Greetings from a new lister
As an 84 year old newcomer to family history research I was unable to follow the
standard advice to 'ask older members of the family' because there are none.
However my wife and I have dredged up enough old memories to make a successful start. I
am having problems however with my Williams ancestors.
My maternal grandfather Thomas Williams (b 1865) was the second husband of Elizabeth
Butcher (b 1865) and they were also cousins. The latter information comes from a
conversation between my wife and one of my aunts many years ago and it may be that she
used the term 'cousin' loosely. My grandmother's mother was Elizabeth Williams
(b 1839 in Nantyglo) her birth certificate names her parents as William Williams and Jane
Gravel. The family appears in the Monmouthshire 1851 Census ref. HO107/2447.
It is Thomas William's ancestors that are giving me problems. The ONLY census entry
I can find that records him is the 1901 census of Durham County where he is shown living
in West Hartlepool and born in Nantyglo c1868, an entry which shows my grandmother, mother
and her stepsisters. In the marriage certificate of my grandparents his father is named as
Joseph Williams engineer. There is a Joseph Williams in the 1851 census above but I cannot
confirm the connection. After several applications, each with several reference checks,
to the ONS I have finally obtained a copy of a birth certificate for a Thomas Williams
born on 29 Dec 1865 (a date which matches his marriage cert and death cert entries) to
Joseph Williams iron baller and Elizabeth Thomas. I expected to find an entry in the 1871
census for Monmouthshire which matched this data but having searched on the son, the
father and the mother I have yet to find it.
I would be very grateful for any help or suggestions.
Bob Hedley