Author Topic: Daviies Family  (Read 89637 times)

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Offline Hugo

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Re: Daviies Family
« Reply #330 on: November 19, 2015, 06:41:35 pm »
I've noticed that you've been dropping into the forum recently and wondered if you have  got any news Hugh.     It would be fascinating to know where William and Catherine moved to.

Offline DownUnder

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Re: Daviies Family
« Reply #331 on: November 21, 2015, 01:49:19 pm »
Hi Hugo,

I have been busy putting together a three part history for Gina of what I have found in relation to the family. Part 1 was finding the connection of my father to his father's birth (William Davies), and the validated connection to William's grandfather Edward Davies. Part 2 was the history going forward from my father's birth. Part 3 was going backwards from Edward Davies. This took some effort to put together and resulted in a .pdf file greater than 5Mb. I have only just completed this file prior to this reply.

One of the problems of putting Part 3 together was that I kept finding avenues of exploration that I had not considered beforehand.  I have managed to trace back the maternal arms of my ancestors to Edward Davies (b.~ 1726) marrying an Ellin Jones (b.~ 1730).

Some of the information I have received from Gina is that my father's sister "Jinw" is in reality Jane Davies. We also sorted out the nicknames vs the actual given names of dad and his siblings - eg., Hugh known as "Taffy", Jane known as "Jinw", Edward known as "Teddy", and Richard known as "Bonzo", and a collective memory of another brother called Humphrey.  I did some investigating and found that a Humphrey was born in 1916 and Jane in 1920, both in Llandwrog.

There are a number of arms of the family scattered around and I hope to maybe harness there photos/memories/experiences as time goes on.

Regards Hugh



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Re: Daviies Family
« Reply #332 on: November 21, 2015, 11:07:01 pm »
Some other information that has come to light is:

Catherin Jones' (wife of William Davies) parents were -
Richard Jones      1855   b Aberdaron, Caernarvonshire
Jane ?         1853   b LLaniestyn, Caernarvonshire

I think Jane's maiden name was Davies but I still have to confirm that. Richard and Jane settled in the Llanllyfni area and their children were -

Mgt (Margaret) Jones   Dau   1875   Caernarvonshire
Hugh Jones      Son   1878   Llanllyfni. Caernarvonshire
Humphr(ey) Jones   Son   1881   Llanllyfni. Caernarvonshire
Anne Jones      Dau   1883   Llanllyfni, Caernarvonshire
Catherine Jones      Dau   1885   Llanllyfni, Caernarvonshire
Elizabeth Jones      Dau   1887   Llanllyfni, Caernarvonshire
Griffith Jones      Son   1889   Llanllyfni, Caernarvonshire
Thomas Jones      Son   1892   Llanllyfni, Caernarvonshire
Mary Jones              Dau   1894   Llanllyfni, Caernarvonshire

It would seem that the family moved to Llandwrog from Llandudno and were there at least from 1916 to 1920. Apparently William was still alive when the family moved to Penygroes.  Catherine passed away in her daughter Jane's house. William and Catherine are buried together at Machpelah cemetery Penygroes and all that marks the grave is a cross with W.D on it. 

Gina also remembered that Teddy (Edward) Davies was a boxer, and apparently quite a good one.

I am hopeful that Gina will be able to talk to the extended family and pass on some additional information.

One intriguing thought I had was that of the boot/shoemaker shops listed in Llandudno, one was owned by a William Jones. The Rates Book image you kindly posted shows that the other family living at Vron Cottage was a William Jones.  I wondered whether there was a connection between William Jones and Catherine Jones? Was this how they met?  Another thread to explore.

Offline Hugo

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Re: Daviies Family
« Reply #333 on: November 23, 2015, 03:43:49 pm »
I see that Catherine's parents come from the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales.   Aberdaron is a pretty little village, right at the end of the peninsular and was the last place on the mainland before pilgrims made their trip over the sea to Bardsey Island.
It's nice that you've been able to discover where William and Catherine are buried and Gina may be able to provide you with dates and photos too.
Did you find out the name of the quarry where your father worked?

This little cafe in the photo is called Cegin Fawr and is in Aberdaron and reputedly 700 years old. What is certain is that the Cegin Fawr (Welsh: Big Kitchen) once supplied sustenance to pilgrims en route to the holy island of Bardsey

Offline Hugo

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Re: Daviies Family
« Reply #334 on: January 04, 2016, 12:24:18 pm »
Happy New Year to you Hugh and I hope that 2016 will bring you more news of your Welsh family.   Did you ever find out which quarry your father worked in?
In one of the links I posted there was a photo of the school children at Penygroes school in 1922.    You father should have still been in school then and may have been in that photo.  If he was would you have recognised him?

Offline DownUnder

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Re: Daviies Family
« Reply #335 on: January 05, 2016, 11:12:07 pm »
I've noticed that you've been dropping into the forum recently and wondered if you have  got any news Hugh.     It would be fascinating to know where William and Catherine moved to.

Hi Hugo, and Happy New Year to you and yours.

Just keeping up with the "happenings" on the Forum.  The flow of information coming from Gina has been a bit restricted due to her only having time on Sundays to work on the family history, and of course the lead up and aftermath of the Christmas/New Year seasons. I am thinking of putting together a 'Questionnaire' that Gina could hopefully on forward to family members and either respond directly to me of through Gina.

On a technical note, is there any way I can download this thread in its entirety?

Offline Hugo

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Re: Daviies Family
« Reply #336 on: January 06, 2016, 03:29:27 pm »
On a technical note, is there any way I can download this thread in its entirety?

I've no idea Hugh as I'm not very good with IT but you may get an answer from the Admins or someone else.

That's a good idea about the questionnaire as each family member may have a bit to add to it that the others are unaware of.    With such a strong link to the Conwy Valley area it seems strange that they moved to Llanwnda but World War I was imminent and that may have prompted the move.  I wonder if William was conscripted into the Army ( Royal Welch Fusiliers being the most obvious branch) as he was of the age that he could have served in it.

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Re: Daviies Family
« Reply #337 on: January 26, 2016, 09:39:47 am »
Hi All,

We had an opportunity recently to 'escape' to Toowoomba, a lovely regional city some 90 minutes from where we live (Brisbane). During a stroll through their main public park, we were approached by a middle aged man and a much younger girl.  This was the result, our 15 seconds of fame! http://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/queens-park-impressing-with-summer-blooms/2907261/

Offline Hugo

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Re: Daviies Family
« Reply #338 on: January 26, 2016, 11:48:51 am »
We'll all be asking for your autograph now Hugh.    ;D     The park does look well kept and beautiful with all those flowers there and getting interviewed on the media was a bonus too.
You've got a good Ozzie accent there, no trace at all of any Scottish accent but you have been in Oz  a long time.

Offline DownUnder

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Re: Daviies Family
« Reply #339 on: January 28, 2016, 10:42:28 am »
We'll all be asking for your autograph now Hugh.    ;D     The park does look well kept and beautiful with all those flowers there and getting interviewed on the media was a bonus too.
You've got a good Ozzie accent there, no trace at all of any Scottish accent but you have been in Oz  a long time.

The funny thing was that as we were strolling through the garden, I saw a middle aged man taking photos of a young woman in her twenties (who is seen early in the video) which struck me as a bit strange. When we got close to them, the man approached us and showing the back of the camera towards us he said "Uh., I was just wondering if you could..". I immediately put two and two together and came up with nine responding with "Ah, would you like me to take a photo for you?", only to be told no, and after explaining they were from the local newspaper, asked us whether we would be willing to model for him. After being assured we could remain clothes at all times (http://threetownsforum.co.uk/forum/Smileys/SoLoSMiLeYS1/wink.gif) we agreed. It was an interesting experience where posing for 'still' photos led to some short 'video' shots which then culminated in a request for a video interview. 

It was a bit hard to portray the enthusiastic love of the gardens which they were obviously after, but I'm sure we will be nominated for a local 'Oscar' type award http://threetownsforum.co.uk/forum/Smileys/SoLoSMiLeYS1/laugh.gif

Offline Hugo

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Re: Daviies Family
« Reply #340 on: February 25, 2016, 03:52:50 pm »
Hi Hugh, hope that everything is going well with your new found family members in North Wales.     Yesterday my friend and I had a walk in Criccieth and coming home we had to pass through the village of Penygroes.     You may already have had photos from the family here but just in case you haven’t already I’ve taken some for you.      Tre Ddafydd is part of the main street in the village and the first photo is of Tre Ddafydd and No 2 is the second cottage on the left (see photo 2)
We then left the main street and drove uphill to Machpelah Cemetery to see if we could find the grave of William and Catherine Davies your Grandparents.    Machpelah Cemetery is a very large and well maintained Cemetery so we parked our car by the first big iron gates and we had an amazing bit of luck.    My friend Pete went through the gates and as I was getting my camera out of the car, he shouted to me “I’ve found it” and he had.    There are literally hundreds of graves there but Pete saw it within one minute.      Looking through the gates it is in the second row on the left of the path and about 4 or 5 graves from the gate.
The slate cross is very small,  less than 12 inches tall.  The initials W D have been carved into the slate and it looks like someone has painted the letters in a white paint to highlight the initials.   There also appears to be the shape of a heart above the initials that has been scratched on to the slate cross    The grave is covered in decorative stone chippings and some pebbles have been laid near the cross.
The panoramic view from the Cemetery is stunning and the mountains can be seen clearly in most directions.    In the days when your father and Richard were children these are the views that they would have seen and they would have been seen from the front door of 2 Tre Ddafydd too.
The photos show one of the many slate quarries in the area and your father Hugh could have worked in any of them as there were quite a few slate quarries in that area.
You have mentioned Pen Pelah as a place where members of the Davies family have lived and I’ve no idea where that is but as “Pen” means head or top in English then I suspect that the property is somewhere above the Cemetery

Offline Hugo

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Re: Daviies Family
« Reply #341 on: February 25, 2016, 03:57:54 pm »
Machpelah Cemetery Penygroes

Offline DownUnder

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Re: Daviies Family
« Reply #342 on: February 27, 2016, 05:39:14 am »
Hi Hugh, hope that everything is going well with your new found family members in North Wales.     Yesterday my friend and I had a walk in Criccieth and coming home we had to pass through the village of Penygroes.     You may already have had photos from the family here but just in case you haven’t already I’ve taken some for you.   

Many thanks once again Hugo.  My brother and I and our respective better half's did visit Penygroes very briefly in 2002 when we attended our son's wedding in London.  We did find 2 Tredaffyd St and in fact, I walked up the lane adjacent to No 1 and into what appeared to be a mechanics shop and got their permission to take some photos of the back of No2. 

Your greatest find indeed was my grandfather's headstone.  Unfortunately, I have not been in contact with the new found family member due to an extremely busy time looking after grandchildren 5 days a week.  With the CFS, I am exhausted at the end of each day.  I am looking at the possibility of putting up a website that the new found relatives can interact with, but still in the early stages. Once again I am so grateful for all you are doing and have done for me and many others on the forum

Offline Hugo

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Re: Daviies Family
« Reply #343 on: February 27, 2016, 11:28:22 am »
You are very welcome Hugh, it was my pleasure.   With the luck we had it didn't take long and it was nice to see the location of the Cemetery and the wonderful views of the mountains.
I'm surprised that you can manage looking after the Grandchildren with the CFS as I have seen how debilitating it can be for my wife who has the same condition.
Hope that you are able to pace yourself and just take one day at a time.      Once you get your website going and get the info from your N Wales family you'll be able to tell the Grandchildren all about your Welsh family

Offline DownUnder

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Re: Daviies Family
« Reply #344 on: February 28, 2016, 07:03:34 am »
You are very welcome Hugh, it was my pleasure.   With the luck we had it didn't take long and it was nice to see the location of the Cemetery and the wonderful views of the mountains.
I'm surprised that you can manage looking after the Grandchildren with the CFS as I have seen how debilitating it can be for my wife who has the same condition.
Hope that you are able to pace yourself and just take one day at a time.      Once you get your website going and get the info from your N Wales family you'll be able to tell the Grandchildren all about your Welsh family

Thank you Hugo. Fortunately my wife carries out the vast bulk of the heavy lifting.  I just rest in the lounge chair telling 'Pop Jokes' and enjoying the collective groans in response (or complete indifference depending on the age of the grandchild/grandchildren and my wife's mood http://threetownsforum.co.uk/forum/Smileys/SoLoSMiLeYS1/cheesy.gif ).