WROE census data in 1851. On page 39, sheet 27, Family 108, residing in Cope's building next to his parents, was the family of James Wroe (age 25 and a RR labourer). His wife Mary (Porter), age 24 was noted as being born in Bradford, the local district. They had one son, Richard Wroe, (no doubt named after his Grampa, and at 10 months born about June/July 1850.  This suggests James and Mary were married on/before August/September 1849.  James, a RR labourer, probably had something to do with getting great Grampa Thomas, his younger brother, (also listed as a RR labourer) his job.

On page 40, sheet 28, as family 109 and living next door within Cope's Building, was Great, great Grampa Richard Wroe and family - which included Great Grampa Thomas Wroe (known on this side of the pond as Thomas Rowe).  Richard was 51, born in Cheetham and listed as a former card grinder.  His wife Margaret Stansfield was also 51, shown as born in Workington of Cumberland County.  Their entire family has been reported before, but the 1851 census only showed:

            Thomas Wroe   21  son   RR labourer

            Jane    Do    12  dau  

            Thomas Davies 27  son-in-law  power loom weaver  born in Wigan

            Elizabeth (Wroe) 23  dau  card room hand

            Mary Davies   2  Granddau  born Bradford

            William Do    2 mos Grandson  born Bradford

]

William Joseph Rowe, b 6 June 1853 at sea

William's parents surname had been Americanized to Rowe on arrival, but his forebears and siblings from Manchester, Lancashire County England all were Wroes. 

Thomas and Mary Ellen (Meagher) Rowe had the following family:

William Joseph, b at sea on "Josephus" 6 June 1853

Margaret, b Hancock Court, Portland 1856;d 22 Nov 1858 @ 2

Catherine Meagher, b 13 Dec 1858

Elizabeth, b Monument St, Portland 1860; d 25 Sep 1863 @ 3

Thomas Meagher, b 10 Feb 1863; d 7 May 1927

Mary, b 2 May 1865, d  (Anna M. Rowe married John E. McBrady)

Jane (Jenny), b 7 Sep 1867; d  (Married ?? Emery)

Elizabeth, b 29 Dec 1871; d    © never married

Catherine Rowe was born 25 April 1852 in Ste Basile, Quebec, Canada  and was called "Kate" by Grampa.  She often would say "Yee" instead of you in talking to someone. She grew up in Ste Basile Parish in Portneuf County, Quebec. Her Canadian-Irish ancestors were farmers there. Ste Basile Parish had a number of other Irish families, including three other Shanaghan families, whose surname was often spelled Shanaan, Shanahan, or in other phonetic variants.

Kate and Willie married 19 June 1977 in Portland, Maine.

Catherine's parents were John Shanaghan and Ellen (or perhaps Helene) Mylar  (also spelled Maylor or Mylar in several Canadian census reports). Ellen had been born in Canada, probably near Quebec, to Thomas Mylar (also spelled Miler or Miller) and Elizabeth Larkan (also spelled Larkin); both were born in Ireland. John Shanaghan was born in Ireland about to Denis Shanaghan and Ellen McCarthy, both born in Ireland.

Children in the William Joseph and Catherine Ellen Rowe family; a number never reached maturity.

Nellie Mary Rowe, born 2 Sep 1878; died 26 Nov 1879 @ 1

Mary Ellen Rowe, born 20 Nov 1879; died 21 Aug 1885 @ 6

William Thomas Rowe, MD, born 15 Sep 1881; died 5 May 1955

John Henry Rowe, born 29 July 1883; died 12 Apr 1956

Edward Shannon Rowe, born 8 Aug 1885; died 4 Apr 1886 @ 1

Edwin Leonard Rowe, born 20 Jan 1887; died 9 Aug 1941 @ 54

Francis Stephen, born 26 Dec 1888; died 11 Apr 1921 @ 33

Joseph William Rowe, born 2 Apr 1891; died 1969

Daniel Mannix Rowe, MD, born 14 Jun 1893; died 2 Sep 1965

Alice Josephine Rowe, born 3 Mar 1896; died 28 Aug 1981

Thomas Lipton Rowe, born 23 Oct 1899; died 8 Jul 1915 @ 15

Visit Calvary Cemetery, Church Circle plot #69 to find the gravesite of our great grandparents, Thomas Wroe/Rowe and his wife Mary Ellen Meagher Rowe, our Rowe Grandparents, and other family.

The Calvary Cemetery reply was somewhat startling, as the John Shannon I thought was Gramma Rowe's brother was in fact her father, my great grandfather.  John Shannon (ne Shanaghan) died 22 November 1901 at 93 years of age.  The cemetery gave his address as: Waterville Street, close to where the Rowes lived in Portland at the turn of the century.  The cemetery confirmed those buried in/near Church Circle plot #69 are:

Florence McLewin, died 25 Dec 1914 at 19 years.

Ellen McCormack, died 29 October 1882 at 21 years.

John McCormack, died 3 May 1870 at 6 years.

Mary Gibbons, died 15 May 1875 at 71 years.

I believe these were all Shanaghan/Rowe family friends, perhaps some from Ste Basile in Quebec.

Rowe homes in Portland to remember, visit  –

45 Waterville Street from ??  to 1909 - Thomas Lipton Rowe born there; Grampa William Rowe died there in 1909; Great Grampa John Shannon (ne Shanaghan) died there in 1901);

40 Monument Street, where Thomas and Mary Ellen lived

36 Vespers Street (where Uncle Edwin Leonard Rowe later lived); it had a grocery store downstairs.

54 Adams Street, where Great Grampa Thomas Rowe lived at his death in 1892 and Great Gramma Mary Ellen died in 1902.

All these houses are within several blocks on Munjoy Hill near Portland's Eastern Promenade (overlooking Casco Bay and Chebeague Island).