Thomas Thomas Information THOMASes of Eglwysilan, Glamorgan | THOMASes of Eglwysilan, Glamorgan |
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| Written by JourneyMouse | |||||||
| May 11, 2009 at 11:59 PM | |||||||
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Eglwysilan parish was a geographically large parish centred on the hamlet of the same name. It still exists, but is much smaller these days. It has included, amongst other places, the towns and villages of Caerphilly, Abertridwr, Senghenydd, Nantgarw and Cilfynydd. These are all places where my ancestors have lived. The parish population expanded with the opening of mines in the area and this work is what brought two of the three THOMAS families in my data to the area. It also resulted in the parish eventually being carved up into several smaller ones. So, my three THOMAS lines are:
THOMAS is of course a common name, and I wouldn't like to give you the impression that they are all related or that these were the only THOMASes in the area. For instance, any research into the THOMASes in Senghenydd will run straight into the lovely Gomer THOMAS [External Link]. I wish he were mine. This is the THOMAS line from which I get my name. I have been very lucky with this family in that the bulk of the research had already been done by the late Doris CUMMING nee JEFFERIES, my first cousin twice removed. She issued a booklet in 1979 to all the members of the extended family and my work has been to verify and extend where possible. Argueably, she got me into genealogy simply by missing me off the family tree - I was born about a year after the booklet was produced. Doris's version of the tree started with William & Catherine THOMAS who moved to Nantgarw. Pre-Eglwysilan History The first THOMAS I have records for is Thomas THOMAS who married Ann MASON in St Twynnells (near Pembroke) in 1774. They had seven children, all christened in the same village, and the youngest was Samuel who was christened in 1789. This starting couple are my most "dodgy" bit in that I have not seen enough records to make this connection any more than a guess. Samuel went on to marry Catherine REES in Rhoscrowther (also near Pembroke) in 1809. By 1810, they were living in Lamphey (also near Pembroke), where they stayed for the rest of their lives. From here, I'm on surer footing. There are enough records of Samuel and Catherine's family to be sure of the following connections. Amongst their seven children was the William THOMAS who moved to Nantgarw. He was christened in 1810 at Lamphey. In 1837, William married Catherine ROWLANDS in Haverfordwest. They moved back to Pembroke to be near her family by September 1838. They had six children in Pembroke, five of whom survived. Eglwysilan & After William and Catherine moved to Nantgarw probably not long before the 1851 census. They were lodgers in the household of John and Elizabeth THOMAS (no relation to date). By this time, William was starting to add teacher to his list of professions and trades, as well as being a carpenter and joiner. They also had a seventh child, William Frederick, in 1852. Although individuals and households moved about, the core of the family stayed in the parish until the period between the two World Wars. Some THOMAS relatives may still be there for all I know, but my branch are no longer in touch with them. My own branch, led by my great grandfather, came to the Doncaster area of Yorkshire, although the group eventually split and he, his wife and some of his children moved down to Guildford in Surrey. Family Stories There are quite few myths and family stories that I thought might interest you all. Most from Doris's booklet, but a few are from other relatives. Story 1: Namings Tradition names William "William Frederick" and Catherine "Catherine Carole". I have yet to find evidence of these being their full names in any of the sources that I have looked at. However, the combinations are used for their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, which tends to imply that the names might have been used by the originals as well as making it a bit easier to find the right families in a sea of THOMASes! Story 2: Star-crossed Lovers Although William was educated sufficiently to become a schoolmaster, he was not considered to be a suitable husband for Catharine. She was in consequence disowned by her parents. I don't know when they were born but I think early in the 1800's would be correct. Whether they married at St. David's or at the nearest big town or city I don't know, but they did eventually arrive at Nantgarw. It was at Nantgarw that William Thomas became the schoolmaster at the National School for Boys and Girls. Doris CUMMINGS Unfortunately, this would appear to be make-believe as Catherine's father, George ROWLANDS, left money to the couple when he died in 1848. Although, he might just have got over it by then! And while we're debunking myths, a National School teacher didn't have to pass exams. They could just be a clever young boy or girl who stayed on to help their own teacher and later became recognised as one in their own right. But as William seems to have "come back" to teaching at a later age, we can assume he knew a thing or two. Story 3: St David's Origin Doris gives both William and Catherine as "from St David's". As yet, I have uncovered no evidence for this. Curiously enough, they were married at Haverfordwest rather than either's place of origin. That said, Catherine's address was in Haverfordwest at the time. Story 4: The Three Brothers In the family book, William and Catherine have only three (known) children: Charles, Edward and James. All the individuals of later generations listed are the descendants of Charles. Edward and James married and emigrated to America after spending some time in Cilfynydd. Further to this: Just before World War I, George, the son of one of them returned to Wales with his son Vance or Vince. They wanted to take my mother back with them to America. They owned a store there. Doris CUMMINGS However, in reality, William and Catherine had six children who survived to adulthood. Five of them were sons: George Samuel (after both grandfathers), Charles, John, Edward and William Frederick. George died in 1862, Charles begat all my lot, John I have traced up to the 1891 census living in Ystradyfodwg, Edward and family left for Pennsylvania in 1872 and William has been traced upto the 1901 census living in Nantgarw. Edward did not have a son called George (that I know of). So, who's James? Is James another name for John or is he a cousin or brother-in-law? And who is George, presumably James's son? Story 5: The Baroness A cousin told me a few years ago that she remembered hearing that "William Frederick who married Catherine" had first been married to a baroness. This is why her parents had disapproved of him. Maybe he was - I wouldn't know where to start looking for the marriage, though. Story 6: The Luck of the THOMASes Unfortunately, not some fairy relic for you to steal, but examples of how "naturally lucky" we THOMASes are, told to all who sit still long enough. My great-great grandfather (Grancha Thomas, or William Frederick who married Rachel) worked at the Universal Colliery in Senghenydd and was allegedly below ground for both disasters. He wasn't, but he had been the overman on duty during the day of the first, which happened just on the change of shifts. Grancha THOMAS had presumably left the colliery by the time the explosion occurred though as he's not the listed sole survivor. He was called to give evidence in the Inquest and as a result is name-dropped in "The Valley of The Shadow" by John H BROWN. By the time of the second, he was someone relatively high up and living in 1 Phillips Terrace, which I am lead to believe was tied to his job. His son (Dad Thomas, or William Frederick who married Maud) stretched his luck a little further by being gassed so badly in the First World War that everyone thought he would die. They even took Mam THOMAS (Maud) over to see him on his death bed. He survived to have two more children and lead his tribe into England in search of work. My Connection Grancha THOMAS was the eldest son of Charles, the second son of the first William. In keeping with the family naming, my granpa, the eldest son of Dad THOMAS, was William John and my father is another William, this time William James. Files
Related Families Families who married into, or were married into by, the THOMASes: BECK,
Ivy THOMAS, the daughter of Grancha Thomas (William Frederick who married Rachel), married a George THOMAS. Out of curiousity, I looked up his family on the 1901 census, and so I have a "snap-shot" of his family. All assuming that I've picked the right THOMASes, of course! The family is John THOMAS (b.c1868, Monmouth) and his wife Margaret (b.c1864 [North or South] Leverton, Notts). They have with them five children. These are Olive (b.c1889, Newport, Mon), William John (b.c1896, Treharris), George (b.c1897, Treharris), Edith May (b.c1899, Treharris) and Lily (b.c1900, Senghenydd). George and Ivy had two children that I know of: Bill and Betty. If anyone is connected to this family, I would like to hear more about them. Ok, I'm cheating here. The family I'm going to give isn't really a THOMAS family. I have an individual THOMAS who comes from Eglwysilan at the top, though. I can't place her with a family because there are a couple of matching baptisms/christenings in the parish index and I don't have enough clues to make an educated guess. So if anyone can tell me who she is (or even who she isn't), I'd love to know. History In 1833, Ann THOMAS married Edward HARRY (also HARRIES and HARRIS) in Eglwysilan. Edward was from Whitchurch/Llandaff area, where they moved back to after marrying. On the 1841 census, he's a lock-keeper at "Gabalva". In 1851 and 1861, they're at Pant Bach. 1881 Ann is with her daughter Mary at Union St, Llandaff. On the 1881 census, Ann's place of origin is given as Whitchurch. But in the 1851 and 1861 it's given as Eglwysilan, which would make sense as marriages traditionally happened in the bride's parish. My Connection Edward and Ann's daughter Ann HARRIS married Edward MATTHEWS of St Mellons. They married in Whitchurch and spent the next decade or so in Cardiff and Llandaff before moving to Nantgarw. Edward was apparently a lock-keeper or otherwise connected with the canals and the records do seem to support this. For example, in 1871 census they were living at the Treble Locks. Their daughter Rachel married Grancha Thomas (William Frederick), although I doubt I need to tell you which one by now! Files
Related Families Families who married into, or were married into by, the THOMAS / HARRISes: BENNETT,
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| Last Updated ( Jul 17, 2009 at 12:51 PM ) | |||||||
