My maternal grandmother always had this story about her father — he was an indentured servant who jumped ship on his way to America and went to Canada instead. He later entered the US and worked as a farmhand in Iowa for my great-grandmother’s family. That last part is true, or else I wouldn’t be here, but sometimes the specifics of his ocean journey changed. I wrote elsewhere on how we unraveled his tale - and below is what we now know about his origins as well as a list of his children.
Thomas Henry Rownes was born February 12, likely in 1886, in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, to George Rownes and Ruth (Ricketts) Rownes. His obituary claims his birth year as 1881, and some other documentation with estimated ages suggest 1888, but the census records and self-reports in the U.S. indicate 1886 is closer to the truth. No English birth or christening record has been found.
On government records, Thomas claimed to have entered the country in 1907 and was naturalized some time after 1920. He sometimes gave his birthplace as Bradford, England, on the census and for draft registration. He was consistent in naming his parents, however, which allows the English censuses to tell the truth about his origins.
He married (1st) Ruth Irene Hackett March 2, 1914, in Onawa, Iowa. They had five daughters:
1. Elsie Mabel born January 25, 1915, in Onawa, Iowa. She married (1st) Edward Maertz in Jackson, Florida, in 1936 and (2nd) Wilmer Way (1908-1988) in Walton, Florida, in 1945. She died July 21, 2005, and is buried as “Elsie Way” in Norris Memorial Gardens, Andersonville, Tennessee.
2. Kathryn Ruth born February 8, 1917, in Onawa, Iowa. She married Joseph Vasquez (1918-2010) in New York City in 1946. She died June 1983 and is buried as “Kathryn Vasquez” in Saint Patrick’s Cemetery, Huntington, New York.
3. Dorothy Louise born March 16, 1918, in Onawa, Iowa. Dorothy married (1st) William Dale Selby (1912-1978) in Union, South Dakota, in 1932 (the marriage license incorrectly lists her birth year as 1914) and (2nd) Milo Selby (1915-2003) in Mason, Washington, in 1981. She died October 26, 1997, and is buried as “Dorothy Louise Selby” in Mountain View Cemetery, Walla Walla, Washington.
4. Alice Mae born February 20, 1919, in DeFuniak Springs, Florida. Alice gave birth to a daughter in Iowa in 1936 before relocating to New York, where she had another daughter and married Edward Maertz in 1940. Alice and Edward had three more daughters in New York City before relocating to Kosciusko Co., Indiana, in 1985. She died April 19, 2005, and is buried next to Edward as Alice Maertz in Oakwood Cemetery, Warsaw, Indiana.
5. Grace Rebecca born October 17, 1920, in DeFuniak Springs, Florida. She married (1st) Gerold E. Willson (1917-1991) in Onawa, Iowa, in 1939 and (2nd) Angello Miscione (1903-1974) in New York City in 1949. She died August 26, 2003 and is buried as “Grace Miscione” in Rose Hills Memorial Park, Putnam Valley, New York.
The Iowa State Census shows Ruth and her daughters already living with her parents in her brother Shirley Hackett’s home in Ashton, Iowa, by 1925. Thomas had apparently already left the family and moved to Washington State, as according to U.S. to Canada Border Crossing records, he was in Manitoba in 1924.
Thomas married (2nd) Anna M (Hayes) White (1889-1967) June 26, 1928, in Spokane, Washington. They had one daughter, Barbara Jean (1930-1967). As of the 1940 U.S. Census he was living alone and self-reportedly divorced. His business was Clover Dale Honey, and he lived out his life in Walla Walla, Washington, where he was state bee inspector for 15 years. He died October 11, 1956, and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Walla Walla, Washington.
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