Looking for info. on Rowe Family, PA

Question

Hi,

My grandfather was Joseph William Rowe, born 1896, died 1958 Reading, PA, Father Henry R. Rowe. Great, great uncle William G. Rowe was mayor of Reading, PA from 1881-1885.

Any help is appreciated - I'm trying to find out what part of Ireland my family is from.

Thanks!

Karen Zimmerman

Comments

Thanks for your help - I know that at some point the Rowes came from Ireland - I appreciate the help!   My great grandfather was married to Sarah Leyenberger. His daughter Kate was married to Mr. Kocher. This is all per Historical and Biographical Annals of Berks County, Pennsylvania: Embracing a Concise History of the County and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families, available on Google Books.

Answer 1

I searched at familysearch.org and I found several records for your grandfather. Here are two that might be particularly helpful to get you started on the trip farther back:

Your grandfather's World War I draft registration:

"United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-26637-11573-49?cc=1968530 : 14 May 2014), Pennsylvania > Reading City no 3; A-Z > image 4411 of 5914; citing NARA microfilm publication M1509 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

Notice that it says his father was Henry L. Rowe.

The 1910 Census record lists many siblings. It says that Henry L. Rowe was born in Pennsylvania and Henry's parents were born in New Jersey. Based on his age, Henry was probably born in about 1869. You could search for Henry L. Rowe on the same website to find census records from 1870 and 1880 that list him in his parents' household.

"United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-23075-16497-56?cc=1727033 : 11 November 2015), Pennsylvania > Berks > Reading Ward 13 > ED 89 > image 27 of 46; citing NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

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Comments

Thanks very much. Those are the only two documents I DO have. I am hoping to find out where in Ireland my family came from... I will look up more info. on Henry.  Unfortunately, that side of my family is not close and all the elders are deceased. My mother is alive, but has Alzheimer's.

Again, thanks for your help. I'm hoping to find some of my family still in Ireland.

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You may have a long ancestral trail to get back to Ireland -- and it's not obvious that's where the Rowe family came from. The 1870 and 1880 census records show that Henry's parents were Joseph Z. Rowe and Sarah (to me, the middle initial Z looks more German than Irish, but I may be wrong), and their parents were also born in the United States.

1870 Census:

"United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-12041-8352-65?cc=1438024 : 22 May 2014), Pennsylvania > Berks > Reading, ward 6 > image 10 of 70; citing NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

1880 Census:

"United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-25105-82055-67?cc=1417683 : 24 December 2015), Pennsylvania > Berks > Reading > ED 50 > image 9 of 45; citing NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

Henry's wife was Kate Kocher. They married in 1889 in a Reformed (Protestant) ceremony:

"Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-12059-66799-56?cc=1589502 : 24 June 2016), 004439011 > image 339 of 614; county courthouses, Pennsylvania.

In addition to researching your own direct ancestors, I suggest that you see what you can find about their siblings. You may find some documentation for a sibling that gives you some good information -- or even track down some living relatives who can tell you some family lore your mother can no longer share.

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And Kate Kocher's parents were Francis and Sarah:

"Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-21130-57156-20?cc=1589502 : 24 June 2016), 004032226 > image 704 of 756; county courthouses, Pennsylvania.

I also have roots in Reading and Berks County, so it's interesting to see what records I find for your family. I've not previously seen such good marriage records for this area -- maybe I need to look again for my own family, as it's possible that new record sets have been digitized.