I'm trying the trace a family called NILLEY who lived in, or near,
Pontypool. Elizabeth NILLEY was born in about 1843, and her father, James
NILLEY, was a butcher.
The name NILLEY is extremely rare, and I suspect that, though Elizabeth
consistently gave it as her maiden name, it may have been an invention. So
I'd also be very interested indeed in any butcher called James in the
Pontypool area in the 1840s and 1850s, especially if he had a daughter
Elizabeth. (For example, is an index of the 1851 Census Return for Pontypool
available on CD, and, if it is, could some kind person scan it for me
looking for a 'butcher' called James?)
In 1862, Elizabeth had a child, Emilietta (another unusual name!) by,
according to the birth certificate, one James BARRETT, an 'engineer'. He may
have had Pontypool connections, so any information about people with that
name would be very interesting also.
-=Will Stevens=-