Our Mission: To cross-reference (Xref) every Rowland Y-DNA test-taker to their descendant trees, and to be a center-of-competence for genealogy research related to the Rowland surname (and its variants).
Rowland Genealogy is not limited to family trees or to the estimated 200,000 members of the unofficial Rowland surname club. More than just a tree, it is home to the Rowland Xref Project, where our research is linking Rowland Y-DNA to Rowland ancestral family trees. There is something here for everyone, regardless of surname, and we strive to help every visitor have a better understanding of genealogy before leaving. Our objective is to be a valuable resource for genealogists and anyone with a Rowland in their family tree.
While Rowland (believed to have originated in England) is the most common spelling, we also cover many popular variations including Roland (probably originated in France or Germany), Rolland (used mostly in France), Rowlands (a version popular in Wales), and Ruland (of French origin).
Recent Articles
- How a Love Triangle Brought Down the Career of Adele Rowland
Editor’s note: The article below, How a Love Triangle Brought Down the Career of Adele Rowland, was originally published on… Read more: How a Love Triangle Brought Down the Career of Adele Rowland - Using Ancient DNA Connections and History to Interpret Your Ethnicity Results
Editor’s Note: Guest author Nick Rowland explores the Ancient Connections feature at FamilyTreeDNA and explains how knowing history helps in… Read more: Using Ancient DNA Connections and History to Interpret Your Ethnicity Results - Rowland in the David Rumsey Map Collection
If you haven’t seen the David Rumsey Map Collection for Genealogy, the fact that you can now search for ‘Rowland’… Read more: Rowland in the David Rumsey Map Collection
Your Quickstart Guide to Rowland Genealogy
We’ve included the following navigational aids:
- This Page — Keep scrolling down this page for high-level descriptions and links to all the major topics.
- Menu Bar — A menu bar is at the top of each page, and many items contain sub-menu items. If you are reading this on a mobile device, then the menu will probably appear as three short horizontal lines.
- Search Button — At the far right of the menu bar is the magnifying glass icon for searches. If it does not show up on your mobile menu, then use the Search feature in the sidebar (near the bottom of the page on a mobile device).
Rowland Research
The Rowland Research section focuses on genealogy and genealogical research that is specific to the Rowland surname. Topics and pages include:
Rowland Project at WikiTree — Current activities and status of Rowland profiles on WikiTree.
Rowland Project at FamilyTreeDNA — Current activities and status of the Y-DNA testing efforts.
How to Participate in the Rowland Xref Project — We need your help. We need more Rowland Y-DNA test takers, especially from outside the United States. Here are the step-by-step instructions on how you can participate in the Rowland Xref Project.
Rowland Resources — A list of books, websites, and compilations specific to the Rowland surname for your genealogical research.
Xref Project
Rowland Xref Project — This is the heart of our current research efforts, and our goal is an ambitious one. We want to cross-reference (Xref) all Rowland Y-DNA test takers at FamilyTreeDNA to their associated Rowland ancestral line at WikiTree.
Rowland Xref Project Summary — Contains status tables of the overall project, DNA Group descendant trees, and descendant trees of the “untested” group.
Rowland DNA Groups — There are currently 15 defined Y-DNA groups (lettered A through O), plus a large quantity of “ungrouped” test takers without any Y-DNA matches, and a number of “untested” groupings with Rowland descendant trees but without any known Y-DNA test takers within the group.
General Genealogy
An area for our non-Rowland-specific genealogy information.
Genealogy Websites — From Ancestry to WikiTree, all the major websites and links are outlined. It is a guide to websites and other resources pertaining to genealogy, genetics, and research. There are subsections for General Purpose Websites, Research Sites, and DNA Testing & Analysis.
Genetic Genealogy — Genetic genealogy combines the science of DNA testing with traditional document-based methods to help determine family relationships. This section provides an understandable introduction and resource guide to using DNA in your genealogy research activities.
How to Navigate a WikiTree Profile — If you are new to WikiTree, then this example and how-to guide should help you get started.
My Non-Rowland Ancestors — Like all of you, I have thousands of ancestors that do not carry the Rowland surname. This section contains a summary of my research, including my 85,000+ DNA matches. Surnames in my tree include Wilson, Norman, Van Tassel, Brown, Diehl, and many more.
Articles
Articles — Blogs, Stories, Articles, whatever you want to call them, they are all here. Do you have a story to tell about your Rowland family or your genealogy research activities? We are always receptive to publishing guest articles that would be of interest to our audience.
Rowland Name
There are hundreds of distinct Rowland family lines around the world and throughout human history. There are many famous Rowlands and a few with interesting stories. The list includes Nobel Prize winners, French Revolutionists, Hollywood stars, and more.
There are many places that literally have the Rowland name on them, and they are not just limited to streets and cemeteries. Our name is not constrained to planet Earth either — there is a Rowland Crater on the moon.
People
- Name Origin — The first known Rowland was Roland, the brave knight, and nephew of Charlemagne.
- Famous Rowlands — Our famous Rowland/Roland/Rowlands ancestors from around the globe.
- Interesting and Quirky Rowland Ancestors — One Rowland family completely assimilated into the Cheyenne tribe of Tongue River, Montana.
- Untimely and Unnatural Deaths — Murder, steamboat explosion, being run over by a streetcar, and being “speared by natives” are just a few of the ways some of our ancestors met their untimely demise.
- Be Fruitful and Multiply — In days of yore, today’s average of 1.9 children (United States) per family would be considered slacking. Here are Rowland families with a dozen or more children.
Military
- Rowland Participation in the American Revolution — About 40 Rowland men were among the Patriots of the American Revolution.
- Rowland Participation in the American Civil War — About 1,200 of our Rowland ancestors took up arms in the Civil War, roughly divided between the Union and the Confederacy.
Places & Things
- Places Named Rowland — Rowland Crater, cities and towns, rivers, islands, mountains, and glaciers.
- Rowland Homes and Buildings — The oldest surviving brick structure in Southern California, the “Agreed In Peace” homestead and Mennonite Meeting House, the Philadelphia Shovel House, and the Rowland Institute for Science at Harvard are just a few of the Rowland homes and buildings.
- Rowland Cemeteries — There are nearly 100 cemeteries named Rowland — they’re all listed here along with the quantity of Rowland ancestors buried in each.
Free Downloads
Rowland Genealogies — Our collection of free Rowland genealogy books and documents. Most focus on a particular Rowland line, while some focus on another surname with Rowland being an “allied” family.
Non-Rowland Genealogies — Our collection of free genealogy books and documents that focus on other surnames, mostly related to “the other side ” of my family.
Help
Rowland Genealogy Newsletter — Stay informed of Rowland Genealogy activities by subscribing to our newsletter (or using the form in the sidebar).
Genealogy Glossary — A list of common genealogy terms and their definitions.
FAQ — Our Frequently Asked Questions (along with some answers).
Ask Ron — Do you have questions about Rowland genealogy or genealogy in general? If you can’t find an answer elsewhere, you can always ask Ron.
Contact — Electronic contact information.
About — A brief summary of this site.
Keeping Abreast
RowlandGenealogy on Facebook — follow/like us on Facebook to keep abreast of new activities.
If you are a Rowland or have a Rowland in your family tree, then you need to subscribe to the Rowland Genealogy Newsletter.
Looking for information on Parentage of Seaborn Rowland born about 1805 in Georgia. He married a Minerva Jane Black about 1830-1832 possibly in Murray County or Cass County Georgia. Do not send information on Seaborn Elbert Rowland. That is his grandson.
Unfortunately, I do not have anything for that line prior to him. Here is his WikiTree profile: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Rowland-7065
Hi Ron, I was thinking of family Bibles and the genealogy they contain. I thought to do a search and came up with a site. As I’m looking around the surname list, there’s 4 Rowland entries. I didn’t look up all the various spellings. Maybe someone will be interested. http://www.biblerecords.com/surnames.html
Hello Ron,
I stumbled onto this site by way of a search for Northwestern PA Rowland families. My mother was a Rowland. Her father was LeRoy Victor Rowland (1917-2002) from New Castle & Butler PA. His father was Wilton Harley Rowland from Venango/Crawford/Lawrence Co PA. Then, Charles Sumner Rowland, then William Howe Rowland who was said to have died in the Civil War in VA. We know his mother was Mary Rowland. Someone had done some paid genealogy work for my grandfather in the decade before his death. It does not seem to pan out. It was said to go through a family in Shakelyville PA, but a lady involved with that cemetery said our information was incorrect, and then into NY. There were a couple Stephens, and Owens and said to go back to Pembrokeshire Wales. I’m thrilled to find this site and spent some time reading articles. I signed up for the newsletter and emails. Next I’m heading to check out the Facebook page.
LeAnna Blose
Punxsutawney PA
I’m glad you found us LeAnna. I updated William Howe Rowland’s WikiTree profile (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Rowland-13935) with the sources I could find, including his Civil War military records. I was not able to find his 1850 census, which could provide a lead regarding his father. The death record of his son states that William was born in Mercer County.
Hi Ron. Sorry for my late reply, I had changed email addresses so didn’t receive the email you sent until just now by re-logging in.
My Rowland interest is Stepney, London, England. My 5th Great Grandfather William Rowland died there and his son (also named William Rowland) migrated to Australia in 1852.
My ancestor William Rowland is apart of your One Name study on WikiTree (Rowland-4212).
My person WikiTree ID. Walker-29278.
Hi John, out of interest I did a Gedmatch “one to one” between our kits (I am BZ1442601). I had to reduce the segment size from the default 7 to 3 but did get some matching chromosomes with a maximum segment of 4.7 cm. The reason was my family were from Essex, which is a stones throw from Stepney. We had a quite few matching segments but of low strength so a bit inconclusive I’m afraid.
Ron, Robert Rowland of Cordwell born 1668 who married Prudence Sleigh was the son of Robert Rowland of Baslow, yeoman 1634-1715 as ascertained by his will proved 10 January 1711 which also mentions his younger brother Edward 1679-1729 as administrator.
I had the very good pleasure of meeting an American descendant of Sleigh Rowland in Sheffield in 2015 who lives in Las Vegas. I believe he is the direct descendant of Robert and Prudence’s son Thomas born 1710.
Tim, I just sent you an email.
Sleigh Rowland, cutler, Sheffield is a Derbyshire descendant,
Tim, we are currently and actively researching the Sleigh Rowland line. Any information you have on your branch would be extremly helpful to our efforts. https://rowlandgenealogy.com/dna-group-ungrouped/#sheffield-england-to-franklin-county-massachusetts-sleigh-rowland
If anyone believes they are a male Rowland who has ancestors born in the Ramsey area of Essex, England, I would be happy to fund a FTDNA Y test. I think the Rowlands in that area are from the same line as myself but there are too many names the same for me to be absolutely sure I have the correct tree. I think I have the line worked out but need to be sure. I have an Ancestry autosomal match with a lady from a Ramsey Rowland family but there is a slim chance with that type of match that the common link could be through of my grandmothers. Also a Rowling from that area would also work as one individual changed his last name from Rowland to Rowling for reasons I can’t determine.
Does anyone here believe they descend from a Nicholas Roland who owned land around Harlow and Weald in Essex, England? In 1303 Nicholas de Paris conveyed land in Weald and Harlow to Nicholas Roland and I am interested in linking him to a modern day population.
Hello Mary. Would that be this Sarah Rowland? https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Rowland-1128
I think so.
My son-in-law, J. McKinion, is a descendant of Sarah Rowland, who married Mr. Kirkland in Meridian MS. With the rumor about her being a descendant of a Dutch Sailor and an Indonesian woman, I wondered if she might descend from the Dutch Verstecken Family that came to England and took the English name, Rowland?
Amazing work, Ron. I can’t imagine what it took to pull all of this together. My great-grandmother was Julia Roland (sp?) Coker, descendant of Maslon (Martin?) Rowland, b ~1795, VA, d ~ 1875, GA.
I’m in touch with many distant Rowland (and variations) cousins, and have shared an extensive chart with Jamie Fish. If you’d like a copy of that chart, please email me. Thanks for your work on behalf of the extended family.
June
Hi Ron,
Will you be able to upload a recording of your virtual presentation on to the web site, for us folks who can’t join live?
Thanks
Nick
I will look into making that happen.
Great job Ron. I come from the Chester, PA group of Rowlands.
Gurney, there are actually two (or will be two) Chester, PA Groups. The existing one, Group B, is for descendants of James Rowland, who died there in 1762 (but his descendants went to Cecil, MD and Ohio). I believe you will likely be part of the the second group, which is currently labeled Group M, which is the Shovel Works Rowland with most descendants in Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. We need a male Rowland from that line to take a Y-DNA test.
Hi Ron, I am a Rowland descended from the Rowland Shovel Works line. How would I go about getting my brother to do the Y-DNA test? Are you still looking for someone from this line?
Nancy Rowland DeZolt
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for reaching out. Yes, we are VERY interested in getting someone from the Shovel Works line tested. Your brother would need to take a Y-DNA test from FamilyTreeDNA and join the Rowland Project at that website.
I am currently on vacation and will follow up with you when I return.
Ron Rowland
My 3x great grandfather was Richards Rowlands, Blacksmith of Dinas Mawddwy, Merioneth.
Neither of those places came up with a page on this website, so I guess I might be able to supply some information? I have my own photos of his (now derelict) smithy and the village newspaper cuttings plus a lot about his descendants in London.
My greatgreatgreatgrandmother was a Rowland.
This is awesome.
Thank you Ron.
Thank you…for compiling this information and informing me about it. It obviously was a lot of work! The variety of information from DNA to traditional items (the “store” items) are very interesting & useful.
Thomas Rowland & Delilah Hale are my 4th great-grandparents [son: Abraham-》Charlotte(m. Geo W. King)-》Geo. H. King–》Helen King-》me.
Wow, what a fabulous resource! Thanks for all your work on this, Ron.
Very good Ron, interesting web site
Ron…..this is great. Thanks for your work in creating.
Ron, this is awesome. I’m checking it out page by page.