John Rowe sailed on Cook’s Second Voyage in Adventure under Captain Tobias Furneaux, and was killed at Wharehunga Bay (Grass Cove) on 17 December, 1773.1 According to the Adventure’s musters, John Rowe was 28 years old in 1771, and from Liskeard, Cornwall.
I have just found that a William Rowe, who was a midshipman in HMS Swallow under Captain Philip Carteret, was the brother of John Rowe. William was from Quethiock in East Cornwall, close to Liskeard. I cannot see that William pursued a naval career.
A Peter Rowe married Rachel Honey in 1736 at Menheniot, a few kilometres from Quethiock. They had five children: Elizabeth (born 1739), Rachel (1741), Thomas (1743), John (1745) and William (1746).
I wonder if Peter was related to John and William? And, was there a family connection to Tobias Furneaux of Swilly, 14 miles distant?
John Robson
References
- Cook’s Log. 2017. Vol. 40, no. 1. Pages 15–16.
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 42, volume 48, number 1 (2025).