I'm researching my Jones family in Chester. I have been told that before Chester the family came from Penmaenmawr, Caernarfonshire - but can only find one potential family!
What I know for sure: Edward Jones was born ca.1810 in Portsmouth, married in 1838 in Chester an Ann Eliza Ashcroft and appears as living in Back Brook Street, Chester (and later Birkenhead) in every census from 1841-1891 - he died in 1897, Birkenhead, aged 89. He was a shoemaker and his father was a 'Thomas Jones, shoemaker'. He had children: Henry Ashcroft Jones, Frederick Jones, Arthur Jones and William Owen Jones (maybe more which didn't survive infancy).
Information which could be true but not definite: There's an 1808 baptism in St.Mary's Portsea for Edward Jones, son of Thomas and Margaret. Back Brook Street is off Wellington Street in Chester, where a Thomas Jones shoemaker is living with his Irish wife Margaret and son Thomas b.1814 Plymouth and daughters Elizabeth b.1805 Eastbourne and Margaret b.1826 Corwen in the 1841/1851 census. Thomas Jones himself is shown as being born in Corwen in 1776 and dies in 1854. I have a military record for the Thomas Jones in question which has him born in 1780 Ruthin, as a shoemaker who joined the Cheshire Fencibles in 1799, and later when it was disbanded in Ireland in 1801 he is shown as joining the 32nd regiment in Bantry Bay, Cork (there is also a potential son of his, John Jones, living in Chester near to him and born in 1802 Bantry, Cork). The movements of the 32nd regiment match up perfectly with the locations where Thomas' children were born - Thomas left the army in 1817 when he returned to his trade as cordwainer/shoemaker. There is also an Owen Jones, born Chester 1820 to Margaret and Thomas who marries an Ashcroft too (possibly a sister of Ann Eliza Ashcroft's) so all part of the same family - my question is, is it the same family? What do others think? There's no explicit link between Thomas and Edward, so do I have the right family? It's quite possible that Edward was born to a different Thomas and Margaret in Portsmouth perhaps, maybe one with a link to Penmaenmawr (this could not have any truth in - again, what do others think?) instead of Corwen. I do know for certain that Edward's grandson, however, married a woman who was born in Corwen - so this provides another potential link to the area, (the Peake family which he married into originated from Caernarfon, so perhaps it's that family that comes from Penmaenmawr originally?). On the flip side, they were next-door-neighbours for all their time growing up in Birkenhead so perhaps just a red herring!
Hope this makes sense and any thoughts would be very helpful!!
