Daniel Davies

2G-grandfather of Norma Margaret Oliver

Born:

c1782 Llangeitho, Cardiganshire, Wales

Married:

18 Feb 1814 St Caron's Church, Tregaron, Cardiganshire, Wales to Margaret Davies

Died:

18 Jul 1865 Tregaron, Cardiganshire, Wales. Age 83

Cause of death:

Bronchitis

Timeline

c1782

Feb 1814

1814-1817

1820-1823

1826

1831-1835

1841

1851-1865

Jul 1865

Born at Llangeitho, Cardiganshire, Wales [1]

Married Margaret Davies at St Caron's church, Tregaron, Cardiganshire [2]

Lived with family at Tregaron, Cardiganshire and worked as a drover of cattle to England [3] [4]

Lived with family at Sunnyhill, Tregaron, Cardiganshire and worked as a saddler [5] [6]

Lived with family at Maes-llyn, Tregaron, Cardiganshire and worked as a labourer [7]

Lived with family at Tregaron, Cardiganshire and worked as a saddler [8] [9]

Lived with family at Lower Water St, Tregaron, Cardiganshire and worked as a saddler [10]

Lived with family at Bridge St, Tregaron, Cardiganshire and worked as a saddler [11a and 11b] [1] [12]

Death at home from bronchitis [12]

Biography

Early years

Daniel was born around 1782 in the parish of Llangeitho, a small village of about 350 people, located about 4 miles west of Tregaron. We know from the 1851 census that Daniel had a younger brother, John, but we do not currently know who their parents were [1] [11a and 11b].

On the 18th February 1814, Daniel married Margaret Davies at St Caron, the parish church of Tregaron. Both were listed as being of the parish of Tregaron and one of the witnesses to the marriage was David Davis, who was probably a relative, although whether it was to Daniel or Margaret is not clear. Daniel was able to sign his name to the marriage certificate, which indicated he had received some education. Margaret was only able to sign with her mark [2].

St Caron church, Tregaron, Cardiganshire

Life as a drover

At the time of their marriage and for the next couple of years afterwards, Daniel worked as a drover and we know from the baptismal record of his daughter Elinor that he drove cattle from Tregaron to England [3] [4].

The practice of driving cattle from Wales to England dated back to the mid-13th century and beyond. In the early 19th century, when Daniel was droving, there was a huge demand for Welsh cattle in England, and tens of thousands of cattle were being sent annually, destined for all parts of England, particularly the London meat market of Smithfield [13] [14] [15].

Drovers worked for themselves or were employed to buy and drive cattle for sale in England. Cattle were often bought at large livestock fairs held across Wales and Tregaron was well-known for its fairs held in March, May and December for horses, pigs, cattle and sheep. A description of a cattle fair in the village of Cilgerrin, Cardigan in 1804 gives us an idea of how the cattle fair in Tregaron would have been. It was stated that all the fields within 3 miles of Cilgerrin were filled with cattle, estimated to be about 20,000 in number and, by that yardstick, was considered to be a small fair. As an alternative to purchasing at a fair, a drover may also have bought cattle directly from farmers, often on credit, with the drover paying the farmer back after selling the cattle in England [13].

Cattle bought in south Cardiganshire, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire would converge on Tregaron, which was located at a strategic point for routes over the nearby Cambrian Mountains. Drovers would gather in Tregaron's town square before taking livestock over the mountains to enter England via Herefordshire. From Herefordshire, the cattle would be driven to a variety of destinations from the Midlands, to London and to the naval dockyards in Portsmouth [13].

Tregaron's town square

The size of a drove of cattle varied according to the time of year and demand, however typically ranged in size from 100-400 cattle, attended by 4-8 drovers and their dogs. Most of the cattle would be 3-4 year old store beasts, with the occasional milch cow and bull. Before setting off, all the cattle would be shod and, once the chaos which arose from the mixing of several hundred strange cattle had eased, the drove would set off [13].

It normally took 3-4 days for the drove to settle down to a steady 2 miles per hour, a leisurely pace which would give the animals plenty of opportunity to graze by the wayside. By travelling at this pace, the drove would cover between 15-20 miles per day. It was considered vital not to force the cattle, in order to prevent excessive loss of condition and the loss of 'bloom' which resulted from the accumulation of sweat on the skin. An experienced rover would therefore plan his journey with a lot of care, to preserve the condition of his cattle. For example, a particularly long and strenuous day over rough mountain track would be followed by a shorter day's travelling in order to give the cattle an opportunity to recuperate [13].

There were a number of turnpike roads along the way, on which tolls would be charged at each gate along the road. Drovers often favoured smaller, mountain tracks to avoid the toll roads where possible, although this had to be balanced against the benefits of getting the cattle faster and easier to market along a toll road, so a combination of both were often used. Tolls were not the only costs along the way. The cattle would need to be re-shod several times over the length of the journey, there were lodgings, food and beer for the drovers, as well as grass to fatten the cattle and preserve their condition [13] [14] [15].

A description (perhaps slightly exaggerated) of Welsh drovers who took cattle to London in 1856 gives us a sense of how they appeared to the English townspeople they passed along the way, who regarded them with suspicion and often with awe:

'Imagine some hundreds of bullocks like an immense forest of horns, propelled hurriedly towards you amid the hideous and uproarious shouting of a set of semi-barbarous drovers who value a restive bullock far beyond the life of a human being, driving their mad and noisy herds over every person they meet if not fortunate enough to get out of their way; closely followed by a drove of unbroken wild Welsh ponies, fresh from their native hills all of them loose and unrestrained as the oxen that preceded them; kicking, rearing and biting each other amid the unintelligible anathemas of their human attendants ... the noisy 'hurrahs' of lots of 'un-English speaking' Welshmen who may have just sold some of their native bovine stock whilst they are to be seen throwing up their long-worn, shapeless hats high in the air, as a type of Taffy's delight, uttering at the same time a trade of gibberish which no-one can understand but themselves.' [13]

Drove of cattle

Saddler of Tregaron

From 1820, Daniel's occupation was given as saddler, an occupation he maintained until his death [5] [12].

Initially, he worked his trade at Sunnyhill, north of Tregaron and on land anciently part of the estate surrounding the Strata Florida Abbey, a medieval Cistercian abbey founded in the 12th century. On the Sunnyhill estate was a number of dispersed farms with associated farm buildings and cottages. The family lived here for a few years before moving to a farm house at Maes-llyn, further north and closer to Strata Florida, in 1826 [6] [7] [16] [17].

By 1831, Daniel and his family had moved to Tregaron town proper. Although we don't know where exactly they lived initially, the 1841 census gives their address as Lower Water Street. This street has long since gone but was close to Pentre and presumably close to the River Brennig that runs by the town [8] [10].

Daniel would have needed space for a saddlery workshop - an example of a Welsh saddler's shop can be seen here. Work undertaken by a saddler included harness-making, collar-making and saddle-making. We know from the 1859 directory of Tregaron that Daniel was the only saddler in town [18] [19].

The 1851 and 1861 census indicates the family lived on Bridge Street, in Tregaron [11a and 11b] [1] - this seems to be the modern-day Chapel Street, which runs perpendicular to the Tregaron bridge and backs onto the River Brennig. Locals of Tregaron remember there being a saddlery shop on Church Street where the current butcher is, so this was perhaps the location for Daniel's workshop.

D Davies Butcher Shop Chapel Road Tregaron - possible site for Daniel Davies' saddlery wor

D. Davies butcher shop, Chapel St, Tregaron and possible location of Daniel Davies' saddlery

Daniel's wife Margaret worked as a baker to also support the family, assisted by their youngest daughter Mary. When their eldest daughter, Margaret, went to London and came back a newborn son in 1850, Daniel and his wife took the little boy in until he went back to live with his mother and her new husband in London [10] [11a and 11b].

In 1860, his wife passed away pleurisy [20]. By then, he was about 78 years old and his children had all moved away or died. As it happened, his daughter-in-law Anne, the wife of his eldest son Daniel, was a widow with three children, after Daniel died at the age of 35 from tuberculosis [21]. She had worked as a farm servant and was on parish relief in the intervening years but, after Margaret's death, she and her two daughters, Mary and Jane, moved in with Daniel at his home on Bridge Street, Tregaron and worked as bakers [22] [1].

Daniel passed away at the age of about 83 years old on 18th July 1865 following a 3-month bout of bronchitis. With him at the time of his death was his granddaughter Mary [12].

Source information

Daniel Davies [1861], Census return for Bridge St, Tregaron, Cardiganshire, The National Archives of the UK, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]. There are two sources for Daniel's place of birth - the 1851 census and the 1861 census (the 1841 census does not give a person's place of birth). The 1851 census gives his birthplace as Caron, Cardiganshire (Caron is an alternate name for Tregaron).The 1861 census gives his birthplace as Llangeitho, Cardiganshire. Llangeitho is close to Tregaron. The entry for the Davies family in 1851 gives everyone's birthplace as Caron, whereas the 1861 census distinguishes Daniel's birthplace as Llangeitho vs his children's birthplace, given as Tregaron, so this seems to be more specific information.
Daniel Davies and Margaret Davies, Marriage record, St Caron Tregaron Parish Register [Church of England], 18 Feb 1814, Record no: 10, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Daniel Davies, Baptismal record, St Caron Tregaron Parish Register [Church of England], 18 Dec 1814, Record no: 84, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Elinor Davies, Baptismal record, St Caron Tregaron Parish Register [Church of England], 16 Feb 1817, Record no: 174, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Jane Davies, Baptismal record, St Caron Tregaron Parish Register [Church of England], 19 Sep 1820, Record no: 316, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Thomas Davies, Baptismal record, St Caron Tregaron Parish Register [Church of England], 23 Aug 1823, Record no: 428, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Margaret Davies, Baptismal record, St Mary Strata Florida Parish Register [Church of England], 27 Nov 1826, Record no: 275, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Mary Davies, Baptismal record, St Caron Tregaron Parish Register [Church of England], 16 Oct 1831, Record no: 730, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Joseph Davies, Baptismal record, St Caron Tregaron Parish Register [Church of England], 26 Apr 1835, Record no: 864, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Margaret Davies [1841], Census return for Lower Water St, Tregaron, Cardiganshire, The National Archives of the UK, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]. Daniel is not with his family and is instead enumerated at Llanwyrd, Breconshire - the assumption is he was there for work-related reasons. His wife and children are in Tregaron and this is taken to be his regular abode
Daniel Davies [1851 - page 1 and page 2], Census return for Bridge St, Tregaron, Cardiganshire, The National Archives of the UK, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]. Daniel's brother John is living with the family in the 1851 census.
Daniel Davies, England & Wales Death Certificate, Registered 3rd Quarter 1865 in Tregaron, Record no: 42, General Register Office [www.gro.gov.uk]
Colyer, Richard, Welsh cattle drovers in the 19th century, National Library of Wales Journal, 1972, Winter volume XVII/4, Genuki [www.genuki.org.uk]
Drover's routes: The ancient trails from farm to market, and how they've shaped our roads to this day, Country Life, 4 Feb 2023 [www.countrylife.co.uk]
Evans, Angharad, Following in the footsteps of the drovers, 8 Jun 2018, Farmers' Union of Wales [fuw.org.uk/index.php/en]
Sunnyhill, Dyfed Archaeological Trust [dyfedarchaeology.org.uk]
Sunnyhill Estate, Coflein [coflein.gov.uk]
Saddler's workshop, Historical Buildings at St Fagan's [museum.wales]
Daniel Davies Saddler, Tregaron, Slater's Directory of Gloucester, Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Shropshire and Wales, 1859, page 141, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Margaret Davies, England & Wales Death Certificate, Death registered 2nd Quarter 1860 in Tregaron, Record no: 177, General Register Office [www.gro.gov.uk]
Daniel Davies, England & Wales Death Certificate, Death registered 1st Quarter 1849 in Tregaron, Record no: 342, General Register Office [www.gro.gov.uk]
Anne Davies [1851], Census return for Chapel St, Tregaron, Cardiganshire, The National Archives of the UK, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]