Ann Allen (formerly Lewis, née Williams), Colwall/Withington

[cimbrio]

Hi all,

Although this topic has been briefly touched upon in other threads about Ann Allen's descendants and her husband's family, I would like to start afresh to find out about her origins, which after many years of searching continue to be a mystery.

The facts are:

Ann married Edward Allen in Withington, Heref. on 26 Mar 1838. No known link to Withington tat I know of. Edward is a bachelor, Ann is a widow. Her name is down as Ann Lewis, her father being Thomas Williams. Edward was from Colwall, Heref. and both appear to have lived there throughout their married life.

Ann is listed as follows in the census entries prior to her death in 1867:
1841: aged 30, birth county Herefordshire; no profession, husband agricultural labourer, living with daughter Ann and 6-month old Ann Hill (possibly a relative?).
1851: aged 43, birth place Colwall; no profession, husband agr. labourer, living there are their three children John, William and Clara, niece Mary Pantell and again Anne (sic) Hill, but no relationship given for the latter.
1861: aged 53, birth place Colwall; profession upholsterer, husband agr. labourer, living with children John and Clara.

It would appear that Ann was born c. 1807-1810 in Colwall, but I haven't found an Ann Williams born there to a Thomas Williams who could match: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pinks/herefordshire/colwall/Baptisms_1723-1812.htm.

According to Dusty Docs, there were two children baptised in Colwall in the late 1810's. Their father was Thomas Williams, and their mother was called Mary. This couple could well be the parents of Ann, as there are no other fathers called Thomas Williams listed around 1805-1815 in the baptism records. However, the marriage between Thomas Williams and wife Mary Thomas took place in 1816.

Other candidates have been suggested from Castle Frome and Clifford, but the lack of links to either place makes me feel unsure about those possibilities.

Note I have not checked the Colwall baptism records personally so cannot rule that out, but with the transcripts available online it seems it's a dead-end.

Penny for your thoughts.

Many thanks,
Cimbrio

[skylark]

The Withington marriage - Do you think that Withington was maybe Ann's home?  On the 1841 census a Thomas Williams aged 75 lives there.

[cimbrio]

Hello Skylark,

Ann may well have been from Withington - even if this is not mentioned in the Censuses. That Thomas Williams may well have been her father. I have to dig out Ann's marriage certificate (1838) to check that her father Thomas was alive at the time. If he wasn't, he would not have been recorded in the 1841 census.

Will get back to you!
Cimbrio

[cimbrio]

Hi again! I'm afraid I can't find the marriage certificate - which I was sure I had, but I may be wrong. Worst thing is I can't check if her father was alive or not when she married her second husband, but I would assume Withington is the right lead...

Any light you can shed would be most welcome!
Many thanks,
Cimbrio

[cimbrio]

After many years of research and dead ends I finally unravelled the mystery: Edward Allen married Ann Rodway in Claines, Worcestershire in 1835 - not Ann Lewis (née Williams) in Withington in 1838. The search in Herefordshire was misleading until I finally thought of searching in neighbouring Worcestershire. The marriage is confirmed by the birth certs of their children, which gives their mother's maiden name as "Rodway". Ann Rodway was born in Colwall in 1810 (which is consistent with census entries), the daughter of James and Elizabeth Rodway. I do not know why she and fellow Colwallian Edward Allen would have married in Claines but there you go.

Mystery solved!