HISTORY OF THOMAS DAVIES
and his two wives
MARY JANE JACOB and GWENLLIAM
WILLIAMS
Thomas Davies was born in the year
1800[1] in
the city of Merthyr Tydfil[2] the
son of Thomas Davies. Exhaustive searches have been made to locate his birth or
baptismal record but to no avail. As a young man Thomas learned the profession
of a cordwainer or in other words he made boots and
shoes. Possibly he apprenticed under the direction of his father in the family
shop at Merthyr. He grew up and spent his entire life
in the area around Merthyr and Aberdare.
At the age of 25 Thomas married Mary
Jane Jacob. The entry in the church records reads as follows: “Thomas Davies of
the parish of Aberdare in the Co. of Glam. And Diocese of Llandaff and
Mary Jacob of the same parish, county and diocese were married in this church
by Banns this Third day of October in the year one Thousand eight hundred and
twenty-five. By me Tho. Jones, clerk. This marriage was solemized
between us /s/ Thomas Davies (x) Mary Jacob (x) in the presence of Thomas Davis and Amos Thomas.”[3]
Mary Jane or Shan as she was known, was christened 18 May 1801 at Llantrisant, Glamorganshire, Wales, a daughter of Watkin Jacob and Gwenllian
Morgan.[4] The
children born to this couple were as follows: (The first and it is believed all
subsequent children were born at Aberdare[5])
Mary chr. 3 Apr
1831 b. 27
Apr 1827
Thomas chr. 3 Apr
1831 b. 15
Oct 1828
Richard chr. 3 Apr
1831 b. 21
Jan 1831
John chr. 7 Apr
1833 b. 17
Jan 1833
Triplets chr. (no
record) b. 27
Jan 1835[6]
Howell chr. 8 Apr
1836 b. 11
Mar 1836[7]
Shan died shortly after the birth of
this last child and before the institution of modern record keeping in 1837.
Her death was probably a result of complications caused by the birth. She was
buried in Aberdare at the age of 38 on 13 July
1836.[8]
Thomas undoubtedly mourned the loss
of his beloved wife, the bride of his youth. Soon, however, he realized that
his children needed a mother to love them and raise them properly. He
consequently began looking for a woman that could take Shan’s place and found
her in the person of Gwenllian Williams, a young lady
of 22. She was a daughter of Thomas Williams and at the time of their marriage
was working as a maid servant in Aberdare. They were
married by banns in the St. John’s parish church of Aberdare according to the rites and ceremonies of the
Church of England on 15 Sep 1837.[9]
The 1841 census of Aberdare village[10] give
the family as follows:
Thomas Davies 35 cordwainer b. Glamorgan; Gwenllian Davies 25 Glamorgan;
Mary Davies13 Glamorgan; Thomas Davies 12 Glamorgan; Richard Davies 10 Glamorgan;
William Davies 3 Glamorgan; Catherine Davies 2 Glamorgan; Edward Davies 6 weeks Glamorgan;
Henry Harrison 30 shoemaker.
As can be seen, Howell and John do
not appear in the census return. Howell was buried 10 Apr 1836, age 2
weeks, and John 25 Dec 1836, age nearly 4 years.[11] The St.
John’s parish registers in Aberdare give
information of part of the second family of Thomas Davies. These children were
all born in the Village (Aberdare), according to the
record. It is family tradition that the family lived on a street known as
Davies’ Row, however. This is at the top end of Aberdare
parish almost in the village of Hirwain.
In 1958 it had only 7 or 8 houses, several old houses having been demolished.
The children of Gwenllian and Thomas are as follows:
William
Davies b. 10
Feb 1838[12] chr. 10 Feb 1839[13]
Catherine “ b. 1839 chr. 8 Mar 1840
Edward “ b. 21 Apr 1841[14] chr.
Anne “ b. chr. 29 Jan 1844
Jane “ b. chr. 2 Apr 1845
Anne “ b. 28 May 1846[15] chr. 27
Jun 1846
Jane “ b. Dec
1849 chr.
William “ b. Feb 1851 chr.
From the above information it can be
seen that the William that appeared in the 1841 census died before 1851. This
will be seen in the 1851 census that follows. Apparently both Annes died as did the first Jane. The 1851 census shows the
family living at Gadlys (Road) in the Village ofAberdare as follows:[16]
Thomas Davies head md 52 boot
and saddlemaker b. Merthyr;
Gwenllian Davies wife md 35 b. Aberdare;
Richard Davies son unmd 20 smith Aberdare;
Catherine Davies dau unmd
10 Aberdare; Edward Davies son unmd
9 Aberdare; Jane Davies dau
unmd 14 mo. Aberdare;
William Davies son unmd 8 weeks.
Father Thomas Davies left a rather
large estate though not in a will. It was divided before his death. There were
5 houses and 3000 pounds which were deposited in the Cardiff Bank. Catherine
got 200 pounds, the Williams 300 and Richard took the rest to be divided
between himself and Thomas. Richard lent the Morgans
6700 pounds to go to Australia.[17] Thomas
died 1 Sep 1865 at Gadlys Road, Aberdare, from falling under a railway wagon.[18] He
was buried in the Aberdare Public Cemetery. In
the Llandaff Probate Registry Index the following
entry is recorded:
DAVIES, Thomas Effects under 200
pounds 16 Sep 1865: Letters of administration of Thomas
Davies, late of 52 Hirwain Road, Aberdare,
Gatekeeper, a widower, who died 1 Sep 1865 at Gadlys
Works, aberdare, granted at Principal Registry to
Richard Davies, of 13 Somerset Terrace, Windmill Hill, Bedminster, near
Bristol, Blacksmith, the son, and one of the next of kin of said deceased, he
having been first sworn.[19]
Following this the letters of adminstration were obtained. The only new information
contained therein is the fact that Thomas died intestate. It is also apparent
that Gwenllian died prior to this time, however her
exact death date has not been found.
Following is a brief biography on
each of the children of Thomas and his two wives:
MARY DAVIES:
is our ancestor and her history has been given above [see
biography of Evan Williams].
THOMAS WILLIAM DAVIES
born 27 Apr 1827 at Aberdare.
At the age of 20 he sailed for Australia seeking his fortune in life.
He arrived at Drayton, Queensland with a surveying group in
1849. He married Mary Green who had come from Northern Ireland in
1857.[20] They
were married in 1852 (Jan. 19)(notice that the dates do not coincide-LDP) and
together they went to the “never-never country” where he was assisting in
survey and exploration work on the Balone River in
southwestern Queensland—Northwestern New South Wales as it was then. Queensland did
not become a sovereign state until 1859. Mary was the first white woman in that
country and the blacks called her “White Mary”. She was undoubtedly a
remarkable woman and very beautiful.[21] Thomas
has a numberous posterity in Australia. Further
information is available on them but will not be given in this history. Thomas
died 20 Jan 1904.[22]
RICHARD DAVIES
born 21 Jan 1831 at Aberdare.
He wollowed the profession of a
blacksmith in a railway factory. At the age of 20 he was still unmarried
and living at home according to the 1851 census. Our records show that he was
married on or about 22 Apr 1848 but this is apparently incorrect. At
the death of his father he was living at Bedminster near Bristol. Richard
died 11 Dec 1893 at 11 Cheltham St.,
New Swindon, Co. Wilts.,England, age 61. The informant at his death was Mary
Long, a daughter, with residence at 41 Chester St., New Swindon. He died of cerebral hemorrage
and apoplexy which lasted 8 hours.[23] His
will is dated 27 Jun 1879 and at the time he resided at Weymouth
St., New Swindon. The administration of the personal
estate was granted to his widow Catherine Davies. The will was probated on 7
Jun 1894. Gross value of the estate was 393.2.6 pounds.[24]
JOHN DAVIES
born 17 Jan 1833 at Aberdare
was christened 7 Apr 1833 at St. John’s parish in Aberdare, and was buried on Christmas Day in 1836.
THE TRIPLETS
according to family tradition were born to Thomas Davies and
Mary Jane Jacob on 21 or 27 Jan 1835. No record of their birth or death is
to be found in the parish records of Aberdare. As the
christening records of the other children are found in the parish, it is the
opinion of the author that the triplets were stillborn rather than dying at
birth. They have not been sealed to their parents.
HOWELL DAVIES
born 11 Mar 1836 at Aberdare,
and christened 8 Apr 1836 at St. John’s parish in Aberdare. As has been shown, Howell does not appear in the
1841 census and our records give his burial date as 10 Apr 1836. According
to a note found in Sarah William Perkins material, Howell had quite a number of
hounds and did considerable hunting. Early family records show Howell died in
1879. The discrepancy has not been resolved yet.
WILLIAM DAVIES
born 10 Feb 1838 at Aberdare
and christened 10 Feb 1839 at St. John’s parish in Aberdare. He died between 1841 and 1851 when his parents
named another child William.
CATHERINE DAVIES
born in 1839 at Aberdare, and was
christened 8 Mar 1840 at St. John’s parish. She married a
Mr. Richards and they moved to theUnited States. She
died in June of 1914 near Sales Creek in Tennessee.[25]
EDWARD DAVIES
born 21 Apr 1841 at Aberdare.
He was just 6 weeks old when the 1841 census was taken on 7 June 1841. He
is given as age 9 in the 1851 census. Edward may have died unmarried. We have
two dates concerning his death. His TIB card says 1855 and this is probably the
correct date unless he joined the Mormon Church during his lifetime. His TIB
card says he was baptized in Dec 1876. The other death date
our records show is about 1879.[26]
ANNE DAVIES
christened 29 Jan 1844 at St. John’s parish
in Aberdare. Research has not turned up her death
date which must have been shortly after birth, probably within a few months.
ANNE DAVIES
born 28 May 1846 at Daview
Row, at the family home, in Aberdare parish. She was
christened 27 Jun 1846 at St. John’s parish. At the time of
her christening, her father is given as being born at Ynisyfelin.[27] It
is the author’s opinion that if either of these Annes
is not our relative, it would be the latter rather than the former as others
have felt. No records we have indicate that Thomas moved from Davies Row or Gadleys Road except this one. Anne apparently died
shortly after birth but no death record has been found for her.
JANE DAVIES
christened
2 Apr 1845 at St. John’s parish in Aberdare,
according to our records, but it should be noted that the 1851 census gives her
age as 14 months, which would mean that she was born about Dec 1849. This is
impossible, so it must be assumed that the Jane christened in 1845 died and
another Jane was born about Dec 1849.
JANE DAVIES
(see above) Nothing else is known of this child. She may have
died as a child although it is quite possible that she grew to womanhood and
raised a family without leaving much of a trace upon the records of history. So
many women have been assigned that lot.
WILLIAM DAVIES
born in Aberdare parish in the
early part of Feb 1851. The 1851 census is given earlier, showing him as being
8 weeks old and the census was taken on Mar 30, 1851.
[1] Marriage record of Thomas Davies and Gwenllian Williams in possession of Lyman De Platt.
[2] 1851 census.
[3] Research done for the family in the
Bishop’s Transcripts of Merthyr Tydfil by the National Library of Wales.
[4] TIB Card of Mary Jane Jacob (LA
5200010).
[5] Parish registers of St. John’s parish, Aberdare (GS Ser. No. 104,838). Mary p. 70 No. 560. Thomas p. 70 No. 561.
Richard p. 70 No. 562. John p. 74
No. 619. Howell p. 95 No. 764.
[6] Family records.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Parish registers, op. cit.,
p. 114 No. 912.
[9] Marriage certificate in possession of
Lyman De Platt.
[10] 1841 census.
[11] Parish registers, op. cit.,
p. 111 No. 890.
[12] Correspondence from Leslie J. Taylor to
William W. Price 9 April 1958; TIB card of William Davies (LA 516031).
[13] This footnote includes all 5
christenings listed below the footnote within the text: Correspondence from
William W. Price to Leslie J. Taylor, Esq. (121 Claude Road, Roath Park, Cardiff, Wales 7.4.58).
[14] Birth certificate in possession of Lyman
De Platt.
[15] Ibid.
[16] 1851 National Census of Great
Britain (GS Ser. No. 104,204 p. 16), Gadley’s Road
in Aberdare.
[17] Letter from Catherine Davis to her
brother Thomas; no date. In possession of Lyman De Platt.
[18] Death certificate in possession of Lyman
De Platt.
[19] Correspondence from Leslie J. Taylor to
Gladys Perkins Tomney Lyman, 14
October 1958.
[20] Correspondence from Eric Davis (276
Newman Road, Geebung, Queensland, Australia 4034)
to Gladys Perkins Tomney Lyman 11 May 1970.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Family records.
[23] Death certificate in possession of Lyman
De Platt.
[24] Will in possession of Lyman De Platt.
[25] Correspondence, (see footnote 17).
[26] Family record.
Davis, Mary
