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Wales (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Wales => Breconshire => Topic started by: zx123 on Monday 12 March 12 18:38 GMT (UK)
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Hello,
I wonder if somebody could help me?
I am trying to trace the line of my great grandfather Thomas Bevan.
This is what I know.
Thomas Bevan was born in 1866.
His father was called William Bevan,born in 1839.
His mother was Margaret Bevan,born in 1839.
He had two sisters and two brothers called Ann,Mary,John and William.
On all the censuses from 1871 to 1901 it says that they were all born in llanganydre,Brecknockshire..
On the 1901 and 1911 it says they were all born in Rassa Brecknockshire apart from the two youngest children who were born in Dukes town,brecknockshire.
William Bevan's father was also called William Bevan.
Did They move from LLangynedre to Dukestown
I know that Thomas Bevan Lived in dukestown,in tredegar, but where is llangynedre?
Where could I find the parish records for Brecknockshire or llangynedre?
Why does it say in 1901 and 1911 that they were born in Rassa,Brecknocksire?
all very confusing. Can anyone tell me how I can make any more progress on this line?
Thanks
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I think Llangynedre is Llangynidr, Rassa is Rassau and Duke's Town and Tredegar are nearby. Type these into google maps with no county and you should see them.
Llangynidr is 6 miles from Rassau so I guess they moved from Llangynidr to Rassau but by the time the 1901 census came round they forgot how long they had been living there and so said Rassau. I would think they lived in all 3 places.
Have you found their birth certificates?
Tredegar is Bedwelty reg district and all the other places are Circkhowell.
Try looking at the Breconshire pages on Genuki to find out which PR's are still available and where. http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/BRE/
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Thanks for the suggestions,
I think I will have to get the certificates.
I maybe they were always living in tredegar, because dukestown in tredegar was in Breckcnockshire at that time I think.
Its so confusing and the names don't help,
I know that Thomas Bevans father was William Bevan and William Bevans father was William Bevan.
I'll have to get William Bevans birth certificate to go back any further.
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People moved arrond within a small area far more than history woudl have us think so I suspect they just lived in different villages surrounding the Tredagar area. Some of my ancestors even moved house within the same street.
I think certs are going to be your way forward to make certain of your line.
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There was a lot of moving about between Llangynidr and the Beaufort/Rassau area during the 19th and early 20th centuries. People moved with their work and as you will see from the map, Llangynir is on the north side of the mountains, Rassau/Beaufort is on the south, and the quickest way to cross the mountain was by the road which leads from one to the other. I have come across a lot of instances of people moving from Crickhowell or Llangynidr to the other side of the mountain and once they have achieved that move they seem to spend the rest of their lives moving from valley to valley, town to town, depending on where the work is. It certainly was an interesting period in history, an a visit to that area reveals huge areas where the industrial archaeology of that age is still very evident.
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Here is a map (taken from OpenStreetMap so not subject to OS copyright) showing the relative locations of Rassau, Dukestown and Tredegar. At that time Rassau and Dukestown were park of Llangynidr Parish which could lead to confusion regarding places of birth.
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Hi,
Thanks for that information Greensleeves.
Researching this side of my family tree has been quite difficult.
I think the parish registers are in Llandrindod wells,
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A lot of people have trouble with this area, partly because people were moving about a lot and also because of the similarity of names. It's a pity the 1871 census isn't a bit more precise regarding the places of birth, as it gives William, Thomas and William junior merely as being born in Breconshire and Margaret, the mother, as having been born in Radnor. I see from the census returns that William Snr, Thomas and William Jnr were all miners in 1881. As there were more mines being opened throughout the region at about that time, there was a considerable movement of labour from one mine to the next.
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I think I have found them on the 1851 census, but I cant find them on 1841 or 1861.
1851
William Bevan 59
Ann Bevan 49
William Bevan 12
John Bevan 6
Jennett Bevan 8
Living in Rassa houses
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Hi
I hope the information below is helpfull It shows the family in Sirhowy, which is close to Dukestown and Rassa.
The below is from the 1891 Welsh Census.
1891 Wales RG12/ 4357/78 p 2
32 First Row, Sirhowy, Tredegar
William Bevan Head 53
Margaret Bevan Wife 52
Thos Bevan Son 25
William Bevan Son 22
Ann Bevan Daughter 17
Mary Bevan Daughter 15
John Bevan Son 12
William, Thomas and William Jnr are all Coal miners and Ann is a dresssmaker. All born Llangynidre.
If you want me to look further please let me know. As said by previous postings the north end of the Ebbw and Sirhowy valleys were part of Breconshire and they were therefore probably born in the Rassa area.
Happy Hunting
Tinker
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Hi thanks for the reply,
I can find them in every census from 1871 to 1911.
I've tried but I just cant find them in 1841,51 or 61.
I know that william bevan, who was my gggrandfather, got married in 1864 to margaret griffiths, and that is them on the 1891 census.
William bevans father was also called william bevan.
Ive found a possibility on the 1851 census, a william bevan with a son called william bevan,born about 1839 living in Rassa Houses and married to ann bevan.That could be them.
Could you look on the 1841,1851 or 1861 censuses for them?
Maybe somebody else would be able to spot them.
Maybe i will have to wait for the parish records on findmypast or buy some certificates to find out more.
Thanks
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Hello Again
I will run through the cenus's and see what I can find. I actually live in Rassa and have collected some information on the area. Not great but it might be useful. I will get back to you ASAP. Preparing for my grandsons birthday at the moment.
Cheers
Tinker
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Hi there. Hopefully you will receive this even if a couple of years later!
it might be helpful top know that in 1915 there was a change of boundaries.
Dukestown, Scwrfa and parts of Sirhowy which beforehand had been in Brecknockshire, were attached to the town of Tredegar in Monmouthshire.
Might help ....
Tredegar has a great site online.
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Hi,
Thanks for that information, it gets very confusing with all the boundary changes.