#01 (Vol 1, No 1) - September 2020

Rowland Genealogy Newsletter Issue #01 (Vol 1, No 1) — September 2020

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Rowland Genealogy Newsletter. I want to thank each one of you for showing support for this endeavor by visiting the website and signing up for the newsletter. The initial response has been overwhelmingly positive and extremely gratifying. However, I am just getting started, and there is much more to come.

My goal is to have both this newsletter and the website provide the information you want and desire. To that end, I welcome your suggestions and comments regarding content, style, delivery, and any other aspect of our offerings.

This edition of the newsletter is going to focus be on website updates that have taken place since the initial launch.

Global Reach and Recognition

The audience at rowlandgenealogy.com has been truly global with more than 1,000 visitors from 23 countries. The country breakdown includes 50.5% from the US, 18.2% UK, 11.4% Ireland, 10.8% South Africa, 3.3% Australia, and 1.1% Canada. Additionally, China, India, Japan, and Belize have combined to provide another 2.9% of the site’s visitors.

The London-based Guild of One Name Studies has designated rowlandgenealogy.com as the global Rowland One-Name Study website and contact point.

New Articles

All articles are accessible from the “Articles” option in the site’s menu. Additionally, the home page now displays summaries and links to the most recent three articles. Numerous visitors have read and enjoyed these articles added since our launch:

“Oops, I Married A Serial Killer” – Sometimes genealogy research can take a dark turn. This is the true-life story of Donald Rowland, who married a black widow serial husband killer.
“DNA Testing: A Case Study With Staggering Conclusions” – I’ve taken just about every DNA test available. Here is a comparison of the results and my recommendations (that can save you money).
“A Grave Too Far” – Guest author Tony Proctor shares his experience of tracking down the gravesite and the story of his granduncle, Albert Rowland, in the countryside of what is now part of Pakistan.
“John Albert Rowland: Books & Videos” – John Albert Rowland is included in our collection of Famous Rowland ancestors. Authors, historians, and videographers have found him to be a worthy subject, and rightly so.

The site has added a “News Ticker” to the home page with links to newsworthy events. In addition, the sidebar now includes an option to search WikiTree if your search of the Rowland Genealogy site doesn’t help you find what you are looking for.

The Rowland Xref Project

I’ve been working with Jamie Fish, administrator of the Rowland DNA Project at FamilyTreeDNA on relabeling the various Rowland lines (“groups”) and synchronizing the Rowland Xref groups/clans with the new naming conventions. A few more Rowland males have taken Y-DNA tests, and I hope to be in a position to provide a more detailed update and cross-reference in the near future.

The quantity of Rowland profiles on WikiTree continues to grow with more than 300 added in the past two months, bringing the total to more than 11,500.

I encourage all Rowland males to take a Y-DNA test and enter a few generations of their family tree on WikiTree. Here are the details on How To Participate in the Rowland Xref Project.

New Products in the Store

Many of you have already taken advantage of the free downloads in our collection of Rowland documents. Since the launch of the website, the following products have been added:

“The Rowland Story as told by Cora Luella Dixon” follows David Holmes Rowland (1828-1900) on his journey to becoming a pioneer settler of Lucas County, Iowa.
“Ancestors of Elizabeth Proctor…With Connections to the Rowland Family” covers the descendants of William Rowland IV and Elizabeth Proctor of Surry County, Virginia (Group J in the Rowland Xref Project).
“Evidences of the Rowland Families of York County before the year 1850” provides a comprehensive list of records found during a 1946 research of the Rowland surname in York County, Pennsylvania.
“History of Rowland Hill Rowland, Woodbridge, Suffolk” by Rev. Ivan Moore. This document about Rowland Hill Rowland (1845-1929) was contributed by Nick Rowland.

An Unfortunately Named Rowland?

The 1850 census for Greene County, Georgia, United States contained an entry for a four-year-old boy named Covid Rowland. You will be relieved to know his parents did not set him up to be despised by everyone on the planet 170 years later. No, later census reports and other historical records reveal that his name was actually David, and his enumeration as “Covid” in 1850 was just a census taker error.

Please forward this email newsletter to family and friends that may find it of interest. If you received this newsletter from someone else, then you can sign up to get future issues directly at Rowland Genealogy Newsletter.

Following us on Facebook may be the easiest way to keep abreast of new articles and activities between issues of the newsletter. To do so, simply “like” the Rowland Genealogy Facebook page.

Don’t forget to forward your suggestions for improvement.

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Ron Rowland
Editor & Publisher