Rowney Family Tree

George was born around 1827 in the suburb of Saint Paul in the city of Bedford, in Bedfordshire, England.

In the 1841 census, George (aged 14) was living with his widowed mother in the village of Riseley, a few miles north of Bedford, in Bedfordshire. He was employed as an agricultural labourer, along with his three brothers.

George has not been identified in the 1851 or later census returns in England. He is presumed to have been the George ROWNEY who emigrated to South Australia on the same voyage as two known brothers, Thomas and William ROWNEY, from the nearby village of Bletsoe, in Bedfordshire. George would have been a distant cousin, and probably was well known to the ROWNEYs from Bletsoe. There are also known to have been other families from Riseley who sailed on the voyage, including Maria FLAVEL, the future wife of one of the ROWNEY boys. They emigrated from England to the Colony of South Australia late in 1844, sailing aboard the ship "Isabella Watson". George was travelling as an assisted migrant, possibly travelling with Thomas and William ROWNEY. They arrived at Port Adelaide (SA) on 3 Apr 1845. Thomas gave his age at that time as 23 years, William said he was 19 years old, and George's age was given as 17. None of the young men were then married. After their arrival, there is little evidence that George remained in contact with the other two brothers, whereas Thomas and William seem to have remained in close proximity to each other for many years afterwards.

In 1848, George married Eliza Jane CUNDEY at the schoolhouse in Kooringa (SA). He was described as 22 years of age and Eliza gave her age as 18 years. Neither of them had been married before. Their fathers were not named. Eliza possibly had a brother, Richard, living in Adelaide around that time.

George and Eliza seem to have headed away from the settled areas around Adelaide, up into the wilder areas to the north-east, in the Murray-Burra District of South Australia. They were probably mining during this time. They appear to have had a child, Anna, who was born in 1849. Her birth was not registered and her place of birth cannot be determined. She died late in 1850, at 14 months old. Her parents were not named in the register, nor was any precise location of her death provided. Her association with George and Eliza should therefore be regarded with caution. It is supported however by the birth of a second child, also named Anna, in 1851, whose birth was also unrecorded. She lived for only a couple of weeks, and her death was registered in May 1851. Once again, no precise location was identified within the Murray-Burra District for the event. However, the informant was named on this occasion, as George ROWNEY, who was assumed to have been her father. The similarities between the two babies named Anna ROWNEY, in time and proximity, strongly suggest that they were born to the same parents.

It is understood that George and Eliza's next child, who was named Dianna, was born near Bendigo (Vic) sometime around 1853. So it would appear that George and Eliza had made their way to Victoria by that time. Perhaps they came to Victoria to seek their fortune on the goldfields, which were then opening up during the great gold rush. Their second daughter, Louisa's, place of birth is also unrecorded, so perhaps we can speculate that she too may have been born on the goldfields in Victoria. She is thought to have been born around 1854. The presence of George and Eliza's family in Victoria has not been proven conclusively, despite the rumour of Dianna's birth. It seems very likely that George and Eliza were working on diggings during this period, but exactly where they might have been is uncertain. The index of outward bound passengers from Victorian ports 1852-1856 contains a number of references to a George ROWNEY (aged 28) sailing from Victoria to Adelaide throughout that period (once each year). His wife appears to have accompanied him on at least one occasion. It would be surprising if this were not George and Eliza, since the ROWNEY name is very uncommon, the age matches well, and no other plausible person of that name has been identified.

In August 1856, Eliza gave birth to their only son, Richard, in Norwood (SA), near Adelaide (SA). It would appear that George and Eliza must have returned with their family to settle back in South Australia sometime around 1856. Their last known child, Lucinda, was also born in Norwood in 1858.

George must have died sometime before 1869, because his wife, Eliza Jane, was remarried at that time. No record of George's death has been identified. There was a George Moore ROONEY who died in Norwood in 1860, however this cannot be confirmed as this George. No age was given, and his marital status was either not recorded or unknown. He does not appear to have been otherwise identified as a child. His father was named as George ROONEY.

In 1869, Eliza Jane married Michael SULLIVAN at St Luke's Church, in Adelaide. She was described as a 37 year old widow, and Michael was 32 years old and a batchelor. Eliza's father was named as Richard at that time.

George and Eliza Jane's daughter Dianna was married to a widower with chidren, named Lycurgus UNDERDOWN, at Mount Remarkable (SA), at the north end of the Spencer Gulf, in 1872.

Louisa was married to Frank MARSHALL in North Adelaide (SA) in 1873. She married several times over the following decade and appears to have remained in Adelaide for many years before moving to Cleve (SA) on the Eyre Peninsula.

Richard married Mary UNDERDOWN at Beltana (SA), in the North Flinder's Ranges, in 1881. Mary was a step-daughter of Richard's sister Dianna.

Lucinda was married to Arthur BURTON in Port Germein (SA), near the north end of the Spencer Gulf, in 1883. They were married at Arthur's father's home.

Michael SULLIVAN seems to have died at North Adelaide in 1884. He was 50 years old and was living in North Adelaide prior to his death.

Eliza Jane died in an Adelaide hospital in 1892 at the age of 60. She was described as a widow and a resident of Norwood at that time.