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Thomas Rowley
Margaret Tattersall
Thomas Rowley
Born: 11 May 1846 at Suckley, Worcester, England
Parents: William Rowley and Ann Jewell
Married: Margaret Tattersall, 3 Oct 1870 at Parowan, Iron, Utah, USA
Died: 3 Oct 1924 at Standardville, Carbon, Utah, USA
Margaret Tattersall
Born: 21 Apr 1855, Chorley, Lancaster, England
Parents: James and Mary Alice Benson Tattersall
Died: 8 Feb 1907, Sunnyside, Carbon, Utah, USA
LIFE SKETCH OF THOMAS ROWLEY
Thomas was the sixth child and youngest son of William and Ann Jewell Rowley. Born 11 May 1846, Thomas celebrated his 10th birthday aboard the ship Charles Thornton, in route to America. Because he was still a youth when they reached the Salt Lake Valley, he accompanied his mother and younger sister, Jane, to Nephi and on to Parowan when Ann Jewell married Andrew Baston.
He was to pass the remainder of his youth and much of his adult life in Parowan. Brothers Samuel and Richard lived nearby. Sister Jane would also eventually marry and remain for many years in nearby settlements.
Less is recorded about the life of Thomas than any of the other Rowley boys. Perhaps that is because he had few children (only three of whom grew to adulthood) and none of them left a history of their parents. Perhaps it is because he was a quiet, gentle man and did not seem to have a disposition for adventure, nor an interest in business. However, as Thomas grew to manhood, he learned to run the farm in Parowan and proved to be a reliable, devoted son and brother. By persistent effort throughout his live he became an accomplished gardener.
Early in his manhood, Thomas was involved briefly and directly in the Black Hawk Indian War. Though relations were sometimes strained, the counsel of President Brigham Young to feed and make peace with the Indians was generally followed and helped to avert any real violence. However, in 1865, as Thomas Rowley neared his 20th birthday, a series of events occurred involving young, hostile Indians. In their anger and ambition they bolted from the traces of leadership held by older, more moderate chiefs, and ignited a conflict that would last seven years and take hundreds of lives on both sides.
By 1866, trouble had spread south to Saint George and north to Heber. Brigham Young called for restraint on the part of the settlers. He instructed them to abandon smaller settlements and gather into larger groups, “from 150 to 500 good and efficient men to every settlement; but not less than 150 armed men” (Culmsee, Black, p.96)
By that summer, Black Hawk’s band had grown from 40 or 50 braves to more than 300 highly mobile fighters. On the other side, militia troops were placed under the command of General Daniel H. Wells of the Nauvoo Legion, in whose home Thomas' brother, John, had been placed following the handcart rescue in 1856, while John's frostbite healed.
While the number of both fighters and casualties in the Black Hawk War seem small in comparison to other conflicts recorded in American history, it is important to remember that for some who lived in these small settlements the war was all-consuming. They lived in almost constant fear for several years. Still, they were under the necessity of continuing with their daily activities.
Thomas Rowley was living in Parowan at the time. He was placed into a platoon of militia under the command of Joseph Fish (Adams, “Muster Roll.”) The platoon was directed to join with militia elements from other settlements in the southern end of the territory and march north and east to the confluence of the Green and Grand (Colorado) Rivers.
During the summer of 1867, having been badly wounded the previous year, Black Hawk surprised the entire territory when he met with Colonel Head, Indian Superintendent for the Utah Territory, on the Uinta Reservation and asked for peace. Though Indian hostilities continued into the 1870’s, Black Hawk’s involvement was ended. He realized that he was dying and asked permission to travel from town to town with a small contingent of whites and Indians and did his best to make amends. He was a prominent voice in treaty negotiations with other Utah tribes.
Perhaps members of the Rowley family were on hand in Parowan to hear the dying young chief. We do know that Thomas had remained in Parowan since the completion of the Indian expedition.
On 3 October, 1870, Thomas married Margaret Tattersall, at Parowan. Margaret was also an English immigrant and was only 15 years old at the time of their marriage. Thomas was 24. Despite her tender age, they built a happy relationship and were married for 37 years, until her death in 1907.
Margaret gave birth to six children, three of whom would die in infancy. The first, a son, was born 10 years after they were married. They were still living in Parowan. They named the baby boy Thomas William. A second son [James Alma, born 11 Apr] died [1 May] 1882.
No record is left to indicate why Thomas and Margaret decided to leave Parowan after living there for 25 years….. Perhaps he felt some freedom of mobility with only a wife and one child, Thomas William. Perhaps his brother Samuel, called to settle Bluff, persuaded him to give the new settlement a try.
Samuel and his family traveled from Parowan to San Juan County as members of the original Hole in the Rock expedition during the winter of 1879-1880. …Not withstanding the extreme price paid to establish the settlement at Bluff, it remained tenuous for many years. Life there was very hard. Apparently, they needed a small store, or at least a store keeper. So when Samuel Rowley returned to Parowan in the winter of 1882-83, he arranged for Thomas, Margaret, and their son to return with him to Bluff the following Spring [1883].
All we really know about Thomas during the two years he remained in Bluff is that he operated a small store, and that when Samuel asked to be released from his mission in September 1884, Thomas’ family also made the move. They apparently did not return to Parowan, but proceeded north, perhaps through the San Rafael desert and by way of Castle Dale to the little settlement of Huntington. Margaret must have been pregnant during the trip, because a daughter, Maggie Alice, was born in Huntington on 10 October 1884.
Though the exact sequence of events is not clear, family history states that Thomas traveled almost immediately to Nephi where he cared for the farm and mill of his older brother John, who was departing to serve a mission in England. At that late season of the year, we can assume that he and Margaret with their two children, traveled across the desert to Salina and north through Gunnison to Nephi. They probably returned by the same route the next year when John came home prematurely from his mission to help his family seek refuge from federal marshals attempting to prosecute polygamous families. Thomas was not a polygamist and could move about freely during this period while others were forced to lead very secretive lives.
Thomas and Margaret apparently lived in several houses during their years in Huntington. Finally, Thomas was able to buy a piece of ground on a hill overlooking the Huntington River north of town. Family histories and eye witness accounts testify that his farm became a show place. He was a born gardener. A niece claims that he planted all the pine trees growing in town. According to those still living who visited the farm in their youth, Thomas’ landscaping was truly artistic. He constructed little paths, bridges, and steps. One path led to the garden. In contained every vegetable known in the region. Another path led to the berry patches—strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and others. Then came the melon patch—water melons, cantaloupes, mushmelons. His fruits and vegetables were famous in Huntington. Each day during harvest he went to town in his small horse-drawn wagon filled with produce. His produce was always in demand.
Thomas and Margaret lost infant children in 1886 [Samuel], and again in 1887 [25 Aug]. Then in 1890, Margaret gave birth to a son, Edward, who would grow to manhood, surviving the rest of his family.
Thomas and Margaret moved to Sunnyside just before the turn of the century, and remained there for several years. Large coke [a product made from coal] ovens were built in Sunnyside during the 1890s. Thomas apparently went there to work about the turn of the century, though we do not know exactly what he was doing.
The new century brought unwelcome changes into Thomas’ life. In 1904, daughter Maggie Alice died shortly after her marriage to Andrew Anderson. In February 1907, Thomas lost Margaret, and just two months later, in April, Thomas William died, leaving his wife with three sons. The family now consisted only of Thomas and 17-year-old Edward. Edward would marry in 1911.
After Margaret’s passing, Thomas was very lonely. According to family histories, he was so lonely that he sent away for a mail-order bride. A woman, whose name is no longer known, eventually replied. Thomas drove to Price, Utah, where he was to meet her train. Presumably, in an attempt to make a good first impression, the lady had fancied herself with plenty of makeup, clothing, and hairstyling. According to oral traditions in the family, Thomas “took one look at her, decided she had on too much war paint, bought her a ticket and sent her back where she came from.”
After Ed married, Thomas eventually left the farm. He had great affection for his brother and his family. For awhile Thomas went to live with Edward and his wife, Agnes Allred, in the mining camps. But Thomas did not like the environment or the life-styles of the miners and did not stay long. He was a frequent visitor and part-time resident in the home of Samuel’s daughter, Hannah.
In 1922, when the school house in Huntington burned, one of Samuel’s granddaughters recalls seeing Uncle Thomas grab a couple of buckets and head off to help in the bucket brigade. The old gentleman was in his mid-70’s, but still tried to be of help wherever he could.
Children in the family would often ask to see Thomas’ hands. One was much larger than the other, always swollen from the frost injuries he sustained as a boy crossing the plains with the Willie Handcart Company.
As an old man, Thomas often sat quietly, rocking back and forth, singing to himself the traditional song, “Dear Old Girl.” He would sing, cry, and pray aloud, lost in his loneliness. He loved to hear the old favorite ballad, “When You and I were Young Maggie.” And he cried.
In the fall of 1924, Thomas returned to Standard to live with Edward and Agnes. There he passed from mortality on a freezing October night. Granddaughter Harriet, though only four years old at the time of his death recalled…
”My grandfather, Thomas Rowley, had been living with my parents and he hadn’t been too well the last few years. On the evening of October 4, 1924, a bitter, cold night, it was snowing and the wind was blowing and it was really miserable. The folks were living in a three-room rock house and Grandpa had a small cot in the kitchen where he slept. It was s o cold that we had a nice warm fire in the old fireplace-shaped heater in the living room.
Mom, Dad, and I were all sitting around the heater and Mom was washing me and brushing my hair preparing me for bed. My grandfather sat up in bed, looked at us, and Mom thought he wanted to get up, so she asked Daddy to close the door. After it was closed, we sat there through a bedtime story. Finally, I was very sleepy and wanted my drink of milk and then sleep. It must have been about 9:00 pm.
Mom opened the kitchen door, looked at Grandpa and called ‘Daddy.’ Grandpa was dead. I was too young to realize what was going on but to see my father crying and the shocked look on both of their faces, frightened me.” [Richardson, pp 2-3]
Thus had Thomas Rowley, age 78, passed peacefully from mortality in his slumber. This handcart pioneer, settler, gardener, husband and father lived and died true to the faith he embraced as a boy. Like the other members of his heroic family he passed through all the drama, the toil, and the sacrifice that established this desert kingdom. We, his p osterity, revere his name, his faith, and his deeds. We wish that we might live to earn similar rewards in the eternal future.
Thomas and Margaret Rowley are buried in the Huntington, Utah cemetery. Source:
Right-click [Mac Control-click] to open full-size image:
Thomas Rowley
Margaret Tattersall