Lewis/Hancock Amroth

[ALewis]

I am wondering if anybody can help me with my Lewis research please. I have proven back to my 4x great grandparents David Lewis and Mary Hancock.

They married 8th November 1794 in Amroth by banns. David a bachelor and Mary a spinster, both of this parish. Marriage witnesses John Rees, William Phillips and Philip Hancock.

David and Mary Lewis had the following children baptised in Amroth:

Thomas, 1795 and buried in 1795
Thomas, 1797 and buried in 1808
Hannah, 1803
David, 1809 (my 3x great grandfather)
Evan, 1810.

David Lewis was buried 22nd October 1832 in Amroth. His abode was Killars/Villars Park in the parish of St. Issells, aged 65 (born about 1767).

In the 1841 and 1851 censuses, Mary was living with son David and his wife Mary (nee Howells). In the 1851 she is aged 84 and place of birth is given as St. Issells. Mary Lewis was buried 27th August 1857 in St. Issells, abode Union. She was aged 92 (born about 1765).

I am trying to find the baptisms/parents of David and Mary. There is a possible baptism for Mary Hancock 15th October 1772 in Eglwyscummin, Carmarthenshire to Joseph and Anna Hancock. I haven't be able to connect my Mary Hancock to the marriage witness Philip Hancock.

Thank you in advance. 

[osprey]

it's more likely that she was baptised in Amroth but the baptisms before 1786 don't survive


https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/PEM/Amroth#ChurchRecords

There's a Thomas Hancock who married Hannah Phillip 9 Oct 1767 in Amroth who could be the parents of Mary.  Possibly the Hannah Hancock who was buried aged 79 23 April 1815 of Summerhill.


 

[ALewis]

Hi osprey,

Thank you for your reply and providing the useful information.

I wasn't aware that the baptisms didn't survive, that is good to know. It is a shame though.

That marriage of Thomas Hancock and Hannah Philip is very possible for Mary's parents.

Yesterday I discovered my father has a DNA match to a Philip/Phillips family in Amroth. The William Phillips listed on their tree is the same William Phillips on David Lewis and Mary Hancock's marriage. His signature matches. It could very well be that William Phillips is a nephew of Hannah Philip perhaps?

Kindest regards,

Mandy

[osprey]

you could check for wills but I'm getting an error message at the moment when trying to access the details. May be available again tomorrow.

https://www.library.wales/discover/nlw-resources/wills/

[ALewis]

Thank you for the link to the wills. I will definitely look into that. 

[jonm]

Good evening

Some years ago I spent many hours looking at correspondence files for the Narberth Board held at the National Archives at Kew, London. Amongst much stuff of local interest I came across the following that perhaps relates to your family. These are my notes:

TNA ref. MH 12/16655  http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C3291466
“1854
Letter from David Lewis in Kilgetty about the amount of relief he gets. His mother is a cripple and he has a small cottage with 1 cow on poor land. Can she get relief?
Later letter dated 17/7/1854 (doc ref #26828) from John Miles (clerk to Narberth Board) stating that the Guardians consider Lewis able to support his mother.”

A reminder of the tough times families lived through then and why Mary died at the Union. Her son couldn’t support after all by the looks of things.

Jon

[ALewis]

Hi jonm,

Wow - thank you ever so much for taking the time to find these letters and share them with me.

I have done some further research into my Lewis family to try and tie the letters in with them. I have noticed in the 1851 census that my 3rd great grandfather David Lewis, his wife Mary, mother Mary and his children (including my great great grandfather Thomas Lewis) were residing at Killa Mountain, St. Issells.

Their youngest children, including Charlotte Lewis baptised in 1855 (the year after the letters) in Killa. David's father David Lewis was buried in 1832 in Amroth, abode Killa Park. David's older childrens' baptisms give their residence as Kilgetty.

I have researched Killa Mountain to try and link it with Kilgetty. A website mentions Killa Mountain was associated with poorer land at Kilgetty Farm and remained unimproved into modern times.

Based on the above evidence, David Lewis in the 1854 letters is indeed my 3rd great grandfather. His crippled mother is my 4th great grandmother Mary Lewis (nee Hancock).

David Lewis was a collier for most of his life and a labourer in later life. With a number of children to support, it makes sense that he was struggling to support his mother and she ended up in the Union. It is very sad really.

These letters have also helped me to understand my great great grandfather Thomas Lewis better. He moved to Staffordshire and became a policeman. On his marriage certificate to my great great grandmother Elizabeth Green, he claims to be a yeoman and his father David an engineer. This has been very puzzling to us as we know they weren't wealthy as David was a collier. It all makes sense now. His father-in-law William Green was a respectable stonemason. Thomas obviously wanted to escape the poverty of Kilgetty and moved to Staffordshire for a fresh start. He lied on his marriage certificate so William wouldn't know his past.

I have just shared this information with my dad and he is thrilled. We now understand three generations of our family much better.

Again many thanks, we really appreciate it.

Kindest regards,

ALewis

[jonm]

Glad this was of interest.

I have checked some of my other notes. A David Lewis occupied ‘Killa Cottage and fields’ in 1842 (St Issells tithe). This amounted to 6 acres of arable and pasture – enough for 1 cow!

The Greville estate was the owner but no estate records survive from this period that I am aware of.

Jon

[ALewis]

Jon - that's even more confirmation and ties in beautifully with Killa abode in all the records. Enough for 1 cow - that is solid proof!

Unfortunately, most of the records didn't survive for Amroth, so won't be able to go back much further on this line. We've decided to try and concentrate on finding out more about our ancestors' lives instead. You've helped us achieved this goal! It isn't just about names and dates for us.

DNA has helped us to confirm our connection to Amroth too.

Thank you again.

Mandy