Rowland Thomas (Rowlie) &
Elizabeth Donoway Robinson
The only son in this generation, "Rowlie," as he was known, inherited the farm, which he ran with his wife Elizabeth. Tenders of the family heritage as well as the hearth, Rowlie and Elizabeth took in tourist boarders in the 1920s and 1930s to supplement their income. Advertising their home to outsiders helped them see just how significant it had become, and plans for preserving the site were set in motion before Rowlie's death in 1951. This was a time of decline at Rokeby, however, with the wealth, the farm, and the family itself slipping away. Rowlie and Elizabeth had no children, and when she died in 1961, she left the entire property and all its contents to be operated as a museum.