Rowney Family Tree

Lycurgus, known as Ly, arrived in South Australia as a young child with his parents in 1838 aboard the vessel "Lloyds".

Unlike his brother, John Squire, Lycurgus seems to have been a restless young man with many different occupations at many different locations.

The first record for him in SA is the registration of the birth of a daughter, Amelia, in September 1855; not much over a year after the first-born of his brother John and his sister, Maria. At the time of Amelia's birth in 1855, Lycurgus would have been 21. The mother of Amelia was Jane O'NEIL, and at that time, Lycurgus was farming at Bowden in SA.

SA certificates for births, deaths and marriages give the absolute minimum of information, but luckily for us, Lucurgus and Jane moved to Kilmore in Victoria where, on 4 June 1857, a son, Emanuel, was born. On Emanuel's birth certificate, it states that Lycurgus, a labourer, age given as 22, and Jane, also 22, born near Belfast, Ireland, were married in 1855 in Adelaide and that their family already consisted of a boy and a girl, the girl being Amelia. However, the SA records don't list either a marriage or the birth of a son. But, on checking the Victorian marriages, an entry is found for Lycurgus UNDERDOWN, bachelor, and Jane O'NEIL, spinster, of 23 years, marrying at Kilmore on August 9 1858, more than a year after the birth of their third child, Emanuel. There is still the mystery as to who was the first son of Lycurgus and Jane.

It is interesting to speculate why Lycurgus and Jane did not marry earlier. Was Lycurgus considered too young, and parental consent with-held? Was the Irish servant girl, an illiterate who could not write her name, considered an unsuitable match? Whatever the reason, they were now a legitimate family, and as such, moved back to Gawler Plains, SA, where Lycurgus, (once again a farmer), and Jane added a new baby, Mary Squire, to their family in 1860.

At some stage, this family moved from the Gawler area to Enfield, Lycurgus continuing to farm. It was at Enfield that tragedy struck, with little Emanuel, not quite 6 years old, drowning in February 1863. An inquest was held into his death culminating in a 19 page report .

After Enfield, Lycurgus became the publican of the Hindmarsh Hotel in Hindmarsh Square in Adelaide. It was there that the last child to Lycurgus and Jane was born, Alice Blair, who died in infancy.

Once again the family moved, first to Port Adelaide where Lycurgus was a fruiterer, and by 1870, they were living at further north at Melrose where Lycurgus was the publican of the Royal Exchange Hotel.

Not long after moving to Melrose, a further tragedy occurred, with the sudden and unexpected death of Jane, the wife of Lycurgus. in November 1871. Her death was also the subject of an inquest. Copies of the Coroner's report are held by P. ALLAN and M. CADZOW. On her death certificate the cause of death is given as heart disease. She was 37 years old. At the time of Jane's death, daughters Amelia and Mary Squire would have been 16 and 11 respectively. However, they were not motherless for long, for less than a year later, in August 1872, Lycurgus re-married, his new bride being Diana Spring ROWNEY. The marriage took place at Lycurgus' private residence at Mt. Remarkable near Melrose. Lycurgus was 38 and Diana only 20. On the marriage certificate, Diana gives her father's name as George, and many years later, on her death certificate, her place of birth is given as Bendigo, Victoria. So far, no birth record has been found.

In July 1881, nine years after the union of Lycurgus and Diana, another interesting marriage took place. Mary Squire UNDERDOWN, the 21 years old daughter of Lycurgus and his first wife, Jane O'NEIL, married Richard Henry ROWNEY, 24 years, at Beltana. This marriage was witnessed by Amelia UNDERDOWN, Mary Squire UNDERDOWN's sister. Richard's father is noted as George Henry ROWNEY. In all probability, Richard was the younger brother of Diana Spring which would make Diana both sister-in-law and stepmother-in-law to Mary Squire UNDERDOWN!

Lycurgus and Diana promptly set about creating their own family. Once more, back in Adelaide, Lycurgus again a public house keeper, but this time, in Childers Street, Adelaide. Here, the first child of the marriage to Diana was born. This was Lycurgus Richard Underdown, born on 27 April 1873. This birth was followed very quickly by the second, namely Maude Maria UNDERDOWN in November 1874.

By 1875 they had moved again, now to Port Lincoln, where Lycurgus's occupation is given as "naturalist". An advertisement which appeared in the SA Gazette & Colonial Register in 1838 is headed up: "To Naturalists, etc. The undersigned are interested to purchase specimens of the NATURAL HISTORY & NATURAL PRODUCTIONS of SA, to be accompanied, if possible, with written descriptions".

The next child of Lycurgus and Diana was George Henry Rowney UNDERDOWN in 1876, his name certainly lending credence to the assumption that Diana Spring and Richard Henry ROWNEY were brother and sister. (But what a mouthful for poor George!). In 1879, along came Arthur Emanuel UNDERDOWN, followed by Angola Alice UNDERDOWN in 1882 and finally, Ethel Gertrude UNDERDOWN in 1884.

In Boothby's Commercial & Trade Directory for 1882-1883, Lycurgus is listed as being a boarding house keeper at Blackfellow's Creek. Not surprisingly, this place does not appear on modern maps, but its position in the 1883 "Lines of Railways in SA" map puts Blackfellow's Creek at approximately half way between Parachilna and Beltana.

The 1880s was a busy time, with many of the offspring of John Squire, Maria Angola and Lycurgus marrying, followed quickly by the 2nd generation of Australian-born UNDERDOWN descendants. Around this time, half-sisters Amelia UNDERDOWN and Maude Maria UNDERDOWN, the eldest daughters of each of Lycurgus' marriages, also married. Amelia to Charles FLEMING and Maude Maria to James BATES. Amelia's sister Mary Squire ROWNEY (nee UNDERDOWN) had three sons to Richard Henry ROWNEY before his early death. She re-married to Charles WATSON, and with her three boys, lived at Tatiara near Bordertown, SA.

Lycurgus, who had arrived as a four year old in 1838, died aged 59 at Oodnadatta, of apoplexy in 1893. Lycurgus and Diana's married life was much involved with the building of the railway line north from Port Augusta. They followed the workers as the line proceeded, providing essential supplies. On the completion of the line, they settled at Oodnadatta, being pioneers in this area.

Diana continued to live on at Oodnadatta until 1911 when she moved back to Adelaide to live at Prospect which is where she died in May 1915 aged 62. She had been a widow for 22 years. (The UNDERDOWNs must have kept in touch to some extent, as Prospect seems to have been a stamping ground for quite a few).

Diana's obituary in the "Observer" (headed up, wouldn't you know, Mrs. D.S. UNDERWOOD) lists her six surviving children: Lycurgus Richard, married to Daisy Fauthrope MALONEY and living at Wintinna Station; George Henry Rowney UNDERDOWN and Arthur Emanuel UNDERDOWN married to sisters Matilde RATKE and Annie Sophie RATKE, all at Hamilton Station, Oodnadatta; Mrs. James BATES (Maude Maria UNDERDOWN) of Hilton; Mrs. Arthur Llewellyn GROCOTT (Angola Alice UNDERDOWN) of Gawler River; Mrs. Frank Stewart JONES (Ethel Gertrude UNDERDOWN) of Oodnadatta.

(-- Maxine CADZOW & Petre ALLAN --)