In 1862, he heard news of the Cariboo Gold Rush

Cariboo Gold Rush

The Cariboo Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Although the first gold discovery was made in 1859 at Horsefly Creek, followed by more strikes at Keithley Creek and Antler Horns lake in 1860, the actual rush did not begin until 1861, when these discoveries were...

and set out for British Columbia, arriving in Victoria in June. He mined successfully on Williams, Grouse and Antler Creeks but continued investment in mining depleted his resources. A Presbyterian, he was also a supporter of the government of John A. Macdonald federally, though there were no party alignments in British Columbia politics in his era.