Griffith Anwyl born 1885

[Blueboy007]

Hello all, I am hoping for some guidance and advice that may help me solve a family mystery.

I have been trying to discover more about my Great Uncle Griffith Anwyl. He was born on the 12th January 1885 in Llangelynin. His mother Catherine Anwyl, my Great grandmother,  was unmarried when she registered his birth and no father is listed on the birth certificate. My grandmother Margaret Jane Anwyl was also registered with no father shown, she was born on the 1st November 1888 in Barmouth.

Catherine subsequently married a Robert Evans on 14th May 1889 and Griffith was with him and his mother Catherine in Barmouth at the 1891 Census.

I then found him in the 1911 Census in Oldham. He was with his wife Kate and a boarder called John Evans. His occupation was a general labourer. They had married in the Welsh Chapel in Oldham in 1910.

He subsequently emigrated to Canada. I found his death record which gives his birth date as 12th January 1885, which is correct, he died in 1946.

Where I need help is a possible clue to who his father could be. The death record states his father's surname was Anwyl, with christian name not listed. I took a closer look at the wedding certificate for Griffith when it arrived yesterday and it lists his father as a Griffith Anwyl (deceased). I cannot however read the father's occupation. It is something Journeyman. Please see the image attached.

I am wondering if he listed a Griffith Anwyl as the name of his father at the time of his wedding because he did not want to leave it blank (if he genuinely did not know the name of his father), or whether a Griffith Anwyl actually existed. But it seems a long shot that he had a child to a Catherine Anwyl, who was unmarried.

If I can find the trade it would give me options when searching for a Griffith Anwyl in Merionethshire. Any suggestions would be welcome. I would really like to find the father of Griffith and Margaret Jane.

Thank you all

[Milliepede]

My first sense would be that he made up the name to match his, did your grandmother have a fathers name on her marriage or death certificate?

You have to be very lucky to find out the father if none is named on the birth and mother was unmarried but it does happen. 

[CaroleW]

It would be more than a coincidence that his mother was unmarried - surname Anwyl and that his father had the same surname

It was not uncommon for illegitimate children to make up a fathers name when they married etc so as to appear "respectable"

In some cases the names were pure fiction and in others they would use a relatives name

[Blueboy007]

Thank you Millipede and thank you Carol. That was what I was thinking, it did seem to be too good to be true!

I had a look at my grandmothers marriage certificate, her father was listed as Robert Evans, but we know that he was not the birth father.

I have undertaken DNA testing with Ancestry, LivingDNA and FamilyTreeDNA, I get a lot of matches with the Johnson surname (more than any other) but can find no connection whatsoever to this surname in my tree or during my research. I wonder if the unknown father was a Johnson...

Thank you for taking the time to reply, I really do appreciate it.

Stephen

[Milliepede]

Sorry not to be more positive but you are welcome 

I was incredibly lucky finding the father for one of mine.  Like yours he was born to a single woman and when he married named a father with the same surname different first name who was an engine driver. 

I thought it was completely made up but looking for his own children later on one was elsewhere on census night and down as granddaughter to an engine driver with the same first name as on the marriage - bingo.   

[graf]

The occupation of the father of Griffith Anwyl appears to be
Quarryman, using the cursive form of capital Q.

Incidentally, Griffith's grandfather James Anwyl on his mother's
side took his surname from his unmarried mother Elizabeth Anwyl
of "The Lion" in Harlech. His father being James MacCare of Larne, Antrim.

I noted this down many years ago and I can't lay my hands
on the source at the moment. 

 

[Blueboy007]

Thank you Millipede and Graf, I appreciate it.

I now know that Griffith and Kate had a daughter, in Canada, (the husband Sydney Ford is the informant on his death certificate), so I will try and do some research on that angle. Thank you for the help.

Best wishes

Stephen