Rowland DNA Group J Conflicts

Currently, Rowland DNA Group J (Surry) has conflicts with Rowland DNA Group A (Shenandoah), Rowland DNA Group F (Botetourt), and others. WikiTree currently has some Rowland lines associated with Group J converging with ancestors in DNA Group A, while others converge with ancestors in DNA Group F. The science of Y-DNA says that this cannot be true.  Therefore, we assume the DNA is correct and that WikiTree requires revision.

Background

Rowland Xref Project: The goal of the Rowland Xref Project is to cross-reference every Rowland Y-DNA test taker at FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) with the appropriate Rowland line in the global family tree at WikiTree.

Rowland DNA Group J: Surry County, Virginia.  Although this is the group with the largest number of Rowland test-takers, very little has been accomplished in showing how they are related and connected. Two of the test takers have identified the earliest known ancestors that converge on WikiTree with William Rowland II (1656-1685). This William was born in James City County (the county containing Jamestown and Williamsburg), Virginia and died on the other side of the James River in Surry County.  Confounding the matter, WikiTree has seven additional generations of this line, extending back to John Rolland the Elder, born about 1477 at Govan, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Group J has two other test takers that identified their earliest known ancestor as Richardson Rowland (1791-1872). Yet another test taker believes he descends from William Rowland (1650-1714) of Rhosybayvil Parish, Pembroke, Wales.

Rowland DNA Group A: Shenandoah, Virginia.  We currently know very little about this line, although two of the test takers have identified the earliest known ancestors that converge with John Rowland (1775-1822).  This John Rowland lived his entire life in Washington County, Virginia, which is at the southern end of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia on the Tennessee border.

Rowland DNA Group F: Botetourt, Virginia.  We believe this group to have the earliest known common ancestor of Robert Rowland (1716-1782) of Botetourt, Virginia. This Robert has historically (pre-DNA) been confused and conflated with Robert Rowland of Surry.

Source of Conflicts: The majority of all conflicts come down to three possible sources of errors:

1. The Paternal Ancestor identified at FTDNA by the test taker is incorrect. This is a common occurrence, although not the fault of the test taker. It is often unsourced information that was passed down to him. These errors are most easily remedied by identifying a much “newer” ancestor, preferably one born between 1850 and 1900.
2. The WikiTree is incorrect. This is also a common occurrence, although requires much more effort to fix than Paternal Ancestor errors.
3. The Y-DNA testing and grouping is incorrect. While possible, this is highly improbable. We assume the science of Y-DNA is correct, and all errors and conflicts are therefore the result of either 1) or 2) above.

The Conflicts

1. Group J conflict with Group A: In WikiTree, the Group J common ancestor of William Rowland II (1656-1685) is currently connected as the second great grandfather of John Rowland (1775-1822), the Group A common ancestor. The Y-DNA profiles of these two groups (J and A) are vastly different, and therefore the current WikiTree lines are not correct.
2. Group J conflict with Group F: The common ancestor of Richardson Rowland (1791-1872) in Group J currently has Robert Rowland (1716-1782) of Group F as his great grandfather. Again, the Y-DNA profiles of these two groups (J and F) are vastly different, and therefore the current WikiTree lines are not correct.
3. Group J conflict with “Shovel Works”: The test taker who believes he descends from William Rowland (1650-1714) of Rhosybayvil Parish, Pembroke, Wales conflicts with documents stating the Rhosybayvil line first settled in Chester County, Pennsylvania in the early 1700s, and later formed the “Shovel Works” manufacturing empire dubbed “Rowlandville” in Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.

Additional Concerns

1. The “seven” additional generations on WikiTree of Group J’s William Rowland are in my opinion, speculative at best.
2. Getting WikiTree profile managers to agree to relationship changes is not an easy task.
3. Many WikiTree profiles are unsourced, speculative, and/or based on wishful thinking.  It is far from perfect, although we still believe it is the best place to reconcile these differences.  This is because WikiTree is a common global tree, limited to one profile per individual. Therefore, William Rowland IV (1690-) only appears once, whereas he shows up in more than 2,400 separate trees on the Ancestry.com website.  Perhaps one of them is correct, and perhaps none of them are. Imagine trying to reconcile all those differences.

Resolving Group J Conflicts

1. Identification of “newer” ancestors of each test taker is key to understanding where the WikiTree errors are. As a minimum, each test taker needs to identify a Rowland ancestor born between 1850 and 1900. Even more recent would be better, but we are aware that some people have privacy concerns.
2. Start marking questionable unsourced relationships as “uncertain” on Wikitree.  This has already been done for the Jesse Rowland – William Rowland IV relationship described below (in the first entry of the “Additional Reading & Resources” section).
3. The Group J, Group A, and Group F test-takers need to step forward and supply their sourced genealogical information.  It would be even better if they were to add themselves to the WikiTree and include their Y-DNA information.
4. Start adding “DNA notes” to profiles for both “supported by Y-DNA evidence” and “conflicts with Y-DNA evidence” as information develops.
5. Start disconnecting unproven and unsubstantiated profile relationships that conflict with the Y-DNA evidence (after discussing it with the profile manager).

How You Can Help

1. Join the Rowland Xref Project
2. Submit copies of your Rowland Genealogy books for inclusion in our free downloads
3. Add your Rowland line to WikiTree

Additional Reading & Resources

• “Ancestors of Elizabeth Proctor In Virginia and England, Including the Owen, Jennings and Daniel Families, Notes on Christopher Lewis, With Connection to the Rowland Family of Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia”, by Arthur Ray Rowland, RR Books, Augusta, Georgia, 1998, 10 pages. Well-known historian and genealogist, Arthur Ray Rowland, has performed extensive research on the Group J line.  He has never been able to find any proof that William Rowland IV (1690-) is the father of Jesse Rowland (1728-1801).  He hypothesized they could be father and son because William appeared to be the only Rowland listed in the Surry Co, VA court records from 1652 to 1690.
• “A Genealogical Sketch of The Posterity of John Rowland of Rhosybayvil, Parish of Bayvil, Pembroke, Wales, and Afterwards of East Whiteland, Chester Co., PA.”  By Henry D Rowland and Edward K Rowland, two of his descendants, and members of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, printed by J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, 1893.
• Rowland Xref Project
• Rowland DNA Project at FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA)
• Rowland profiles on WikiTree
• How to Navigate a WikiTree Profile

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