Elizabeth "Bessie" Jones. Parents Pierce & Jane Anne of Tan Y Wal

[Hugo]

Hi Annie,  if you are thinking of a trip to Penrhynside it'll take you a lot longer than 15 minutes.   I drove from the Bangor area along the A55 yesterday and the road works there have a 40 mph limit and I believe that they also have averaging speed cameras too.
Anyway if you do go there bear in mind that parking in the village is a nightmare,   When I drive there from the top of Penrhyn Hill I take the first right turn and there are a few parking bays just after the turning.   Tan Y Wal in Bryn Gwynt Lane is just a short distance uphill and take the left fork to Tan Y Wal.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mull and his wife in Llandudno a few years ago and we drove to Tan Y Wal and had a good look around the property.     We then went to the Glanwydden Baptist Cemetery and I showed them the Grave of Pierce Jones and his family and also the grave of John Jones ( Pierce's father )     I've attached a photo of John Jones grave but I must have lost the one I took of Pierce's

Mull told me an interesting story of when he was a young boy.    He was taken to a relative in Denness Place and the relative was a tractor driver for the RNLI  and I think Mull got to sit on the tractor in the Lifeboat Station.     Now by coincidence there was an article in the local paper about Glyn Jones a local butcher who also happened to drive the Lifeboat tractor.    This Glyn Jones is not the person who Mull saw as Glyn was too young at the time.
Glyn was a well known character and my brothers knew him well and that he did live in Denness Place at one time.    Was Glyn's father that Lifeboat tractor driver or not?   I don't even know Glyn's father's name so it's another Jones mystery to solve

[ckirkrph]

Hello to everyone, it has been a bit. Annie, so nice speaking with you the other day, what a fascinating conversation about our relatives and the past. So glad you found Mull as well as I know he is also a direct relative. I do appreciate the picture you posted , yes, the William Kirk in that picture was my great grandfather. I was able to show that picture to his 96 year old daughter who was thrilled and amazed to see that people care enough to connect and share their old photos especially since she had never seen this particular photo of her father. I too have been reading through the old threads and adding names to our tree in an effort to work with you to find as many direct descendants as we can and possibly get a reunion organized. The gentleman on this site have always gone way above and beyond, thanks again everyone for all your help and information.  I have been looking to see what other old Jones family pics I might have and I was amazed at your collection. I believe Mull had some of the originals of the copies I had as well. We should make it a point to share the pics, maybe we can put a few more names with faces together. I am interested to see how many Jones relatives are left in the area. I remember way back someone said they were contacted by a Jones relative but then something happened and I am not sure who they were. Mull, out of curiosity, do you have any pics of you can share, I think you mentioned one of Bessie. I am hoping to stumble upon a different pic of Annie Maria and realize people might have them and not realize who she is. Anyways, excited to keep trading info and pics Annie! Looking forward to our next Skype session! Chad

[Hugo]

I remember way back someone said they were contacted by a Jones relative but then something happened and I am not sure who they were.

That was me Chad and by coincidence I was contacted by a friend this week who brought me up to date with the situation.     Apparently this Jones relative was born in Tan Y Wal but no contact was made with him because he was seriously ill and sadly he has since died.
Before he died he passed the details on to his brother but the brother is a bit elusive so my friend will make some enquiries and see what information he can get

[Hugo]

Parking in the village wasn't very good when I visited it today to take some more photos of Tan Y Wal.       The original cottage at the top of the garden looked nice but no further development has taken place since my last visit.
When I got home I looked at the Planning application and it is for two modern houses but it is not without problems and one being the access to the site but there are others too
It makes a mockery of the Planning rules at the CCBC when they don't even conduct site visits before passing applications for planning

[Annie]

Hi again
Thanks for the photos and info on Tan Y Wal Hugo.  I plan to visit hopefully next week and have a look at Tan Y wal and the cemetry where many of the family are buried and visit the graves.  I think the road works have now decreased on the A55 between Bangor and Llandudno, so hopefully it will be a smooth run.

I have in the interim both spoken on Skype to Chad, and also shared a lot of family photos I have with him.  Fortunately I kept a lot of the old photos and identified that some of the photos I have were sent by William Kirk from Canada and America to my grandparents , Richard Benjamin and Elizabeth Jane Jones.  some of the photos had short explanations and names on the reverse and the minute I saw the name William/Billy Kirk on the back, I knew that they were of Chad's relations and that they should be shared with him.  I have today sent them in the post to Chad.   I have a lot of the photos that have been shared on here (of the Pierce Jones family) in my possession, and it is strange to think that at some point in the past , these photos were circulated amongst the family members.  A lot of my difficulty has been in identifying who is who in the photos, but thanks to this forum, I have been able to identify some of the people who are clearly part of the Pierce JOnes family.

As Chad mentioned I have been thinking that maybe at some point in the future it would be nice to arrange for all those who are descending from Pierce JOnes and Jane Anne Jones (the eight surviving siblings of the ten children) to meet up in Llandudno if they so wished.  So far it looks like we have found the direct descendents of Grace Ellen Jones (via Mull) of Anne Maria JOnes (via Chad) of Richard Benjamin Jones and Mary Jane JOnes (via me).  I think the eldest daughter Catherine JOnes (who married ? Marshall) eventually went to Australia, and I think my parents went to Australia in 1984 and visited them in Adelaide.  I also have a photo from Adelaide of a young woman who has sent it to Uncle Dick and Auntie Jane, signed your loving niece Gertie.    I plan to see if I can find their address there in the coming weeks.  I think Bessie married (Mr Rusholme) and eventually went to Margate Kent, as I have photos of Richard Benjamin and Elizabeth Jane JOnes visiting there.  It seems there were two daughters and the family moved to Chard , Somerset at some point, so may be worth trying to find out whether there are any relations surviving from Bessie's two daughters.  Uncle Pierce (Uncle Percy), married  Harriet and lived in Llandudno,   they look to have had five children, two girls, a boy and twin boys,  One of the twins sadly died during World Ward 2 (Gwilym) but might be worth trying to find out about the descendants of the other four children.  Uncle Harry (Henry ) and his wife Susie, also lived in Llandudno and had two boys, John Henry and Richard.   I wonder if their descendants are still in the Llandudno area?  So that is all eight children, of Pierce and Jane Anne Jones and hopefully we may provide a forum for those who wish to be in touch about the family history and maybe even meet up at some point in the future, could be made possible. 

[mull]

Hi Annie,
Hope your trip to Penrhynside goes well. Just to give you information on Tan Y Wal.

On the photos, the original cottage is to the right hand side of the chimney and to the left of it is an modern extension. When Hugh Hughes and Nain ( Grace Ellen ) lived there the extension area was a single story Washhouse and toilet. To the left of it was a passge way leading round to the back of the property. To the left of the passage was Uncle Hugh's Cobblers workshop with a window in front of the workbench overlooking the view Rhos on Sea/Colwyn Bay and along the coast. When I visited a year or 2 back with Hugo several large trees had been allowed to grow obstructing some of the view.
Uncle Hugh's workshop was something of a meeting place for some of the older men from the village. I think he and some of the others used to chew tobacco and and were accurate at spitting, I can still hear it sizzling on the stove now.  Must have been well known as Hugo who I don't think had been there in the 1950/60 had heard about it .
Got a a lot going on at present so unable to look up some of the pictures I have. As soon as I get a chance I will be in touch.

[paul Parry]

Hi, I would like to introduce myself. I am Paul Pary my grandfather was, Glyn Jones who sadly passed away in the early 80's Gwilym jones who was my grandfather's twin was killed in WW2 on RMS Loconia 12th Sept 1942, serving with the RAF. Glyn was RN during the war serving on a mine sweeper, I have his war medals.

Glyn (granddad) was married to Daisy Jones, and they had 3 sons Barry, Colin and Bryan and two daughter Rosemarry and my mother Janet. Only Barry Rose and Janet are still with us.  Granddad (Glyn) was a plaster and a practical joker. and enjoyed a drink mostly in what he called Church the west shore club, as small man in stature with Red hair and I was told his twin Gwilym was dark hair and 6ft tall.

Pierce from my mother's memory her Taid was, was a strict T total person with strong links to the Baptist church and mostly spoke in Welsh. My Grandad was born in 1913 with Gwilym however their mother died from Alcoholism and pierce re-married, and I am told had another sone called David Jones?

My Granddad was called Tan Y Wal as a nickname as were a lot of the Jones in those days from their distinctive nose and eye shape and also its where they came from.

Attached is a news paper clipping of Great Uncle Gwilym another of Glyn during WW2 also my Mum and then in the Army many years ago now. 

   

[paul Parry]

Gwilym

[paul Parry]

Glyn Jones RN WW2

[Annie]

Hi Paul
I too am descended from the Pierce Jones Tan Wal family.  My grandmother was the youngest born to the family Mary Jane Jones.  My mother was Doris.  She was the fifth of seven children born to Mary Jane Jones.  Her older sister Gladys would often refer to your great grandfather as Uncle Percy.  She would talk with great pride about him as he was apparently a coxswain for the Llandudno Lifeboat.  She also used to talk about the fact that he had twin boys called Gwilym and Glyn and that one was dark haired and one was red haired.  She also said that Gwilym was sadly killed during the war, and his name is on the war memorial in Llandudno.  I remember too how the family would always make reference to the Jones Tan Wal distinctive features - the nose, eyes and also the 'walk'.  There are two other members who contribute on here who are also descendents from this family - Mull who is the grandchild of Grace Ellen Jones (whom they all called Auntie Lell) and Chad in America.  He is descended from Annie Maria - and I remembered how the family would make reference to a sister (Annie Maria) who had a brute of a husband and that when she died as a young woman, rather than live with him and his new wife the two very young boys stowed away on a boat and went to Canada to join the Mountain Police.  Chad I do believe is a descendent of one of those two boys and has managed to do a lot of work on the family tree.  So nice to see your contribution and to hear about Gwilym and Glyn and that you are descended from Glyn and also Pierce Jones was your grandfather.    Maybe your mother will remember Mary Jane Jones, they youngest, who married John Calvert,  they had six daughters and then a son.  They lived at 21 Brooke Street in Llandudno and Mary Jane died quite young too (aged 41) not long after their son (John) was born. 

[paul Parry]

Hi Annie

lovely to hear from you. My granddad Glyn did speak of a relative in the states, from memory he said he was located in Salt Lake City? I will ask my Mum about your mother. I was told that Percy (pierce) remarried after my Granddads mother passed away and had another son called David a lot younger than Glyn & Gwilym, however this is only word mouth. My Granddad never spoke about Gwilym his twin, just said he was lost at sea. However, my Granddad quite often called my Gwilym, as I struck a resemblance in his eyes to him.

Are you. still local to Llandudno? I moved away at 16 joined the forces, then worked for the Home Office based in London and have only just last year returned to Penryn Bay were ironically. I can see Tal Y Wal from my house, and also, I am told by my mother a Great Auntie Bessie I believe lived on Glan Y Mor Rd as a dress maker, where I now reside!  Spooky

[Hugo]

Hi Paul and Annie,  it's very interesting following the Tan Y Wal history as I went up there with Mull and his wife a few years ago.  Mull is related to the Jones family and used to visit his relatives there when he was younger
Tan Y Wal was granted planning permission in recent years but when I last visited the place nothing had happened to it apart from a wide tarmac drive being laid into the garden
It was good to see the name on the wall too as it had been on the gate previously but has long since gone

[paul Parry]

Hi in regards to this
Mull told me an interesting story of when he was a young boy.    He was taken to a relative in Denness Place and the relative was a tractor driver for the RNLI  and I think Mull got to sit on the tractor in the Lifeboat Station.     Now by coincidence there was an article in the local paper about Glyn Jones a local butcher who also happened to drive the Lifeboat tractor.    This Glyn Jones is not the person who Mull saw as Glyn was too young at the time.
Glyn was a well known character and my brothers knew him well and that he did live in Denness Place at one time.    Was Glyn's father that Lifeboat tractor driver or not?   I don't even know Glyn's father's name so it's another Jones mystery to solve.

Number 4 Denis Place, just off Trinity Ave  was my granddads house Glyn Jones (twin brother of Gwilym killed in WW2) My Granddads was a builder mainly a Master Plasterer and well know practical joker. His farther was Pierce Jones and worked for the RNLI from 1900 to 1952. I am told Pierce was a very physically well built man T Total and very religious. I am also informed his first wife past away due to consumption around 1915? (alcoholic) and Pierce remarried and had another son David Jones whom my mother had a vague memory of, however my Grandfather Glyn apparently did get on that well with Pierce as my Grandad liked a drink! (This is all word say)  Also my Grandad never spoke of his brother just said he was lost at sea.   Hope this helps

[Hugo]

This is just an observation but in the early days of the 20th century when people died of consumption it usually meant that they had died of TB, so perhaps it wasn't alcoholism?

What does consumption mean in medical terms?
Tuberculosis, also known as consumption, is a disease caused by bacteria that usually attacks the lungs, and at the turn of the 20th century, the leading cause of death in the United States.

[paul Parry]

It could be my mistake I heard my Grandads Mother past from Consumption which I took as being an alcoholic.

My Grandad married my Grandmother Daisy Jones from Mansfield they had:
Barry Jones, Colin Jones, Brian Jones, Rosemary Jones and my mother the youngest by ten tears Janet Jones and all resided at Denis Place. The house is still occupied by a Jones my Cousin Sharon Jones the daughter of Colin.

I know as children Glyn and Gwilym live in Jubilee street which is the town end of trinity Avenue Llandudno.  I also recall my Granddad talking about a cousin or some other relative that lived in the states (salt lake city)  This again is a hazy memory.

Glyn served on mine sweeps during the war and Gwilym was in the RAF in North Africa )his name is on the memorial at El-alamian as well as Llandudno) and was lost at sea on a ship called Loctania (pardon spelling) torpedoed by a U boat of the canary's and then strafed by the US air Force as the U Boat called for help from the Italian navy to rescue survivors as the ship was carrying civilians as well as 800 Italian POW also the water was shark infested. There was a film made about it and certainly the ships fate is on You tube.     

Grandad (Glyn) passed away in about 1981 and my Grandmother few years later.  I recall my Grandad like to frequent the West Shore Club (now gone)