Dear List,
My ancestress Jane OWEN was married to Lewis Evans in Llanidloes in 1832.
She was baptized there on April 25th 1809 the daughter of Richard and
Bridget Owen. Unbelievably, there are TWO marriages in Llanidloes of a
Richard OWEN to a Bridget either of which could be that of 'my' Jane's
parents. The first was in 1798 where the bride was a Bridget DAVIES, the
other was in 1808 where the bride was a Bridget Swancott. I personally think
that the 1808 marriage is most likely to be that of Jane's parents but have
no proof or actual evidence for this 'hunch'. The 1841 census has in noway
helped, rather it has caused further confusion as there is only one Richard
(60) and Bridget (55) OWEN with their daughter Mary (bap. 1817) but also an
Elizabeth OWEN aged 9. She was baptized in 1832 in Llanidloes the daughter
of Richard and Mary Owen. This Richard, his wife and family appear on the
1841 census and he is aged '45'. This other family is clearly that of the
Elizabeth living with Richard and Bridget but the younger Richard cannot be
the son of the elder Richard yet there must be some link between the two
households because of young Elizabeth OWEN. None of this helps to explain
who Jane Owen's parenst were. I hope that someone else can help to sort out
this confusion.
Best wishes
James Phillips-Evans