David Price

G-grandfather of Norma Margaret Oliver

Born:

13 Oct 1822 Pentrebach, Lampeter, Cardiganshire, Wales

Baptised:

8 Dec 1822 Tabernacle Chapel, Lampeter, Cardiganshire, Wales

Married:

9 Oct 1853 St Bartholomew's Church, Sydenham, Kent, England to Margaret Davies

Died:

8 Dec 1902 West Norwood, Surrey, England. Age 80

Cause of death:

Chronic bronchitis and old age

Buried:

12 Dec 1902 West Norwood Cemetery, Norwood, Surrey, England

Timeline

Oct 1822

Dec 1822

1825

1830

1841

1851

Oct 1853

1857-1860

1861-1868

1870-1896

1901-Feb 1902

1902

Dec 1902

Born at the farmhouse Dolaugwyrddon Uchaf, in the hamlet of Pentrebach, close to Lampeter, Cardiganshire, Wales [1a and 1b]

Baptised at the Campel Lamped Methodist Chapel, Lampeter, Cardiganshire, Wales [1a and 1b]

Lived with parents in the hamlet of Cwmman, near Lampeter, Cardiganshire, Wales [2a and 2b]

Lived with parents at Pentrebach, Lampeter, Cardiganshire, Wales [3a and 3b]

Lived at Bridge Road, Lambeth, Surrey and worked as a shopman for a linen draper [4]

Lived in London and worked as a soap boiler [5]

Married Margaret Davies at St Bartholomew's Church, Sydenham, Kent. Lived at Sydenham and worked as a soap boiler [6]

Lived with family at 15 Darlington Tce, Southwark, Surrey and worked as a soap boiler / soap boiler's foreman in a soap manufacturing factory [7] [8]

Lived with family at 15 Southwark Bridge Rd, Southwark, Surrey and worked as a soap boiler / soap boiler's foreman in a soap manufacturing factory [9] [10]

Lived with family at 245 Southwark Bridge Rd, Southwark, Surrey and worked as a soap boiler / soap boiler's foreman and manager in a soap manufacturing factory [11] [12] [13a and 13b] [14a and 14b] [15]

Lived with family at 189 Norwood Rd, Herne Hill, Surrey [16a and 16b] [17]

Lived with son Joseph Davies Price at 72a Wolfington Rd, West Norwood, Surrey [18]

Death at home from chronic bronchitis and old age. Buried at West Norwood Cemetery, Norwood, Surrey [18] [19]

Biography

Early years

Map of Lampeter and surrounds showing Pentre-bach Cwmman Fronbedr and Dolaugwyrddon-uchaf.

Map of area surrounding Lampeter. Dolaugwyrddon Uchaf marked with green pin

David was born in Dolaugwyrddon Uchaf, which translates to "high green meadow". It was - and still is - a farmhouse down the lane from the hamlet of Pentre-bach ("small village"), in the parish of Lampeter, Cardiganshire (Ceredigion) [1a and 1b].

He was baptised by his parents, David and Anne Price, at two months of age at the Tabernacle Chapel, a Calvinist Methodist church in Lampeter. At the time David was born, his father, David senior, was working as a labourer [1a and 1b].

The family moved to the hamlet of Cwmman in 1825 but, by 1830, they had returned to Pentrebach, where David's father worked a farm [3a and 3b]. We can assume that David and his family spoke Welsh as their native tongue - at the time, Welsh was still the main spoken language throughout the majority of Wales, particularly for those who lived in Cardiganshire. David's granddaughter, Nell Lane, would go on to teach Welsh to her grandchildren as part of their heritage [20] [21].

Tabernacle Chapel, Lampeter

Between 1830 and 1841, David left his parents behind in Pentrebach and moved to London where he initially worked as a draper's shopkeeper [4].

He remained in London, and was working as a soap boiler by 1851 [21]. This was the term used at the time for a soap maker and reflected that, to make soap, one had to boil the ingredients.

David would work as a soap boiler for the rest of his life. We know from references on his son's birth certificate and his wife's death certificate that he held the position of foreman at the soap factory he worked at.

St Bartholomew's Church, Sydenham

After David married Margaret Davies at St Bartholomew's Church in Sydenham in 1853, the family briefly lived on Darlington Terrace, before settling on Southwark Bridge Road, Southwark, where they would live from 1860-1896. The road led onto Southwark Bridge, which provided a crossing from south London across the Thames to the City of London. Southwark Bridge was sandwiched between Blackfriars Bridge to the west and London Bridge to the east but, unlike those bridges, it had been built privately and was tolled at a penny per crossing. However, by the early 1860s, the toll had been removed after it proved to be a financial flop, with Londoners choosing to cross the river using the free bridges. Despite the removal of the toll, the bridge remained under utilised and this was partly because it had a steeper incline, making it harder for horse-drawn freight [22].

Southwark Bridge

Also located close to the family - on the same street they lived on - was the Welsh Congregational Chapel. Although David and Margaret baptised their children at the St John the Evangelist church in Lambeth, it is likely they were Congregationalists in their beliefs. This is supported by the fact that David's parents were practising Calvinist Methodists (of which Congregationalism was a branch) and David and Margaret's daughter, Ann, would regularly sing at the Welsh Congregational Chapel [23].

Welsh Congregational Chapel, Southwark Bridge Road

David worked throughout his life as a soap boiler. He appears to have worked in a soap factory, given there are references on his son's birth certificate and his wife's death certificate of him holding the position of factory foreman.

Given the family's long presence in Southwark, it's possible that the soap factory that David worked at was the Wright's Coal Tar Soap factory, located on Southwark Street, Southwark.

Wright's Coal Tar Soap Factory, Southwark

In 1871, David's father David senior passed away and left £20 to David in his will. David's father also made provisions for his David's younger siblings, Thomas (who worked as a shoemaker) and Mary, who remained in Wales and David's niece Eliza Price, the daughter of his deceased brother John. David's other brother, Ebenezer, had moved to London in the 1840s but he was cut out of their father's will, being left only a token shilling. The likely cause behind this was Ebenezer's serious legal issues - in 1857 he had fallen into bankruptcy but absconded and re-styled himself as Ebenezer Price Jones. In 1861, the law caught up with him and he was arrested for bankruptcy, failing to surrender himself to the bankruptcy court, embezzling with the intent to defraud and obtaining credit with the intent to defraud. He was subsequently sentenced to serve 18 months in prison [24] [25] [26].

Latter years and death

Norwood Rd, Herne Hill, 1910

By 1901, David and his family moved to 185 Norwood Road, Herne Hill, which was only two doors down from his daughter Ann and her family, at 189 Norwood Road [16a and 16b] [17].

After the death of his wife, Margaret, in February 1902, he moved to Wolfington Road, West Norwood with his son Joseph Davies Price [18].

He died 8th December 1902 at home, having suffered from bronchitis, which was a contributing factor to his death, as well as his old age [18]. He was buried four days later at West Norwood Cemetery [19].

Source information

David Price [page 1 and page 2], Baptismal record, Tabernacle Chapel Lampeter Parish Register [Calvinist Methodist], 8 Dec 1822, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Ebenezer Price [page 1 and page 2], Baptismal record, Tabernacle Chapel Lampeter Parish Register [Calvinist Methodist], 8 Aug 1825, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Mary Price [page 1 and page 2], Baptismal record, Tabernacle Chapel Lampeter Parish Register [Calvinist Methodist], 20 Jun 1830, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
David Price [1841], Census return for Bridge Rd, Lambeth, Surrey, The National Archives of the UK, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
David Price [1851], Census return for Old George St, Southwark, Surrey [visiting], The National Archives of the UK, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
David Price and Margaret Davies, England & Wales Marriage Certificate, Registered 4th Quarter 1853 in Lewisham, Record no: 77, General Register Office [www.gro.gov.uk]
Joseph Davies Price, England & Wales Birth Certificate, Registered 2nd Quarter 1857 in St George the Martyr Southwark, Record no: 216, General Register Office [www.gro.gov.uk]
Thomas Price, England & Wales Birth Certificate, Registered 2nd Quarter 1860 in St George the Martyr Southwark, Record no: 166, General Register Office [www.gro.gov.uk]
David Price [1861], Census return for Southwark Bridge Rd, Southwark, Surrey, The National Archives of the UK, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Eleanor Mary Price, England & Wales Birth Certificate, Registered 2nd Quarter 1868 in St George Southwark, Record no: ..4, General Register Office [www.gro.gov.uk]
Alice Margaret Price, England & Wales Birth Certificate, Registered 4th Quarter 1870 in St Saviour Surrey, Record no: 193, General Register Office [www.gro.gov.uk]
David Price [1871], Census return for Southwark Bridge Rd, Southwark, Surrey, The National Archives of the UK, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
David Price [1881 - page 1 and page 2], Census return for Southwark Bridge Rd, Southwark, Surrey, The National Archives of the UK, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
David Price [1891 - page 1 and page 2], Census return for Southwark Bridge Rd, Southwark, Surrey, The National Archives of the UK, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
David Price, London England Electoral Registers 1832-1956, Borough of Southwark, Division of Southwark West, 1896, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
David Price [1901 - page 1 and page 2], Census return for Norwood Rd, Lambeth, Surrey, The National Archives of the UK, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Margaret Price, England & Wales Death Certificate, Registered 2nd Quarter 1902 in Lambeth, Record no: 91, General Register Office [www.gro.gov.uk]
David Price, England & Wales Death Certificate, Registered 4th Quarter 1902 in Lambeth, Record no: 377, General Register Office [www.gro.gov.uk]
David Price, Burial record, West Norwood Cemetery Burial Register, 12 Dec 1902, Record no: A32486, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
19th century: History of the Welsh language, Wikipedia, Last edited 12 Feb 2024 [en.wikipedia.org]
Conversations with Jenny Batten, granddaughter of Nell Lane
Brown, Matt, The remarkable (and grim) history of Southwark Bridge, Londonist Time Machine, 3 Jan 2024, Londonist [londonist.substack.com]
Evidence of the family's Congregationalism:
- David Price (pt 1 and pt 2 of page), Baptismal record, Capel Lampel Chapel Lampeter Parish Register [Calvinist Methodists], 8 Dec 1822, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]. David and his brother were baptised in the Welsh Calvinist Methodist Church. Congregationalism is a Protestant faith in the Calvinist Methodist tradition.
- The Welsh in London, South Wales Daily News, 16 Dec 1881, page 2, FindMyPast [www.findmypast.co.uk]. Notes Anne as a singer at a chapel meeting at the Welsh Congregational Chapel.
- Jottings about the Welsh in London, Wrexham Advertiser, 9 Dec 1882, page 5, FindMyPast [www.findmypast.co.uk]. As above, notes Ann as a singer at a chapel meeting at the Welsh Congregational Chapel. This chapel was located on Southwark Bridge Road, the same road that the Price family lived on. Ann's presence at the meeting strongly suggests she was Congregational (and likely brought up so) and given the family were Welsh and living on the same road, it is highly likely the Welsh Congregational Chapel was the church they attended.
Will of David Price, England & Wales National Probate Calendar 1858-1995, Proved 12 May 1871 Carmarthen, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
A fraudulent bankrupt twice absconding from his creditors, London Evening Standard, 9 Oct 1861, page 7, FindMyPast [www.findmypast.co.uk]
Ebenezer Price Jones, England & Wales Criminal Registers 1791-1892, London Central Criminal Court, 6 Jan 1862, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]