Daviies Family

[Hugo]

I have posed this question before, but cannot seem to locate any answers (which are probably there). My father’s brother Richard talked about his birth being at his grandmother’s house in the ‘mountains’.  His birth location is shown as ‘Carnarvonshire’ in the 1911 Census. The North Wales BMD site shows births for a Richard Davies in Betws y Coed, Conwy County; Colwyn Bay, Conwy County; and Llandwrog, Gwynedd – Bangor.

The question is, which of these three locations would be considered most likely to be described as ‘in the mountains’? Given that both his older sibling Edward and younger sibling Hugh (my father) were both born in Llandudno, it would seem the birth area would not be too far away from Llandudno.  If I can narrow down the likely area, I can limit the number of Birth Certificates I have to order.

On a parallel note, what was the schooling structure around the early 1900’s. Both Edward and Richard appeared to attend ‘school’ at around three years of age. Looking at the records, this appeared to be the norm.  So, was this the modern day version of ‘kindergarten’ or ‘pre-school’? Was this free education or was there a fee for this?

[Hugo]

Betws Y Coed is the most obvious choice as it is in the middle of the mountains, whereas Llanwnda is not but both Llanwnda and Penygroes have views of the mountains.
 Betws Y Coed is in the County of Conwy so therefore some records will be here in Llandudno in the County Archives if you need anything following up.
Your family has strong connections to the Conwy Valley on the Davies side of the family so there is a good possibility that there is a link to Betws Y Coed.
With regard to the schooling structure,  I can't tell you much about about it but the education was free.

[Hugo]

Is this the record you mean Hugh,  before you apply for the birth certificate would it be best to check the Baptism record first just to make sure?

DAVIES Richard  1907 Betws y Coed Conwy County Borough (Llandudno) BETWS/13/16

[DownUnder]

I haven't been able to locate an on-line baptism record for a Richard Davies so will have to take a punt with the Birth Certificate.

[Hugo]

Hugh,   they may have the actual Baptism Register in the Conwy Archives so I could have a look for you so put your money away for now and I'll check it out asap

[DownUnder]

Thanks Hugo I am indebted to you once again.  Richard's date of birth (from the school record) was 28/07/1907. By the way, I know the norm is to insert a quote of the relevant message being responded to, but despite clicking on the "Insert Quote" icon, nothing seems to happen.

[Hugo]

Hi Hugh,  I checked the Betws Y Coed Baptism Register for the period 1813 to Dec 1907 but unfortunately there was no entry for Richard Davies.
The Baptism Register for 1908 onwards was not in the Archives and may still be with the Church.
Sorry I can't help you with that one so now's the time to splash the cash on that Birth Certificate.

[DownUnder]

Hi Hugh,  I checked the Betws Y Coed Baptism Register for the period 1813 to Dec 1907 but unfortunately there was no entry for Richard Davies.
The Baptism Register for 1908 onwards was not in the Archives and may still be with the Church.
Sorry I can't help you with that one so now's the time to splash the cash on that Birth Certificate.

Unfortunately, the two potential references for Betws Y Coed and Colwyn Bay have proven not to be relevant to my Uncle Richard.  I have carried out some comparisons with Free BMD against the North Wales BMD sites and have ruled out all but one other possibility relating to Caernarvonshire for Llandwrog. I have sent an email to the Gwynedd Council Offices to get a relevant email contact to enable me to pursue this further.

Will let you know the outcome.

[Hugo]

Hugh, you have mentioned that Richard has said that he was born in his Grandmother's house but that you don't know where the house was.
His Grandmother was Elizabeth Davies but you haven't been able to find out if she married and if so where she was living.   
The other Grandmother was William Davies' wife's mother and I was wondering if the Census records for her will show where she was born and that may be an indication of the area where the other Grandmother lived.
I know it's clutching at straws but there is little to go on at present.

[DownUnder]

Hi Hugo,

The importance of Richards birth address is that it was supposedly his grandmother's house. 

If it was his paternal grandmother (ie Elizabeth Davies), then that may provide some history as to her background - remembering that subsequent to the birth certificate of William Davies I have not been able to find a single trace of Elizabeth.

Alternatively, his maternal grandmother ? Jones is equally mysterious and could provide a lead to Richard's connection to the Jones side.

I have posted a request to Gwynedd Council re the one remaining possibility for Richard's Birth Certificate. Unfortunately, this is in complete opposition to the service provided by Conway Borough Council. I sent my request on 10 Sep to ascertain a contact to gain a Birth Certificate, and have tonight sent a follow-up email as I have not had a reply. If I don't receive a reply shortly, I will seek a certificate via the GRO website.

Still haven't solved the "Insert Quote" problem.

[DownUnder]

What a difference a County makes!

When I ordered a Birth Certificate (my grandfather) from the Conwy County Registration Office, it was a very simple, straightforward and value added experience. I expected a similar experience when I ordered a Birth Certificate from Gwynedd Council for my uncle Richard Davies.

My initial request was made via their website on 10 September. In the absence of a reply, I sent a follow up email on 20 September. It was not until 22 September that I received a reply, requesting information which was sent (using their own form) on 23 September, and received a reply stating that a record was found and I could contact them by phone but would need a "UK Card Only" to facilitate payment.

I asked for clarification on this point on 24 September and drew their attention to my experience with Conwy. Having no reply, I sent a follow up email on 29 September and finally received a response stating that the Council can "only accept credit/debit cards registered in the UK".  I responded with my disappointment that I could not deal with a local office, suggested that they explore their current practices (with perhaps a phone call to Conwy Council) to enable a world focus rather than a UK only focus, and stated that I would order the certificate through the GRO (which is cheaper and very straight forward for overseas customers).

I have placed an order with GRO tonight, so hope to hear back soon.  Regards to all

[Hugo]

Hope that you have better luck this time Hugh.    I've always found the Conwy Archives people very helpful in any searches that I've made and also the Conwy County Registration Office in Llandudno.    Glenys who worked there was extremely helpful when we were looking for your Grandfather's birth certificate.
It must be very frustrating for you in your research with you living so far away.

[DownUnder]

Thanks Hugo,

Yes, my dealings with Glenys in supplying a copy of my Grandfather's birth certificate was nothing but positive, and had nothing to do with her Surname (Davies) http://threetownsforum.co.uk/forum/Smileys/SoLoSMiLeYS1/grin.gif

I am feeling very positive about this record as I have ruled out every other matching Birth Record (again, mainly thanks to Glenys from the Conway RO). I am hopeful of gaining some very helpful information.

[Hugo]

I hope that you get some luck this time with your request, Richard Davies is a relatively common name so you need a bit of luck getting the right one.
My sister in law's father was also called Richard Davies and he was born in Llanberis which is in the middle of the mountain ranges here in N Wales and would be about the same age group as your relative.
I phoned his wife yesterday but he wasn't one of your relations unfortunately.

[DownUnder]

What a shame! Imagine the wealth of information I could obtain if your sister in law's father was my "Richard Davies" ;o)

I have been waiting with baited breath for a response from the GRO regarding my Uncle's birth certificate, but also awaiting a bundle of goods from China relating to Micro Quadcopters (which I have decided to get into).  I had some temporary excitement when my mail contained a bulky item addressed to me. My excitement was short lived however when I realised the item was in fact a "Bowl Cancer Screening Kit" issued by the Australian Government - at least it was free!

An apparently exciting rugby game Aus vs Wales resulted in setting up an Aus vs Scotland game. Many conflicts of interest on my part.