Edward McGowan began his life in Philadelphia in 1807. Ned had a relatively problem free youth, and it was not until adulthood that his fondness for troublemaking became apparent.

His skill as a speaker eventually got him elected to the Philadelphia Legislature in 1847. Ned could speak eloquently but he lacked an essential characteristic for a politician: the ability to take criticism. His career in the Legislature was ruined when he stabbed a newspaper editor who had called him a bully. Ned's political connections saved him from a criminal conviction but could not save his seat in parliament. After disappearing from public view for a while, he retuned in style as the new Philadelphia Captain of Police. It did not take long for him to find trouble again. Relying on his position to keep him safe from suspicion he organized a bank robbery. He was found dressed as a sheep herder carrying the bank loot. Forced to flee or serve jail time, Ned headed west.

Ned arrived in San Francisco in 1849 where he once again talked his way into a job. He was made Commissioner of Immigrants and an Associate Judge in San Francisco, a title his used until his death. Once again Ned did not stay out of trouble for long. He was charged as an accessory to murder and forced to flee to Mexico to escape imprisonment. He eventually returned north, but only stopped briefly in San Francisco. He ultimately ended up in British Columbia and as part of the 1858 gold rush.

The richest of all the gold mining camps, Hill's Bar, naturally appealed to Ned and he made it his home. He quickly became a leader among the miners and had the whole area up in arms over the events in Ned McGowan's War.

He left British Columbia soon after the war, although his reasons for leaving were unrelated. Ned had run into an old enemy from his days in San Francisco, John Bagley. A fight had broken out between the two when Bagley insulted McGowan and called him a "grey-headed scamp". What they needed to settle their dispute was a duel, strictly outlawed by British authorities. Recalling the British display of force against him during the "war", McGowan decided to return to American territory and "fight him with rifles at 40 paces, to be placed back to back, walk to the mark, and wheel and fire at the word." The two men resolved their differences before they could leave, but Ned had already sold his claim and decided to return south anyways.

Ned had succeeded in making a considerable fortune in gold. He left the goldfields of British Columbia with either $4,700 or $47,000 in his poke, depending on which report you read. Either way, it was enough money for Ned to end his criminal ways. In March 1859, just a few months after "Ned McGowan's War," the Puget Sound Herald reported that Ned was heading for Mexico.

He died in 1893 in San Francisco.