I visited the charming little town of Abbeville, South Carolina (USA) earlier this year. Always curious, I decided to see if any of the surrounding cemeteries were the final resting place of people named Rowland. A search of Find-A-Grave did not reveal any within the city of Abbeville, but the small town of Donalds, which was located in Abbeville County, had six listed. So, I added a quick side-trip to Donalds to my itinerary, and then researched and entered their profiles on WikiTree.
They are all descendants of Thomas A Rowland (1790-1869), who was born in County Dublin, Ireland, and passed away in Knox County, Tennessee, United States. Thomas immigrated to Tennessee before 1817 (the date of his first marriage) and had six children with his first wife, Mary Dunn, and three more with his second wife, Polly Shook. All his children were born in Knox County, Tennessee.
Two of his sons, William W Rowland (1825-1908) and John W Rowland (1826-1900), moved to South Carolina. They eventually settled in Donaldsville (now called Donalds), and are the two earliest born Rowlands buried in Donalds Cemetery.
William W Rowland, Feb 22, 1825 — Jan 26, 1908. William was a blacksmith, mechanic, and carriage maker. He married Martha E Robinson.
Martha E (Robinson) Rowland, Wife of W. W. Rowland, Born Mar 13, 1833 — Died May 26, 1896.
Anna (Rowland) Martin, May 11, 1855 — Feb 3, 1883. Anna was the oldest daughter of William W Rowland and Martha E Robinson. She married Calvin V Martin.
Robert Rowland Martin, 1874-1883. Although Rowland is his middle name and not his surname, his headstone was photographed. Robert Rowland Martin was a son of Calvin V Martin and Anna Rowland.
John W Rowland, Born Jan 22, 1826, Died Feb 7, 1900. John was a Sergeant for the South Carolina Rifles in the United States Civil War and a carriage maker.
Susan F Rowland, wife of J W Rowland, Born Aug 15, 1845, Died Feb 1899. Her maiden name is unknown, and it is believed she was the wife of the previously mentioned John W Rowland, although no sources have been located.
This particular headstone is most illegible, although it appears the surname was Rowland. The dates are undiscernible, and it is unclear as to what the “Farlwell” at the top is believed to represent.
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The DNA Group for this Rowland line is unknown as is presumed to be in DNA Group Untested.
Featured Image: Donalds Township History Mural, by artist L Hudson (photo by Ron Rowland)
After looking at the above wikitree entry for Augustus, I can’t say for sure if that is the same Augustus, but may have been. He was in Abbeville County, S. C. in Nov, 1849, but I have no actual knowledge of him after that.
Having seen your above entry about having visited Abbeville, S. C., I can tell you that there was a Nathaniel Rowland in Abbeville County, S. Carolina, He married Mary (possibly Moore) and had daughters Mary Ann Rowland (spouse, Benjamin F. Johnson), Augustus Rowland, Amanda Rowland (spouse,Thomas Burnette), and Malinda Rowland. I do not know the order of birth of their children.
Nathaniel died in1847. His will was administered Sep. 6, 1847 and settled Nov, 21, 1849. His wife, Mary, died in 1849 and her will administered May 18,1849. Daughter, Malimda, died and the settlement of both their wills was made Nov. 21, 1849.
(Benjamin F. Johnson was the brother of my great grandfather.)
Etta Brock
Hello Etta,
Thanks for the information. I wasn’t able to find much additional information on these Rowlands, although I did initiate a WikiTree profile for Nathaniel: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Rowland-15599
Do you know if this is his son Augustus? https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Rowland-15602
Ron Rowland
I believe Augustus was his son because he and my great granduncle, Benjamin F. Johnson, administered Mary and Malinda”s wills. I have copies of the records I found and would be happy to email them to you if you’d like to give me you email address.
Yes, I am aware that Nathaniel had a son named Augustus, and I have attached the probate records you mentioned to the WikiTree profiles of Nathaniel and Mary. My question is, do you have anything that indicated his son Augustus is the same Augustus that married Talitha Graham and died in Arkansas in 1859?
After looking at the wikitree entry, I don’t have anything on Augustus other than that he was in Abbeville, S. C., as of November, 1849. I’m sorry to not be able to help with that.