Genealogy Chat

Hello. I am having some trouble trying to find my G G Grandfather. His name is William Martin. According to 1901 census he was born c1858 in Abingdon Berkshire. Then according to 1891 census he was born c1859 Surrey. How far is Berkshire from Surrey ? His marriage cert in 1884 states his father as Henry (deceased quarryman). In both 1891 and 1901 censuses William is married to Annie and living in Wales. I cannot find him in any other census. I have trawled 1851, 1861, 1871 and 1881 trying to match William with a father Henry who was a quarryman but with no luck. I just do not know where to go from here. Any help or advice would be most appreciated as i do not want to give up yet. Thankyou. Alyson

compared with Surrey to wales, no distance at all. they are bordering counties

post the ref for the 1901 that you know to be him and i'll have a look for you

1901 i asume John Bryant abt 1841 Ireland Lodger Pontypridd Glamorgan Albert Martin abt 1892 Glamorgan, Wales Son Pontypridd Glamorgan Annie Martin abt 1864 Jatton, Herefordshire, England Wife Pontypridd Glamorgan Elizabeth Martin abt 1890 Glamorgan, Wales Daughter Pontypridd Glamorgan Flossie Martin abt 1898 Daughter Pontypridd Glamorgan James Martin abt 1896 Glamorgan, Wales Son Pontypridd Glamorgan Mary Jane Martin abt 1890 Daughter Pontypridd Glamorgan Maud Martin abt 1894 Glamorgan, Wales Daughter Pontypridd Glamorgan William Martin abt 1857 Abingdon, Berkshire, England Head Pontypridd Glamorgan William Martin abt 1888 Glamorgan, Wales Son Pontypridd Glamorgan 1891 Martin, Annie abt 1865 Hereford, England Wife Llantrisant Glamorgan Martin, Lizzie abt 1888 Treharris, Glamorgan, Wales Daughter Llantrisant Glamorgan Martin, William abt 1859 Surrey, England Head Llantrisant Glamorgan Martin, Willie abt 1890 Pontypridd, Glamorgan, Wales Son Llantrisant Glamorgan OK, he doesn't( very helpfully ) say where in surrey will have a ferret about

Hi Jess. That is the right family in 1901. Thankyou. Alyson

Alyson - do you know where and when they married please

Yes Jess. I have their marriage cert. William Martin to Annie Gadfield. 13 th December 1884 at Newport register office. William was 26 years old and Annie was 21. Williams father is Henry ( deceased quarryman) and Annie's father was William Gadfield. At the time of the marriage William was living in Risca and Annie was living in Newport, Monmouth. Regards. Alyson

i would have thoght they were going to be in wales in 1881- cant see as his father would have done much quarrying in Berkshire or Surrey!

Mm thats a thought Jess!!!. I forgot to mention the witnesses to the marriage were Martha Ann Jones and Edith L Jones ( possibly sisters i was thinking). I looked for them on the censuses to see if they would hold any clues but could not find them either. Alyson

Thankyou Yvonne. It was that William i originally thought was the right one. I am not so sure now though. William in 1884 was a coal miner. Thankyou. Alyson

clutching at straws a bit Jones born in bershire, living in wales - might be edith ... H.A. Arnott abt 1873 Llanidan, Anglesey, Wales Grandson The Vicarage, Llanidan, Anglesey, Wales E.L. Jones abt 1831 Newbury, Berkshire, England Wife The Vicarage, Llanidan, Anglesey, Wales Edwin B. Jones abt 1857 Carnarvon, Caernarvonshire, Wales Son The Vicarage, Llanidan, Anglesey, Wales H.H. Jones abt 1819 Llangefni, Anglesey, Wales Head The Vicarage, Llanidan, Anglesey, Wales H.H. Jones abt 1859 Carnarvon, Caernarvonshire, Wales Son The Vicarage, Llanidan, Anglesey, Wales Elizabeth Williams abt 1861 Llanidan, Anglesey, Wales Servant The Vicarage, Llanidan, Anglesey, Wales NO IT WOULDN'T - SHE IS MARRIED SO WASN'T BORN A JONES - PLONKER JESS

Might there be some confusion with Abinger in Surrey? Abingdon is the other end of Berkshire to its border with Surrey, nearer Oxfordshire. Roger

No Yvonne. All i have is his marriage certificate.

Thanks for that Roger. The one census def says Abingdon Berkshire and the other says Surrey England. That is why i wanted to know how far apart the 2 counties are. Thanks anyway. Alyson

Re Yvonne's reply: --------------------------------------------------------------------- ''There is a William Martin born Abingdon, abt 1858 living as lodger,head in 18 Sun Street Canterbury in 1881'' ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you believe this is not the right chap, then that means we need two William Martin's born Abingdon about 1858?? Agreed???? Back to 1861 census. I put Abingdon in the Keywords box with Martin in the surname box. Turned up two William Martin's born at Marcham (2 miles from Abingdon), one in abt 1854 and the other about 1855. The 1855 one has father William and the 1854 one is this family: Elizabeth Martin abt 1831 Marcham, Berkshire, England Wife Marcham Berkshire Henry Martin abt 1825 Marcham, Berkshire, England Head Marcham Berkshire Henry A Martin abt 1859 Marcham, Berkshire, England Son Marcham Berkshire Jane Martin abt 1857 Marcham, Berkshire, England Daughter Marcham Berkshire William Martin abt 1854 Marcham, Berkshire, England Son Marcham Berkshire Dad Henry is an Ag Lab, but as Jess says, not much call for Quarrying in Berkshire! The problem is that by the next census Henry is dead, but they are still living in non-quarrying Berkshire: 1871: Elizabeth Martin abt 1831 Marcham, Berkshire, England Head Marcham Berkshire Henry A Martin abt 1859 Marcham, Berkshire, England Son Marcham Berkshire Oliver T Martin abt 1865 Marcham, Berkshire, England Son Marcham Berkshire Uevin G Martin abt 1862 Marcham, Berkshire, England Son Marcham Berkshire William Martin abt 1854 Marcham, Berkshire, England Son Marcham Berkshire William is an Ag Lab this time. He didn't name any of his children Ulwin did he (that's his 1862 brother's proper name)?? It's a Welsh name! Merry

The William Martin aged 23 in 1881 is I think William aged 14 who was son of Thomas Martin living in Abingdon in 1871 .That family were also in Abingdon in 1861 but transcribed as Marton/Marden.

Cheers Merry. Where on earth did you find that one ?. I will make a note of it. If Henry died when William was young as could be the case then perhaps he did not know what his fathers occupation was so just said Quarryman. Williams sons names were Albert George, James Edward and William, no Ulwin. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes makes all the difference. I have been looking at William Martin constantly for weeks. Alyson

Marton?????? Martian, more like?!!! Any more William Martin's from Abingdon??? Maybe he told everyone his father was a quarrymen in order to help him ''fit in'' to his new community? Merry

Had another thought. Perhaps Henry did come to Wales to work as a quarryman. Maybe that is what brought William to Wales. The plot thickens. I think MARTIANS !! is right. Alyson

The 1861 census has Henry born 1825. There's this Welsh death reg: Name: Martin, William Henry Record Type: Deaths Age at death: 46 Quarter: September Year: 1871 District: Haverfordwest County: Dyfed Pembrokeshire Volume: 11a Page: 451 If you half shut your eyes, you can't see the name is actually William Henry!! I expect if I look at the Welsh 1861 census I will find this death belongs to a Welshman! Going to look now! Merry