Lena's 100th Birthday

HAPPY 100th Birthday, LENA

Lena and her new boy friend Roscoe at our evening at the Flying W Ranch in Colorado Springs July 22, 2011

Lena Alma Rowlison was born August 24, 1912 in Logan Township, Sheridan County, Kansas. All of the Rowlison and Walton (and I'm sure Bryan) families wish her the best of birthdays. We all wish we could be at the birthday party on Sunday the 26th.

Our family tree is noted for the longevity of many members with a good number of "nonagenarians."  As far as I know, and I welcome corrections, Lena is the third to reach the centenarian milestone.

Pearl Goesch (Winnie Pearl Rowlison) (11 Aug 1879 - 1 Nov 1982) was the daughter of Merritt (or Merit, or Uncle Met) Walton and Zenah Ann Strait. Many of us attended Pearl's 100th birthday party in Edgar in 1979. Pearl was a niece of Rhoda (Walton) Rowlison and was first cousin of Lena's father.

Hazel Blanche (Rowlison) Nelson (15 Aug 1901 - 19 Dec 2004) was the daughter of George Abraham Rowlison and Clara Ethel Clements and was Lena's first cousin. I just happened to be visiting Nebraska the week of Hazel's 100th birthday and had the good fortune of spending an hour or so with her in the home in Geneva.

Lena is the last of her generation, my mother's generation within the James and Rhoda Rowlison family and as far as I know, the last of that generation in the Isaiah Walton and Eliza Jane Hall family as well.

Lena's father was Gustavus Adolphus (Uncle Dolph) Rowlison (1866 - 1919), the first child of James and Rhoda Rowlison born in Indiana before they began their extended migration to Missouri, Iowa, multiple Nebraska farms and finally to Hoxie, Kansas. Dolph followed his parents through the complete trek to Kansas where many of his descendants live today.

Her mother was Madge Bryan (1880 - 1959) whose family I have not (yet) researched.

Lena was the sixth of eight children born to the Bryans.

As to Lena's health, her grand niece and frequent visitor Linda reports that Lena continues to do well. Lena has weakening vision but otherwise is in good health. I can attest, based on visits at reunions in 2007, 2009 and 2011 that Lena holds up her end of the conversation very well.

If you'd like to join us in wishing Lena a happy 100th birthday by sending a card, please email me at jjhnsn@windstream.net and I will send you her mailing address.

Happy Birthday, Lena

2013 Rowlison Reunion preliminary information

Our next reunion will be in Hastings, Nebraska probably in late July, 2013 - exact date not set yet.

Nebraska was the overwhelming choice of the group in Colorado Springs in 2011. James & Rhoda lived on four farms in the Edgar area during their migration from Indiana to Hoxie, Kansas. Clay County, Nebraska and surrounding area was the center of the Rowlison and Walton families and remains so to a great extent today.

Rhoda (Walton) Rowlison is buried in the Ong, Nebraska cemetery. Her father, Isaiah Walton and one of her brothers are buried in the Marshall Union Cemetery north of Edgar. Maggie Alice (Rowlison) Cassell and Martha Anna (Annie) (Rowlison) Cassell, daughters of James & Rhoda are buried side-by-side along with their Cassell brother husbands in the Edgar Cemetery.

I have located three of the four sites of the farms where they lived in the Edgar area. Kids numbers 8, 9, and 10, James, Roy and Mabel were all born on those Edgar area farms.

The reunion will be held in Hastings with a day trip into Clay County to visit those sites of family interest. We will post details as soon as we settle on them.