Editor’s note: Guest author Matthew G Rowland shares the story of how a McNamara family became a Rowland family.
Rowland Kindness
Growing up, I took my Rowland surname and what it represented for granted. That changed when my father, on his deathbed, disclosed that our original last name was not Rowland at all. He regretted not knowing more as to why the name was changed and asked me—his dying wish—to investigate the story.
It took me decades but with the help of Rowland family historians, among others, I did unravel the mystery and what a story it turned out to be. It was so interesting that it served as the basis for the historical novel Fireball.
The name change stemmed from the trials and tribulations of my biological great-great-grandfather, Francis “Fireball” McNamara, and the kindness of the “true Rowlands,” as I call them, whom he encountered first in Ireland and then in Norfolk, Virginia, and once again in Brooklyn, New York. Fireball lived a Forest Gump-like existence in relation to major events of the 19th Century and the experience often left him worse for the wear. But for the Rowlands, there is a good chance Fireball and his family—which includes me—may not have survived. In the end, the adoption of the Rowland name was in homage to the true Rowlands’ compassion and generosity.
If you have the opportunity to read the story, you will see why I am proud to bear the Rowland name and remain appreciative to this day for the kindness it represents. To all the true Rowlands out there, thank you!
Matt
Background and Genealogy
As for Captain Michael Rowland, he was born Stephen Michael McNamara on December 24, 1857 in Norfolk, Virginia. He was taken in and informally adopted by the Rowlands during or shortly after the Civil War. His biological mother died in 1860, in Richmond, Virginia during childbirth and his father, Francis “Fireball” Rowland was lost as a POW during the final stages of the war. Fireball came to the United States in 1851 escaping the Irish Famine. There was a Mary Rowland on the boat with him and I think that was the first (but not the last) time his path crossed with the Rowlands who would eventually be so kind to him and his family.
The Rowlands set Captain Michael Rowland up as an oysterman, sailor, and eventually as the owner of the Duane, a commercial fishing boat moored out of Canarsie Pier in Brooklyn, NY. He married Loretta Doyle on January 1, 1883, although I can’t find any documentation of the marriage and don’t know where it occurred. He died of a heart attack aboard his boat the Duane on October 22, 1920, and was buried in Canarsie cemetery sharing a plot with the Rowland family that took him in.
It gets messy, but at times he used the name McNamara and Rowland simultaneously and gave some of his daughters the name Rowland at birth but others and his son–my grandfather–the surname McNamara. My grandfather was born Ralph Martin McNamara (Martin after Martin Van Buren Rowland) but was buried (also in Canarsie) under the name Ralph Rowland. My father was born Donald Francis Rowland, and we have used the Rowland name consistently ever since. In fact, I had no idea that my family had used any other name until my father told me on his deathbed.
The Rowland family historian who helped me so much was Ralph George Rowland of Islip, Long Island. Ironically (and I did not know this until he told me) he was named after my grandfather. George’s mom was restricted to bed rest when pregnant with him, he told me, and my grandfather, just a boy himself, lived next door and would tell her jokes to keep up her spirits from the alleyway that separated their homes. I love that story. I believe Ralph George Rowland was a biological grandchild of Martin Van Buren Rowland, and again my grandfather would have been an adopted grandchild.
Multiple people with the same name, changing names, bonds I didn’t know existed, how American is that! Poor George passed away shortly after we met but again, without his help, the family mystery would have remained just that. . . a mystery.
Fireball
Based on a true story, Francis “Fireball” McNamara navigated some of the most seismic events of the 19th century. A refugee of the Irish potato famine, he lived in the United States’ antebellum South, frontier West, and urbanizing North. He saw the promise and the cost of the technological revolution. He was drawn into the bloody “Indian” and Civil Wars, survived deadly epidemics, and was witness to one of the most violent instances of civil unrest in American history. The economic forces of his era gave him hope at times, but more often left him destitute and resorting to crime to sustain himself and his family.
Yet, even in the darkest of days, Fireball found humor, love, deep friendships, and was the beneficiary of selfless acts of kindness. His story had once been lost to time but resurfaced in the oddest of ways. It was as if fate decided we needed to hear it. Fireball humanizes a period in history that is often understood only through sweeping and impersonal generalizations. In addition, Fireball’s wit, resilience, and impact on others notwithstanding his humble social status remind us that no one is inconsequential and that we all, eventually, leave a legacy.
Fireball is available in both paperback and kindle formats at Amazon.
Note: The “true” Rowland male line of this article is believed to be, but not proven to be, part of the Rowland DNA Untested Group — La Tremblade, France to Suffolk, New York.