John Clarkson Rowley (b 1847 Liverpool, NSW, m Sarah Jane Smart 1874
Beechworth Vic, d 1928 Bethanga Vic) Joseph Smart Rowley (b
1875 Yackandandah Vic, m Eircell Broome 1909
Albury NSW, d 1957 Bethanga)
Jane Eliza Rowley (b 1877 Bethanga, m Thomas Hugh
Maher 1909 Wodonga, d 1916)
Henrietta Frances (Etty) Rowley (b 1880 Bethanga,
m Herbert Elliot Nichols 1903 Bethanga, d 1969)
Eliza Teresa (Eliie) Rowley (b 1882 Bethanga, m
Martin John Maher 1917, d 1968)
John Thomas Rowley (b 1885 Bethanga, d 1886
Bethanga)
John Simon (Sime) Rowley (b 1888 Bethanga, m
Jessie Noelle Jones, d 1984)
John Clarkson Rowley
John Clarkson Rowley was born in Liverpool NSW in
1847, the eldest of five children.. The younget Henrietta was born
in 1855, and John C's father died eighteen moths later in 1856.At
this stage the family was still living at Liverpool. Anecdotally
and unsurprisingly the family now had hard times. What is
interesting is that John C was the only member of the family to
come to north east Victoria. Eliza and Catherine married Yabsleys,
a Sydney family. Mary died young at Holdsworthy, Sydney. and
Henrietta married in Grafton, NSW. Joseph Onslow may
be the person who brought the Rowleys to the north east. Joseph
was the youngest, Jane the oldest of the five Onslow children.
Joseph became overseer at Gundowring station in 1852 (History of
Gundowring School, Geoff Onslow). When Joseph married at Middle
Creek, Vic (near Wodonga) in 1855, his address was Gundowring. So
John C may well have come up on his uncle's suggestion, and been
helped to get a start. When Joseph registered the birth of son
Melbourne in 1863, he described himself as Superintender on
station, Gundowring, so he would have been able to help. Jane
remarried in Bendigo in 1867, but by then John C was 20, and would
have been working for some time. Joseph is interesting in that he
liked to give his children capital cities in their names (Sydney
Gordon, Melbourne Davis, Adelaide Louisa Victoria, Joseph Brisbane
and Eva Perth). John C was married in Beechworth in 1874. By then,
at age 27 he sounds like a well established member of the local
community. John C shared many of his father in law's
interests; he, too, was a Freemason and committeeman of the Racing
Club. In 1877 he became a member of the Beechworth Mining Board,
elected by the Bethanga miners. At this time he shifted to
Bethanga where he had a butchers shop in the Upper Town and
selected land towards the Mitta. The property was called
Holdsworthy after his grandfathers property in Sydney, and was
farmed in turn by his son and grandson over the next hundred years
before being sold. The Hume Weir took two bites out of the
property when filled in the 1930s and extended in the 1950s.
Les Rowley
1847 Born Liverpool NSW
1856 John's father dies
1874 Married Sarah Smart Beechworth
1877 Elected Bethanga representative on the Beechworth Mining Board
1879 Butcher in Bethanga, applies for lease on Holdsworthy land
1884 Describes himself as farmer on lease extension application
1887 Holdsworthy property well established (house, kitchen, shed,
cowshed, 4 dams, well, orchard)
1901 Land lease converted to purchase
1928 Died Bethanga
He died at Ebden of a heart attack. He was picking up vegetables to
take to the Weir works township to sell, to get some money in his
retirement. He grew some to sell too. (CJR)
Sarah Smart was brought up by a
Catholic family in Beechworth, and John C was a Protestant. The
story is that they made a compromise to raise the boys Protestant
and the girls Catholic. However When John died when 18 months old
Sarah was adamant that children in future would be brought up
Catholic, which Simon was. Simon was a tall man and excellent
footballer who tried out for Fitzroy in the VFL.
Geoff Onslow reported an intriguing collection of Rowleys on the
1908 Elrctoral Roll:
Springdale: Alice, Jane, Joseph, Sarah,
Bethanga: Edward.
The only known Edward is Thomas I 's son John's son b 1841. This
John also had a daughter Jane, but she could also be John Clarkson's
daughter. We have no Alice Rowley. Joe and Sarah are probably Joseph
Smart Rowley, and Sarah above.
Bethanga School records show Elsie Rowley attended from March 1886
and John Simon from October 1894 (thanks Ron Evans)
On Eliza's birth certificate Sarah's age is
given as 28, born Sydney. This would give her a DOB of 1848-9, but
in fact she was born 1845
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