Famous Rowlands

Many famous and notable Rowland ancestors have left their mark on the world. This page is to honor them and highlight some of their achievements. To protect the privacy of the living, only people who have passed away are included. This page is divided into three major sections:

1. Individuals & Families, primarily born before 1750
2. Individuals & Families, primarily born 1750-1880
3. Occupational Groups of those who made their marks primarily in the 20th and 21st centuries

One of our long-term goals is to connect each of these people to their DNA grouping in the Rowland Xref Project.

Individuals & Families (Born < 1750)

Before There Were Surnames

Roland, the Paladin Warrior and nephew of Charlemagne, was born in 736 and died on 15 Aug 778 at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. The battle is recounted in the 11th century The Song of Roland, the oldest surviving major work of French literature. It is widely believed, he was the the first Roland — the origin of the name. Surnames were not used in the 8th century.

Roland the Farter lived during the first half of the 12th century in England. His claim to fame is his routine of unum saltum, unum sufflum, & unum bombulum (one jump, one whistle, and one fart). He held a serjeanty, which provided him with Hemingstone Manor in Suffolk and 110 acres. In exchange for this manor and land, he was obligated to perform his routine for the king each year on Christmas day. His heirs remained in the manor, although they paid cash rent instead of performing the unique services of Roland.

His story is told in Roland the Farter: one jump, one whistle, and one fart.

The Chandelier Makers

Robert Rowland, Sr (1632-1707), and his son Robert Rowland, Jr (1665-1735), created the historical and fabulous chandeliers that can still be found in churches in England today. Robert made his 36-Branch Brass Chandelier for St. James church in the village of Egerton in Kent in 1699. Historians believe it to be the oldest in the world.

Robert operated from the Warming Pan on Gracechurch Street in London.

The Archaeologist

Henry Rowlands (1655-1723) was rector of Llanidan on Anglesey, and the author of Mona Antiqua Restaurata: An Archaeological Discourse on the Antiquities, Natural and Historical, of the Isle of Anglesey, the Antient Seat of the British Druids (first edition, 1723). The book includes an early description of The Bridestones. 

Rowlands investigated stone circles, cromlechs, and other prehistoric remains. He conjectured that Anglesey was the ancient centre of the Druids.

Sailed with William Penn

John Rowland (1660-1715), his wife Priscilla (Sheppard) Rowland (1660-????), and his brother Thomas Rowland (1658-1708) sailed from Deal, England to America with William Penn on the ship Welcome, arriving in North America in October 1682.

They were considered “First Purchasers” of the new colony called Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, all three passed away without any children. It was the end of the line for this particular branch of the Rowland tree.

The Evangelist

Daniel Rowland (1711-1790) served as an Evangelist and early on as an Anglican curate. He was one of the foremost figures in the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist revival, along with Howell Harris and William Williams. For fifty-five years, Daniel Rowland was one of the leading evangelists in Wales.

The French Revolutionists

Jean-Marie Roland de la Platière (1734 – 1793) was an inspector of manufacturers in Lyon, France, and became a leader of the Girondist faction in the French Revolution. He was largely influenced in this direction by his wife, Marie-Jeanne “Manon” Roland de la Platière. He served as a minister of the interior in King Louis XVI’s government in 1792. 

Marie-Jeanne ‘Manon’ Roland de la Platière (1754 – 1793) was born Marie-Jeanne Phlipon, and best known under the name Madame Roland. She was a French revolutionary, salonnière, and writer. Initially, she led a quiet and unremarkable life as a provincial intellectual with her husband, the economist Jean-Marie Roland de la Platière. However, when the French Revolution broke out in 1789, she became interested in politics. Madame Roland wrote her memoirs during her imprisonment in the months leading up to her execution. The memoirs, and her letters, are a valuable source of information about the first years of the French Revolution.

The Barbers of London

Alexander Rowland (1747-1823) was a celebrated London barber. Back in the day, it was not uncommon for barbers to make their own hair preparations, and around 1783 Rowland began offering his own Rowland’s Macassar Oil. Within two decades it had become hugely popular and was aggressively advertised with extravagant claims of its effectiveness, becoming one of the first nationally advertised products. His son, Alexander Rowland II (1783-1861), continued the business. By the 1840s, he widely claimed that the oil was being used by the Royal Family and nobility of England, as well as by several sovereigns and courts in Europe. The Queen’s patronage was boldly proclaimed on the double-fronted Macassar Oil and Kalydor Warehouse at 20 Hatton Garden.

Individuals & Families (Born 1750-1880)

The Cutlery Makers

Sleigh Rowland (1772- ) was a noted cutlery manufacturer in Sheffield, England (circa 1830-1850). Some of his wares are in the U.S. National Museum of American History. The given name of Sleigh lasted at least five generations, with this particular Sleigh being the second generation.

His son, Sleigh Rowland (1800-1878), who learned the cutler trade from his father, took his skills to the New World about 1843, settling in Franklin, Massachusetts. The family trade was carried on for many generations.

The Shovel Makers of Philadelphia

Benjamin Rowland (1777-1824) founded the original Rowland Millworks in 1795. The Rowland Shovel Works is the catch-all name bestowed on the numerous business entities owned and operated by multiple generations of the Rowland family in Montgomery and Philadelphia counties of Pennsylvania from the 1730s into the 20th Century. The area in Holmesburg had so many Rowland mills and factories that it came to be known as Rowlandville. The Shovel Shop there has been designated a historic landmark. The Rowland Company is still in business today.

The California Pioneer

John Albert Rowland (1791-1873) was an early settler and rancher of the eastern San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California. He and his family were very prominent in the region’s early development, arriving while it was still part of Mexico. He led the Rowland-Workman Expedition of the first settlers from Taos to southern California in 1841.

At one time, he and his partner William Workman owned 48,791 acres (that’s 76 square miles) known as the La Puente Rancho in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County. It is impossible to comprehend what that might be worth today. The city of Rowland Heights, California is named for him. The John Rowland Home is the oldest surviving brick structure in Southern California.

The Feminist Socialist Writer

Pauline Roland (1805-1852) was a French feminist and socialist. Upon her mother’s insistence, Roland received a good education and was introduced to the ideas of Claude Henri de Rouvroy, Comte de Saint-Simon, the founder of French socialism, by one of her teachers. She became an enthusiastic supporter of his philosophy. Following her arrival in Paris in 1832, Roland began writing for early feminist papers and compiled a series of remarkable histories of France (1835), England (1838), and England, Scotland, and Ireland (1844). 

The Welsh Painter

John Cambrian Rowland (1819-1890) was a Welsh painter. He was a portrait painter and is mainly remembered for his collection of Welsh costume prints – many of these were published in 1848. These have become standard images of 19th-century Welsh life. 

He was born in Lledrod, Cardiganshire, spent some time in Montgomeryshire, and eventually settled and passed away in Caernarvonshire, where he was an art instructor at the Caernarvon Church Training College.

The Ship Builder

Thomas Fitch Rowland (1831-1907) was an American engineer and shipbuilder. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, he founded Continental Iron Works in 1861. The firm built ironclad warships for the U.S. Navy during the American Civil War. His most notable ship was the USS Monitor, which defeated the Confederate CSS Virginia in the 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads.

The Thomas Fitch Rowland Prize is awarded annually by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for valuable contributions to construction management and construction engineering.

There are some discrepancies in his lineage with some sources claiming he is a descendant of Henry Rowland (c1625-1691) of Fairfield County Connecticut, which would make him part of Rowland DNA Group E. Other sources claim his ancestors came from Ireland and settled in Dutchess County New York.

“Doctor Livingstone, I presume?”

John Rowlands (1841-1904) was his birth name, but you probably know him as Sir Henry Morton Stanley and his famous quote “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” 

Born in 1841 in Denbigh, Wales, he emigrated to the United States at the age of 18. He landed in New Orleans and took on the surname of his new employer – Henry Hope Stanley. He fought on both sides of the Civil War. First as part of the Arkansas 6th Infantry for the Confederacy, and then joining the Union Army in Illinois in 1862. After the war, he became a journalist, and in 1871 he embarked on his infamous trip to Zanzibar to find Doctor David Livingstone. Sir Henry Morton Stanley was knighted in 1899.

The Physicist

Professor Henry Augustus Rowland (1848-1901) was an American physicist, primarily known for his work on diffraction gratings. Considered one of the most brilliant scientists of his day, he became the first president of the American Physical Society (1899-1901). The Rowland Institute for Science of Harvard University and Rowland Crater on the Moon are named for him.

Born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, he spent his later years in Baltimore, Maryland.

The World Series Champ, the “King of Baseball”

Clarence “Pants” Rowland (1878-1969) was the manager of the Chicago White Sox when they won the World Series in 1917 with a 100-54 record, a feat they wouldn’t repeat for 88 years. He was the first person named the “King of Baseball” and was president of the Pacific Coast League from 1944 to 1954.

He was born in Platteville, Wisconsin, and his family moved to Dubuque, Iowa when he was young. It was there he received the nickname “Pants” at the age of 9 for wearing his father’s overalls and running bases at the Dubuque Ninth Street Blues baseball games. He left the Cubs before the “Black Sox Scandal,” and lived in Washington state and Milwaukee before returning to Chicago.

Sir Rowland of Taunton

Sir Frederick Rowland, 1st Baronet (1874-1959) was appointed Knight Bachelor on 24 October 1939 and was created 1st Baronet Rowland, of Taunton County, Somerset [U.K.] on 20 November 1950. He was Commissioner of Taxes for the City of London, founder of R. Rowland and Company (chartered accountants), Sheriff of London (1938 to 1939), and Lord Mayor of London between 1949 and 1950.

His son, Sir Wentworth Lowe Rowland, 2nd Baronet (1909-1970) succeeded him. He has no male heirs, and therefore upon his death in 1970, the Rowland of Taunton baronetcy became extinct.

Occupational Groups

Actors & Film Industry

Richard Rowland (1880-1947) has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1549 Vine Street for being a successful film producer and executive. He was the founder of the original Metro Film Corp, which is the “Metro” in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). He is credited with being the “discoverer” of Rudolph Valentino, Francis X Bushman, Harold Lockwood, and other early screen stars.

Richard was born in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, the son of a Welsh immigrant. He was making films in New Jersey as a teenager before going on to Hollywood. He is quoted as saying “The lunatics have taken over the asylum,” when noted actors, Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffin, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford left Metro in 1919 to form United Artists Studio.

Ida Roland (1881-1951) born Ida Klausner, was a Jewish Austrian and German actress. Her acting career began at the city theatre of Innsbruck, Austria. From 1924 to 1927 she took part in an ensemble cast at the Viennese Burgtheater. Between 1927 and 1929 it played in the Theater in der Josefstadt, returning to the Burgtheater between 1935 and 1937. Roland was Jewish. She fled from Austria in 1938 and lived from 1940 to 1945 in New York.

Mabel Rowland (1882-1943), born Mabel Laura Levi, was an American actress, monologist, writer, publicist, and the founder and director of the Metropolitan Players in New York City. Her sister was Adele Rowland, who also used Rowland as her stage name.

Adele Rowland (1883-1971), born Adele Levi, was a singer, actress, and theatrical coach. She is best known for her rendition of the song “Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag”, which she introduced in 1915. Adele had small supporting roles in many films during the 1940s including “The Blond from Singapore” and “For the Love of Mary.” She was married to actor Charlie Ruggles from 1914 to 1916 and then to actor Conway Tearle from 1918 until his death in 1938. Her sister was Mabel Rowland.

Ruth Roland (1892-1937) was an American stage and film actress and film producer. She was born in San Francisco, California. Her father managed a theater, and she became a child actress who went on to work in vaudeville. At age 12, she was the youngest student at Hollywood High School, having attended the school around 1904. Roland was Hollywood High School’s first homegrown movie star. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Ruth Roland received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6220 Hollywood Boulevard on February 8, 1960.

 Gilbert Roland (1905-1994), born Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso, was a Mexican-born American film and television actor. His career spanned seven decades from the 1920s until the 1980s. He was twice nominated for the Golden Globe Award in 1952 and 1964 and inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

Henry Rowland (1913-1984) was born Wolfram von Bock and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6328 Hollywood Boulevard. A successful actor, he appeared in more than 125 films from 1940 to 1979, usually typecast as a German soldier. He appeared in Annie Oakley, The Lone Ranger, The Rifleman, and Gunsmoke TV series.

Helen Rowland (1918-1978), was an American child actress of silent films made in the 1920s. She appeared in at least 10 films between 1922 and 1927. Her first film was a 1922 adaptation of George Eliot’s 1861 novel Silas Marner.

Architects

Wirt Clinton Rowland (1878 – 1946) was an American architect best known for his work in Detroit, Michigan.  Some of his projects include The Guardian Building, Hill Auditorium, the Harland Hatcher Library at the University of Michigan, the Detroit News Building, and the First National Building.

Authors & Historians

Katherine Mason Rowland (1840-1916) was a noted historian and writer. She is the author of “The Life of George Mason,” who was the framer of the “Bill of Rights,” “The Life Of Charles Carroll Of Carrollton,” “The Virginia Cavaliers,” “The Journal of Julia Le Grand, New Orleans,” and she was a frequent contributor to Harper’s Magazine and other periodicals.

Dunbar Rowland (1864-1937) created the Mississippi Department of Archives and History in 1902 and then became its director until his death in 1937. He also pushed for the creation of the National Archives in Washington D. C., which opened in 1934. A lawyer by training, Dunbar has his name attached to more than 65 books and articles on the history of Mississippi. His Wikipedia page calls him an attorney, archivist, and historian. His portrait hangs in the Mississippi Hall of Fame located in the Old Capitol Museum to honor his significant contributions. Dunbar married his cousin, Eron Opha Moore, in 1906. They had no children. Although he has no direct heirs, many Rowland men carry the same Y-DNA and are included in Rowland Y-DNA Group A.

Businessmen

Roland Walter “Tiny” Rowland (1917 – 1998) was a controversial high-profile British businessman, corporate raider, and Chief Executive of the Lonrho conglomerate from 1962 to 1994. He gained fame from a number of high-profile takeover bids, in particular his bid to take control of Harrods. 

Scientists

Lewis Rowland (1925-2017) was an American neurologist. He served as president of the American Neurological Association (1980–1981) and the American Academy of Neurology (1989–91). He was editor of the Journal of Neurology from 1977 to 1987. He authored over 500 scientific articles, with a research emphasis on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), and muscular dystrophy. He was chair of the neurology department at Columbia University for 25 years, where he established the H. Houston Merritt Clinical Research Center for Muscular Dystrophy and Related Diseases as well as the Eleanor and Lou Gehrig ALS Center. Rowland was born Lewis Phillip Rosenthal in Brooklyn, New York, the eldest child of Cecile Coles and Henry A. Rosenthal. His father changed the family name to Rowland when Lewis was a teenager because colleges placed restrictions on the number of Jewish students at the time.

Frank Sherwood Rowland (1927-2012) was an American Nobel laureate and a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Irvine. His research focused on atmospheric chemistry and chemical kinetics. His best-known work was the discovery that chlorofluorocarbons contribute to ozone depletion.  He won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1995. Rowland Hall at UC Irvine and Mount Rowland in Antarctica are named for him.

Military Honors

Augustus Butler Rowland (1903-1972) received the Gold Lifesaving Medal from President Calvin Coolidge in 1925. Rowland saved a shipmate from drowning in the crash of an F-5-L “flying boat” near Pensacola, Florida. See Augustus Butler Rowland Receives Medal From President Coolidge for additional information.

Politicians

Alfred Rowland (1844-1898) was a member of the North Carolina State House of Representatives (1876-1881) and a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina (1887-March 3, 1891). The town of Rowland, North Carolina is named for him. Here is a list of his best quotes.

Charles Hedding Rowland (1860-1921) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from 1915 to 1919. He built the Rowland Theatre in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania in 1917.

Charles, and his Rowland line, belong to Rowland DNA Group I.

Sir Gwilym Rowlands (1878-1949), was a member of the UK Parliament for Flintshire, Wales from 1935-1945. He was a Welsh Conservative Party politician. Rowlands described himself as “Labour in the Conservative interest”, having been nominated by the local Conservative workingmen’s clubs. He was president of Dunraven Conservative Club in Penygraig and Vice-President of Ton-Pentre Conservative Club in Ystrad.

Sir James Anthony Rowland (1922-1999), was the 33rd Governor of New South Wales, Australia. He served in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as a bomber pilot in World War II, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was taken prisoner in Germany, and after the war, he completed his aeronautical engineering degree and rejoined the RAAF. He rose to the rank of Air Marshall in 1975 and was knighted in 1977. In 1979, he retired from the Air Force, and two years later became Governor of New South Wales.

Christopher John Salter Rowland (1929-1967) was a British politician. He was rated one of the more effective of the Labour Party’s 1964 intake to Parliament but died at the young age of 38. 

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