Unravelling the Rowe’s of St Agnes by
J. Simpson
“A
Pioneer Ancestry Part 1 by Edward Harvey
The first Rowe's of whom
anything is known were my great-great-great-great grandparents John and Alice
Rowe who in 1763, had a son names John, my great-great-great grandfather born
in St Agnes, Cornwall. He married Margaret Wills in 1788 and had a son, also
named John, my great-great grandfather, in 1797. This John in turn married
Joanna Simons, said to be of Huguenot Descent, in 1814. As far as is known
there were five sons and five daughters, one of the latter being my
great-grandmother Joanna Rowe, who was born in 1828.”
I believe Edward Harvey had taken John’s age from the 1841 census, where
ages were generally rounded off in batches of 40-45, 45-50 etc. The census
indicated John Rowe was born about 1796 thus making an error with the parents
he had selected, when he chose the closest match of John Rowe being born 12 Sep
1797 in St Agnes to John Rowe and Margaret Wills. The traditional family names
one might have expected for the children of that era did not include the name
Margaret in any of John’s children or grandchildren, so I was somewhat
skeptical that this selection was correct.
1841 Census
Piece: HO107/149/2 Place: Pydar
-Cornwall Enumeration District: 9
Civil Parish: St. Agnes Ecclesiastical
Parish: -
Folio: 67 Page: 12
Address: Goonvrea
ROWE John M 45, abt 1796, Tin Miner Cornwall – [(sic) 51, abt 1790]
ROWE Joanna F 45, abt 1796, Cornwall – [(sic)52, abt 1789]
ROWE John M 25, abt 1816, Tin Miner Cornwall
ROWE William M 20, abt 1821, Tin Miner Cornwall
ROWE James M 15, abt 1826, Tin Miner Cornwall
ROWE Alice F 15, abt 1826, Cornwall
ROWE Abel M 14, abt 1827, Tin Miner Cornwall
ROWE Joanna F 13, abt 1828 Cornwall
ROWE Nanny F 11, abt 1830, Cornwall
ROWE Francis M 8, abt 1833, Cornwall
ROWE Samuel M 5, abt 1836, Cornwall
SIMONS Alice F 85, abt 1756, Cornwall [Joanna Simons
Mother]
John was alive at the time of the 1841 census, but when Joanna immigrated on the 8th October 1848 to South Australia, aboard the Samuel Boddington with six of her children, she was a widow.
Barque Samuel Boddington, 523 tons, Captain John M. Hurst, from
London 27th September / Plymouth 8th October 1848, arrived at Port Adelaide,
South Australia 12th January 1849
The passenger list included the Rowe family listed as follows:
ROWE Mrs. Johanna (49?) (b.1789) widow
ROWE Alice (24)
ROWE Abel (22)
ROWE Joanna (20)
ROWE Nancy(sic) (17)
ROWE Francis (14)
ROWE Samuel(12)
This knowledge narrowed the time frame for John’s possible death from
1841 to 1848. Deaths in the Dec Q 1846 included
a John Rowe - Truro Vol 9 Page 209; which looked promising. Fortunately
when the Death Certificate arrived, it looked to be the correct one, as it
mentioned John’s son Abel being present at his death in Goonvrea (residence in
the 1841 Census), on the 12 Nov 1846 aged 56yrs. The certificate noted he had
died of Miner’s consumption. I now knew I was now looking for a John Rowe born
about 1790 in St Agnes, as John Rowe and Margaret Wills son John, would have
only been 49 if he died in 1846.
John and Joanna’s marriage certificate indicated that they were both of
the Parish of St Agnes, so the most likely candidate born in St Agnes was the
son of William Rowe and Ann baptised 7 Mar 1790. The fly in the ointment was the
unfortunate situation of two William Rowe’s and Ann’s both having children at
the same time in St Agnes.
1. William ROWE (31 Oct 1762, St Agnes s/o
Richard Rowe and Mary Martyn) of
this parish married Ann TEPPIT (d/o James Teppit & Mary) of this parish
by banns 3 Feb 1788 St Agnes. Both signed with their marks, witnesses
Simon PAUL, Ann TEPAT[crossed out] and Wm ROBERTS
2. William ROWE (b.14 Jan 1764, St Agnes son of John Rowe
& Dinah) of this parish and Ann PIPER (d/o Richard PIPER &
Hannah) of this parish were married by banns 11 Apr 1789 St Agnes. Both
signed with their marks, witnesses Benjamin TONKIN and George SANDOE
Doing a little more research on the siblings of William Rowe, lead to
the discovery that Benjamin Tonkin, who was a witness at the marriage, of
William Rowe and Ann Piper in 1789, was the married to Dinah Rowe (1758), William’s
sister, so it seems logical that he would have been a witness at his brother
in-law’s marriage.
The children of both William Rowe’s and Ann’s
ROWE Mary - christening: 06 Jul 1788
ROW Wm - christening: 15 Nov 1789
ROW John - christening: 07 Mar 1790
ROWE Grace - christening: 23 Jan 1792
ROW William - christening: 20 May 1793
ROW Abel -
christening: 28 Jun 1795
ROWE Dinah - christening: 25 Oct 1795
ROWE Elisabeth - christening: 18 Sep 1796
ROW Ann - christening: 30 Mar 1798
ROW Elisabeth - birth: 01 Dec 1801 - christening: 02 May 1802
ROWE Richard - christening:12 Aug 1810
Abel Rowe seemed to be a name passed down
through generations of our Rowe family so on that basis I juggled to names
around till my head was spinning, as I wanted John and Abel to be brothers. It
was clear from the baptism records that William (1789) and John (1790) could
not have been brothers due to the close proximity of their baptisms as was the
case for Abel (1795) and Dinah (1795).
After recording all the Rowe Birth, Death,
and Marriages for the St Agnes Parish, fitting them all to families and still
being no further ahead, I decided I would analyse all the Rowe families in the
1841 census for St Agnes. The breakthrough I desperately needed, was in finding
Ann Teppit/Rowe with her son William living at Towan Cross in the census. Her
death on the 20 Feb 1844 at Towan Cross, aged 73 fits with her baptism at
Illogan on the 23 Sep 1770 to James Teppit and Mary.
1841 Census
Piece: HO107/149/3 Place: Pydar
-Cornwall Enumeration District: 10
Civil Parish: St. Agnes Ecclesiastical
Parish: -
Folio: 8 Page: 9
Address: Towan Cross,
ROWE William M 55, abt 1786 Copper Miner Cornwall
ROWE Ann F 70, abt 1771, Cornwall
Towan Cross is situated near Mount Hawke. Mount Hawke
ecclesiastical parish was created in 1847 from part of the parish of St Agnes
and a smaller part of the parish of Illogan. Before this date, Mount Hawke was
enumerated under St Agnes. The parish has been in the Hundred of Powder and the
Truro Registration District since its creation.
The elder William Rowe (1789) was therefore a son of
William Rowe and Ann Teppit, and definitely not a brother to John (1790), who was
the first born son of William Rowe and Ann Piper. There is a high probability that
Dinah was the granddaughter of John and Dinah, and a sister to John (1790), hence
I have allocated the children as follows:
The children to William Rowe and Ann Teppit:
The children to William Rowe and Ann Teppit:
1. ROWE
Mary -
christening: 06 Jul 1788
2. ROW William -
christening: 15 Nov 1789
3.
ROW Abel -
christening: 28 Jun 1795 - 19 Sep
1797
4. ROWE Elisabeth -
christening: 18 Sep 1796 [of Mt Hawke, married Thomas Wilkins]
5. ROW Ann - christening: 30 Mar 1798 - Ann could have
been a child of either couples
The children
of William Rowe and Ann Piper:
1. ROW John - christening: 07 Mar 1790
2. ROWE Grace - christening: 23 Jan 1792 More likely as Ann Piper
had a sister named Grace
3. ROW
William - christening: 20 May 1793
4. ROWE Dinah - christening: 25 Oct 1795
5. ROW Elisabeth - birth: 01 Dec 1801 - christening: 02 May 1802
Richard Rowe christening: 12 Aug 1810 is most likely the
son of William Rowe and Ann Goyne who married 1802 in St Agnes as there is an 8
year gap from the last born children. He appears as a lodger of Mary Hooper in
the 1841, 1851, 1861 Census. His occupation is noted as a Carrier (Coal) with
the disability of being blind.
Unfortunately this allocation of the children
meant that Abel and John were not brothers, which bought me to the realisation
that there were no Abel’s in the line of John and Dinah and no Dinah’s in our
John’s children.
The next and only other option (which now
seems the more likely) is that John born 6 Aug, baptised 11 Sep 1791 (presumably
born in the same year as the baptism), St Agnes, was the son of Abel Rowe and
Ann Nicholls. I believe William Rowe, Ann Piper and their family may have left
the district, as there does not appear to be any further activity in the form
of marriages or deaths, whereas most of Abel and Ann’s, children are traceable
within St Agnes. Although the dates are a year out from the birth date to the
death date, the same scenario also applies to John’s brother, Abel.
Abel ROWE christening: 06 Nov 1756 St Agnes, Cornwall, son of John Rowe and Judith Rogers. Marriage: 01 May 1780 marriage place: East Newlyn, Cornwall,
England
Ann NICHOLLS Christening: 2 Mar 1754 Newlyn East, Cornwall, daughter of
Abraham Nicholls and Mary Husband.
Children of Abel Rowe and Ann Nicholls:
ROWE Margaret - Christening: 25 Mar 1781, St Agnes - Married 29 May
1803 Henry Peters
ROWE Mary - Christening: 11 May 1783, St Agnes
ROWE Ann - Christening: 11 13 Nov 1785, St Agnes
ROWE Susanna - Christening: 24 Aug 1788, St Agnes - Married 26 Oct
1822, Francis Thomas
ROWE John - Christening: 11 Sep 1791 St Agnes - Married 28 May
1814, Joanna Simons
ROWE Abel - Cristening: 23 Mar 1794 St Agnes – Never married, died
25 Sep 1846 age 53
ROWE Martha - Christening: 20 Aug 1797 St Agnes - Married 30 Nov
1837, John Goard
John ROWE son of Abel ROWE & Ann Nichols was born in St Agnes near Truro 6 Aug 1791, he was christened 11 Sep 1791.
John married Joanna SYMONS (Simons) after Banns on the 28th May 1814 in the parish of St Agnes.
Both John ROWE and Joanna SIMONS were illiterate at the time of their marriage on 28 May 1814 in St Agnes both made their mark in the presence of Roger DANIEL and Joanna’s youngest sister Elizabeth.
Joanna’s younger sister Elizabeth’s marriage to Stephen STEPHENS on the 8th January 1823 in St Agnes, ties the family nicely together. They have as their witnesses Samuel STEPHENS and Prudence MARTIN, Elizabeth and Joanna’s niece, daughter of their eldest sister Alice and John Martin. Education must have come to the area around that time as they all appear to have signed their own names.
John SYMONS and Alice STEPHENS
John SYMONS and Alice STEPHENS Married in St Hillary 14th May 1782 in the presence of: Richard SENNETT b 31 May 1762 Son of John SENNETT & Ann; Joan NANCARROW, L. BAKERED, G. Oliver(difficult to decipher)
Descendants of John SYMONS
--------------------------
1-John SYMONS baptised: abt 1751, Cornwall, England
died: 26 Jan 1828, Penwinnick Lane, St Agnes, Truro, Cornwall, England
+Alice STEPHENS b: Abt 1751, St Agnes, Truro, Cornwall, England
died: 6 Mar 1847, Goonvrea, St Agnes, Cornwall, England
|--2-Alice SIMONS b: 15 Jun 1783, St Hilary, Cornwall, England
|--2-Jenifer SIMON b: 16 May 1785, St Agnes, Truro, Cornwall, England
|--2-Johanna SYMONS b: 19 Jan 1789, St Agnes, Truro, Cornwall, England
died: 25 Dec 1790, St Agnes, Truro, Cornwall, England
|--2-Johanna SYMONS b: 23 Oct 1791, St Agnes, Truro, Cornwall, England
died: 6 Jul 1862, Adelaide, South Australia
|--2-Elisabeth SYMONS b: 10 Dec 1797, St Agnes, Truro, Cornwall, England
Joanna SYMONS baptised 19th Jan 1789 in St Agnes was the daughter of John SYMONS and Alice STEPHENS Note: she died: 25 Dec 1790, St Agnes, Truro, Cornwall, England and our Joanna was the second Joanna, Baptised as Joanna Seymons 23 Oct 1791
John SYMONS was born about 1759-1760 according to his death Certificate in St Agnes on 26 Jan 1828 in which he is shown to be 68 years old. The accuracy of ages on early death certificates is questionable, considering level of illiteracy. I have been unable to locate Penwinnick Lane, but Penwinnick Rd intersects with Goonvrea Rd, so believe it would have been close to where his wife Alice died 19 years later, on the 9 Mar 1847 age 96, at the home of her daughter Joanna in Goonvrea.
Burial - John SYMONS (SIMONS) 26 Jan 1828; St Agnes
Burial -Alice SIMONS (Symons)9 Mar 1847; St Agnes
Alice out lived Joanna’s husband, John ROWE who had passed away passed away 12 Nov 1846 in Goonvrea, St Agnes, Truro. He was buried on the 15th Nov in St Agnes. He died of Consumption at the age of 56, a good life span for a miner. His 4th son, Abel who was the still living at home was present.
