Aaargh!Searching for Williams family, Abergele 1918 - 1945 (Needle in haystack?)

[stitchwitch]

Hi folks

I'm looking for a couple named Williams who had a daughter Mary born 4th Jan 1920, probably in Abergele (registration district St Asaph). Apparently she was brought up in Abergele, most likely Chapel, and allegedly her father had a pharmacist/ chemist's shop. She most probably attended the National School, and was educated solely in English whilst being Welsh-speaking at home. She was a very gifted pianist. By the time of Mary's marriage locally in 1946 both her parents were apparently deceased (almost certainly before 1944). I'm waiting for her marriage certificate to arrive, as I have the details to nail this down, but can anyone help me possibly to locate her parents in a trade directory or similar, or anything else?

I am unable to find her birth anywhere, even when applying a fair degree of flexibilty to the birth date I have from her death record. I have also considered the possibility that she had been married before, but I doubt this was the case.

Many thanks
Stitchwitch in Sunny Yorkshire

[KGarrad]

Have you checked the 1939 National Register? Available on FindMyPast; the indexes are free to search.

[ciderdrinker]

Hello
Garrard is right
There are two possibilities on the free index
Mary Williams born 4.1.1920 (Evans) in Llanelly
Mary Hope (Williams ) 4.1.1921 in Pontypridd.

The name in brackets is usually the married name so does that fit with the marriage in 1946 that you have?
There is also the possibility that she doesn't appear on the 1939 record because the record for her is closed. As you possibly guessed there's a lot of Williams in Abergele.

There are 2 possible birth registraions in St Aspaph
Mary Williams Mar 1920 mother Jones
Mary G Williams Mar 1920 mother Edwards.


Ciderdrinker

[stitchwitch]

Many thanks to you both, Garrard and CD.

Unfortunately, I don't currently have access to FindMyPast (time for another free trial, methinks). However, I don't think either of the two CD turned up are likely. In 1946 she married a Powell (another arrgh LOL!) and moved to the Wirral. Luckily I know where she was after that - in fact, a little before as she moved in with her future  in-laws for a bit. It had crossed my mind that she may have been married previously, but it's the sort of thing I would expect my Mum to know.

St Asaph is the right RD for the time, and again, I think we'd all have known if she had a middle name; this leaves us with the first suspect. How did I miss her? Deep joy! Her mother was a Jones. Time to send for the birth cert, it would appear,and try to match it to the marriage I've ordered (which I know to be correct). If that's wrong, then she could have been Mary Hope, but I doubt it.

Blue skies!
Stitch

[stitchwitch]

Found the St Asaph one on Ancestry now - I'd missed it initially searching their indexes because some numpty had attributed St Asaph to Merrionethshire of all places. Pie-larks. It was in Denbighshire, sometimes strays into Flintshire, and is now in Conway.

SW