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At the time of the first white settlement of the region of Cherokee Indian lands which became the
basis for the borders of Paulding, Polk, and Haralson Counties, a hardened family of pioneers led by
elderly patriarch and Revolutionary War veteran, Jesse Rowell, cleared ground in this new frontier of
rough lands and suspected gold country. In 1827 Cherokee and Creek farms and villages dotted the
landscape which the State of Georgia allotted away in lotteries after treaties with the Indians. The
Rowell family were fortunate drawers in these lotteries, and traveled to the newly surveyed lands
of Northwest Georgia to begin life anew.

Jesse Rowell was born in Virginia in 1748. He migrated southward into North Carolina, where he
served in the 1st North Carolina regiment of the Continental Army, commanded by Colonel Thomas Clarke,
from October 1776 until 1780. His unit was commanded by Captain Allen and Captain Dixon. The 1st North
Carolina was mustered in several fields of action, including the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown in
Pennsylvania and in the watermark battle of Monmouth, New Jersey. He was present at the 1777-78 winter
quarters at Valley Forge as well. Jesse Rowell was at the Siege of Charleston in the winter of 1779-1780,
where he was taken prisoner by the British. He was in their custody as a Prisoner of War until the
surrender of the British at Yorktown. For his services Jesse Rowell received a pension and a
headright of land in Elbert County, Georgia in 1797 and in Franklin County, Georgia in 1804.

By 1785, Jesse Rowell had migrated to lands in the Savannah River valley of Georgia. He is shown in Deed
Books in Elbert and Franklin counties dating from 1785 to 1830, and drew his first military pension on
3 January 1795. In March 1824 Jesse Rowell's pension lists his age as 76 with a wife, Marian, aged 50, and
three children, Anne, 17, Joshua Franklin, 15, and Civility, age 12. It is not certain if Jesse Rowell
had a first wife, and whether from that union William Rowell, his son, was born in 1788. William Rowell may
have had other siblings, but these are the only known children of Jesse Rowell.

While in Franklin County, William Rowell volunteered at Carnesville with Benjamin Cleveland's Company in
the Georgia Militia during the War of 1812. While in the service in South Carolina he met and married Anna
Fitzgerald, born in 1796 the daughter of Ambrose and Sarah Brown Fitzgerald, in October 1813. During the
war he served at Fort Hawkins, which would become the site of Macon, Georgia, years later. Ft. Hawkins was
originally an indian trading post, but was later set up to defend Georgia settlements from more hostile
Indians, who were supporting the British effort against the U.S.

In the 1827 Georgia Land Lottery, Jesse Rowell was awarded land in the sixth district and 1st section of
Carroll County. In the 1832 Gold Lottery of Georgia, Jesse Rowell was awarded land in the Cherokee Nation
which was to become Paulding, later Polk, and then in 1856, Haralson County.

Rowell and his family traveled to Carroll County sometime between 1830 and 1832. Jesse Rowell
appointed his son William attorney to "take lawful means to obtain bounty land" on 25 April 1834. the
Cherokee Cession followed in 1835. At this time, William Rowell's son, Dudley, served with John
Witcher's Company, Mounted Volunteers of Paulding County, who gathered Cherokees at Fort Cedar Town in
1838 as a means of insuring the validity of the Treaty of New Echota. The Cherokees were sent on the
"Trail of Tears." By 1835 the Rowell's had settled on a hill above the Tallapoosa River at the convergence
of the Cedar Town and Van Wert roads, near the location of today's Tallapoosa East Baptist Church.

It has not been determined if Jesse Rowell provided a will upon his death. He is shown in the 1850 census
of Paulding County as a "Revolutionary Soldier, now dead, age 112, living immediately adjacent to William
Rowell and Joshua Rowell". This remarkable note of longevity is exaggerated; Jesse Rowell would have
been 102 upon his death.

William and Anna Rowell lived near their children up until the death of William Rowell on March 17th,
1856. In his will he gave his son Dudley the majority of his land and personal property, having given his
other children generous offerings in earlier years. Anna Rowell received a Widow's pension for William's
1812 service until her death on November 24, 1877.

William and Anna's children enjoyed much larger families, yet tragically the War Between the States
took its toll on his descendants. Johnson Rowell, b. March 17, 1814, married the daughter of Alexander
Goggans, Rebecca, on July 24, 1835. They were members of Bethany Church near Tallapoosa and had 13
children. Johnson, his sons A.D., George C., and Alexander all served the Confederacy in the Civil
War. Only Alexander survived. Johnson fought at Antietam and died in Augusta County, Virginia,
November 20, 1862 and was buried there as well. Rebecca Goggans is buried at Bethany. His grandson,
Alec Rowell, son of William Dickson Rowell, served as sheriff of Cleburne County, Alabama in the 1900's.
Joshua Rowell, b. January 17, 1816, married Mary Francis Tollison February 10, 1840. They had 11
children, one of whom, Jesse M., died at the Siege of Vicksburg during in the Civil War. Joshua died in
June, 1894. Julitha Rowell, b. December 18, 1820, married George Goggans May 30, 1853,had four
children, and Elizabeth Ann Rowell, b. February 03, 1835, married William Wimpee and had two children.
Sarah Aida Rowell was born February 01, 1826 and likely died young. William Jesse Rowell was born
February 07, 1830 and married Mary Brown July 10, 1846 in Carroll County. They had four children.

Dudley Rowell, born January 12, 1818, in Franklin County, Georgia, and died November 7, 1877 in
Haralson County, Georgia. Dudley, as well as serving in the Cherokee Indian War, served as a member of
Haralson County's first Grand Jury, as an advisor on road projects, was an employer of Freedmen and served
in the Haralson County Militia during the Civil War. He was named after his uncle, Dudley Fitzgerald, his
mother's brother. He married Ananias Saffiha Marthe Metilda Francias Anthony (better known as Martha
Matilda Anthony) on April 07, 1850 in Paulding County, Georgia, daughter of Lewis and Patience
Anthony. Dudley and Matilda had nine children. Matilda became a member of Tallapoosa East Baptist
Church on August 22, 1887. She was born July 26, 1831 and died after the turn of the centruy, in about
1904.

William Joseph Rowell was one of nine children of Dudley Rowell. Dudley Rowell's children were reared
on the same land farmed by his father and grandfather, and he and Martha are buried there as
well. The log cabin birthplace of Dudley and Joe Rowell stood until only very recently. Joseph Rowell
was active in Mountain View Baptist Church, and was a deacon there. He and his wife, Rhoda E. Wood Rowell,
are buried there along with several of his children. Joe Rowell Road, near Mountain View, was the site of
William Joseph's farm.

This pioneer Rowell family, including Jesse, William, Dudley, Joshua, their wives and several children are
known to be buried in a family plot on the site of the original Rowell farm near the Tallapoosa River.
Today the many Rowell families of Polk and Haralson County can trace their lineage to these early
settlers and patriots.

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