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Ethel Rowe, my grandmother, was one of fifteen children, three of whom
died in infancy. Her parents, Richard and Elizabeth Rowe(her maiden
name was Rowe as well) were, according to my father's notes, third
cousins, though if they'd been first cousins I doubt he'd have admitted
it.
Richard was born in 1826 in
Paul, Cornwall. Elizabeth was born in St. Just in 1833 in St. Just in
Penwith. They were married on January 10th, 1854. They lived near a
major mine in an area outside of St. Just proper. Richard was an engine
driver in a factory.They moved to St. Just in 1872.
Ethel was born in March 1872
in St. Ives, Cornwall, England. Her siblings included: Elizabeth
(Semmens), Mary (Davis), Jaime (Henry), Philadelphia, Constance
(Nichols), Matilda (Nichols), William, Richard, Jessie, George and
Josiah. Constance died early on her marriage and her husband married
her sister, Matilda. Matilda survived her husband, so the sister
hopping ended there.
The children spread out as
would be expected with Cornwall in an economic downturn towards the end
of the century. Josiah emigrated to a mining area near Torch Lake,
Michigan, where his family still lives. Elizabeth's eight children all
left for either the U.S. or Africa. Only three remained in Cornwall,
and still have family there to this day.
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