Merthyr Tidfil - DAVIS, John b.ca.1806 & Ann b.ca.1801

[james.davis]

John E. DAVIS 1806 & Ann 1801 of Merthyr Tydfil

I’m trying to find a family info and connection in Glamorganshire

I have:
John E.  DAVIS 1806 Wales and Ann 1801 Wales
------- both buried 1872 Minersville, Schuylkill Co., PA “natives of Merthyr Tydfil” on tombstone
Immigrated 1841.  Children on the 1850 Census of Cass Twp, Schuylkill Co., PA:
Elizabeth 1831 Wales
John - - - 1833 Wales
Ann - - - -1835 Wales
Mary - -  1839 Wales

John E. DAVIS 1833 Wales-1900 Rockvale, Colorado and Janet JENKINS 1833 Wales-1888 Colorado
Born in Wonder Valley, Wales on his death certificate
Other tombstones near his say “Glamorgan”
The Sextant of the cemetery (a Welshman) told me about 1970 the names off the valleys in south Wales and when I heard him say Rhonnda Valley I knew that was my Wonder Valley.

About 1981 I came to Wales and searched the 1841 Glamorgan census in Cardiff.  Also the Parish registers in Cardiff for Rhondda Valley parishes.  Also the Bishops registers in Aberystwyth National Library for Rhondda Valley parishes.  But no John 1833 the son of John about 1806.  I didn’t have time to search non-conformist records in Aberystwyth.  I haven’t found any relatives via John E. Davis’ 1833 sisters in PA, but am still working on that.

I have been told earlier by someone from Glamorgan that 1841 was fairly early to be leaving Rhonnda Valley as a coal miner.

Now that I have found the John E. 1806 and Ann 1801 DAVIS tombstone with “Natives of Merthyr Tydfil” I can move my DAVIS/DAVIES search slightly NE.  Does anyone have suggestions on how to proceed?  I have access to FamilySearch.Com and MyHeritage.Com but not to Ancestry.Com.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If anyone can spot my family without too much trouble I'd love to hear about it.

Peace,
James R. Davis, 6708 Austin Way, Sacramento, CA 95823
James.davis1@sbcglobal.net - - 5/18/16     

[groom]

Welcome to Rootschat

Born in Wonder Valley, Wales on his death certificate

Could that be Rhondda Valley rather than Wonder Valley?

Sorry, just realised you already thought that!

You may like to remove your email though, as Rootschat doesn't allow personal contact details in postings as it can lead to you being flooded with scams etc as anyone can see it!

[GrahamSimons]

Long shot, but might be worth posting on http://oldmerthyr1.proboards.com/

[Sam Swift]

If Mary was born in 1839, it should be possible to try and get a birth certificate for a Mary Davis born in Merthyr with parents Ann and John whose occupation is a miner / collier. Blast furnaces were being set up in the Minersville / Pennsylvania area around 1839-40 by a Welshman, and it seemed that they burned anthracite for efficiency and a better quality iron, so miners were in demand and many miners immigrated from Merthyr. Merthyr's main industry was primarily iron production, with but there were coal mines close by. There were no coal mines in the Rhondda in 1840 and the area was not known as the Rhondda at the time, so I would say you are on the right track with Merthyr. I would say that any baptism record would most likely be non-conformist and some of those records have been lost for some chapels in Merthyr, so a birth certificate may be the answer.

[james.davis]

Thanks for  two ideas.  1) Birth Cert. for Mary Davis, 2) 1841 Census.

Again, I'm looking for John E. Davis 1806 and wife Ann 1801 with kids Eliz. 1831, John 1833, Ann 1835/6, Mary 1839/40.  John & Ann on their tombstone were "Natives of Merthyr Tidfil".  Son John was born in (Wonder) Rhondda Valley per his death certificate.

They came on the Ship John Taylor from Liverpool to New York arriving 18 May 1841 (no date of departure shown).  The voyage may have been 12 weeks (in mid 1800's).  Waiting for the ship in Liverpool and the trip to Liverpool took some time.  So they left home maybe in Jan-Mar 1841 or before.  So were they likely to have been in the 1841 Census in Glamorgan?  When was that census taken?  Maybe they were in the 1841 census for Liverpool  but how would that help me identify where they lived more exactly in Wales?  Can SKS look in Ancestry to see if a Liverpool entry exists?

I checked many years ago for a birth certificate for Mary DAVIS b.1839/40 and found many possibilities and I couldn't ask for just the one with parents John & Ann, so would have to purchase many and the cost was prohibitive.  Maybe the indexes are more detailed now and I can narrow the search some.  I will have to go into my local LDS Family History Center and inquire about this again.   What suggestions do you have on this?
Peace, Jim

[Sam Swift]

I don't think they'll be on the 1841 census since unfortunately it was held on June 6th 1841. I have looked at one Non conformist chapel register in Merthyr, but the only ones I could find were: Nov 20th 1836 Ann daughter of John & Ann Tramroad Collier entry in Ynysygau 1836 page 5 no. 39
and on 4th May 1834 Elizabeth same parents & details as above. These are baptism dates though and it was usual for babies to be baptise within about 6-8 weeks of birth, although they could be years old in some cases, if they never got round to baptising after birth and baptised several after moving elsewhere.
I could try and write to the local registry office for you to see if they would look for a birth with those parents only, to avoid having to purchase several certificates.

[james.davis]

Hi Sam,
OK.  I would really appreciate your help in writing to the local registry office.
Mary Davis b. to John & Ann Davis.  All such common names.
Age 1 on 1841 Ship passenger list arrival 18 may 1841 so b. 19 May 1839 - 18 May 1840.
Age 11 on 1850 Census taken 28 Aug 1850 so b. 29 Aug 1838 - 28 Aug 1839
So the common date range for these two records would be b. 19 May 1839 -  28 Aug 1839 ***.
This is if reporter of age didn't round up when giving the age.  If they rounded up 6 months then the date range would include another 6 months later (to 28 Feb 1840).
Peace, Jim

[Sam Swift]

No luck I'm afraid! They couldn't find a birth for a Mary Davis born to a John and Ann in the Merthyr Reg district.