Thomas Rowley was one of the early settlers at Cupers Cove. Thomas was from Rowley in Shropshire, England. His father, Roger, was a merchant who sold clothing accessories and sewing goods. Roger was a member of the Haberdashers Company in London as were a number of the investors in the Newfoundland Company. This was probably how Thomas came be in Newfoundland.

A Journey to Trinity Bay

The first reference we have to Thomas in Newfoundland is in John Guy's journal. John mentions that Thomas was among the men who sailed with him in the bark called the Indeavour. when they went into Trinity Bay to meet the Beothuk in the fall of 1612.

A New Line of Work

Sometime around 1618, Thomas replaced Henry Crout as Sir Percival Willoughby's agent in Newfoundland. Sir Percival's son, Thomas, had spent several years in Cuper's Cove and this is likely how they became known to each other. Around the same time, Sir Percival drew up a deed granting half of his land to Thomas and William Hannam on the condition that they settle on Sir Percival's land in Trinity Bay.

Plans to Expand

Early in 1619, Thomas was in Bristol hiring men and buying supplies for the new settlement. By September, he was in Newfoundland but his plans to build a house in Carbonear didn't work out. Thomas blamed this on William Hannam who had taken two of the men he had hired away from him. Thomas spent the fall and winter at Cupers Cove. In September, he was planning to go to the bottom of Trinity Bay to trade with the Beothuk.  In a letter to Sir Percival he says that he has knives to trade with them but we do not know if he did or not.

Over the fall and winter, Thomas decided to give up his plan to settle at Carbonear and to set up a plantation on Sir Percival's land in New Perlican. In another letter he says that he has hired a mason, a carpenter and some other men to go with him. His plan was to build there in the spring, fish during the summer and trade with the Beothuk in the fall.

A Poem for Rowley

The last letter we have from Thomas was written at Cupers Cove in February, 1620. At that time, he was still making plans to settle at New Perlican but we don't know if he did or not. The deed written by Sir Percival was never signed so it is possible that Thomas changed his mind. Still, Thomas stayed on the island for a long time. The poet Robert Hayman wrote of him in 1628: “from the first plantation [he] hath lived in Newfoundland, little to his profit.”