Memorial Inscription, Aberdare

[Jomot]

If anyone has access to the MI's for Aberdare I'd appreciate a look-up for my GGG Grandmother, Gwenllian Davies (Davis per death certificate) who died 14 Aug 1849, aged 29, and is buried at St John the Baptist.   

Many thanks

[Cas (stallc)]

Hi,

Would try Aberdare Library via email, they have family History resources. Maybe coverage of St John

http://www.rootschat.com/links/01i90/

Cas

[Jomot]

Thanks - email sent & fingers crossed!

[Sam Swift]

Hi

I called in on the way past today since I had some unexpected time and they had great difficulty in finding where they had stored the transcribed MI's I know I've seen in the past


However they did in the end find some handwritten books, in which I found the relevant entry.

Grave marked as 884 to correspond with a plan.

It says Gwenllian Davies - widow of Jas Davies of this Par 16/8/1849     29
Also of their infant 18.. (presumably was unreadable)
It was an English inscription rather than a translation from Welsh

I had to look her up in the burial register to check her date of burial and it has her as Aug 14  1849 aged 29 of Village (Aberdare). In the margin it says Cholera (as were many others around this date).

I don't think the gravestone will be there now, since it would have been in the section that they moved the headstones from. When the weather improves (it was chucking it down and blowing a gale), I could look and see if they re- laid the stone somewhere around the perimeter.

Hope this helps (unless of course the library has already contacted you and given you the info!!)

[Jomot]

Thank you very much for taking the time to check this for me Sam.   

The library did respond with the inscription, but their details didn't include the '18..' after "also their infant".  This may actually be quite important, as the last child I was aware of was my GG Grandmother who was born in Feb 1848 and clearly survived.  I'd therefore assumed the 'infant' must have been a child born in 1849 who I simply hadn't found, but I'm wondering now if the '18..' is actually a year, and the infant is a child who predeceased her. 

I know they had a daughter together before they were married - also named Gwenllian - who I believe died in 1841, shortly before her first birthday.  Perhaps it's her, although I think a son may also have died as I cannot trace him beyond his 1846 baptism.

Its all very sad really, as Gwenllian's husband had died in the February of 1849, and his mother (another Gwenllian!) died in the December, both of consumption.

How sad too to hear that the stone has been removed.  Please don't make a special journey to check if it's been relaid elsewhere, but if you are nearby at any time then it would certainly be good to know.

[Sam Swift]

I Popped into the graveyard on my way home but I couldn't see any obvious signs of the gravestone.

[Jomot]

Oh that's a shame, but thank you so much for checking.

[Sam Swift]

No problem you're welcome. I will have another look when the weather isn't so cold and less leaves about, just in case the stone is laid flat and is underneath the piles of leaves.