William Davies/Davis 1848 Ruabon

[Gadget]

I'll get them up and put them on here side by side.   The 1911 might not have been signed by him - just pretended it was him.

[Gadget]

I think they are close enough to be by the same hand - the Davies is more or less the same. The William looks more confident on the marriage line.

I'm also thinking that they might have married because of the pension - introduced in 1909 for the 70 and overs. They would both have been 70 around 1915.

[Gadget]

Bit more on my theory of why marry:

The law was passed in August 1908 and the first pensions paid on 1 January 1909 to around 500,000 people aged 70 or more. It was 5/= (five shillings or 25p) a week and was paid in full to individuals aged 70 or more with an annual income of £21 a year or less reducing to nothing at an annual income of £31 a year.  A higher pension of 7/6 (62.5p) was paid to a married man.

http://www.web40571.clarahost.co.uk/statepensionage/SPA_history.htm

Added - but ? would they not have had 10/- between them as unmarrieds    Maybe an insurance policy or similar.

[Jopeg]

That sounds a very plausible reason for marrying.

Signature, I think what made me think they were different was the spelling, although they aren’t that close to look at to me.

That, coupled with the Portmadog thing made me think they were the wrong couple.

But they fit in other ways and I can find no other contenders.

I even looked at the address from the marriage record in case there was a mistranscription, but there wasn’t just different people.

[Jopeg]

Still slogging away at this. The census with Grandmother Jane that Gadget mentioned looks a possibility to me.

It is 4283/50/5

14 year old William is described as an engineer, would he go from that to coal miner?

[Gadget]

It doesn't say what type of engineer he was, Jo. I don't think he would be a qualified/certified one  at 14. Maybe he was something to do with working the engines needed both above and below ground. He could well go on to be a coal miner from that.

He's a puzzle.

Gadget

PS - yes, that is the one I found 

[Jopeg]

No an engineer then wasn’t what we think of now and I believe coal mining was relatively well paid. I can’t find Jane Roberts in 1851, but will keep looking.

[Gadget]

The pay was more than ag labs or general labourers but was dangerous - many of my coal miner ancestors were either killed or badly injured in the mines.

[Jopeg]

I have mining in my family too, although unaware of anyone getting injured or killed, even my Dad was a Bevin boy during WWII and he did get injured, thrown off his motorbike by the miners' bus on his way home from work and broke his leg!