Courtney Family History
The Williams and Bennett families in the nineteenth century
The Williams family
Susannah Williams married John Turner on 24 August 1890 at Mamhilad, Pontypool,
Monmouthshire. They were my wife’s great grandparents.
John and Mary (?) Williams
The records reveal little about John and Mary - and they appear only in the margins. John is recorded as William’s father
when the latter married. John was a labourer. Mary is probably noted in the 1841 census as part of Samuel Bennett’s
household (his son married William Williams), she having independent means. William consistently told census enumerators
that he was born at Penybont (aka Bridgend) so John and Mary lived there for a time.
William and Margaret (nee Bennett) Williams
By 1851, the family had moved to Ramping Row, Millbrook Terrace, Abercarn, Penmaen (shown below) - still in the sprawling
parish of Mynyddislwyn, Monmouthshire. The Row was a terrace of twelve colliers’ cottages for the men who worked at the
Prince of Wales colliery. Two were shops. The row was demolished in the 1960s.
However, in 1841 when the Bennetts and Williams were in residence, Pentwyn consisted of a farmhouse with a cluster of three
houses and only a total of six households in residence - a remote and lonely spot. Samuel Bennett (Margaret William’s father)
was a farm worker, so that he probably worked on this farm.
William Williams was born at Penybont, aka Bridgend, Glamorgan. He was consistent when giving his age to census
enumerators and so his birth can be estimated as being between 1815 and 1816. Margaret was baptised near Builth, Breconshire
in the parish of Llanfihangel Bryn Pabuan on 10 October 1820 (see below).
The couple married at the Mynyddislwyn parish church, St Tudor
(shown right) on 1 June 1840. Their witnesses were Thomas and Joan
Jones.
William was described as a collier - an occupation he always gave - and
his place of residence as Pantglas - which was a settlement of a handful
of homes near Trinant to the south-west.
Margaret was living with her parents at Pentwyn, Monmouthshire.
There are several Pentwyns in South Wales - it is the one near Trinant,
a little more than one mile north of Crumlin, Mon. and half a mile to
the west of Llanhilleth where William and Margaret settled. It was and
is a community perched on a windswept hillside.
Today, the estate was created due to the penchant in the area for
building affordable homes which were not in the bottom of valleys and
hence were in the price-range of the younger generation.
The 1861 and 1871 censuses tell a story of a growing Williams family who moved to Trinant, Monmouthshire, a “remote and
inaccessible” area - William was noted as a labourer (1861) and as a coal miner (1871). Then, there was a dramatic entry in 1881:
Margaret was still living at Trinant - the location of her home was the Works there - but she has a ‘W’ beside her name. She had
become a widow during the intervening years. A comparison of available records and noting the ages at death of William
Williams during the ten years to 1881 leads me to believe that possibly he died in early 1874 when he would have been fifty-
eight years old. A visit to Monmouthshire Archives may help to pinpoint exactly when he died.
To make ends meet, Margaret was now serving the local community as a midwife. There was a need. The cost of professional
help at childbirth was prohibitive for most. If an experienced neighbour was on-hand when a birth was imminent, they would
be called on. The problem was that many were illiterate, untrained and lacked even the basic ideas of cleanliness which we take
for granted today. It is to be hoped that Margaret (who was able to sign her name when she married) was more competent than
many.
A descendant from William and Margaret, Williams the late Valerie Baker Addicott, has written a book, Gwenllian - her Story,
which refers to Margaret Williams. She also wrote on-line that Margaret ‘lived to ninety-eight and was still delivering babies’
I’m a little dubious about this. She is only mentioned as being a midwife in the 1881 census. Also, midwifery was subject to
regulation after the Midwives Act of 1902. The objective of the legislation was to ensure midwives were better trained - with
resulting huge benefits to mothers and babies. From then on, a midwife had to be certified and registered to practice and an
unqualified person who attended and helped at a birth was doing so illegally. Margaret would have been eighty-two in 1902,
and one wonders if perhaps she was too old to have been included on the register of certified midwives.
The 1891 census shows Margaret (a Welsh-speaker only - ie not ‘both’ languages) living on her own at Cendon Road (Kendon
Road, today) in the hamlet of Penmaen, between Crumlin and Kendon. She had her son, John Williams, for company in 1901
and her married daughter, Ellen Field, and her husband living with her at the Old Works, Trinant ten years later, in 1911 (see
below).
Margaret died in late December 1916, aged ninety-six. The South Wales Gazette printed the following obituary:
Valerie Addicott added that ‘the story she had been told was that she (Margaret) was gardening and dropped dead. On her death
they found her husband’s wedding suit in a trunk
John and Martha (nee Tomlin) Williams
John Williams was born in the parish of Mynyddislwyn in 1848 -
1849. Martha was born at Pontypool, Monmouthshire in the
summer of 1847, the daughter of a coal miner.
The couple married at St Cadocs, Trevethin, Pontypool (depicted
right in 1846) on 26 March 1871. John signed the register, while
Martha marked.
Their witnesses were John and Pennel Furnell the church’s sexton
and his fourteen-year-old son who lived at the vicarage - which
possibly indicates that not all the family smiled on the marriage as
none were witnesses.
A few week’s later, the newly-weds were living at Tranch, Pontypool
- a hill that rose up to the west of the town centre and then sank
towards Pentrepiod and Cwmfrwdoer in Pontnewynydd.
We are indebted to Valerie Addicott because she relates several details about her great grandparents, John and Martha - although
she also writes that her book is ‘75% factual and 25% poetic license’. Martha was a ‘pretty auburn-haired girl’ who was in service at
the Big House, Blaenavon (possibly Ty Mawr, home of the ironmaster, Samuel Hopkins) when she met John, who was working as
a miner at the Big Pit, Blaenavon. After their marriage and first home at Tranch, they moved to a house at 20 Pentrepiod Road,
Pontnewynydd where they kept ‘a few pigs and chickens and developed their garden’. When the mine owners were at loggerheads
with their workers, Martha was able to sell her garden produce, jams and preserves at Pontypool market’.
According to Valerie, the couple had five children, although I can only identify three for sure. She states that ,‘Two more babies
arrived within the next three years (from 1878)…one only lived a few months and the other little girl died from scarlet fever in the
winter of 1884’. Without ordering death certificate of Williams’ girls in the Pontypool area or inspecting the local parish registers it
is impossible to give precise details about these children - another reason to visit Monmouthshire Archives.
Valerie writes that while John would sometimes ‘come home drunk’, he
also insisted that the whole family went to the morning and evening
service at Ebenezer Chapel, Chapel Road (which linked Pentrepiod and
Cwmfrwddoer) and that the children went to Sunday School too’.
After Martha gave birth to her fifth child, Gwenllian, on 13 March 1886,
Valerie paints a scene when Grannie Williams (ie Margaret, the midwife)
hands the baby to John saying, ‘She nearly finished Martha, this daughter
of yours…She’s so weak I don’t know how she’ll manage to feed her’.
After their daughter, Susannah’s, marriage to John Turner in 1890,
Valerie describes how Martha’s weight loss was noticed by her mother and
Gwenllian. The latter contracted scarlet fever in 1892. Grandma Tomlin,
Martha’s mother, visited and could also see that Martha was sick. Her
painful condition worsened and she died in May, 1892. She was buried at
Ebenezer Chapel - John, Edwin and John Turner were caught in a
rainstorm on the way to the funeral service.
Above, details from the 1891 census which showed the family living in the four-roomed 20 Pentrepiod Road, Pontnewynydd.
John and Martha both spoke Welsh and English, while their children and John Turner only used English
I’ll now break into this account to give some background to later events in John William’s life. A William Curtis married
Gwenllian Tomlin who was Martha William’s (nee Tomlin) sister.
Valerie recounts that after
her mother’s death, Gwenlian Williams lived with William and
Gwenllian (her aunt) Curtis who kept a public house at Gilfach Coch. William Curtis was
one of fifteen children born to William and Ann Curtis who settled at Cwmnantddu,
Pontnewynydd. William jnr and Gwenllian moved back to Pontypool and were living at
Union Street in 1891.
As well as William jnr, three other Curtis sons kept inns near Pontypool, including John
Curtis who with his wife, Elizabeth kept the Robin Hood Inn, Cwmnantddu (Elizabeth was
related to Benjamin Gregory, who was the innkeeper here for many years) and later the
Plasycoed Inn. John and Elizabeth were at the Robin Hood from around 1891 to the early
1900s. Our focus now falls on the Robin Hood, the facade of which is shown right. This was
a Beer House, as distinct from a Public House because its license was only for the sale of
beer, not spirits.
As the photo of the public house (right) shows
the Robin Hood was in an isolated situation and
many of its customers were miners walking home
from a shift in the collieries sunk into the nearby
hillsides.
It was accessible by a footpath off Gypsy Lane
and was about a kilometre due west of the bridge
where Gypsy Lane branches off the Pentrepiod
Road. The pub had four rooms, two up, two down
with one room downstairs being used as a bar.
The water for the pub came from a spring on the
other side of the railway. The remote inn held
cock fights at the end of the nineteenth century
The map shown above shows that the Robin Hood was accessed only by
footpaths.
Here I should add that Valerie clearly met with my wife’s aunt, Joyce Holmes,
several times and discussed their common family history - so that when both
mention the same detail, it does not necessarily mean that there were two
independent people writing corroborating facts.
So, after a meandering detour, we can assert that there was a connection
between John Williams and the Robin Hood Inn - his sister-in-law’s sister
kept it with her husband, John Curtis in the 1890s.
In 1901, following the death of his wife, Martha, John Williams was residing
with his mother, Margaret, at Kendon Road in the hamlet of Penmaen,
between Crumlin and Kendon (see earlier image). I can’t find John in the
1911 census and it may be that he died between 1901 and 1911 - indeed,
Valerie writes in 1910 that Gwenllian and Edwin hadn’t seen each other since
their father’s funeral (although she provides no details of this).
However, there is some anecdotal evidence that John was the licensee of the
Robin Hood briefly during this time. Valerie describes how Gwenllian
Williams visited her father in 1902/3 ‘but hated the thought of being in a
public house as her father was now landlord of the Robin Hood in
Pontnewynydd’. Sue’s father, Ralph Courtney (95), was recently asked about
this - the conversation went like this: Sue: ‘Do you remember the Robin Hood
pub? Ralph: ‘Yes’. Sue: ‘Where was it?’ Ralph: ‘Pentrepiod’. ‘Do you
remember anything about it?’ Ralph: ‘You mean John Williams kept it?’
One final item of interest is that I have a note from Joyce Holmes. It reads like this: ‘incl Flowers, , two wives after
Martha’. By this, I understood that she believed John married three times and that one marriage was to someone called Flowers.
Independently, Valerie asked this question on-line: ‘Have you, in your research come across a Miss/Mrs Flower….I have often
wondered, did she have any connection with…John Williams? As yet, I have not been able to find John’s other marriages.
The children of John and Martha Williams
Susannah Williams who married John Tucker/Turner
John Turner was born John Tucker on 7 April 1869 at Down Farm, Bratton Fleming, near Barnstaple, Devon. He was the oldest
son of the farmer, James Tucker ,who married (Maria) Elizabeth Turner. After Elizabeth’s death in 1877, James married
Prudence Beard in the following year and the couple had four children.
In his memoirs, John’s grandson, Eric Courtney, describes his family’s impression as to why John changed his surname and left
Devon. “When he (James Tucker) died, he left a flock of sheep to John in his will. But in some suspicious way the part of the will
stating the gift of the flock became burnt. This made it possible for John’s stepmother to swindle him out of his inheritance. He
was so bitter; he decided to reject the family changed his name to Turner (his mother’s maiden name) and moved to
Monmouthshire where work was plentiful with the industrial revolution’.
I have no doubt that the broad outline of this account is what took place, but would only add the following:
As Letters of Administration were used to distribute James Tucker’s estate, this indicates that there was no will.
Valerie relates that John was working on the railway (as a plate layer
and sub-ganger for Great Western Railway) and that they met when
she collected some parcels for her employer. All Susannah’s family
liked him.
The couple married in the small country church of Mamhilad,
(right) on the outskirts of Pontypool. Susannah’s mother, Martha,
and her sisters, Maria and Gwenllian together with Grandma Tomlin
(who supplied a big white tablecloth used only for weddings and
funerals) provided the wedding breakfast. Martha brought her best
china - ‘the deep red borders making a striking contrast against the
red of the cloth’. She also picked some roses which almost matched
the rims and their scent almost overpowered the smell of the leg of
roast pork.
Susannah had spent weeks making her wedding dress. Maria had
The 1891 census shows John and Susannah as living with her parents at Pentrepiod Road, but by the mid 1890s, they had
moved to 29 Pisgah Road, Talywain. In 1911, they were settled at the four-roomed 19 Waterloo Road, Talywain which was
known as ‘Black Row’ because the front of the houses was painted with tar.
It is the 1911 census which reveals that John and Susannah had lost three children (see below) - indeed Valerie reveals that
Susannah also suffered a miscarriage shortly after their marriage.
John Williams
The family were living at Bleak House in 1913. This was a larger, seven-roomed
detached home beside a small lane off Commercial Road. It had an extensive garden
which was used to produce vegetables and house chickens. Jack and Flo Courtney
had moved into the house by 1921 and shortly afterwards the house was home to
Jack’s sister Polly and her husband, David Harvey.
Illustrating the togetherness of the family, John and Susannah’s sons, Percy and
Arthur, were baptised at St Thomas, Talywain, Abersychan’s Anglican church on the
same day that Gwenllian and Alfred Evan’s daughter was christened in 1917.
The birth of Susannah’s last child proved to be a life-changing ordeal. During the
pregnancy, she developed ‘White Leg’ - aka phlegmasia alba dolens which is part of a
spectrum of diseases related to deep vein thrombosis. Historically, it was commonly
seen during pregnancy and in mothers who have just given birth.
In cases of pregnancy, it results from a compression of the iliac vein against the
pelvic rim by the enlarged uterus. This coupled with the fact that Arthur was a big
baby, weighing 12 lbs, had an unfortunate effect on Susannah’s mental equilibrium.
Valerie mentions that ‘Susannah was in hospital having had one of her bad spells again…(and that) it was a blessing when they
take her into hospital when her mind goes again’. The 1939 Register notes her as being in Abergavenny Mental Hospital and that
was where she died from cancer of the oesophaghus on 20 October 1947. John had predeceased his wife - dying in late 1939
when he was living with his son, Arthur, at 73 Severn Road, Canton, Cardiff.
Of John and Susannah Turner’s children
William Percival ‘Percy’ Turner
Above: l to r, Percy, John Turner, Arthur and, front, Flo(rence) circa mid 1930s.
Right, an appropriate pose of the three surviving Turner children - Florence, with a
proprietorial hand on Arthur’s shoulder. She played a large part in their upbringing,
taking her mother’s place.
Percy was born on 22 March 1903. He was enrolled at Abersychan Infants
Scho0l on 9 September 1907, but was quickly removed from the school two
days later ‘because of the winter’. He was re-enrolled in the following
September but was again removed on 1 March 1909 because of his ‘delicate
health’.
It was around this time that Percy contracted scarlet fever which left him deaf
and dumb.
Later, he attended a special school at Swansea - there are a number of photos
of him there in the family album together with a note that he left in 1918. He
is also pictured during a ‘Deaf and Dumb’ outing in 1928. By 1939, he was
living with his brother, Arthur at 73 Severn Road, Cardiff where he worked,
making and repairing shoes.
By the 1960s, Percy was living with his sister Flo at the Woodlands, Talywain.
He was able to ‘converse’ by using sign language.
Percy died on 16 December 1969.
Arthur Leslie Turner
Arthur was born on 11 March 1911 and baptised six years later at the Anglican parish church of St
Thomas, Talywain.
His niece, Joyce Holmes, related that Arthur became a member of the Plymouth Brethren because of
the influence of his half brothers. He was a lay preacher.
Arthur spent many hours researching his family history, particularly his Tucker and Turner ancestry
in Devon - and this was in the days before the internet made such research relatively easy. He was
particularly interested in evidence of spirituality in those connected to his family. For example, he
mentions a grandfather, Thomas Comer, who was guest at John and Susannah’s wedding at
Mamhilad, Pontypool. Thomas gave John a book: The Christian Life - Bible Help and Counsel for
Every Day Throughout the Year which Arthur treasured
Arthur established a grocery business in a corner shop at 73 Severn Road, Canton, Cardiff. After
living above the shop, Arthur moved first to Kenilworth, 4 Cefn Coed Road, Lakeside, Cardiff -
where two daughters, Alison and Jennifer, were born - and then finally 1 Clos yr Wennalt, Rhiwbina.
Arthur with Joyce
Holmes, nee Courtney
Above, Arthur with his two daughters by his first wife and their husbands
Florence May Courtney (nee Turner)
(To follow. A link will be posted soon.)
The Bennett family
Margaret Bennett married William Williams on 18 May 1840 at Mynyddislwyn, Monmouthshire
Grtx5 grandparents: Thomas and Mary Bennett
When their two children, Samuel and Elizabeth, were baptised and when he was buried, Thomas was described as a ‘pauper’
living at Cefnhafodan, a township in the parish of Llangurig, in the county of Montgomery, North Wales, five miles south of
Llanidloes.
Clearly this provides an insight into the financial circumstances of the family in 1786 and 1791. However, there is more to
these entries than meets the eye - indeed half those buried were described as ‘paupers’. In 1783, the Stamp Duties Act was
passed whereby all baptism, marriage and burial entries in the Parish Registers were subject to a tax of 3d. The monies
collected paid for the American War of Independence. Paupers were exempt from this levy. The tax was unpopular and
rescinded in 1794. Some clergy were sympathetic to the plight of the less well-off and ‘stretched a point’, effectively giving
them 3d when recording events as the families were spared the tax.
Was this the case with the Llangurig clerk? Possibly - in 1791 when Thomas was buried, six other burials of fourteen were
recorded of these ones being ‘paupers’. Odd to think that a war on the other side of the Atlantic impinged on the lives of farm
workers (the main employment here was on farms) in a small North Wales village. But as Thomas likely died aged around
thirty, his poverty may have been the result of being unable to work due to ill health.
Grtx4 grandparents: Samuel and Margaret (nee Williams) Bennett
Above,
St Afan, Llanafan Fawr, Breconshire
where Samuel and Margaret married in
1815
Details of Samuel and Margaret’s life and where they lived can be seen at the top of this page. Samuel was a farm labourer and
during his last years he lived at Pentwyn, near Crumlin.
Of Valerie Addicott - who provided so much of the information on this page
Valerie’s grandparents were Gwenllian (nee Williams 1886 - 1986) and Alfred Evans. Gwenllian was a daughter of John and
Martha Williams. She is pictured below: Left, with Flo Courtney and Joyce Holmes (nee Courtney) immediately behind her and
Valerie with her family. Right, with her daughter, Phyllis who was Valerie’s mother.
Valerie with
Eryl and Emma in 2003
Valerie being given away
by John Courtney
Valerie published a number of books, drawing on her heritage. Gwenllian - Her Story is the book which has been quoted in this
article.
given her the cream silk and suggested that the dress should not be too fussy as a simple dress might be used on Sundays. So
the lines of the skirt were softly gathered but the bodice was elaborate with dozens of pin tucks and a few embroidered rose
buds on the collar and cuffs. Her veil had belonged to her grandmother and this she attached to a band of rosebuds she made
from pieces of silk. Her bouquet was made from roses plucked from the garden.
St Curig, Llangurig