VAUGHAN of Dingestow

[Jon Whiting]

Hi all,

I am interested in the VAUGHAN family of Dingestow.

My great great grandmother Eliza VAUGHAN was born in Dingestow 1825, the daughter of William Vaughan and Eliza EVANS, married 8 Feb 1823.

William was born abt 1794, the son of William Vaughan and Mary LEWIS.

Eliza Evans was the daughter of William Evans and Diana.

William and Eliza Vaughan also had other children

Michael, b.1823
William, b.1827
Maria, b.1829
Thomas, b.1831.

The family may also have connections with Penrhos and Trellack.

Any information on this family would be gratefully appreciated.

Regards
Jon

[Anna]

Hi Jon

I presume you got your information from Parish Registers and that all the children were born in Dingestow? Have you tried to find them on any of the Welsh Censuses and do you have any further information about them or their father's profession?

As to further connections, well there are Vaughans in Trellech in 1841, Thomas, 30, a tailor and his wife Frances. 30. There is also a John Vaughan, male servant, b. 1823. Whether he is related to Thomas I don't know.

There is a William Vaughan aged 14, born 1827, apprentice tailor in the Parish of Llangattock. Whether he is your William is hard to say as the 1841 does not give place of birth just whether born in county or not.

Vaughan is a very famous name in that area. In the middle of the 17th century the area has the second highest proportion of Catholics in the country. The first Catholic Church to be built after the reforms was partly paid for by Colonel Vaughan of Courtfield whose family later produced Cardinal Vaughan of Westminster.

[Jon Whiting]

Hi Anna,

Thanks for your reply.

Eliza has been one of my brick walls for some time. The only census giving a place of birth was the 1881 census, but the name was almost illegible. All I knew was it was in Monmouthshire. I have not found any record of her marriage to Henry Dennis, and all I had to go on were the birth certificates of her children. I finally did a search on Eliza Vaughan on the IGI which led me to the Dingestow connection, which I know realise on the 1881 census is what it says.

Once I had found the family, I have managed to add more connections with the IGI. However, I cannot find the family on the 1841 or 1851 censuses for England or Wales, except possibly for Maria Vaughan in 1851. Thanks for the reference to William in 1841; I will follow that up.

I have also found two christenings for Michael. The first at Dingestow 9 Nov 1823 and the second at Penrhos 15 Aug 1824, both the son of William and Eliza of Dingestow. I don't yet know if these are the same person. The Dingestow baptisms show thay William was a farmer at Upeer Llantrothy.

The Trelleck connection comes from Williams parents William Vaughan and Mary Lewis who married there 23 June 1784. Both are recorded as otp.

I was hoping that someone else might have already researched this family.

Regards
Jon

[Anna]

Hi Jon,

This is the first time you have mentioned a Henry Dennis? Dingestow and Penrhos are not very far apart, I know this area so well.

But you mention Glamorganshire? So are you sure it it Dingestow, Monmouthire and not somewhere in Glamorgan? Do you want to give me the reference for your 1881 entry?

Welsh place names are really difficult unless you know the area.

Tre-llech means town of three stones, bronze age stones just outside the village.

Regards
Anna

[Jon Whiting]

Hi Anna,

Sorry, I meant Monmouthshire. This is the first of my father's ancestors that have come from Wales; my mother's line has a number of Welsh origins including Glamorgan. It was a slip of the brain/fingers.

The 1881 census reference is RG11/piece 2072/folio 73/page 11/schedule 58 Eliza Dennis (Salisbury, Wiltshire). Henry Dennis originated from Charlton Marshall, Dorset and died in 1879. The family were very mobile, Henry being a hawker in 1851 (Evesham), labourer in 1861 (Southampton) and general dealer in 1871 (Salisbury). They had their children in different places: Fanny (1849 Bath), William (1850 Southampton), William (1853 Bath), Thomas (1855 Exeter), Eliza (1857 Birmingham), Alfred (1860 Salisbury) , Frances (1862 Taunton), Maria (1864 Salisbury), Harry (1865 Exeter), Samuel (1868 Salisbury) and Edith (1874 Salisbury). William is a bit of a puzzle. Both are recorded in the 1861 census (RG9/679/93/3), aged 11 and 8, both born in Southampton. The younger one appears in subsequent censuses, born Bath, but not the older one. I can't see why they neamed two sons the same, but assume it is probably an error in the census.

Although I have found Henry Dennis in the 1851 census, he is recorded as a lodger in Evesham. I have not yet managed to find Eliza or William in 1851 (Fanny died soon after birth). Nor have I managed yet to find their marriage in the BMD.

I have noticed the presence of Vaughans in Bath at the time of Fanny and Williams births, and have wondered whether Eliza may have been staying with relatives. It is something else for me to follow up.

Although the Vaughan children were born in the 1820s/30s, there appear to be no Vaughans in Dingestow in any censuses from 1841 to 1891. Do you know if they moved somewhere else? As a farmer in Upper Llantrothy, there may be local records that I have not found on-line.

Regards
Jon

[Anna]

Hi Jon

Dingestow in very small place, lovely manor house.

I'll have a look for you.

[Anna]

Hi,

I'm sorry to be so long getting back to you but have been busy with work.

You are right, there seem to be a complete absence of Vaughans in Dingestow. I did find, on an archived RootsWeb list of surnames a Sarah Anne Vaughan, daughter of Timothy and Sarah, in Dingestow but they are not showing up on the 1871 Census. Sorry I could not help more but I will keep a look out for them.