Margaret Davies

2G-grandmother of Norma Margaret Oliver

Born:

c1787 Tregaron, Cardiganshire, Wales

Married:

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

Died:

22 Apr 1860 Tregaron, Cardiganshire, Wales. Age 73

Cause of death:

Pleurisy

Timeline

c1787

Feb 1814

1814-1817

1820-1823

1826

1831-1835

1841

1851-1860

Apr 1860

Born at Tregaron, Cardiganshire, Wales [1a and 1b]

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

Lived with family at Tregaron, Cardiganshire [3] [4]

Lived with family at Sunnyhill, Tregaron, Cardiganshire [5] [6]

Lived with family at Maes-llyn, Tregaron, Cardiganshire [7]

Lived with family at Tregaron, Cardiganshire [8] [9]

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

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

Death at home from pleurisy [11]

Biography

Early years

Margaret was born around 1787 in the parish of Tregaron in Cardiganshire [1a and 1b].

On the 18th February 1814, she married Daniel 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 after marriage

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].

In 1820, the family lived 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 [5] [6] [7] [15] [16].

By 1831, Margaret and her 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] [9] [10].

Tregaron's town square

Daniel's work as a drover and, latterly, as a saddler, meant spending time away from the family for work. For example, in the 1841 census, Daniel was recorded as being in Breconshire on the night of the census, while Margaret was at home with their children [10] [17]. Margaret would have needed to be independent and this is perhaps reflected in the fact that she worked as a baker. Later, she was assisted by her youngest daughter, Mary, who was also recorded as working as a baker [10] [1a and 1b].

On the 22nd of April 1860, Margaret died from pleurisy [11]. Pleurisy causes the thin lining between the lungs and ribs to become inflamed, resulting in sharp chest pain. While it normally resolves itself on its own, if the pleurisy is caused by a bacterial infection, such as pneumonia, then antibiotics would be required. Margaret's death from the condition suggests that a deeper underlying cause, such as pneumonia (although this is not mentioned on the death certificate), was at play [18].

Present at Margaret's death was Avarinah Jones of Prospect Place, Tregaron, the widow of Jenkin Jones, a farmer at Llanilar and, latterly, Sunnyhill. Avarinah was born as Avarinah Davies in 1795 in Gwnnws. Her maiden name and presence in Sunnyhill suggests there was a familial connection between the two ladies but it is unclear what it was and the evidence does not currently support that they were sisters [11] [19] [20] [21] [22].

Source information

Margt 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 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
Margaret Davies, England & Wales Death Certificate, Death registered 2nd Quarter 1860 in Tregaron, Record no: 177, 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]
Daniel Davies [1841], Census return for Llanwyrd, Breconshire, The National Achives of the UK, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Pleurisy, NHS [www.nhs.uk]
Avarina Jones [1851], Census return for Sunnyhill, Tregaron, Cardiganshire, The National Archives of the UK, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Varina Jones [1861], Census return for Prospect Pl, Tregaron, Cardiganshire, The National Archives of the UK, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Averinah Davies and Jenkin Jones, Marriage record, St Gwnnws Gwnnws Parish Register [Church of England], 18 Aug 1826, Record no: 57, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]
Avrinah Davies, Baptismal record, St Gwnnws Gwnnws Parish Register [Church of England], 29 Oct 1795, Ancestry [www.ancestry.co.uk]