William Austin Rowan
(1879-1955)
William Austin Rowan was born on March 25, 1879 at Maple Summit, Fayette County, PA, the son of Allen H. and Annie (Linderman) Rowan.
William's first wife was Hattie Johnson (1884-1918), the daughter of James and Katherine (Wilson) Johnson. They had six children -- Bertha Pearl Smith, Anna "Mae" Dale, Olive Aliene Conn, Harry Francis Rowan, Russel E. Rowan and Alviana Rowan.
The Rowans made their home on Grant Street in Ohiopyle, Fayette County, where William worked for many years as a timber cutter, and the family belonged to the Maple Summit Church. Circa 1910, the family may have lived in Republic, Fayette County, when one of their daughters was born.
Tragedy
struck the family when son Russel, just a year and a half old, died on July 15,
1902. He was laid to rest in the cemetery of the Maple Summit Church of God.
(His grave marker is seen here, as photographed in July 2000.) Twelve
years later, the Rowans' young daughter Alviana died a two weeks and a day into
the new year, on Jan. 15, 1914.
Compounding the heartbreak of the family's losses, Hattie herself died at the age of 34 on April 11, 1918, at Ohiopyle, Fayette County. The Connellsville (PA) Daily Courier reported that she "became ill Saturday and the end came unexpectedly Tuesday evening at 6 o'clock." The funeral was led by Rev. F.S. Wortman of Mill Run, with burial at Maple Summit Church. Among those attending the funeral, said the Courier, were "Mr. and Mrs. William Johnson and Elmer Johnson of Republic, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Johnson and son Glenn, and Mrs. Cecelia Gorsuch of Rockwood."
When the federal census was taken in 1930, William resided with his widowed mother on the family farm at Maple Summit. Also making their home with the Rowans were William's young niece Ilene Conn and nephew Lindsey Conn. Among their neighbors was William's cousin, Robert Bacom Harbaugh Jr. The whereabouts of his children that year are not yet known.
After a period of mourning, sometime between 1930 and 1932, William married his second wife, Margaret Thomas (1907-1977), a native of Rogers Mill, Fayette County, and the daughter of John and Agnes (Pirl) Thomas.
Margaret was almost three decades younger than her husband. She may have brought these children to the marriage -- Spencer Clemmer, Virginia Guynn and Genevieve Dunham, although this needs to be verified.
William and Margaret had two sons of their own -- Richard Rowan and Jack Rowan. The Rowans moved to Brookvale, near Dunbar, Fayette County in about 1932, and remained there for the rest of William's life.
William
passed away at the age of 76 on April 5, 1955, at Connellsville State Hospital.
He was laid to rest in the ancient burial ground of the Maple Summit Church (seen
at left). At his death, he had 24 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.
Margaret outlived her husband by more than two decades. She died at the age of 70 on July 21, 1977.
Daughter Bertha Pearl Rowan ( ? - ? ) married James Ralph Smith Sr. (1894-1973), the son of Albert and Mary (Moon) Smith. They had seven children -- James Ralph Smith Jr., Clara Mae Calvert, Evelyn Grafton (or Gratson), Donald Smith, Virginia Smith and Shirley Uphold. The Smiths lived in Lower Turkeyfoot Township, Somerset County, PA. After Bertha's death, James then married Pearl Tannehill on Aug. 2, 1910 in Somerset County. James and Pearl went on to have five more children -- Charles Kenneth Smith, Glenn Smith, Carl Smith, George Marion Smith and Louise Lenhart. James passed away on March 8, 1973, in Uniontown, Fayette County. Details of this family are included in Olive Duff's family history work, entitled Moon Genealogy. [Note -- James Ralph Smith Sr.'s sister Harriet married Charles H. Rose, and their brother Harvey Smith married Clema Romesburg.]
Daughter Anna Mae Rowan (1903-1967) was married twice. Her first husband was Donald Leichleter (1922- ? ). They had two children, Donald Leichleter and Donna Hofer. Anna Mae later married Tom Dale (1903-1976), an emigrant from Durham County, England. The Dales had three more children -- Ruth Marceline Workman, Nancy Jane Dale and Paul Thomas Dale.
Daughter Olive Aliene Rowan (1910-2004) married Linzy Sylvester Conn (1906-1975), the son of Harvey and Ida (Metzler) Conn. They made their home in Confluence, Somerset County, and had five children -- Robert Eugene Conn, Betty Lou White, Hattie Mae Ansell, Harvey L. Conn and Barry Edwin Conn. Linzy passed away in Somerset Community Hospital at age 68 on Oct. 3, 1975. Olive survived him by nearly three decades, keeping her home in Confluence. Said the Somerset Daily American, "She loved to travel, cook, bake, crochet and read." She died on Oct. 4, 2004, at the age of 94, with burial in the Jersey Church Cemetery.
Son Harry Francis Rowan (1915-1971) married Dorothy Boyd ( ? - ? ). They lived in Newton Falls, OH, and had one son, Kenneth Rowan.
Son Jack Rowan ( ? - ?) was married and had one son, Mark Rowan, said to be an attorney in Connellsville.
We express our thanks to Tina (Conn) Wilkins for sharing her genealogy research for this biography, and to the late Olive Duff for her work on the Rowan-Smith family.
Copyright © 2007-2008 Mark A. Miner