Julie,
Thank you for your questions, because they made me look for the information
my aunt sent me on this family. I actually haven't looked at the IGI; I
prefer to deal with primary sources as much as possible. What I have is the
word of my great-aunt regarding the work she and her sister did many years
ago. Thomas Williams was 55 in the 1841 census and 60 when he died 2 Nov
1845. My aunt said that their sources were census records, some death
certificates for some of his children, bishop's transcripts and parish
records, and also family records of relatives who were still living in the
area. (This last was in the 1950s-1960s.) Based on the age at death and
during the census, they searched the parish records in the area and came up
with 8 Thomas Williams' born between 1785-1791. A good number of them had a
father Thomas Williams; several others had father William Williams, and
there was one John and one David. Several years ago when I first asked
about this line, I wrote for the christening record of any Thomas Williams
born at this time in Carno. There were none for Carno itself, so he must
have come from one of the nearby parishes. The census lists his birthplace
as Montgomeryshire, and he was a parish member when married in Carno in
1814. The first area I know of where he lived was Castell Carno, where his
first child was born in 1815. Soon after that he moved to Bwlch, Carno.
So, I suppose I have a few more questions:
1. Are there existing land records for these farms, and if so, where would
I access them? Would he have owned the place, or is this a case of coming
in every day to work on a larger farm?
2. Is there any particular importance to marriage witnesses, godparents,
etc.? In some parts of the world, godparents, for example, are usually
selected from the child's unmarried aunts or uncles. Would something like
this be the case here?
3. What other records are there that might shed some light on further
identification?
Thanks again for the questions, and thanks in advance to you or anyone else
who can give me any suggestions.
Regards,
Rose
Rose,
When you say "there were several people of the same name born around the
same time with the same
father's name", do I infer correctly that you've checked the microfilm of
the Bishop's Transcript for the parish of Carno and come up with several
possibilities or are you using baptism entries listed in the IGI and have
not checked the BT's? Also, what is the source for your supposition that
his father was also a Thomas WILLIAMS?
Regards,
Julie Preston
juliepreston(a)ameritech.net
or (please note the 'f')
juliefpreston(a)sbcglobal.net
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