Thanks everyone for the 1881 census help. I was a little overwhelmed by the response.
The info was very helpful. But, I seem to have found myself looking for a needle in a
haystack.
Their dau. Clarissa was b. in 1879. The family was on the 1881 census minus the
father, William H. Davies/Davis. I also found them on the 1871 census in Merthyr. In
1882 Ann and William H. Davis had a son, Robert T. Davis, b. in Aetnaville, (now
Bridgeport), Belmont Co., OH.
I'm not sure I am descended from this family. My great grandfather, William
Morgan Davies/Davis arrived from Wales in Sept. 1881. He was naturalized in 1886 in
Belmont Co., OH and m. the next year to Alice Ann Thomas in Aetnaville, Ohio. My
grandfather was b. the next year, Earl Chester Davis. William Morgan Davis d. 12 Dec.,
1893, aged 28. Nothing revealing was on his death record, and no gravestone has been
found. No stories of relatives came down the line. William Morgan Davis' widow,
Alice never would talk about earlier times.
William H. & Ann (Morgan) Davis fit the same time frame. They were in Wales in
1881 census, and in America the next year for the birth of their son, Robert T. They also
had a son named William b. abt. 1865, same as my ancestor, but nothing conclusive has been
found.
On William Morgan Davies' naturalization papers, it names William Howells as
his sponsor. I later found that William Hopkins Howells was from Maesteg. He was also
the sponsor for many people.
Now my question should be: has anyone untangled the Davies and Morgan families in
Merthyr?
Thanks,
Marc Archer
Ludington, MI