This post is about John PARRY, my great grandfather. Since he died in 1918, when his son, my grandfather Donald, was only 14, none of my father's generation knew John either, so there are very few stories passed down about him and what I know is being reconstructed from the records.
John was born on the 3rd September 1865, in Glynfach, Breconshire, according to the birth certificate, although his birthplace is often recorded in census records as "Capel-y-ffin". He was the second son of Thomas PARRY and Sarah, formerly JONES. His siblings were Thomas, Elizabeth, and Lewis.
The first census John appears in is 1871, when the family is living in Llanelen, Monmouthshire. Sadly, John's mother, Sarah, and his brother, Lewis, had already passed away and the family were living with John's grandmother, Anna PARRY (frequently recorded as "Hannah" but not in this census). John's uncle, James PARRY, aged 23, was also living there.
In 1881, John is living with his grandparents, William and Hannah JONES, in Tyndrain, Glynfach, Breconshire, where he is recorded as a Farmer's son, working with his grandfather.
I've struggled to identify John in the 1891 census. However, my Dad did think that, at some stage, John travelled across to America as a cattle man. It is possible that this explains my inability to find him in this census, and "John Parry" is just too common a name for me to identify him amongst records such as passenger lists etc, at the moment.
However, by 1901, John is living in Holmer, Hereford, with his occupation as a "Cattle Dealer". He is still single but living with him is his sister-in-law, Mary PARRY, and her three children, Eleanor, Elizabeth, and Walter. Although Mary is recorded as married, unbeknown to them, she had been widowed by then. John's brother, Thomas, had been killed in July 1900 in South Africa, during the Boer War.
John married Rosina Louisa PREECE, on the 16 April 1903, in Mordiford, Herefordshire. Their first child, Donald, was born in Mordiford, their second, Rosina Jane, in Cornewall Street, Hereford.
Sadly, Rosina died having given birth to their second child and John was left to bring up the two children on his own, no doubt with assistance from friends and relatives.
One of Amy Johnson Crow's prompts for this week's topic was "Maybe you found an ancestor far from where you expected?". And, yes, I think John's 1911 census entry fits that description, although not because of distance - but because he is in Hereford Gaol!
That certainly was far away from the situation I expected him to be in, as a widowed father of two, in employment as a cattle dealer (and no, there's no hints of "rustling"!)
I am still piecing together the full story of his stay in prison, so I am not going to write more about that at the moment. But just to say, for now, that I imagine nine months in prison must have had quite an impact on John and his two young children who, at that time, were aged just seven and five.
However, I know from Poll Books for 1910 and 1912 that John Parry was living at 104 Widemarsh Street, Hereford, both before and after his time in prison. This is the address where his children were boarding in 1911, so clearly a level of stability was maintained for them while their father was absent. The description of the rooms occupied shows "Bedroom, first floor, sitting room, ground floor, furnished".
The Landlord (or, at least, the person to whom the rent was paid), was a Charles OLDACRE. Charles Edward OLDACRE is also the Head in the 1911 census, living in the property with his wife and three children of their own. There are also another two adult boarders. Charles is occupied in "horse dealing" and one of the other boarders is a "stock dealer".
The photograph below is not of the relevant house, but just one I took in 2011. At the time, I didn't have all the details I do now about John's addresses, but I knew that 'Widemarsh Street' was an address my Dad had mentioned, so it seemed like a good idea to photograph the sign showing the name.
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| A corner of Widemarsh Street, Hereford, photographed in 2011 |
John passed away on the 21st November 1918, aged just 53. His address at the time was 18 Newmarket Street, Hereford, and the informant was an M A FRANCIS, described as a step-niece, who was present at the death.
The causes of death were given as "morbis cordis" and "syncope". My Dad obtained the certificate and appears to have asked what the causes meant since, stored with the death certificate, is a response stating that morbis cordis is heart failure, and that this would have been the most likely term to put if John had died as a result of a general weakness following 'flu'. The syncope means 'fainting' - although, as the respondent says "I never knew it was fatal!"
Whether John had suffered from the flu of 1918, or whether there were other factors which caused his death at such an age, I will probably never know. Following his death, I believe the two children were sent to live with other relatives, Rosina possibly in Hereford but later in London, and Donald to the Rowlestone area of Herefordshire.
I don't know exactly what John's occupation as a cattle dealer involved - but writing this reminded me of the shows my family visited when I was young so I thought I would end with a cattle photograph, probably taken in the early 1960s, more than likely at the Three Counties Showground, Malvern.
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| Cattle parade, photographed approx. 1965 |
1871 census: Class: RG10; Piece: 5311; Folio: 28; Page: 9;
1881 census: Class: RG11; Piece: 5470; Folio: 71; Page: 1
1901 census: Class: RG13; Piece: 2482; Folio: 90; Page: 32
1911 census: Class: RG14; Piece: 15712; Schedule Number: 215
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