Margaret Wall (nee Jones) Was Also An Evans
Margaret Jones was the daughter of James Jones and Catherine Jones (or Evans or originally Jones), born in Wellington, Salop (Shropshire) England.
After digging into Margaret's early life there are two questions to try and answer: Her birth surname is "Jones" so who was Margaret's father? Where is the location of the "Nant Farm" that Margaret spent time at when she was a child?
Early life in England
- On 30 Jun 1901 Margaret Elizabeth Jones was born in Wellington, Shropshire, England (now on the edge of Telford but at the time Telford barely existed). In the 1901 Census taken soon before her birth the "family" in a 4-room house at 44 High Street, Wellington are ("Margaret E Jones" in the census is Margaret Ellenor Jones, the aunt of Margaret Elizabeth Jones):
| Name | Position/Job | Age | Where Born |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Jones | Coal carter, married | 40 | Llanyriarch, Montgomeryshire, Wales |
| Catherine Jones | Wife, married | 38 | Meifod, Montgomeryshire, Wales |
| David Jones | Single boy | 10 | Bebington, Cheshire, England |
| Florence M | Single girl | 8 | Bebington, Cheshire, England |
| Gertrude Jones | Single girl | 7 | Bebington, Cheshire, England |
| John O Jones | Single boy | 2 | Bebington, Cheshire, England |
| Margaret E Jones | Single woman | 22 | Meifod, Montgomeryshire, Wales |
| Catherine M Jones | Single girl | 4m | Wellington, Shropshire, England |
- On 2 Apr 1911 the 1911 Census was performed and Margaret was recorded at Nebo Farm in High Moor, Springhead, England. Interestingly the marriage between Samuel and Catherine was recorded as 21 years (late 1889 or early 1890). The 6-room farm house included:
| Name | Position/Job | Age | Where Born |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samuel Evans | farmer | 50 | Salop |
| Catherine | wife | 48 | Montgomeryshire, Wales |
| David | railway labourer, son | 20 | Neston, Cheshire |
| Florence | cotton cop reeler, daughter | 18 | Neston, Cheshire |
| Catherine | daughter | 10 | Neston, Cheshire |
| Maggret | daughter | 9 | Neston, Cheshire |
| Harold | son | 7 | Neston, Cheshire |
- On 21 Jun 1921 the 1921 Census was performed and Margaret was now living with her family, Samuel was away, and older sister Gertrude was visiting with her family at 1A Wellington Road, Oldham, England. Notice from the scan of the census that mother Catherine was "married" and not "widowed" so Samuel Evans was alive just not at home. Margaret was "single" and aged 19 years old and 11 months. She was working as a Shop Assistant at G Wright & Sons Ltd Dyers and Dry Cleaning at 6 Market Place in Oldham.
- In 1927 Margaret emigrated to New Zealand. She travelled on the SS Ionic via the Panama Canal. She arrived in Wellington and then moved to New Plymouth to stay with her brother David Evans. In the first photo below are Margaret's siblings Florence, David, Gertrude at Van Ralty Studio in Oldham c.1918.
Was her father James Jones or Samuel Evans
In the various historical records, here is how Margaret's surname was recorded:
- 30 Jun 1901 birth certificate and registration: Margaret Elizabeth Jones
- Sunday 2 Apr 1911 in the 1911 Census at Nebo Farm, High Moor, Oldham: Maggret Evans
- Tuesday 21 Jun 1921 in the 1921 Census at 1A Wellington Road, Oldham: Margaret Elizabeth Evans
- 22 Apr 1935 at St Mary's Church, New Plymouth, New Zealand marriage to Walter Wall: Margaret Elizabeth Evans (her father is listed as Samuel Evans, carrier)
My guess is that Samuel Evans used "James Jones" as an alias when living back Salop (another name for Shropshire) after leaving to Cheshire with Catherine Jones sometime between 1881 (in this census he was aged 20 and an unmarried "Wagoner Farm" "servant" from "Salop" in Colemere, Ellesmere, Shropshire near Oswestry) and 1891 (when he was aged 30 and married "Carter" from Oswestry in Thornton Hough, Cheshire). The reasons are:
- The birth certificate naming James Jones as the father is unlikely to be incorrect. James Jones' occupation on the birth certificate is "A Carter".
- Catherine didn't have a brother called James so I doubt he was a close family relative who perhaps she was staying with in the 1901 census but misidentified as the wife.
- In the 1901 Census Samuel Evans should be exactly 40 years old and likely a carter and likely from Oswestry (as in the 1891 Census for Samuel). I've been unable to find a 1901 Census record for Samuel Evans at 40 years old but James Jones was recorded as a 40 year old coal carter.
- In 1911 Census records I've been unable to find a James Jones around 50 years old and/or a carter. At this point in time Samuel has returned north to be a farmer on Nebo Farm near Oldham.
Catherine Maud Jones
Margaret's sister Catherine Maud Jones was adopted. Catherine's biological mother was Margaret's aunt Margaret Ellenor Jones (who later married Edward Tudor).
A genealogy researcher Wendy Vincent shared this story: My Nan (Olga Margaret) has told me the story of how Margaret Ellenor's family were not happy about her relationship with Samuel Tudor and sent her to live in Birmingham. Nan told me that Samuel went to bring her back. She did live in Birmingham for a while as Nan has 2 postcards written to Maggie at Halloughton Grange, Coleshill Birmingham from Samuel. Not sure how long she lived there but it sounds as though they wrote to each other very often.
Nant Farm
Nant Farm is a place that Margaret used to talk about visiting during her childhood. The exact location took some effort to work out, so here is how we found and confirmed it.
- From the 1911 Census record for Margaret's aunt Margaret Ellenor Tudor (nee Jones) she is living with her husband Samuel Tudor, duaghter Ethel and brother-in-law William Tudor at "Nant Farm, Morda, Oswestry, Salop". Searching nearby properties showed her father (Margaret's maternal grandfather) David Jones (a widower and dairy farmer, aged 70) at Llwnymapsis three properties away. The locations for Nant Farm ("nant" means "stream" in Welsh) and Llwyn-y-mapsis Farm ("llwyn" means "bush" in Welsh) are highlighted in the map below.
Either known or unknown to Margaret, during these visits to Nant Farm her adopted sister Catherine Maud Evans was spending time with her biological mother Margaret Ellenor Tudor.
- There is an address that Margaret Wilson had (although I don't know the context): "Old Nant Farm Oswestery Shropshire SY10 9EX". This matches the area for the 1911 Census address of "Nant Farm, Morda, Oswestry, Salop" although now the post code would be "SY10 9AL".
- Helpfully, to confirm the location, we have two photos of Nant Farm taken in the 1976 during a family trip in the UK with Margaret present. The second photo has this written by Walter Wall on the back: "Taken at the Farmhouse where Marg lived as a child. Os-westry. Aug 1976".
Compare this with the aerial photo and Google Streets 2010 photo of Nant Farm, Morda:
Note that the corner with the brick and the whitewash has concrete steps and a waterpipe both matching the aerial photo.
So now with that confirmed, if you ever want to visit the Nant Farm where Margaret lived then go to: Morda, Oswestry SY10 9AL, UK
Life in New Zealand
Margaret emigrated to New Zealand. She stayed with her (half?) brother David Evans and his wife Mary (nee Cheetham) in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
Margaret married Walter James Wall on 22 April 1935 in New Plymouth.
Margaret and Walter had a family of Margaret, Walter and George. Here is a photo of Margaret with daughter Margaret around 1938. In almost every photo Margaret is extremely well dressed. I like this photo because it is so informal and a snapshot of daily life at the family house at 27 Lyn Street, New Plymouth.
