Thomas
Rowley Update
There are three sections
Note this only refers to the fifth born child Eliza. Perhaps more
DNA testing will add more interesting possibilities.
The First Wife
Who she was is unclear. She died on the Pitt on
the way to Australia. In the main Thomas page I come down for
Elizabeth Eyre, but there are lots of trees on Amcesry voting for
Elizabeth Friend.
re Elizabeth Rowley (believed 1st wife of Thomas Rowley) on ‘Pitt':
Comment from Rhonda
Kroehnert
Just wondering if you have come across the where Smee got
his information on the names of the soldiers wives listed in
‘Fourth Fleet Families in Australia’?
After many years of looking I have been unable to find this
information.
...........“Unfortunately
the early transports did not keep detailed surgeon’s
journals as occurred with later voyages, so there is no
precise information about the people who died on the voyage,
only contemporary letters. On 22 October 1791, Francis Grose
sent a letter from Rio to Evan Nepean to advise him of the
voyage to that stage, and included was a general list (no
names only rank) of the soldiers and families of the NSW
Corps on the Pitt. There were 62 men, 11 women and
6 children listed on the return. It was noted that 13
privates, 5 women and one child, had died since the ship
left England. I presume that Smee has used this
evidence to conclude that Elizabeth Rowley was one of these
women as I am not aware of any other documents providing
details of deaths on board, apart from that of the convicts
and crew who deserted or died during the voyage. Unlike earlier years
there was no ‘Fourth Fleet’ in 1792 as the three ships that
arrived that year, sailed on single voyages.…
The list sent from Grose to Nepean on
22 Oct. 1791 is included in my book – pp. 31-33. The reference
is also included – Banks Papers, Brabourne Collection, Vol 3,
Aust. 1786 – 1800 p.147; Reel FM4/1747 ML; HRNSW Vol 1, part
2, pp. 525 -6"
This was provoked by the DNA information but is a
generally interesting discussion. Pam like myself is a descendant of
Thomas II. I have copied verbartim the relevant parts of her
thiughtful letter
This is a very thoughtful discussion from the lady who started
the DNA story
The DNA Testing, Simeon Lord and Eliza Rowley
This update starts with an email received in February 2023, but Ian
Ramage, writing 40 or 50 years ago, is entitled to have the first
word
16.29 Despite the earnest
endeavours of many descendants, no parish register record of the
birth in 1804, or subsequent baptism, of Eliza Rowley, the fifth
child of Thomas Rowley and Elizabeth Selwyn has, so far as I am
aware, been located. Perhaps, an explanation is that Thomas Rowley
had temporarily abandoned Elizabeth Selwyn and transferred his
affection to another young convict lass, Jane Mickle.
In Februart 2023 I received an email which said
In an article published in the Australian Law
Journal this year (contents page here: https://sites.thomsonreuters.com.au/journals/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/01/Westlaw-AU-%E2%80%93-ALJ-Vol-96-No-12-Contents.pdf
), Professor Katy Barnett of Melbourne Uni and her mother Lynne have
suggested in passing that their ancestress, one (I can’t remember
which) of Rowley’s natural daughters acknowledged in his will might
in fact be the daughter of Simeon Lord! This is said to be on
the basis of DNA results (presumably theirs) indicating
consanguinity with known descendants of Simeon Lord. I’m not
sure if they have excluded the alternative possibility, which is
that others of Simeon Lord’s children were in fact Rowley’s.
Glenn Rowley then pointed me to the following material on Wikitree
(Information available on the main Thomas page hase been deleted)
There are lots of links in the original Wikitree, which I recommend
visiting
Simeon Lord (1772 - 1840)
Born 11 Jul 1772 in Walsden, Lancashire, England
Son of Charles Lord and Betty (Haigh) Lord
Brother of Elizabeth Lord [half], Sally Lord [half], John Lord
[half], Hannah Lord [half], Nelly Lord [half] and Charles Lord
[half]
Husband of Mary (Hyde) Lord — married
1814 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Father of Eliza (Rowley) Briggs, Simeon Lord, Edward Lord, George
William Lord and Robert Charles LorDied 29 Jan 1840 at age 67 in
Botany, New South Wales, Australia.
Research Notes
Daughter Eliza Rowley: Eliza
Rowley was born in 1804. Her mother was Elizabeth
Rowley nee Selwyn, wife of Thomas Rowley, and Eliza was
raised as the daughter of Thomas Rowley. However it appears
(from DNA testing) that Eliza's biological father was Simeon Lord.
AncestryDNA results for
Lyn Venn (nee Triggell) have, on ThruLines, a number of
connections/matches for Elizabeth Selwyn, but absolutely NIL
matches for Thomas Rowley. There was a "mystery" group of
matches, that did not have a paper connection to Lyn's family
line. This group had Simeon Lord in their tree. Simeon Lord
(convict) arrived Sydney in 1791. Thomas Rowley arrived Sydney
in 1792. Simeon Lord was an assigned convict to Thomas Rowley.
Eliza "Rowley" is the result of a liaison between Elizabeth
Selwyn and Simeon Lord, in the end of July, 1803.
(https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lord-1792)_
Eliza (Rowley) Briggs (1804 - 1882)
Born 25 Apr 1804 in Newtown, New South Wales, Australia
Daughter of Simeon Lord and Elizabeth Selwyn
Eliza was raised as
the daughter of Thomas Rowley. However it appears (from DNA
testing) that Eliza's biological father was Simeon Lord.
Please note - The biological father of Eliza Rowley, is NOT Thomas
Rowley. The biological father of Eliza Rowley, is Simeon Lord.
Explanation:- The results of the AncestryDNA test for Lyn Venn
(nee Triggell), has ThruLines showing a number of fellow
contacts/matches for Elizabeth Selwyn, and absolutely no
contacts/matches for Thomas Rowley. Among Lyn's DNA matches, were
a "mystery" group, who, upon checking their trees, descended -
from Simeon Lord. Simeon Lord (convict) arrived N.S.W. before
Thomas Rowley. He was assigned to Thomas Rowley, after Thomas
landed in 1792. Simeon Lord's and Elizabeth Selwyn's liaison would
have been late July 1803.
Comment from Rhonda Kroehnert
I would be interested to know where Eliza’s
birth date 25 April 1804 and place ie Kingston, Newtown
came from.
I believe that no baptism has been found in all the research
done by many including the wonderful Ian Ramage. I
recently searched the NSW Birth, Death & Marriage index
under Rowley, Selwyn & Lord to no avail.
Her birth date is recorded as 25 April 1804 on the Waverley
cemetery website, and also on many family trees. The date
may have been recorded on the original vault at Kingston when
she died in 1882, and copied when interred in the Waverley vault
in 1884 (re Eliza Elizabeth Rowley Briggs), or maybe from a
family bible!
Also, one wonders why she was not baptised like her siblings
within months of their birth dates!
Thank you to Andrew Gray for creating Rowley-745
on 6 Dec 13. Click the Changes tab for the details on
contributions by Andrew and others.
(https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Rowley-745)
Glenn also found this
exchange on Twitter.
(https://twitter.com/DrKatyBarnett/status/1387737165195403268)
Perhaps the last word should go to Thomas. In his will in 1805 he
refers tp "my five natural children begotten in the body of
Elizabeth Selwyn namely Isabella Rowley Thomas Rowley John Rowley
Mary Rowley and Eliza Rowley"
Letter from Pam Fulton
I wouldn’t call Simeon wicked. After all,
Elizabeth Selwyn was also a convict. She had to make a life for
herself and managed, at the age of 18, to attach herself to a
much older army officer on board the Pitt (probably after his
wife had died during the voyage). She managed to get herself
assigned to Rowley as his housekeeper when they landed and went
on to have children with him (the first, Isabella, 9 months
after landing) although they never married. Rowley got out
of the army in 1800 when he was about 50 due to illness (he died
6 years later of consumption/TB). Simeon Lord was about the same
age as Elizabeth who was in charge of Rowley’s convicts. Simeon
was assigned to Rowley and was in his service in 1795 for sure.
Rowley took a real liking to him, I believe taught him to read
and write, and mentioned in a letter he would set him up in any
business he wanted. We know Simeon became the wealthiest
emancipist in the Colony, at one time employing over 1000 men,
and he was into every enterprise going. So with an ailing
protector about 26 years older than her, and a very successful
protégé the same age who kept popping in on social and business
visits, it’s quite on the cards that sparks flew between them,
and Lo, Eliza was conceived in 1803. Rowley may not have known,
as his will tells of his “five natural children begotten on the
body of Elizabeth Selwyn” (natural meaning illegitimate owing to
their not being married). Elizabeth may not have been sure who
the father really was if she was still having relations with
Thomas.
Regardless of all that,
it helps with the provenance of the cameo/miniature painting
that was apparently found in Rowley’s effects (and later,
Elizabeth’s effects?) identified in the Pioneer Club as
“Captain Thomas Rowley”. In the old days people would send
miniatures of themselves to family or those who they admired.
People didn’t keep/cherish miniatures of themselves. So I
always wondered why Rowley kept a miniature of himself. I
believe the miniature is misnamed. I’m sure it’s a miniature
of Simeon Lord. I’m sending a photo I took with my i-pad
showing a couple of pictures of Simeon Lord plus “Rowley”. You
probably have a close up of the cameo/miniature and you can
Google “Simeon Lord” and get close ups of him. It’s the same
person! Look at the square face; Look at the hair: its
parting; swept back on the sides etc. Also notice the tight
little mouth. And if you remember the portrait of Thomas
Rowley, the son: he has a long face with very dark hair. Also,
Elizabeth obviously harboured affection for Simeon, and so
would have kept the miniature he probably sent to Rowley or
gave to her to remember him.
Has Rowley’s parentage
been absolutely determined yet? Or connected to where he grew
up: him naming his first farm Kingston – after Kingston on
Thames? And his second farm Burwood. I haven’t delved in these
files for several years. That brings up the eternal question:
Why did he specifically join the NSW Corps in 1789 to risk
travelling to the other side of the world (8 months) to
do garrison duty in a new penal colony? Unless the Thomas
Rowley, convict, on the Neptune, was his son and the father
joined up as a way of looking out for him. One thing I read in
the Mitchell Library was a letter written to or by Surgeon
Harris (Rowley’s friend and executor) filling the person in
about Rowley, mentioning that Governor King “was displeased
with Rowley because he took his son off the island”, meaning
Norfolk Island that Rowley left in July 1800 after governing
it for about 8 months. When I visited Norfolk, I stood where
the Governor’s house once stood down at Sydney Bay and
imagined Rowley and his family there and wondered why the NSW
Governor was displeased Rowley took my ancestor, little Thomas
aged 6, off the island. Now I know that Elizabeth Selwyn and
the children stayed in Sydney while Rowley governed Norfolk as
she was probably pregnant with Mary. The only explanation is
Rowley’s son was a convict on Norfolk and he was able to take
him back to Sydney. Thomas the younger subsequently seems to
have disappeared into the sand.
The other photograph in
the set I’ll send is an old Eliza Rowley Briggs b 1804 (or
rather Eliza Lord Briggs).
Another fact left
dangling is the name of Rowley and Selwyn’s first born:
Isabella. It must have been significant but who was she named
after?
Pam's Photographs
Simeon Lord , The Miniature, and Eliza
(Rowley) Briggs
Letter from Lynne Barnett
To my mild astonishment I found my name
mentioned on your website in a discussion upon the possibility of
Simeon Lord’s being the father of Eliza Rowley. A link was made to
an article written by myself and my daughter Katy Barnett, a
Professor of Law at Melbourne University. It was published in The
Australian Law Journal late in 2022. A link was also made to my
daughter’s twitter feed. I thus thought I should write to you
giving my thoughts on the issues raised.\
The paper to which you linked was an
academic work and did not deal with Eliza’s parentage. The fact
that we believe Simeon Lord to be her father was included merely
as a footnote to the overall story. It was one foot note out of
146 (but a very interesting one in my opinion!). The article was
about the Burwood Ejectment Case, a legal matter in which the
Rowley family were involved in the 1830’s. Burwood Estate, a
property which had belonged to Thomas Rowley, had been sold in
1812, but twenty years later the sale was voided, and the owner
ejected, even though he was a bona fide purchaser Rowley
family historians generally report this as a good thing, but this
was not the view at the time in legal and political circles. The
decision was seen to undermine confidence in the security of
transactions in the Colony and it created political furore and
ongoing disputes which lasted to the end of the decade. Early in
1840 Dowling CJ, the first Judge in Equity, was appointed. He had
been one of the judges on the Burwood case. In a Court of Equity,
the Rowley family would not have won their case. In our paper we
suggest that the Burwood case was a contributing factor to the
creation of the Judge in Equity in NSW.
I would humbly suggest that people
interested in the history of the Rowley family might enjoy reading
our paper. They can gloss over the law stuff, but the underlying
story is a rollicking colonial tale, beginning with the Rum
Rebellion. As well as the Rowley siblings lots of well-known
people were involved – John Macarthur, Simeon Lord, George
Johnston, John Harris, Thomas Moore, William Charles Wentworth,
and Governors William Bligh, Lachlan Macquarie, and George
Gipps.
Back to Eliza Rowley (1804 – 1882) and her
parentage. She was the youngest child of Elizabeth Selwyn and
(supposedly) Thomas Rowley. I am her great-great-great
granddaughter. I am a member of Ancestry, and had my DNA
tested by that organisation several years ago. I also had my
parents tested. My Dad, who died in 2021 aged 94, was Eliza’s
great-great grandson. When I looked at Dad’s and my matches, I
noted that we were matched to (i.e. shared DNA with) descendants
of Eliza’s siblings Thomas Rowley II and Mary Lucas. That was to
be expected. We were also matched to many descendants of Eliza and
her husband Henry Sparrow Briggs, which was also to be expected.
However, what I did not expect was that
Dad and I had matches to (i.e. shared DNA with) descendants of
Simeon Lord. My Dad, being one generation further back into the
past, had more and better matches than I. He had matches with
descendants of three of Simeon’s children - Francis, Simeon junior
and Sarah Ramsay. The obvious conclusion was that Simeon Lord was
the father of Eliza. Soon afterwards I was contacted by two other
Eliza descendants. One was Lyn Venn who was mentioned on your
site, and the other was a woman with whom I had been in
correspondence for many years on Rowley genealogy. Both women are
great x 4 granddaughters of Eliza. We had all noticed the same
phenomenon – we were matched to descendants of Simeon Lord.
Between the three of us we had such a
large group of Eliza descendants (ourselves, family members,
shared matches on Ancestry) who shared DNA with descendants of
Simeon Lord that we came to the inevitable conclusion that Simeon
was the father of Eliza. We are matched to descendants of Thomas
II, Mary, and Eliza Rowley through their mother Elizabeth Selwyn.
But we are also matched to descendants of Simeon Lord because he
was Eliza’s father. You noted that someone has changed the data on
Wikitree to include Simeon. I have also noticed that some people
have changed their family trees on Ancestry. I have not done so
because I felt it needed a lengthy explanation to justify the
change, and I’m a bit lazy!
Glenn Rowley asks whether we excluded the
possibility of Rowley being the father of Lord’s children. Thomas
Rowley died on 27 May 1806 from consumption. Lord’s oldest
daughter Sarah was born on 3 March 1806, not long before his
death. The rest of Lord’s eight children with Mary Hyde were born
well after Rowley’s death, and so no, we did not consider this
possibility.
Did Thomas know? Perhaps not. Or maybe he
was inclined to give Elizabeth the benefit of the doubt. He listed
Eliza by name in his will as one of his five natural children
begotten on the body of Elizabeth Selwyn. Eliza herself appears to
have had no idea. In her death notice in 1882 she was proudly
described as the youngest daughter of Captain Thomas Rowley. She
gave two of her children the middle name Rowley. If Elizabeth
Selwyn had been sleeping with the two men at the same time, she
may not have been sure who the father was. As for Simeon,
who knows! After Thomas’s death Elizabeth Selwyn and her young
family were in financial difficulty and creditors circled. Amongst
them was Simeon Lord. For example, on 3 May 1814 he was plaintiff
in a case in the Court of Civil Jurisprudence against George
Johnson and John Harris, the executors of Thomas Rowley. The court
found for Lord, and the defendants Johnson and Harris were ordered
to pay him damages of £53. 4. 10½ and costs of £4. 16. 10, to be
levied from the effects of the deceased (Rowley). This was perhaps
not the action of a man with feelings for Elizabeth and
Eliza.
What were the
circumstances of Elizabeth and Simeon’s liaison? How can we
possibly say! In all histories it is stated that Simeon Lord was
assigned to Thomas Rowley and that he did such a good job he was
freed early, and Rowley set him up in business. I have been
unable to find any records of Lord being assigned to Rowley or
of his being emancipated. The evidence comes from a letter
written by Henry Waterhouse to Sir Joseph Banks on 10 June 1806
(i.e. 15 years after Simeon’s arrival in Sydney). He was
writing, rather enviously I think, about the amount of money
Lord would possibly make from a shipment of seal skins. He said:
“When I arrived in the Reliance at Port
Jackson in 1795 Simeon Lord was a convict in the service of
Capt. Rowley of the New South Wales Corps, or had just left him,
whether his time of servitude being out, or he was emancipated.
From his good conduct Capt. Rowley told him if he set up in any
business he would assist him, in consequence he commenced Baker
Retailer of Spiritous Liquor.”
Rowley would have continued to deal with
Lord after his emancipation. It was common for officers of the
“Rum Corps” to use agents such as Lord to sell the liquor and
general merchandise they (the officers) had bought in bulk.
Officers and Gentlemen did not engage directly in trade! In 1800
Lord petitioned the Governor for permission to buy goods
directly from a ship, thus bypassing the officers. In January
1801 he was appointed public auctioneer. He became one of the
leading merchants in Sydney, and in 1803 began building his
large three storey house next to the Tank Stream.
On 11 September 1803 an advertisement
appeared in the Sydney Gazette. A quantity of East India Tobacco
was to be sold by auction by Simeon Lord “by order of Captain
Rowley.” Eliza’s birthday is always given as 25 April 1804. If
this date is correct, it means that the auction occurred about
eight months before Eliza was born.
By the way, is there anyone on this site
who can give me a primary source for the date of Eliza’s
birthday. The same date is given in all family trees, but
everyone I ask for their source just gives me the name of
someone else who lists that date.
I am inclined to agree with Frank Clune
that Mary Muckle was the daughter of Thomas Rowley. Mary was
born on 25 June 1804, two months after Eliza. Her mother Jane
was a convict. I think that Mary herself believed that our
Thomas Rowley was her father. She died on 12 April 1885, a very
wealthy childless widow. I have a transcript of her death
certificate. On it her father was recorded as Thomas Rowley,
gentleman. No mention of a soldier! The informant was Dr Henry
William Jackson, who had been her doctor since 1875. In an
obituary (SMH 15 August 1885) it was stated that Jackson “not
only attended her professionally almost daily but became her
trusted counsellor in the management of her property and was
invariably consulted about everything which in any way
interested her.” Thus, it is very likely that she told him who
she believed to have been her father, and he recorded this on
her death certificate. Mary’s estate was worth over £80,000.
Jackson was well rewarded by “handsome legacies and allowances”,
but the bulk of her estate went to charity. Mary was a pious
woman and a great philanthropist. If she were Rowley’s daughter,
it is ironic that she was the most financially successful of his
children.
By 1805 things seemed to have settled
down for all the parties in this tangled web. Thomas
Rowley wrote his will on 5 February 1805. The beneficiaries were
the five natural children (including Eliza) as well as their
mother Elizabeth Selwyn. Maybe there was a sting in the
condition imposed upon Elizabeth. She got her share “as long as
the said Elizabeth Selwyn shall continue sole and unmarried and
does not live in cohabitation with any man.”
In 1805 Simeon Lord began a relationship
with Mary Hyde, a convict who had arrived in NSW in 1798.
Their first child was born on 3 March 1806. They had seven more
children born over the next 15 years. They married in 1814 and
were together until Lord’s death in 1840. Mary had previously
been in a relationship with a business partner of Lord’s who had
died at sea in 1802. She had two children from this relationship
whom Lord adopted.
Jane Muckle, the mother of Mary also
settled down. By 1806 she was free by servitude and living with
Archibald McKillup, a publican who had arrived in NSW in
1804. They stayed together until Janes’s death in 1834.
Archibald died a year later. The couple had married in 1826.
They had no children of their own and it was the property
inherited from both her mother and her stepfather that formed
the basis for Mary’s wealth.
I am convinced by the DNA evidence that
Simeon was the father of Eliza. However, we know nothing about
the circumstances of her conception. We can imagine a raft of
scenarios – but this can only be unprovable speculation. Some
Rowley family researchers are romantic souls who picture the
relationship between Thomas Rowley and Elizabeth as a great love
story. However, we know nothing about the true nature of their
relationship, and probably never will.
Poor Elizabeth and Simeon. How could
they have ever imagined that 220 or so years after the event a
technique (DNA analysis) would arise which would expose their
liaison!
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