Family Baptisms and Birth Certificates

Posted by Hywel Roberts on March 31, 2008 7:22 AM

On Easter Day I had the pleasure of attending the baptism service of my granddaughter Cara in St. Luke’s RC Church, Salford. It was a wonderful experience and it brought back memories of 27 April 1980 when Cara’s mother, my daughter Ceri, was baptised in the Rhosddu Welsh Presbyterian Church, Wrexham.

I have Ceri’s Certificate of Baptism but I’ve no recollection of ever having seen my own Certificate of Baptism and I’ve no idea whether one was ever prepared. However, my parents had kept the Annual Report for the Stanley Road Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, Bootle, for the year of my birth and my name appears amongst the list of those baptised during that year. This was one of the many document and booklets that I found in the house following my father’s death and I therefore have proof that I was baptised but unfortunately the date is not recorded. Neither is the name of the minister who conducted the service but I do know that it was the Rev. John Easter Ellis because I remember my parents telling me.

Baptism is, of course, a voluntary act depending on the parent’s religious beliefs the strength of their belief and the records are variable depending on the church and how careful the parents are in keeping records.

Birth records are very different as it has been a legal requirement that all births be registered in a civic registration office since 1837. Before this many births would have been recorded in Church records.

The format of the Birth Certificate remained the same from 1837 to 1969 and the example shown is the Birth Certificate of one of my great grandfathers, William Williams, who was born in Penmachno on 29 November 1851. The number in the first column is the number on the register.

The second column shows the date and place of birth which, in this case, was Glan y Pwll, Penmachno. This is a row of terraced houses which were renovated in 2006 and the owner gained a Civic Trust Wales Award for the quality of the renovation work. There’s therefore a good chance that this terrace will still be standing in another 150 years.

The next columns show the name, William, that he was a boy and then the name of his father, William Williams. He therefore had exactly the same name as his father! Next is the name of the mother, Elinor Williams, and the useful information here is that she was formerly Jones. If you didn’t already know it, this information gives you a clue to help you to trace the family history of the mother.

The next column gives the father’s profession or work and in this case is “quarryman� which was the predominant employment for men in Penmachno in those days. Before the start of the quarries, the population of the Parish of Penmachno was about 600 and it rose to nearly 2,000 during the height of the quarries later in nineteenth century. By today, however, the population is back down to about 600.

The birth was not registered on the day of the birth and, like today, someone had to visit the Registrar to register the birth. As the men were working, this task was usually undertaken by the mother and column 8 shows that this was done on 20 December 1851. Column 7 shows that it was Elinor who registered the birth and it also shows that Elinor had made a mark of a cross which the Registrar certified it to be that made by Elinor. This shows that Elinor was not able to write which was quite common in those days. In those days even where there is a signature, this is no guarantee that this person could write as many learnt to write their name but nothing else.

I shall write more about Birth Certificates next time.

The GFH society meeting for April are:
Bangor, 1 April (first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: Gina Kent and Pat Lindsey, “Two short talks�

Caernarfon, 24 April (last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at The Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Members Evening - talks given by members about aspects their family history

Dolgellau, 10 April (second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel:
Ann Lloyd Roberts, “Teulu’r Post, Llanuwchlyn�

Llandudno, 14 April (second Monday of each month) 7.00pm: An evening in the Conwy Archives, Old Board School, Lloyd Street, Llandudno.

Llangefni, 17 April (third Thursday of each month) 7.15pm: Visit to Yr Aelwyd to undertake
research

Pwllheli, 18 April (third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod:
John Dilwyn Williams “Gair o brofiad�

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Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Posted by Hywel Roberts on March 16, 2008 9:45 PM

There has been some discussion in Caernarfon in recent weeks about the future of the Boer War memorial on top of Twtil, the hill that dominates the town. (see photo) It’s in a spectacular location with views in all directions over the town and the famous castle, towards Segontium Roman Fort; over the Menai Straits and Ynys Môn in one direction and the mountains of Eryri in the other. However, it’s not easy to get to, particularly if you have the slightest walking problem, and there had been suggestions that it should be moved to a more accessible locations such as Twtil Square which was thought suitable as so many of the men from Caernarfon who served in the Boer War came from the Twtil area.

We had invited the Caernarfon Chairman of the RWF Comrades Association to come to a meeting of the Caernarfon Civic Society to discuss the situation. To prepare myself for the meeting I decided to do some research into Boer War Memorials which I knew were fairly rare. I found a number of websites including www.roll-ofhonour.com/Boer which I found to be the most useful. This contained details of memorials in various towns and cities but in Wales only two were listed, in Llandudno and Merthyr Tydfil. The memorial in Caernarfon was not listed and I realised that the list was not complete and this is because the website is run by volunteers. They are to be applauded for the work they do but clearly they do not have the resources of a professional organisation and I realised that there is no comprehensive list of the dead of the Boer War.
It’s different for the casualties of WW1 and WW2 where cemeteries and their records are cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Since its establishment in 1917, the Commission has constructed 2,500 war cemeteries and plots, erecting headstones over graves and, in instances where the remains are missing, inscribing the names of the dead on permanent memorials. Over one million casualties are now commemorated at military and civil sites in some 150 countries.
If you have a relative who was lost in these wars and are uncertain of the details then you should visit www.cwgc.org and go to the search page. The more information you have the easier it will be but if, for example, you only know his name and that he was killed in WW1 then you simply enter his surname and initials with the time range of 1914 to 1918 and you’ll get a list of all persons of that name who were killed during the war. Against each entry you will find his rank, Service Number, date of death, age when killed, regiment, nationality, the grave or memorial reference number and the name of the cemetery where he was buried. If you don’t know any of these details then you’ll have to check each name in turn until you, hopefully, find your relative. When you click on the name you get additional information including the next of kin which, in the case of single men, would be his parents and their address and this should be sufficient for you to be able to identify your relative.
You can also get information about the cemetery, its location and how to get there and there are also photographs. You’ll find a Cemetery Plan so that if you did decide to visit you could easily find your way to the grave of your relative. You’ll also find a Certificate that is a record of exactly what is written on the gravestone. Anyone interested in learning about relatives lost in the world wars should visit this site.
The GFH society meeting for remainder of March and April are:

Bangor, 1 April (first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: Gina Kent and Pat Lindsey, “Two short talks�

Caernarfon, 27 March (last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the The Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Geraint Jones, “Hanes Nant Gwrtheyrn�

Dolgellau, 10 April (second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel:
Ann Lloyd Roberts, “Teulu’r Post, Llanuwchlyn�

Llandudno, 11 March (second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at The Library, Mostyn Street: Margaret Dunn, “Dating old houses in Snowdonia�.

Llangefni, 20 March (third Thursday of each month) 7.15pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Stephen Binks of Western Front Battlefield Tours “Wales and the Great War’

Pwllheli, 21 March (third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod: Dr Hywel Wyn Owen, “Llen Cynefin�

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No 5 Childhood Memories, New ITV series and a BBC Roadshow

Posted by Hywel Roberts on March 1, 2008 7:28 AM

Last week I saw a story in the Daily Post saying that the pier in Trefor in Llyn was in danger of being demolished which brought to mind a story about my grandfather. Thomas Roberts, from Llithfaen, was a joiner by trade and spent some 20 years working in Liverpool before he sensibly or fortuitously returned to Llithfaen in 1939 just before the outbreak of war. He found work with the quarry company in Trefor. In those days the pier was in frequent use with ships calling to be loaded with granite. I remember as a small boy growing up in post war bomb damaged Liverpool that the highlight of a trip into town on the overhead railway along the docks was to see that one dock always contained ships from the Penmaenmawr Granite Company. They had collected granite from the quarries at Penmaenmawr, Trefor and Nant Gwtheyrn and it made me think about my grandfather working in the quarries.

One day my grandfather was doing some repair work on the pier and fell into the sea. He couldn’t swim so his workmates threw out a lifebelt and managed to pull him out. When they pulled him out they amazingly found that he was still holding on to his hammer! In those days craftsmen were responsible for supplying their own tools and they took great care of their tools. Clearly my grandfather’s fear of loosing his hammer was greater than his fear of drowning!

Its little stories like this that makes the pictures that we have of a person interesting. On reading the story in the Daily Post I realised that I hadn’t recorded this story. It’s one of the stories that have stuck in my mind as I remember him showing me his water-stained National Identity Card which had been in his pocket at the time that he fell into the sea. But if I don’t record the story then it will be lost for ever. Needless to say that I’ve now done this but this has brought home to me the need to record important and interesting stories otherwise they will be lost and this is such an important part of passing on our family history to future generations. I very much hope that the Trefor pier will be saved.

New ITV series, “The Great British Body� – volunteers required

Following an enquiry to the Gwynedd Family History Society I made contact last week with Molly Gilbert who’s working on a new ITV series called “The Great British Body�. The objective is to do some research on the characteristics of British people and to investigate similarities. They are trying to gather together people who can trace their ancestors within one county and they made enquiries about the old Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire. If your ancestors to great grandparent stage were all born in either of these counties then you qualify to take part in the programme.

The intention is to invite you to one of a number of locations throughout Britain and they will then measure you, weigh you, take DNA samples etc. They’d also like to hear of any interesting stories that you may have about your family history. The series is to be hosted by Trina and Susannah and it could be that they will interview you if your story is considered to be sufficiently interesting.

Unfortunately, the nearest event to us is in Birmingham on Saturday 19th April but they will be organising a coach to take you there. If you’re interested and would like more information I suggest that you contact Molly Gilbert on 020 7261 3076 or email greatbritishbody@itv.com. They will ask you to send details of your family tree and some photos.

BBC Radio Wales “Look Up Your Genes� Roadshow

'Look Up Your Genes' is BBC Radio Wales' long-running family history programme (a new series of which starts in April). On March 15th, they will be holding a Family History Information day at Dolgellau Library between 9.30am and 4.00pm. Genealogist Cat Whiteaway (who you may have seen on BBC Wales TV, researching the family histories of people like Cilla Black, Susan Sarandon, and Donny Osmond) will give a 20 minute talk about how to start researching your family history (aimed at beginners) - this talk is then repeated throughout the day at half past the hour until 2.30pm. After each talk, members of the public will be allocated a computer and researcher, who will then help them with some research, depending on how far they have already got. Cat will be on hand to advise on more complicated searches, as well as members of Gwynedd Archive Services who have kindly offered to help.

I remember going to a similar event in Caernarfon a few years ago and it was very interesting. I remember being interviewed about a particular event in my family history and the interview subsequently being broadcast in one of the programmes in the radio series. If you have an interesting story, and would be prepared to be interviewed, then contact Louise Booker on 02920 322393. Otherwise, you can simply drop in to this free event at any time during the day but if you wish to use a computer you must pre-book by calling the BBC Information Line on 08703 500 700.

The Gwynedd Family History Society meetings for March are:

Bangor, 4 March (first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: Venessa Fields, “The five Vincents of Llanfairfechan�

Caernarfon, 27 March (last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the The Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Geraint Jones, “Hanes Nant Gwrtheyrn�

Dolgellau, 13 March (second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel: Hywel Roberts, “Morwyn Glasgwm Hall�

Llandudno, 11 March (second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at The Library, Mostyn Street: Margaret Dunn, “Dating old houses in Snowdonia�.

Llangefni, 20 Mawrth (third Thursday of each month) 7.15pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Stephen Binks of Western Front Battlefield Tours “Wales and the Great War’

Pwllheli, 21 March (third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod: Dr Hywel Wyn Owen, “Llen Cynefin�

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