Robert Henry seems to have been in Wales from 1813 to 1821. The farm 'Gletwyn', now spelled 'Gledwyn' lies on a small country road about two and a half miles north of Kidwelly in Carmarthenshire. It could not be more rural. http://maps.google.co.uk/ The land is suitable for dairy farming. It is pleasantly situated overlooking the sea to the south, in the parish of Llandyfaelog. The nearest town is Kidwelly. The house itself dates from the 1920s or thereabouts but other farm buildings are much older. In Robert Henry's day, milk production was undertaken for we find that a son was born to Robert Henry and Margaret Phillips, a dairymaid. George Lloyd Rubidge was born in 1820 and was batpised a few months before Richard Nathaniel was born to Robert and Hannah in 1820. He was baptised at Llandyfaeolog Church nearby the farm while the other Welsh-born Rubidges were baptised at St Mary's Kidwelly. His father's name is given as R.H. Rubidge. It is hard to think that Hannah was unaware of this relationship and later birth. George Lloyd remained in the area all his life and was a labourer and gardener. A Mrs Iris Davies told me that her antecedent William Williams had taken over Gledwyn when RHR went to SA and the condition was that they looked after George Lloyd. In census records the name became Rewbridge, Rawbridge and Roubridge. There are still Rewbridge names in Welsh phone books. At some point George Lloyd was a gardener at Ysgoed House,Ferryside(derelict but under renovation in 2009). He and some family members were buried in St Ishmael's, Ferryside, churchyard. Several of his children emigrated to the USA. |