Delving into the family history on and off for about 20 years has left me hopelessly addicted to the following clues, hunches and inevitable red herrings that are all needed to piece together the bare chapters of someone's life. Unable to resist people's 'brick walls' or an innocent query re the origin of grandparents and those before, there's nothing better than trying to find the unfound.
This is my sudoku, my multilevel crossword, my jigsaw where most of the pieces are missing and there's definitely no picture to start from.
So - to satisfy this addiction, each week I intend to choose someone at random from the 1881 census (checking that their story hasn't already unfolded on ancestry.co.uk) and uncover, piece together what I can from internet sources their untold story.
The puzzling and the unfolding story will be told in this blog.

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Fourth protagonist - Thomas Williams

Ten years previously Thomas and family were also at Pant Farm. The 2 boys working for him and living there were Matthew Morgan (1852 Abergavenny) and Joseph Thomas (1855 Frwthog Hereford). Thomas according to this census was born in 1827 though still at Talgarth.

 Ten years back again in 1861 Thomas was down as being born about 1822 though again still at Talgarth. Checking the 1881 census again, although both ancestry and findmypast have transcribed Thomas's age as 48 and so born about 1833, looking closely at the return, it looks like Thomas's age has been overwritten with 60 making him born about 1821. That ties in with the 1861 census age of 39. In 1861 they were at Pwllywhied? Llantilio Pertholey Ultra, a farm of 100 acres. Employed as a house servant was Mary James (1842 Llanbeder) and as a farm servant James Evans (1844 Llanbeder). Son Thomas J was Thomas James Williams.

 Now comes the awkward bit - finding Thomas Williams in 1851 with no wife or children to verify its the right Thomas Williams. Thomas Williams, farmer's son at Tre...? Llanwenarth Ultra Monmouthshire looks likely. He was born in Talgarth about 1823, the son of Howell (1784 Llanvigan Breconshire) and Mary (1781 Lanvillo, Breconshire). His brother William Williams was also born at Talgarth 1818. Assuming that Thomas and Elizabeth married sometime between 1851 (when Elizabeth would be about 18) and 1854 when daughter Mary was born, there are 9 possible marriages, 6 of them in the Abergavenny district (the registration district for Llantilio Pertholey where all the children were born.) Of course with both Thomas and Elizabeth being born in Breconshire, they may have married there as well.

 Checking for the children's birth registrations, David H could well be David Howell Williams registered in the Abergavenny district June qtr 1865. Thomas James Williams was registered March qtr 1857 but identifying Mary's registration is thwarted by no middle name and a great many Mary Williams. Familysearch doesn't have any baptisms to help.

 The first possible marriage for Thomas Williams in Abergavenny was 1852 to possibly a Elizabeth James. Checking for a Elizabeth James in 1851 finds a distinct possibility: Elizabeth James born 1833 in Lambedr (likely misspelling of Llanbeder) living in Llantilio Pertholey with her widowed father Thomas James born about 1774 in Talgarth, a weaver and farmer of 4 acres. 
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