Rowney Family Tree

Edie seems to have been born around 1823. Her place of birth was recorded as Sharnbrook, in Bedfordshire, England, on her marriage certificate, but she may have actually been born at the nearby village of Bletsoe, in Bedfordshire, where her family were living around that time. She was christened in the parish church at Bletsoe in 1823. Her family were later recorded living in the rural district of Whitwick Green, a short distance from Bletsoe, although it is not clear whether they had been there throughout.

In the 1841 census, Edie (aged 15+) was recorded as a servant working in the village of Thurleigh, in Bedfordshire, just a few miles from her family's home. Edie was also the witness at her brother Edward ROWNEY's wedding in Bletsoe later that same year.

Edie married Thomas CLAYTON at Sharnbrook in 1847. She was around 23 years old at that time. Thomas was around 30 years of age and was an agricultural labourer from Thurleigh. His surname is sometimes given as CLAYDON or CLEATON. He was a widower at the time he married Edie. His former wife was Mary WHITTINGTON who he married in 1837. He and Mary had two known children, sons Jesse (b.1840) and John (b.1844). Mary CLAYTON died in 1844 leaving Thomas to raise his two young sons alone. When Thomas and Edie married, his sons Jesse and John would probably have been around 7 and 3 years of age, respectively.

Edie and Thomas had their first child together in 1848, when their son William was born. When Edie soon became pregnant again, they appear to have decided to leave England and emigrate to Australia. Three of Edie's brothers and a sister had previously emigrated and settled in the Colony of South Australia, and Edie and Thomas seem to have planned to join them there.

The CLAYTON family sailed from England aboard the "Ascendant", which departed London on 18 Aug 1849 under the command of Captain R. SPENCER, sailing via Plymouth on its journey. Their family at that time probably consisted of; Thomas (aged 32) and Edith (aged 26), and their three children, Jesse (aged 9), John (aged 5), and William (aged 1). Just a few days into the voyage, on 24 Aug 1849, the family's adventure took a tragic turn when their baby son William died at sea. He was one of two infants who died on the ship that day, and the entire journey must have been a difficult one, as quite a number of deaths were recorded throughout. After several months at sea, they must have been relieved to finally arrive at their destination, sailing into Port Adelaide (SA) on 21 Nov 1849.

In March 1850, just a few months after arriving in their new homeland, Edie gave birth to another son at Torrens (SA), in the Hindmarsh (SA) area near North Adelaide (SA). They again blessed their new son with the name William. Edie's brother, William ROWNEY, was also living at Bowden (SA), near Torrens around that time. Their next child, Charles, was born in 1852 in the town of Darley (SA), situated in the foothills of the North Mount Lofty Ranges, to the east of Adelaide (SA). Another of Edie's brothers, Thomas ROWNEY, had settled in that area. William ROWNEY also moved into this area around the same time, making his home at nearby Campbelltown (SA). Edie's next child, Fanny, was born a short distance away at Payneham in 1854, and the next two children of Edie and Thomas were both born in Campbelltown itself; Emery in 1856, and Ernest in 1859. Their last child, Tryphena, was also born close by, in 1860, at Athelstone (SA).

By the mid 1870's the CLAYTON family appears to have moved north to the region around Riverton (SA), near Balaklava (SA). A couple of Thomas and Edie's children settled and raised their families there, while others appear to have remained in, or returned to, the Payneham area. Thomas ROWNEY and a couple of his children also later moved into the Balaklava region to take up farming at Dalkey (SA).

Thomas CLAYTON died in 1889 at Riverton when he was around 72 years of age. He was buried in the cemetery there.

Edie appears to have returned to Adelaide some time after Thomas died. She died there in 1903 at Brompton Park (SA), near North Adelaide. She was 80 years old. She was buried in the nearby cemetery at Hindmarsh.