Llandudno - Edwards, Rawling, Reeves, Timms, Gatley, and Other Families!

[Tanya]

Hello There!

I'm looking for rellies who have ancestors in Llandudno 

I'm particularly interested in:
John Edwards abt 1786-1884 (miner, then cab driver, lived in Tanyrallt Cottages) & Sarah Jones (1791-1865)
Their children:
Elizabeth 1815-1888 (lived in Liverpool & married Joseph Davies)
Samuel 1817-1885 (a bathing machine operator) married Ellinor, then Mary Jones - lived in Morfa Cottages in 1851
Margaret 1822- married William Britain, no issue - lived in Barton upon Irwell
Hugh 1825-1827, mariied Eleanor ?, then Jane Davies
Sarah 1828-1900, married John Reeves and ran the Cocoa House.
Grace 1831-1905, married Thomas Rawling - lived in Tanyrallt Cottages
John 1833- married Anne Williams?
Anne 1834, married Richard Williams, then William Jones
Robert 1836-1906, married Jane Williams

Others:
Emma (nee Reeves) & George Timms who ran various hotels, including the Wilton;
Mary Williams (formally Shaw, formally Davies, formally Reeves), who ran the Cambridge restaurant
Sarah (nee Reeves) & Hugh Hughes (Hugh took his wife's maiden name and they became Reeves Hughes!) ran Cocoa House and may have been involved in the Suffragette movement.
Ann Jane (nee Rawling) and Isaac Gatley

That'll do for now!

[Tanya]

Need to make a correction (sorry Jason  ) Samuel Edwards' (1817-1885) wasn't the bathing machine operator....it was his son, Sam (1862-1926) who was the chap who protected the modesty of the ladies who wished to partake a dip! 

[jom]

Hi Tanya,

Did the Robert EDWARDS you have here born 1836 have a son Samuel born 1871 who went on to marry Eleanor WILLIAMS in 1895?  I have such a gentleman but no wife for him, in my tree.  Samuel (the son)was an engine driver in 1895.  He and Eleanor had 4 children by 1911 though one had died.  The 3 surviving were Sidney Albert bn 1897, Edith Martha bn 1899 and Robert John bn 1901.  In 1911 they were living at Back Tanrallt.  My link is Eleanor WILLIAMS but I am in touch with someone on the direct line of this family

[Tanya]

Hello Jom

Yes, he did have a son, Samuel born in 1871. The Robert Edwards I have, married Jane Williams on 1 May 1863. I have a copy of the parish record. Her father was John Williams, master mariner. In the 1861 census, his wife was Sarah. Jane was born around 1840. The witnesses were Llewelyn Parry & Mary Hughes. I've also got a copy of the parish marriage record between your Samuel & Eleanor Louisa Williams....I can send you a copy of both records, if you haven't got them? My line is through Elizabeth, Robert's eldest sister. She went to Liverpool and married Joseph Davies. I would love to get in touch with your someone on the direct line of the family! Looking through the national probate index, I saw that Robert left a will in Nov. 1906 with the effects of £539, executor was his son Samuel. Will be interesting to get the will, one day!

[sam]

Hi,maybe a long shot but does anyone know of my great grandmother Annie Harris nee Edwards born c .1885 from the Penrhynside area? She lived in a chapel in Penrhynside I think. She married John? Harris. They moved to Pant Y Wennol and had five children. Would love to know anything about the Edwards branch of the family.

[Hugo]

According to the 1929 Street Index of Llandudno J Harris was living at 4 Pant Y Wennol.  The cottages have been modernised over the years but this is a recent photo of them.
Do you know the name of the parents of Annie Edwards as there are hundreds of Annie Edwards' on the Census records?

[sam]

Hi Hugo Unfortunately I don't know Annies parents names but her children were: Fanny ?Harris, Thomas George Harris b.28th Aug.1923 (my taid),William or Bill Harris, Robert or Bob Harris,and Ann-Ellen Harris. Don't know if she had siblings - there is a chance I could find out a bit more but not sure if anyone will know any more than I do. I'll ask if anyone knew if it was no.4 Pant Y Wennol. Thanks for posting the pic - the whole family lived up that way for years including my mum till she was about six years old - s'lovely up there. Well thanks for the reply - appreciate that  Will keep looking - nothing ventured nothing gained

[Hugo]

Sam, thanks for posting that info, but to get more info regarding the Edwards side it helps if you have info re the parents/siblings names. Although I tried to trace them on the 1891,1901 and 1911 Census records I didn't have much luck. 
The only thing I found out is that if I want to trace people from Penrhynside for that period you put in the place of birth as Llangystenin.
That was actually the Parish name in those days.  Some Edwards' names came up but they were not living in the Chapel houses at the time.
The Census records or Find my Past are handy sites for tracing people up to 1911 and they are free at our local Library.

[sam]

Thanks for looking and for the info/advice. I'll take a trip to the library then I guess. Not sure how far my Edwards go back in the area ..or the Harris's for that matter!

[Hugo]

According to the 1911 Census there was an Annie Edwards living at Pant Y Wennol and her parents were Edward John Edwards and Ann Edwards.    This however did not tie in with your Annie Edwards though as this Annie was single and aged 30 at the time of the Census and was born in 1881 and the address is not in Penrhynside although it is very near to there.
Pant Y Wennol did have a Chapel though and it's on the right hand side of the photo.
By coincidence there was a Harris family living in the terrace although there was no J Harris there at the date of the Census.
By the way do you know where Annie was born?   I've just assumed it was Penrhynside but it doesn't tie in with any records I've seen.

[Cambrian]

Hugo/Sam

In Ken Dibble's book on Pant y Wennol, there is reference to an Ann Edwards, daughter of George and Ann Edwards who were living at the Old Chapel.  She was 10 years old in 1891 (he quotes the census). I wonder if this is the Ann you are looking for.

[Hugo]

Sounds like a good book Cambrian.  Chris Draper refers to the Chapel in his walking book and Penberth was originally the Chapel for Pant Y Wennol and it was opened in 1861 but when the larger Bethania Chapel was built in Craig Y Don in 1886 most of the Chapel members preferred to worship there so the Pant Y Wennol Chapel was converted into a house.

[sam]

Grrrrr just spent ages typing in reply to the posts - just about to post and my pc crashed :rage: twice!! :rage: :rage: Nevermind maybe I should keep my replies a bit shorter anyway

Thanks Hugo and Cambrian - all info is greatly appreciated. I don't know where Annie was born though I also assume it was in the area. The Annie you mention Hugo could well be my Great Grandmother as  her first child Fanny was illegitimate (and as far as I know was almost a generation older than her four siblings) so Annie could have been single in the 1911 census.

I will show the photo of the chapel to my mum and nain as they would know if this was the place in question.Unfortunately my nains memory is not too good so her recollections are often not accurate The Harris's you also mention could well be my family as I'm not entirely sure that John was a John.. I suspect he could be a Robert (my mum suggested John). Seems that there were quite a few Harris's and Edwards in the area with many called George, Anne and Robert which were/are all names in my family!!

Also Cambrian -  the Ann you mention could be the one I'm looking for though I'm not sure that she lived at the chapel with her parents ... she may have bought it when she got married :/ I think there were five converted chapels in Penrhynside so I need to find out the names etc. Need to peck a few heads and hone my research skills before I make more headway methinks. Would be interested to read the books mentioned - are there any copies for sale in Waterstones?

I'm also wondering if there's any connection with the person who originally started the thread (Tanya) which is the reason I've posted here really.

Okay thanks for your time guys..every little helps

[sam]

Hmmm...also the John/Robert Harris could have been Robert John Harris with his middle name being used as his first name ie John??? There was a Robert John Harris if I remember from my research- must take another look.

[Hugo]

Sam, the good thing about the Census records are that you can turn the pages over and see who else lives nearby.  I didn't make any notes when I had a look at the records so I can't remember the names of the others.
One thing I can remember though is the name Fanny Edwards and she will be easier to trace because she hasn't got such a common name.
One other thing I remember from the Census records and also from the Street Indexes in the Conwy Archives is that an Edwards lived in Woodbine Terrace Penrhynside.  Now, I've just been reading Chris Drapers Book of walks in the Llandudno area and this is a paragraph from his book  " 1 Woodbine Terrace was the home of the Congregational Minister of Ebenezer Chapel"   I wonder if this address had anything to do with your Edwards side of the family.
Nearby is the Saron Calvinistic Methodist Chapel and in the village they also had the Calfaria Baptist Chapel, Moriah Wesleyan Chapel and the Church of St Sannan so no wonder Penrhynside  had the title of "The Holy City"