Rowles Family - Clonteen (formerly in Doon, now Cappamore)

 George ROWLES (b. abt 1790 d. 1862, Dodge Co. Wisconsin)  and wife Sarah GRIFFIN (avt 1795 d. Sep 1852 Washington Co. New York)  left Clonteen, Doon, Limerick, came on a Norwegian ship from Dublin to New York in the fall of 1852 with their son John and daughter Margaret, and joined their sons Luke and George who had come there earlier with their wives. They were living and working on farms in Easton township, Washington County, which lies along the Hudson River near to the town of Schuylerville and about 35 miles north of Albany.  Sarah died about three months after they arrived and is buried near some friends (Maher, Benton) who also came from Doon with her. The rest of the Rowles family lived in NewYork about three and a half years more before moving to Waupun, Wisconsin in about early 1856.

   Only one Rowles family was left in Doon after they left, that of Michael Rowles and his wife Bridget Ryan. Michael and Bridget had 7 children between 1845 and 1861, named William, Edward, John, Mary, Alice, George and Bridget.  The family emigrated to Australia in 1864 and settled in New South Wales. As the name was very rare in Ireland, but there was a cluster in this one small townland, it is likely that they were related. I have a cousin named Rowles (USA) who has had DNA testing done. It would be great to find an Australian Rowles descended from Michael who has done the same.

Tithe Applotment, Cappamore Parish March 24, 1826
Rowls George Clonteen Coonagh
Rowls Michael Clonteen Coonagh

Griffith Valuation 1851  Doon: same two names in same location, however Rowles is misspelled Rowlet in the case of George.  There were no people named Rowles in Ireland in 1901. 

All the Rowles church records are found in the church at Cappamore.   The names has been found spelled in many different ways but the most common in the Cappamore church records is ROULDS.  The Goodhue Minesota and Australian spelling is ROWLES (pronounced "rolls"), while the Wisconsin branch spells it ROWELLS (and it is pronounced like rowells on a spur).  We have no idea how Roulds would have been pronounced in Ireland.

Examples: A church record- Marriage : Cappamore Church 16 Apr 1849,  Luke Roulds (son of George and Sarah) and Margaret Brien were married in the presence of Bryan O'Brien and Mary Fitzgerald. (Bryan was Margaret's father's name, but this might also have been her brother.)

The Rowles family is related to other Cappamore/Doon families: Benton, Maher, O'Brien, O'Connor, O'Reilly, Ryan and more.