Abaculus

Many people don't understand the obsession with family history, and perhaps are of the opinion why bother. They're dead! However, the deeper you bury, the more addictive it can become. Its like a perpetual jigsaw puzzle, that never gets finished but has the potential to teach you much. I think this mentality is difficult to see from the outside, until you get bitten, you're never going to get the need to find one more piece. And another. Then you're chasing context, the interest in wider history and to understand the backdrop awakens.

In researching family history, its given me so much, including a very deep respect for my ancestors. Whilst I'm well down a trodden path, there's always new avenues. I thought I might blog about one part of my current research, just to lay out the process that comes with it and the map of the unknown. Will it lead me to a brick wall? Will it take me places? What will I find out on the way? Who will I met? Since the research is current, this is not going to be one blog post. That's part of the fun.

From oral family history, I knew some of Mamgu's (its a West Wales Welsh word for grandmother) family emigrated to Ohio, USA. I've also been told Mamgu was also going to move to Ohio, but decided to stay in Wales. Beyond this information, no-one alive knew anything more, no names. Not even a surname. Nor time frame. Super, super annoying. Do not let people go to the grave holding this mine of information; once its gone, its gone!

Last autumn, was lucky to stumble across a mention of a known ancestral farm (Blaencarrog, Llanddeiniol) in Calvinists Incorporated, by Anne Kelly Knowles. The relevant line is:

Immigrants: Evans, John D. & Mary (nee Jones [Maenelyn])
Family: Child Elizabeth
E-date: 1850
Welsh home: Blaencarrog, Llanddeiniol
Stops in the US: Pittsburgh, PA

Yay, for Google and Google Books! Without which there is no way I would find (nevermind read) an American Geography book. This book is about a study of Welsh inward migration into Jackson-Gallia counties, Ohio: examing possible reasons why Welsh people from Cardiganshire moved there and then goes onto look at fundamental differences in Welsh business models and adopted in the States (quite different from individual capitalism, that we're all quite familiar with).

Dr. Knowles gleaned raw data from the obituaries in Welsh-American publications, such as Y Cenhadwr Americanaidd (English translation: The American Messenger), and through this was able to study a bigger picture. This bigger picture, has given me a huge insight into the conditions in which my ancestors lived, which I will cover in another post.

For the moment, I want to find what happened to John! What happened to his descendants (if any)? What did he do in Ohio? The questions are totally endless.

I do not have a date of death for John, to find the obituary easy, so this is proving very stab in the dark like! When did he die? Where did he die? More bloody questions, and little by way of answer!

In my quest to track down this obituary, yesterday, I went to NLW to read ten years worth of Y Cenhadwr Americanaidd, from 1861-1871 and I've failed to find anything. I suspect I'm looking too early. So more research for me.

Whilst scanning it, it occured to me since the publication is 99% in Welsh, it will be inaccessible to most Americans today. The publication (and it took me hours to cover ten years) was nationwide, and already people are cut off from accessing their own history. As immigrants second, third, fourth generations become integrated into American life; the further detached they will have become from their ancestral roots. First generation immigrants today, who perhaps live in closely knit communities and whose home country is a language other than English, will probably face the same issues in a generation or so. Perservation of history has to be one of the key cornerstones of preserving minority languages, otherwise who's going to be able to access this information? Otherwise there'll be academics in the future treating such languages the way Egyptian is attempted to be fathomed today.

Back to John. The only other details, I know of John is from the UK 1841 census for Llanddeiniol:

HO 107/1373/6
Blaencarrog
1
1
John Evans 50 Farmer Y
Jaen Evans 45 - Y
John Evans 14/16? - Y
Jaen Evans 10 - Y
Mary Evans 9 - Y
Thomas Evans 7 - Y
David Evans 3 - Y
Magdelen Evans 1 - Y

He's listed as the oldest son (my gg grandmother is Magdelen). That information gives me his approxtimate date of birth, i.e. 1827ish. The 1841 needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, as usually for this year ages were rounded up in increments of five.

I took a quick look at the US census yesterday, and this might be a possibility for 1870, but keep in mind Evans is a common surname in Welsh communities.

Madison Township, County of Jackson, Ohio
12 July 1870
Oak Hill, Ohio
Moses Morgan, Ass't Marshal

7 7 Evans John D 41 M W Carpenter 2000 300 Wales 1 1 - - 1 -
- - Evans Mary 41 F W Keeping house - - Wales 1 1 - - - -
- - Evans John A 17 M W ?Farmer Pennsylvania 1 1 - 1 - -
- - Evans Mary J 19 F W Helps mother Pennsylvania 1 1 - - - -
- - Evans Elizabeth 15 F W Helps mother Pennsylvania 1 1 - 1 -
- - Evans Llewellyn 12 M W Worker on the farm Ohio 1 1 - 1 - -
- - Evans Deborah 8 F W At home Ohio 1 1 - 1 - -
- - Evans Newton 6 M W At home Ohio 1 1 - 1 - -
- - Evans Margaret 4 F W At home Ohio 1 1 - - - -
- - Evans Charles 2 M W At home Ohio 1 1 - - - -

Right family? His age is a bit out. There's more children listed, than Elizabeth (and she's not the first born), so how does this tie in with the book mention? So many questions, and no answers!

In the meantime, here's the arial view of Oak Hill, Ohio. Am I getting warmer, or totally cold? Who knows.

To be continued ....