Will County ILGenWeb Biographies..... 
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File contributed for use by:
Dori Leekly & Margie Glenn

Author: History of Will County, Illinois; Chicago: Wm LeBaron Jr & Co, 186 Dearborn Street, 1878.

Hiram ROWLEY was one of the earliest settlers of Will Co.; he arrived in the year 1833; we are 
indebted to his son, John K. ROWLEY, of Chicago, the historian of the ROWLEY family in the 
United States, for the following extract from the proofsheets, pertaining to the lineage of 
Mr. ROWLEY; he says, "After years of research, my conclusions are that the ROWLEYs are all 
related; that Moses ROWLEY, who emigrated from South Wales in the year 1700, was the original 
ROWLEY in this country; he married at Cape Cod, Mass., and settled in East Haddam, Conn. 
Joseph ROWLEY, the grandfather of Hiram, resided in Richmond, Mass., where he enlisted Oct. 
1, 1775, in the Revolutionary war; was in Col. SIMON's regiment; marched to Lake George, 
thence by boats to Ticonderoga, N. Y., where trace is lost of his exploits. In 1776, he 
served under Col. FORD, hunting Tories; in 1777, was in the same service under Col. ASHLEY. 
During 1778, 1779 and 1780, frequently volunteered to go out in scouting parties after 
Tories and Indians. He was a brave soldier, and would have served longer had it not been 
for an accidental fall, which rendered him unfit for hard service. He was born in Colchester, 
Conn., in 1752, and died at Victor, N. Y. Dec 23, 1835. Col. Aaron ROWLEY, of Revolutionary 
fame, was a brother of his." Capt. Jireh ROWLEY, the father of Hiram, was twice married. 
The second time to the mother of Charles M. and George M. GRAY, well-known citizens of this 
county, as well as the county of Cook, in fact, throughout our whole country. The Captain 
in business, was the Vanderbilt of his time, and distinguished himself as a true citizen 
and brave defender of his country in the war of 1812. More of his life will be found elsewhere 
in this history. Hiram ROWLEY was born Nov. 16, 1813, and was one of the family of eight 
children who grew to maturity by the first wife, consisting of one daughter and seven sons, 
all of whom are now living but three, Jireh ROWLEY, Jr., died Aug. 6, 1875. It is a singular 
coincidence, that he was named after the father of so large a family, and filled a similarly 
prominent place in the estimation of the public in Western New York, where he always lived. 
Hiram had none of the advantage in early life for cultivation children now have. His mother 
died when he was quite young, and to use his own language, "he came up instead of being 
brought up." The spirit of adventure seized him at the age of 20 years, and he left his 
home in Victor, Ontario Co., N. Y., and all the hallowed associations of his youthful days 
for the uninhabited West. The journey by boat and stage took three weeks. He settled on a 
tract of 376 acres of land at Beebe's Grove, three miles east of Crete, where he commenced 
the struggle for a livelihood on his own account. Farming in those days meant hard labor 
without any of the luxuries of life, and as an evidence, one year in particular, Mr. ROWLEY 
transported oats by ox-teams to Chicago, a distance of thirty miles, and sold them for 10 
cents per bushel, and other cereals at a proportional rate; but notwithstanding all 
discouragements, he persevered and finally built on his place a comfortable log house, 
and married Cynthia KILE, in 1837, who, like himself, had come with her family from an 
adjoining county in the Empire State. H. N. Marsh, Esq., of Joliet, married Miss Mary 
KILE, a sister of Mrs. ROWLEY, for his first wife. Aunt Cynthia, so called, on account 
of her eagerness to be doing Christian acts for everybody and everywhere, proved a 
helpmeet indeed, and the young couple prospered in a worldly point of view. A few years 
later, they sold their farm and moved to Yankee Settlement, now Homer Twp., and settled 
permanently upon the east half of his father's homestead, about one mile west of Hadley. 
Here is where the old settlers locate them, and where a thousand memories cluster, dear 
to their hearts, because the scenes enacted there were at a period in their lives when 
they had become matured and best calculated to enter into the arena of life in earnest. 
They added farm to farm, and were honorably prosperous. The result of their marriage has 
been three sons and one daughter. The eldest son became quite well known as a teacher in 
this county before he took up his abode in Chicago, where he has for many years been 
prominently identified in the banking and real estate business. The second son Andrew W. 
also became known as a music teacher. His youngest son, Asa B., and charming daughter, 
Sarah E., the Benjamin of the flock, also became proficient in music before the family 
moved to Lockport, and afterward to Chicago, where they all now reside. Mr. ROWLEY was 
too far advanced in life to imitate his forefathers in the late rebellion, but the Union 
army had his hearty sympathy and his sons, although they did not enlist, aided with their 
means the families of those who did enter the service. In politics, he has been an 
unswerving Republican since the organization of the party. The success of the Roman 
Catholic Church in this country has given him much uneasiness. He has always been a 
warm advocate of free schools and of having the Bible read in them. Personally, Mr. 
ROWLEY is of a sympathetic nature, and clings with great tenacity to the beliefs he 
has once espoused. His house was a home for itinerant Methodist preachers, and he has 
for forty years been a zealous member of that denomination. He is hale, hearty and 
temperate, and has the promise of many years of life. His sons are all married and 
settled in life, and he has a competence even in these depressing times, and an 
abiding faith in the future that it will be well with him.