Rowe Family Mysteries

Location: Maine, Massachusetts, United States
Surnames/tags: Rowe Baldwin Hambley

Here are some open questions about Rowes.

There is a lot of explaining to do. My Rowe's (I am Peggy Ann Rowe) came from Maine to California in 1865. They walked the whole way. From California they moved to Oregon eventually settling down in Eugene in Lane County. The family home is registered on the National Register of Historical Places, as the patriarch, Alden B. Rowe, and the family are considered pioneers of the area.

But the mystery is with Alden's paternal grandfather. Alden's parents are George Rowe and Olive Bumpus Dore Rowe. George married Olive who was a widow of Silas Rowe in Somerset County, Maine where they settled and raised a family. I call him George Jr or George the 2nd because for awhile George seemed like an important family name. His parents were George Rowe and ??? . This George at least died in Somerset County. In the 1790 census he said he had come from New Hampshire. A cousin has made Phillipa Hambley as George's wife, yet I can't justify the match. Ancestry says I have 54 matches that prove she's my gggg grandmothers name. But at this point if someone choses a name and then a lot of people match that person dna, then it seems that the match is set in stone, that is who your gggg is!

But, the paper trail doesnt match. These were simple people. They didn't have a lot of money. In fact at this point, Maine is barely populated and life is very rough.

I wrote the following a few months ago:

Why Phillipa Hambley (LBRH-L5H) is NOT our George Rowe’s (L1YW-GMP) wife. And why her husband, George Rowe, is not our George! (please note that all this can be proven with available records at familysearch.org)

Everyone on Ancestry has Phillipa as born in Canada:

BIRTH: 25 Apr 1757 Cornwall, 1654335, Ontario, Canada

DEATH: 1830-1840

Yet her baptism record shows her parents were Edmund Hambley and Grace Puckey and that they all resided at Menheniot, Cornwall, England.

Her christening was: 25 Apr 1757, in Menheniot,Cornwall,England

She was living in the same place as where she was baptized when she married her George.

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NFLJ-FV3 P.S. George Rowe resided in the same town as well.

Their daughters Phillipa, Jemima, Ida, Susanna, Vignette, and son, George were all baptized in England in the same hometown where Phillipa came from? And yet, they were living in the United States at this time as well??? That is a lot of traveling back and forth across the ocean for that time just to have babies and have them baptized! They had to have been very rich, right??

Phillipa Rowe: Christening date: 1784, place: Menheniot, Cornwall, England

Mary Rowe: Christening date: 1785, place: Menheniot, Cornwall, England

Grace Rowe: 1787, place: Menheniot, Cornwall, England

Jemima Rowe:Christening Date: 13 August 1789, Menheniot, Cornwall, England(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NBQB-WTY : 21 March 2020)

Vignette Rowe: 1794, place: Menheniot, Cornwall, England

Ida C. Rowe: 1796, place: Menheniot, Cornwall, England.

George Rowe: Christening Date: 27 July 1791 (after they were in Maine for the 1790 census!) Place: Menheniot, Cornwall, England!

Maria Rowe: Christening Date: 8 Oct 1794, place: Menheniot, Cornwall, England!

Two children were born after the United States 1790 Census where our George Rowe was living in New Hampshire with a supposed family of five! Was he a bigamist? Or are these two different George Rowe’s? I say they are two different men. There are NOT enough proof to show without a doubt that Phillipa and her George EVER made it out of England. If you look at the records at FamilySearch.org you will find more than a few Phillipa Hambly's/Phillipa Rowe’s. Of course, you are going to find a million George Rowe’s. We need to be more discerning because we are spreading bad information all over the place.

According to the tree at FamilySearch.org Phillipa and George had 7(seven) children. All the children were born in Cornwall, England? (12/28/2022--I just deleted child, Nathanial Rowe from the list of children, as there is no proof this couple ever had any children in MAINE!!)

How come there are currently no records in Maine for a Phillipa Rowe showing up anywhere??

Please note also, if you look at Phillipa’s George(27MF-T4J) on FamilySearch.org you will find that her George also died in Cornwall, England. It is likely that Phillipa died in Cornwall, England as well. One can probably say with much certainty that the couple never went anywhere out of their country of origin!!!

So there is the mystery. I refuse to connect that George and Philipa to my tree. So who was my George's wife? I just discovered his parents the other day: John H. Rowe & Mary Baldwin and I'd love to know more about them. Already I have several DNA matches with Mary. But are they correct? I guess time will tell.