The Forgotten Relatives

From the Isle of Wight, England to Hutchinson, Kansas

Contributed by guest author Jean Rowland

Perry Rowland (1829-1916) was my husband Clyde Rowland’s great grandfather. He came to Hutchinson, Kansas from Noble County, Ohio in 1878 with his wife, Mary Elizabeth, and their six children. Their first child, Clarissa, born in 1857, died at the age of three, and is buried in Noble County, Ohio. They also had two children who died as infants who are also buried there. I have not located their remains. When they relocated to Kansas they came on an immigrant train, and, according to Perry’s granddaughter, Rhogene, “The whole family came and brought their furniture, farm implements and a yoke of oxen. They put the animals and equipment in one end of the train car, boarded it up and the family stayed in the other end. They knew where they were going because Perry had come earlier and bought a farm which consisted of a quarter section.“ She continued,  “They accumulated land, which was their measure of wealth in rural Kansas at that time, and they all settled on the North side of Hutchinson in locations that are now unrecognizable to us because the city has grown to encompass much of their property.”  One town leader remarked, ”Hutchinson was a town bounded on the South by the Arkansas River and on the North by Rowlands.” (see map above)

Perry’s father was Edward Thomas Rowlands and his grandfather was William Rowlands. William came from the Isle of Wight, England, where he lived with his wife, Anne Beer Rowlands and six children. In 1820, William and his wife along with their four youngest children emigrated to America. They arrived in the port of Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia, and settled in Aurelius Twp., Washington County, Ohio and took up farming. William and Edward farmed together a few years according to land and property tax census records.

Clyde’s grandfather was Charles William Rowland (1858-1949), and his father  was, William Vincent Rowland (1902-1942). Charles William and his wife, Iowa, had just the one son, William Vincent, and three daughters.  One daughter, Rhogene, never married and lived with her parents and took care of them. Clyde’s father died in 1942 when Clyde was almost four.  Besides Clyde there were also three older siblings, and one younger ranging in age from seven to one. The grandfather, Charles William, became an important figure in all their lives.  However, his grandmother, Iowa Rowland was not particularly fond of her son’s wife and children So, when Clyde’s grandfather died in 1949, the relationship with the Rowland’s became almost non-existent.

Clyde and I married in 1958, and didn’t associate much with any Rowlands. About twenty years ago after I finished with my folk’s genealogy, I decided to work on the Rowland’s genealogy. My first discovery was finding that Perry had two brothers, Charles and Edward, and that all three had become orphans at a very early age.

My first lead came from a newspaper article in The Hutchinson News, dated Nov. 13,1899. The article stated that a brother to Perry from Ohio had visited Perry.  The brother, Charles Roland, had been the owner and publisher of a newspaper called The Greenville Democrat.  Several biographical articles had been written about him in Ohio history books as he was considered a prominent citizen of Greenville, Ohio.

One book, The History of Darke County, Ohio from Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time Volume II^[1], published by The Hobart Publishing Company, 1914, Milford, Ohio, stated that he had two brothers still living, Perry who lived in Hutchinson, Kansas, and Edward, who lived near French Lick, Indiana. It also stated that their father, Edward Roland (Rowlands) born on The Isle of Wight came to America in 1820 with his father, William, his mother, Anne, and two brothers and three sisters. It also said that he (the father) had made a trip to Europe and probably died on his journey.

In 1992, Perry’s granddaughter, Rhogene recorded Perry’s story to a nephew.^[2] “The father was a farmer, and every winter he went back and worked on a ship to earn money. He left his wife and three children back on the farm in Ohio. One spring he never returned (family history thought he had been lost at sea). Shortly after that (family history thought it could have been the same year), the mother died of tuberculosis, and the neighbors buried her and took the three little children home with them.”

I don’t know the ages of the three boys as it just stated that they were orphans at an early age. They were given to different families. Some versions of the story said that they were foster children, and some said they had been adopted.  Charles went to the Harry Hill family, Perry with the James Taylor family, and Edward to the John Atherton family.  The 1850 census of James Taylor lists Perry as 20 years of age, and Edward as 18 years of age on John Atherton’s census. According to Rhogene one of the boys was not treated very well.  It appears to have been Charles, as he went out on his own at the age of 14 and went to Lancaster, Ohio and learned the printing trade. The 1850 census has him living in Lancaster under Lancaster Corporation. His age was listed as 19. I also received a letter from a relative written in 1879 by an aunt of Harry Hill’s wife and it mentioned “seeing him in heaven where there is no fear”.

As I began entering information about Perry on Ancestry, it appeared that he was not recognized as being a member of the Rowland clan who had lived in Washington County, Ohio. While there was mention of the father Edward Rowlands, most had him dying Apr 9, 1877 in Iowa. There was no mention of Edwards’s wife, Eliza, or of the three boys. There were even a few unkind messages from one member about some of the documents I added. It appeared Perry and his brothers were the forgotten, or lost relatives. The spelling of their last names may have contributed to the confusion. Perry had dropped the “s” and used Rowland, and both Charles and Edward dropped the “w” and used Roland. It’s interesting now seeing some of the family trees adding documents from my gallery to theirs.

One of the documents added to my family tree was the Family Group Sheet submitted in 1984 by Edna Rowlands Tidd^[3]. This document listed Edward Rowlands as well as his siblings and spouses. It also mentioned that William Rowlands’ occupation on The Isle of Wight was that of a ship carpenter which could have been a reason why Edward chose to become a crewmember during the winter months.

One source I found helpful was through Family Search. I located a book titled, A Cadwell Account^[4] written by Mary E. Cotton Anders. It showed how the families of Barrow, Gilbert, Jenks, Rowland, Pettit, Ward, and Wickens were connected. The connection between the Rowlands and Wickens was especially useful.  It listed all the family members and their spouses of the first and second generations in America, including dates of birth, marriage, death, and burial places. However the listing of Edward and Eliza Kidd Rowlands only listed one child, Edward, born 1833. Since the book had limited rights. I had to go to a Mormon history center where I was able to obtain copies of the Wickens and Rowlands connections.

I have been unable to find a marriage record for Edward Rowlands and Eliza Kidd. Also, I have not been able to locate birth records for any of the three boys. The 1830 Ohio federal census for Edward Rowlands lists one male under 5 which could have been Perry as his birth is listed on his headstone as 1829. However, I did find an Edward Rowlands who sailed to Europe and back on the Julian in 1829.

Rowland Lineage (from Isle of Wight, England to Hutchinson, Kansas)

• William Rowlands                 b. 1769                d.  16 /Dec/1831       m.   14/May/1787
• Edward Rowlands                   b.   08/Oct/1809
• Perry Rowland                          b . 10/Oct/1829     d.  25/Nov/1916        m.  16/Aug/1854
• Charles William Rowland        b.   16/Mar/1858    d.  27/Jul/1898          m.  08/Jun 1898
• William Vincent Rowland        b.   03 /Jul/1902     d.  27/Mar/1942        m.  24/Mar/ 1942

Children of William and Anne Beers Rowland

1. James Rowlands b. 20/ Feb/1788 d. 17/May/1871
   m. 1813 Monroe County, OH Lydia Brackett Hamilton
   m. 20/Aug/1862. Morgan County, OH Pamela Colby Devol
2. Harriett Elizabeth Rowlands b. 17 Jan 1790 d. 16 Mar 1876
   m. 23/Oct/1809. Hampshire, England William Taylor Way
3. Charlotte Elizabeth Rowlands b. 24/Feb;1792 d. 17/Aug/1870
   m. 28/Jan/1813 Isle of Wight, England George Wickens
4. William F Rowlands, Jr. b. 9/Jul/1799 d. 9/Apr/1877
   m. 9/Jan/1823. Morgan County, OH Margaret Taylor
5. Marianne Rowlands b. 7/Mar/1803 d. 20/Oct/1886
   m. 27/Dec/1821 Washington County, OH Alfred Regnier
6. Jane Rowlands b. 14/Sep/1804 d. 24/Jul/1892
   m. 30/Dec/1824 Washington County, Ohio John Hutchins, Jr.
7. Edward Thomas Rowlands b. 8/Oct/1809 d.
   m. Eliza Kidd

Additional Sources/References:

[1] History of Darke County, Ohio, From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Volume II of Two Volumes, 1914, by The Hobart Publishing Company; Wilson, Frazer Ells.

[2] The Rowland Family History, as told by Rhogen Rowland on July 19, 1992 in Hutchinson, Kansas.

[3] Family Group Sheet: William Rowlands and Nancy Ann Beers, file no. 11860, submitted by Edna A Tidd, Oct 4, 1984.

[4] A Cadwell Account: John Thomas Cadwell, 1834-1898 of Washington County, Ohio and Saunders County, Nebraska : including the families of Barrow, Gilbert, Jenks, Rowland, Pettit, Ward, Wickens, by Mary Elizabeth Cotton Anders, 1989, Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

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Featured Image: Rowland Lands of Reno County, showing portions of Clay, Grant, Medora, and Reno townships of Reno County, Kansas circa 1918 with Rowland land ownership highlighted.

Rowland DNA Group: This line is part of Rowland DNA Group O.