The Mowat family of St. Andrews are descendants of Captain David Mowat and Mahetable Calef as well as David’s brother Captain John “Hurricane Jack” Mowat and Rachel Abrams. The name “Mowat” is said to be derived from the name “Monte-Alto”, the name of a nobleman who escaped from the wreck of a Spanish Armada when his ship from driven ashore in the north of Scotland. David Mowat was born in 1748 on Orkney Island, Scotland. After immigrating to Canada he married Mahetable Calef in 1786 in Saint John, New Brunswick. Mahetable was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts on September 13 1767. Together, the two had 12 children. Mahetable died in December 1860 and is buried in the Loyalist Burying Ground in St. Andrews, while David Mowat died at sea.
John Mowat was also born on Orkney Island in 1756. In 1799 he was given command of the armed brig “Princess Amelia” which was stationed in Halifax by Edward, the Duke of Kent. He was also made Commander-In-Chief of His Majesty’s forces in British North America during the Revolutionary War. Captain John Mowat was nicknamed “Hurricane Jack” for how he carried himself during action. As an associate of the Cape Ann Association, John Mowat was given land after the war which included the Tower Hill and Lever settlements in the parish of St. David, Charlotte County. These lands were given to him on October 1 1784. He married Rachel Abrams of New York, and together they had six children. John Mowat died in 1821.