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
Sarah Smart
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..More detail on the Holdsworthy property
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 played for Hawthorn.
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)
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Page last updated - 1 Aug 2006
