Returns of the census for the family farms

My starting point for looking at Dylan’s ancestors on the Llansteffan peninsula is his great-great grandmother, Anna George, born in 1774 in Llandyfaelog. Here she is at the top of the “family farm” tree, flanked by her two husbands. Below her, we can see the farms and cottages, most of them on the peninsula, associated with each of her children. And for each of these properties, there is a history of birth, marriages and deaths that can in part be discerned through census returns

In 1805, Anna George (sometimes known as Hannah) married William Williams and they settled in Lambstone farm, Llangynog. They had two children, including Daniel b.1812 at Lambstone. He married Harriet Proper of Llansteffan and they lived at Pencelli Isaf, Penlan-fach and Waunffort farms, all in the countryside between Llangain and Llansteffan.

William Williams died in May 1814. Anna immediately re-married, in November 1814, to John Williams. Given that the re-marriage happened so soon, John might have been a relative, perhaps her first husband’s brother or cousin.

John and Anna, who were Dylan's maternal great-great grandparents, also chose to live at Lambstone. They had two children, Thomas b.1816, who was Dylan’s great-grandfather; and Sarah b.1818. Sometime in the 1820s, John and Anna moved to Pen-y-coed.

In 1835, their son, Thomas, married Anne Thomas (formerly Harries) of Maesgwyn and they settled in Pencelli Isaf farm, where their first three children were born, including their eldest daughter, Hannah, who was Dylan's grandmother. By 1841, Thomas and Anne had moved to Waunfwlchan farm. Some of their children and grandchildren then spread out into the farms and cottages shown on the tree above (to find out why Anne and some of her siblings changed their surname to Thomas, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dylanthomaspeninsularity/background-papers/family-trees-for-williams-harries-and-phillips )

As for Thomas’ sister, Sarah, she married William Thomas (formerly Harries) of Plas Isaf, Llangynog, and they took over the farming of Pen-y-coed after the death of her mother, Anna, in 1860. Sarah’s children and grandchildren farmed Pen-y-coed after her, as well as Llwynbrain, near Bancyfelin until at least 1939, and then Pantyrhuad, Laugharne, until at least 1922 (Llwynbrain belonged to the Williamses of Llwyngwyn/Maesgwyn and Heulwen Morris of Llwyngwyn eventually inherited it).

Before her marriage to William Thomas, Sarah had had a lovechild, Jane. She and her family farmed Treasgell-Ganol, near Meidrim, Llwynbrain and then The Sherrifs, Lyonshall, Herefordshire and Dishley Court, Ivington, Leominister. They also owned Dyffrynolcwm, just east of Llanybri.

The census returns for most of these farms are given below, beginning with Pen-y-coed. If any of the pages are garbled, you can also view the returns at this link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_88L5X-rFN0Hwr7qM1CrDKv0OYqKQWn4/view?usp=sharing

Pen-y-Coed

Here are John and Anna at Pen-y-coed in 1841, with their daughter, Sarah, and their granddaughter, Jennet, who was the daughter of Mary and Rev Thomas Williams of Lambstone farm.

1841

Anna, now widowed, was still farming Pen-y-coed's 100 acres in 1851. With her was her unmarried daughter, Sarah, as well as Sarah's lovechild, Jane. Later that year, in November, Sarah married William Thomas of Plas Isaf, Llangynog, whose previous name was William Harry; he was the son of Evan and Anne Harry of Plas Isaf, Llanybri. Sarah and William took over the farm on Anna's death in 1860, and they are here at the 1871 census. Living with them, was their daughter, Anne, who had just married her first cousin, Evan Williams of Waunfwlchan, who was also Florence's uncle. Anne was pregnant, and their first child, Sarah (later of Maesgwyn), was born a few months after the census, in August 1871.

1871

By 1881, Sarah and William are on their own at Pen-y-coed; Anne and Evan are now at Tirbach (see below).

1881

Sarah and William were succeeded by their daughter, Hannah, and her husband, Joseph, who had previously farmed Pantyrhuad, near Laugharne. They are here in 1891, with their four sons, including William who would later farm Llwynbrain, near Bancyfelin.

1891

By 1901, Hannah and Joseph and their children had returned to Pantyrhuad, where they stayed until at least 1922, the year that Hannah died. Both are buried at Capel Newydd, Llanybri. They were followed at Pen-y-coed by John and Daniel, both sons of Waunfwlchan, and grandsons of the founding family, John and Anna Williams who were here in 1841. With John and Daniel is their mother Anne.

1901

They were still here in 1911, with a nephew, Williams Jones, son of their sister, Amy and her first husband, Herbert Jones. There was also a cousin, William Walters, who might be related to "Mr and Mrs Walters, Red Lion, Llandyfeilog" who were described as a niece and nephew of David Jones of Ferryside, at his funeral in 1927. For more on the Walters, see His Llandyfaelog aunties on this site.

1911

The 1840s had been a breeding year at Waunfwlchan, with four more children being born.

1851

By 1871, Hannah and George had left for Swansea, after George had fathered a child by Hannah's younger sister, Amy. Their child, Anne, is shown on this census at Waunfwlchan as a neice, born in 1866. But Amy, her mother, is absent. She is at Coedlline farm, Llandyfaelog, visiting her brother John, who is farming there. With Amy are her husband Herbert Jones, a farmer whom she married in 1869, and their baby daughter, Margaret.

1871

Over in Swansea on the 1871 census night, the move from Waunfwlchan was proving a mixed blessing. On the plus side, George had been transformed from agricultural labourer to railway guard. On the down side, 29, Delhi Street was a little overcrowded. It was a two-up, two-down terraced house; it housed George and Hannah and their five children, as well as Hannah's brother (though he could have been visiting) and four lodgers, a widower and his three adult sons.

The 1870s would prove to be the decade in which the Waunfwlchan family would start shrinking. Two sons, David and Thomas, died, whilst their elder brother, Evan, moved out on his marriage to his Pen-y-coed cousin, Anne. Their sisters, Amy, Mary and Theodosia, also married, and all three settled in or around Llandyfaelog. For more details on Mary and Theodosia, see Dylan Remembered 1914-1934, pp184-85.

Back at Waunfwlchan, 1881 was an interesting census night. Hannah (Anna) is here, together with her sister Amy. With Amy are her daughter, Anne (fathered by George, Hannah's husband) and her son William, by her first and late husband, Herbert Jones of Llandyfaelog. Within a year, Amy had re-married, to David Jones of Ferryside - see His Ferryside aunts and uncles on this site - and her sister, Hannah, had given birth to a daughter, Florence.

1881

The 1891 census also tells a story. Thomas Williams is now dead, and the farm is being run by his son, Daniel Harry ("Dr Dan"). Amy's daughter, Anne, is still living on the farm but her life is about to be transformed through a marriage to local gentry, the Gwyns of Plas Cwrthir. Also present is young Gladys; is she Daniel's child by Annie Jones Fernhill or is she Anne's child? The story is told in His favourite aunt on this site.

1891

By 1901, the Williamses were out of Waunfwlchan. By 1911, it was being farmed by David and Ann Evans, who were here to at least 1925. Their daughter, Lettice Maud, married David Jones, brother of Jim Jones Fernhill.

1911

Tirbach

Evan Williams, the second eldest son of Waunfwlchan, married his cousin Anne Thomas, in February 1871. After living for a brief period with Anne's parents in Pen-y-coed, they moved c1872 to Tirbach farm.

1881

When Evan and Anne left for Llwyngwyn, Evan's brother, John, moved into Tirbach from Waunfwlchan in 1886.

1891

Llwyngwyn

Evan and Anne Williams moved here about 1886 from Tirbach. Before them, the farm was run by another, unrelated family (1871/1881). But before them, it was farmed (1841/1851) by the Davieses, who were related to Evan Williams' mother, Anne of Waunfwlchan. For more on the Davieses, and the interwoven family histories of Llwyngwyn and Maesgwyn, see Maesgwyn: the servant who..... on this site.

Evan and Anne's many children were Florence's first cousins, and it was at Llwyngwyn that Dylan and Caitlin helped with the harvest. Evan and Ann's youngest child, Thomas, married Mary Ann Davies of Pen-y-coed in 1929; their only child, Heulwen, saved the family line.

1891

1901

1911

Maesgwyn

The Davies family of Llwyngwyn (see above at the start of the Llwyngwyn entry) moved to Maesgwyn sometime between 1851 and 1861. Their daughter, Theodocia (b.1840 not 1851), married Thomas Evans in 1890. Theodocia died in November 1893 and three months later Thomas married Theodocia's neice, Sarah Williams, eldest daughter of Evan and Anne Williams of Llwyngwyn, and one of Florence's first cousins. For more on all this, see Maesgwyn: the servant who..... on this site, where you will also find the Maesgwyn census returns 1861-1881.

1891

1901

1911

1891

1901

1911

Pencelli Isaf

After his half-brother, Thomas, moved to Waunfwlchan from here, Daniel Williams and his wife Harriet (nee Proper) moved in.

1841

They then farmed nearby Penlan-fach (1851, 1861) before moving to Waunffort. Daniel and Harriet's son, William Proper Williams, is shown on the 1851 census for Penlan-fach, aged one year - he had been born at Pencelli Isaf. He's also present on the 1861 return. Sometime after, he went east to find work and ended up in Pontardulais. Some of his descendents are still there - see His Pontardulais aunts and uncles on this site.

Waunffort

Daniel and Harriet then moved to Waunffort, opposite the Bl;aencwm cottages.

1871

1881

Robert Williams, the grandson, would marry his cousin Anne Gwyn (nee Williams of Waunfwlchan and Florence's half-sister) in 1895. Robert and Anne lived at Rose Cottage, Llansteffan.

1891

Pentrewyman

This was the family home of Jim Jones (Fernhill) and his sister Rachel ("Auntie Rach" in The Peaches). Jim is shown here aged six, but Rachel wasn't born until 1875.

1871

1881

By 1901, Rachel has a son, Albert, father not known.

1901

1911

The Journey to Fernhill

Jim and Annie Jones were married in 1893. They moved into Tirbach, where their son, Idris, was born in 1897. By 1901, they were down on the estuary at Pentowyn, living in some style with some 200 acres and five servants to hand. The farm faced Laugharne on the other side of the estuary, and was close by the ferry that was later to take Dylan back and forth on his frequent trips to Llansteffan and Llanybri.

1901, Pentowyn

By 1911, Jim and Annie had downsized to Fernhill, with just fifteen acres and no servants at all.

1911, Fernhill