Peasants to Puddles
My Family History - By Nicky Rowberry
The Rowberrys
Page 11
This section of the Rowberry family tree starts with John Rowberry who was born in 1779 in Ocle Pychard, Herefordshire. He married Mary Higgins in 1803 in Tarrington, just a few miles away.
John & Mary moved to Ledbury, then Coddington, then Bosbury before finally settling in Bromyard. They had 13 children together, 9 of whom survived to adulthood. By 1841 the family were living in the Linton Bank area of Bromyard with 6 of their surviving children. I think the 7th child (Elizabeth) is actually likely to be the illegitimate daughter of their daughter Mary. The table below gives a transcription from the 1841 census for Linton in Bromyard.
| City or Borough of County of | ||||
| Township of Linton (part of) | ||||
| Place | Names of each Person who abode therein the preceding Night | Age | Profession, Trade, Employment or of Independent Means | Where Born in Same County |
| Linton Bank | John Rowbery | 60 | Farmer. | Yes |
| Mary Rowbery | 55 | Yes | ||
| Mary Rowbery | 30 | Yes | ||
| William Rowbery | 25 | Yes | ||
| Susan Rowbery | 15 | Yes | ||
| Martha Rowbery | 15 | Yes | ||
| Harriet Rowbery | 13 | Yes | ||
| Elizabeth Rowbery | 10 | Yes | ||
| Eliza Rowbery | 9 | Yes | ||
In 1851 the family were living at Linton Farm in Bromyard. Most of the children had moved out (some had married), but unmarried daughters Mary and Martha Rowberry were still at home with their parents. John was doing well and was described as a Farmer of 120 acres, employing 4 labourers. John died in 1861 just before the census. Mary lived to a ripe old age, dying in 1880. Locals or the family believed her to be about 102/103, and the news of a centenarian's death was reported as far away as Dundee in Scotland. The following are a couple of examples from the Worcester Journal and the Brief (a London newspaper). Images © The British Library Board. Images created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. Images reproduced with kind permission of The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk).
John & Mary's daughter Mary had 2 illegitimate children, the second of which - Henry Rowberry, had a large family and there are lots of Rowberry descendants of his out there still. John & Mary's son John married Jane Davis and had 7 children (although 2 died in infancy). Their youngest son George married Harriet Sprague in Bromyard in 1889. Sadly George died in 1900 leaving Harriet to raise their 6 children alone. This lovely photo of Harriet and 5 of her children (Tom, Maggie May, Florence, Amy and Albert) circa 1904 was sent to me by one of George & Harriet's great grand-daughters.
There must be lots of Rowberry descendants from this branch of the family. It would be lovely to add to this part of the tree, perhaps even some more photos. So please get in touch if you find a connection.
The family tree below summarises what I know about the above generations of the Rowberry family. It is hopefully reasonably accurate, but if you spot any errors, or any relatives, please feel free to E-mail me
Please click on one of the red links on the tree to move to a different page.
If any of the above is of further interest, please feel free to contact me at: n.rowberry@btinternet.com
© Nicky Rowberry 2017
Thank you for visiting my site. You are visitor number:
Peasants to Puddles - My Family History. By Nicky Rowberry