Letters from Charles Rowell

Letters from Charles Rowell

Of my Grandfather James Rowell and wife, I know but little, they are buried at Mew York Mills about three miles from Utica, and if I can am planning to visit their graves and if the dates of their births and deaths are on the tombstones will get them in our records. I think my Grandmother's maiden name was Manning, end from what I remember Father say I think she was a very practical sort of women. I remember when I was just a boy hearing Father say that when his Father and Mother were married his Father was going to give the clergyman a ten pound note equal to about $50.00 of our money, and she would not let him. She said, "James we will need that later".

My Grandfather was a cabinetmaker and they lived in the City of London, England.

Soon after I was married I met a very old Englishman, Linsay by name a marble cutter. He said, "Is your name Rowell? "What was your Father's Name? When I told him he shook his head. "What was your Grandfather's name?" He said, "That's the man. I knew him well. We worked on Bucking-hamPalace of England a good many days together, he worked on moldings and I laid the marble floors." I think I never saw the old man after that he did not tell me how he and Grandfather worked together.

My Father was born August 12th, 1815, was a puny child and did not walk till he was three years old. When he was 17 years old his people came to America by sailing vessel. At that time there were no other and they were twenty weeks out of sight of land.

In the year 1840 Father bought 100 acres of land in Osceola and went to it from Florence seven miles by marked trees, built a cabin and began clearing his land. At that time there were about a half a dozen settlers in the town but by 1860 there were 800 inhabitants. My Grandfather Card bought 50 acres of land joining Father's built a house but he did not live very long. He dies of apoplexy. **

Father and mother were married May 22nd, 1855, and lived on their farm until the fall of 1877 when they moved to Saranac, Michigan, March 3rd, 1856 was my birthday, and February 16th, 1858 Frank was born. In March 1876, I accepted an offer of Henry J. Hills of Saranac whose wife was mother's youngest sister to work for them a year. July 5th. , 1876 Brother Frank came to Saranac and went to work for Hills too.

Ettie and I were engaged before I went to Michigan, so when I got through for Hills, I came back to Osceola and we were married March, 1877. In the fall of 1877 Father and Mother sold what they had here and went to Frank at Saranac.

Father died as you know at Hersey, May 1, 1885.

Sarah Rebecca (our mother) was born December 4th, 1821 and died June 29th, 1899 at our home in Osceola,

** I have added in the margin—from evidence in Sarah R. Card’s autograph album about 1852. (I do not know now what the entry was, but it was something which made me sure of the data.)

There is only one of our family living older than I and that is Miss Julia Rowell, one of Uncle Edwards daughters living in Utica.

This letter dated February 27th, 1930

ANOTHER LETTER — Not dated.

**My Grandfather James Rowell died in Osceola June 8th, 1850 and was buried beside his wife at New York Mills three miles from Utica on June l9, 1850.

My Father had three brothers and two sisters; the younger of the brothers named Frank died when about 18 and is buried near his mother in New York Mills.

My Father was the oldest of the family. Edward next younger was a machinist and lived in Utica and worked all his working days in one machine shop. He was twice married. I do not know the maiden, name of either of his wives, there were two boys all older than I. W. Newton, oldest of the sons started as a book keeper and then went into paper box business in Batavia, and became a rich man. Newton and his first wife parted, they had two daughters. One of them married a man that the last I knew he was Vice-president of a Flower milling C., at St. Louis and getting a salary of $10,000 a year. I do not know that Newton's other daughter ever married. Four or five years before his death Newton married one of his bookkeepers.

Uncle Ed's second son George was a printer by trade, went to Californiaand I think married there. The last I heard (several years ago; he was a purser on a steamship out of San Francisco.

Julia, Uncle Ed's oldest daughter was a teacher in the City Schools of Utica as long as she could teach. So far as I know she is still living. If so must be about 85 years old. How much property one had decided as to whether one was worth her notice or not.

Uncle Ed's second wife's name was Ann and there was one daughter by the second wife. She married and I think that she had two girls, but like Julia she felt in a class so much above us that I did not know much about them.

Father's other brother William spent most of his life in Osceola, his wife’s maiden name was Eunice Powell. I do not know just the date of Uncle William's marriage, but it was about the time the Civil war commenced and their first child was born while he was in the army, He was away about three years.

Their first son's name was William; he married an Osceola girl named Edith Nibbs. Her Father used to boast that his wife, Edith's mother had danced before the King and Queen of England. Will and Edith had no children and both are dead.

Uncle Will’s second son Eliot Rowell lives in OsceolaVillage. His

wife's name was Susie Swigeleson. Her people were farmers and live in Osceola. Her father was 90 years old just a few days ago. Elliott and Sue have two sons. Stanley the oldest was overseas in the World War and while was not wounded he saw severe service. Once his knapsack was shot off his back, and he is in bad condition. He married Mary Thurston five or six years ago. They live in Osceola, Village and have no children.