Usk Valley Railway, Sennybridge, Maescar

[Jueb1962]

Does anyone have any information re the Usk Valley Railway??

I am trying to trace the death of my gt grandfather - Rees Jones - originally b 1844 in Breconshire, moved to north-east England mid 1870s.  He died some time between 1883 and 1890 when my gt grandmother remarried as a widow.  There is no record of Rees dying in the north-east during this time.

I have sent for a death cert of a Rees Jones who died in June 1889 at the Usk Valley Railway Hotel, Sennybridge, Maescar. The Rees on the certificate is 44years and a General Labourer and died from cirrhosis of the liverof some years duration (my Rees was an ironworker).  With such a common name it is difficult for me to know whether this is my gt grandfather and, I wondered if anyone had any info on the Usk Valley Railway or Sennybridge itself......or even point me in the direction of a website that could possibly help?  What made me wonder is that this Rees on the certificate died in a hotel???

Hope someone can help........  Julie

[Greensleeves]

The railway arrived in Sennybridge in 1866 and led to a dramatic change in the fortunes of the village.  Previously Trecastle (the next village to the west) was the economic centre of the area, where the cattle markets were held, and it was thought that the railway would push through to there once the Sennybridge part had been completed.  However, it never went any further west, and this led to the gradual decline of Trecastle and the migration of business three miles down the road to Sennybridge and the railway.

The Usk & Railway Hotel opened in about 1870 and is still there today, and was situated (as you might imagine) very close to the railway station itself.

Regards,
Greensleeves

[Jueb1962]

thanks ever so much...didn't realise the hotel was still there.  I very much doubt that they would have records going so far back but I might try...you never know!! 

Many thanks,

Juliex

[Greensleeves]

Hi Julie
Do you have the marriage of Rees and your grandmother, and if so, where did it take place?  You don't give your grandmother's maiden name, but if you could post that, it would help with the search for Rees.  As you say, it is a very common name but the more info you can post, the more likely it is that people will be able to find something.  Another thing which would be helpful is if you know where Rees and your grandmother were born.  I note with interest that it is the English spelling of Rees, rather than the Welsh 'Rhys' so it might prove fruitful to search both names.

There are a number of sites which give information about the railways in the Brecon area, and if I find anything specific about Sennybridge I'll let you know.

Regards,
Greensleeves

[Jueb1962]

Hi.........my great grandfather Rees Jones was born in Maesmynis, near Builth, in Breconshire in 1844.  He married Ann Conick in 1867 in Bedwelty, Monmouthshire and they had children Elizabeth, John, Thomas, and Eleanor.  Ann was born in 1848 in Dowlais, Glamorgan.  They moved to the north-east of England some time between 1875-78.  My grandfather (also Rees Jones!) was born in Stockton in 1878.  Another daughter Mary Hannah was born there in 1880.

The family are in the 1881 census living on Sheraton Street. Rees is an ironworker.   In 1882 and 1883 Ann and Rees have two more children and Rees is named as father on both birth certificates. In 1890 Ann remarries John Smith(!) in Stockton and is a widow on the marriage certificate.  They are in the 1891 census living on Light Pipe Hall Road with some of the Jones children (not my grandfather who I believe is at the Holy Trinity Industrial School for Boys in Liverpool at this time!)

So, I know Rees must have died some time between 1883 and 1890.  Another complication is that Mary Hannah "disappears" and ...long story but she ends up in the States - where she marries, has family and remains for the rest of her life.  I have been unable to work out how she got there and who with (its not with her mam who remarries in Stockton) but from USA census returns it looks as if she has gone there mid-late 1880s, when she was just a little girl.

Not sure if this is connected with her father's death (whether Rees goes to the States with her??) or whether I am wrongly making assumptions.  That is why I am exploring the Sennybridge death  further just in case it is my gt grandfather. 

[cardiff]

Hi
Monmouth - Usk -Pontypool
(Coleford, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool Railway
Opened  between  June 1856 - October 1857
cheers cardiff
ps
 Rails were from the Tredegar Iron Co ( grandfather an Iron worker)

[Greensleeves]

Hi again Julie

Thanks for all the details - looks like some very interesting stories going on in there!  Coincidentally, my family was in the Stockton area at the same period, although they went there from London and Ireland.

One thing to consider is that although Ann remarried, it doesn't necessarily mean that Rees was dead.  Divorce was not an option for the working classes in those days, and judging by my family, it was not unusual for a woman to remarry after her marriage had broken down.  So it is possible that Rees took Mary Hannah to the States and was therefore alive after 1890.  Or equally, he could have remained in this country and remarried.

I'll look through the info you have posted and if I come across anything which might give you any leads, I'll let you know.

Regards,
Greensleeves

[Greensleeves]

I have been looking at the Stockton sheets of the 1881 census and whilst I haven't found anything to answer any of your questions, it is interesting how the entries paint a picture of the background in which the family was living in Sheraton Street, Stockton.

I see that also in the household was Mary A Thomas, 20, Domestic Servant unemployed, who was born in Dowlais, so it is possible that she is a relative or a family friend, bearing in mind that Ann was born in Dowlais.  I also see that of the children, Elizabeth, Thomas and Eleanor were born in Rhymney, so presumably that is where the family was living before they moved north.

Interestingly, next-door to them in Sheraton Street, Stockton, is an Elizabeth Williams, aged 32, who was also born in Rhymney, and further along the street there are quite a few Breconshire families.  In addition there is the O'Hara family from Ireland whose son, Stephen O'Hara, was born in New York.  As the majority of the men were employed at the ironworks (by the look of their occupations on the census) it is likely that they all knew each other, so who knows what stories the O'Haras, and other travelled families,  had to tell?  It is not hard to imagine why someone would want to leave such an area to seek their fortunes abroad.

[Jueb1962]

thanks for your insights Greensleeves, really interesting.   Thats what I love - getting under our ancestors' skin!!!!!  best wishes, Julie