I was excitedly finding out things about my Welsh ancestors that I'd not been able to suss before. Like who were the parents and other family members of Margaret Jones (my great great great grandmother)? This had always been a mystery. And who was the young boy Jeffrey Jones seen to be living with her and her husband George Harrison in Llanthony back in 1841? But, oh wonder of wonders, all comes together, and that one name Jeffrey Jones is a big clue, because although Jones was a maddeningly common surname, Jeffrey was not, for which Jeffrey had to be a name which was in some way specifically connected with our family, one of those names that gets passed down through the generations, as was always the way of our ancestors. Little Jeffrey Jones was surely a nephew of Margarets, it also being the way of our ancestors to pass around ones children amongst various relatives. What really led me to big discoveries here was my checking out the famed Welsh rugby player, Kenneth Jones, who I'd always been told we were related to. It's one thing to be told you're related and it's quite another to find out how. I was determined to find this out, by working back through his ancestry. Kenneth Jones was born in Blaenavon on 30th December 1921 to John Jones and Ella Caroline Burland. John's father was Jeffrey Jones (note the name), a coal miner of Blaenavon, born there in 1868, who married in Abergavenny to Harriet Morgan. Harriet's family, interestingly, were from the mountain hamlet of Pwlldu where my Harrison's had also lived. The relevance in all this is the name of Kenneth's grandfather, Jeffrey Jones, as therein lies a clue. And its not that Jeffrey's own father was born to that little Jeffrey who'd stayed as a youngster with our family in Llanthony, no, and I don't know if that little Jeffrey even made it into adulthood, there there being a death of one by this name in Crickhowell a few years later. The father of Kenneths grandfather, Jeffery, was John Jones, originally of Crickhowell where he had been born in 1842, later becoming a haulier of Blaenavon, his wife being Abigail Wilson of Redwick. I drew a close at this for now, finding nothing more and still not quite understanding the connection. Later, on renewing the research, this was on my now understanding just how relevant the name Jeffrey was, for which I looked up a Jeffrey Jones of the same area Kenneths's great grandad John Jones was from, around and about Crickhowell, and I found him and more clues besides to link this newly found individual up with my own family. In 1861, there is to be seen a Jeffery Jones of Llanelly, who was at this time deaf, born in in 1802. And how did I know this was our own relative, with his age qualifying him be the brother of my own Margaret Jones? Well, he was a miller, as was my Margaret's Llanthony based husband George Harrison, and what's more he was born in Llanbedr, a village associated with our family. Margaret and George Harrison had lived in Llanbedr before arriving in Llanthony, and I'd already worked out that this village was the biggest likelihood for Margarets own place of origin. Llanbedr, as a birth place for Jeffrey Jones, hadn't even shown up on the census transcription, and on seeing the original it was written quite illegibly, and yet I could make it out, for being familiar with the name already. Finding this Jeffrey Jones in another census, the previous one of 1851, was the icing on the cake in regard to Kenneth Jones's ancestry, because there was Kenneth's great grandfather, John Jones, living with him, aged 10, listed as Jeffrey's nephew, born in Crickhowell in 1842. Thus it was that I had linked up our families. I now found the miller Jeffery Jones's baptism in Llanbedr (lucky to find this as so many Welsh baptisms are unfindable, none of George and Margaret Harrisons children's baptisms ever having been traced and neither George's or Margaret's themselves). It was in finding Jeffrey Jones's baptism, in Llanbedr (Ystrad Yw), Breconshire, that I at last solved the long standing mystery of who were Margaret's own parents, and they were Jeffrey Jones (yet again) and Elizabeth, and this older Jeffrey Jones was yet again a miller. And then I even found the marriage of Jeffrey Jones Senior and Elizabeth on June 3rd 1792 in Llanbedr, which gave Elizabeths maiden name as Evans, she being a local of Llanbedr, and he being from Llangenny, which was near to there. The witnesses were a friend, James Pitt, and a regular wedding signer Edward Herbert. This meant so much to me, to have pushed back into the realms of that which had seemed impossible, finding parents for Margaret; Jeffrey Jones the miller of Llangenny and Elizabeth Evans of Llanbedr. Being a genealogy researcher is alike to being a detective. Years ago I'd begun seeking my roots and only now had learnt who were Margarets parents. One follows clues. Kenneth Jones, the rugby player, known by family to be one of our people; therein lay the biggest clue, and yet one which needed some deep looking into. Looking at Margaret's brother, Jeffrey Jones the younger miller, his mill was for years the Upper Mill at Govilon, as recorded regularly in the electoral registers of the 1830's and 40's. And another brother, William Jones, was the miller at the Lower Mill, Govilon. His baptism I had now found as well, William Jones, born in Llanbedr in 1807 to Jeffrey and Elizabeth Jones. Another potential brother was David Jones of Llangenney, who married on 10th July 1807 in Llanbedr to Blanch Philips who was a local girl. Looking more at the Upper Mill of Govilon, this was now a ruin, which had consisted of the mill, a house, a corn drying kiln and a pond. There had been milling in Govilon since at least the 1300's, which utilised the steep fast flowing waters of the Cwm Siencyn Brook as it it cascaded down the Blorenge mountain to the river Usk below. The millstones, which remain to this day at both Upper Mill and at George Harrisons old mill in Llanthony were made from the 'pudding stone' to be found on the summit of the Blorenge mountain. These millstones would grind up the corn brought to them by all the local farmers. And now another fabulous find was a will summary, which favoured amongst others 'Elizabeth, wife of Jeffrey Jones, miller of Llangenny', by which more of the family now came to light. This will from 1823 was made by Elizabeth's brother, Lewis Evans (Lewis being another recycled name in our family) of Llangenny, who owned properties both there and in Llanbedr. By this one could see Elizabeths siblings, Lewis of course being one, and the others being John Evans, who had a son also called John, Ann who was the wife of John Jones in Danderren, Llangattock (it could be so that Jeffrey and John were also brothers), and James Evans, already deceased, but with the will profiting his daughter Elizabeth. Another will I found of 1834-5 was of a yeoman from Crickhowell, John Adams, which profited various of his nephews and nieces, one of whom was Margaret, wife of Jeffery Jones, miller of Llangenny (pretty sure this is an incorrect transcription as his wife was surely Elizabeth) and mentioning also her sister Ann 'Williams' (is this another incorrect transcription?) of Llangenny (although it could be that this Ann, formerly married to John Jones, had become a widow and remarried). John Adams also listed a deceased brother, Thomas Adams, father of Joseph, who would therefore be another uncle to Elizabeth. By such a clue it appears that Elizabeths mother would have been an Adams girl marrying an Evans lad. Jeffery Jones I later saw had died in 1834, in Llangenny, as shown by the death duties register. And I'd searched and searched but could not find any baptism for my Margaret as his daughter, that often absence of any sign that ones children were baptised yet again. But then, and how difficult it was to find this, but there came up yet another Breconshire will, none other than Jeffrey Jones's will summary, millwright of Llangenny, not quite correctly transcribed, for the tricky writing of the time, but mentioning his three children, Jeffrey, William and Margaret married as Mrs Harrison being one of them. I could cry, I mean, well, I did. One doesn't always get confirmation for ones theories in genealogy, but this was it for sure. My long research had blossomed beautiful fruits. As Jeffrey the miller of Govilon was Kenneth Jones's great grandads uncle, this would make Jeffrey's brother William Jones the great great grandad of Kenneth Jones, and Jeffrey and Elizabeth of Llangenny his great great great grandparents. As they would be my great great great great grandparents. And that makes Kenneth Jones, rugby champion of Wales, my fourth cousin once removed.
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AuthorSusie Harrison and her hobby of genealogy, always looking into her own and her friends family trees. Categories
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