This photograph, provided by my cousin, Paula Owen, is of Sarah.
We guess that this may have been taken prior to Sarah’s wedding to John Pitt in 1853.
BIRTH: Circa 1829, at Llansawel, Carmarthenshire.
FATHER: Abel Davies, a labourer. He had died by the time of Sarah’s second marriage in 1868.
MOTHER: Not known.
SIBLINGS: Ann Davies. A Margaret Davies was a witness at Sarah’s second marriage in 1868. I guess that Margaret was probably a sister too.
Occupation(s): General servant at Coed-y-Cadno, Llanfihangel Pontymoile (1851). Landlady (took in Lodgers) – 1866-1868.
HUSBANDS:
- John Pitt.
- James Williams.
MARRIAGE:
- To John Pitt. 25th June 1853 at St. Woolos Cathedral, Newport, Monmouthshire.
- To James Williams. 6th October 1868, at St. Cattwg’s Church, Gelligaer, Glamorganshire.
CHILDREN:
With John Pitt
- Sarah Ellen Pitt (1854 to 1948).
- Henry James Pitt (1856 to 1929).
- William John Pitt (1859 to 1945).
- Alice Ann Pitt (1862 to 1933).
- Thomas Jesse Pitt (1864 to 1928).
With James Williams
- Un-named Baby boy. 1868 to 1868).
- Alfred Williams. (1869).
- Rachel Kate Williams (1871 to 1932).
DEATH: 13th January 1901, at Rose Cottage, Glascoed. Died of General Debility, 26 days.
BIOGRAPHY
Sarah Davies was born in Llansawel, Carmarthenshire, in approximately 1829. She was the daughter of Abel Davies, a labourer (according to her first marriage certificate) or farmer (according to second marriage certificate). I don’t know who her mother was.
Sarah Davies was working as a general servant on the 1851 census, at Coed-y-Cadno Farm, Llanvihangel Pontymoile. I believe that Sarah met her first husband, my Great-Great Grandfather John Pitt, whilst working at Coed-y-Cadno. Court Farm where John was lodging was right beside the railway line under construction, where I guess he was working. The railway and Court Farm were just across the fields from Coed-y-Cadno, the farm that the 22 year old Sarah would have been working at. I wonder whether they met while both working – John on the railway and Sarah in the adjoining fields. Alternatively, they may have met at the local pub, the Horse and Jockey or the church next door? Do you try to imagine this sort of thing about some of your ancestors too?
Sarah married John Pitt on June 25th 1853 at St. Woolos’ Church, Newport, Monmouthshire. Their residence was said to be St. Woolos parish, Newport at the marriage. The witnesses were not family members, so perhaps this was a quiet marriage?
I wonder whether they were actually living there at that time (as stated on their marriage certificate – “of this parish”), or whether there was another reason for marrying in Newport. Both John and Sarah were living and working in the Llanfihangel Pontymoile area prior to the marriage (at the time of the 1851 census). They were living at Glascoed from February 1854 when their first child was born. The answer may relate to John’s work as a Stone mason. Whilst the railway that he would have been working on whilst living at Pontymoile, between Pontynewynydd and Newport reached Newport on 1st July 1852, further work on the railways continued at Newport beyond this. It was work extending the line between stations and widening the gauge. Perhaps John was working in Newport for this reason?
The move to Glascoed
John and Sarah’s first child was Sarah Ellen Pitt (known as Ellen). Ellen was born at Glascoed on 1st February 1854.
The Coleford, Monmouth, Usk & Pontypool Railway, which was authorised under an Act of August 20, 1853, started from a junction with the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway, at Little Mill, near Glascoed, to Coleford. There would have been plenty of work for stone masons on the railway at this time, so a move to Glascoed would have made perfect sense for a stone mason working on the railway. He was perhaps a mile away from that railway line, across the fields.
John and Sarah had four more children at Glascoed: Henry James Pitt (1856), William John Pitt (1859), Alice Ann Pitt (1862) and Thomas Jesse Pitt (1864).
John had become a Master Stone Mason, by the time of the 1861 census. The quarry named as “Pitt’s Quarry”, near Glascoed in a Turnpike Trust account of 1862, must have been his.
Their homes at Glascoed.
We know for certain that John and Sarah were living at Panta House at the time of the 1861 census. I believe that John and Sarah moved shortly after this to Rose Cottage, Pergoed Lane – most likely later in 1861 or in 1862.
When John died of small pox in August 1865, Sarah was left with five children to bring up on her own and her source of income disappeared straight away.
Sarah had some run-ins with one of the neighbours, Hannah Lewis. There were two newspaper accounts on May 19th 1866 in the Usk Observer and the Monmouthshire Merlin, where Mrs Lewis accuses Sarah of carrying on with her husband, Philip Lewis. Philip Lewis had interestingly, been the informant on Sarah’s husband, John’s death certificate and was present at the death The rights and wrongs of this case are lost in the mists of time, but certainly the Judge felt it necessary to bind Hannah Lewis over to keep the peace. Sarah denied all wrongdoing and any interest in Mr Lewis. She explained to the Magistrate that she had hosted a “biddle” or “tidley-wink” (selling beer or spirits without a licence) – this must have been to create an income.
I know that Sarah took in lodgers – a newspaper report from the Usk Observer on 20th June 1868, shows that an Isaac Lindsay had lodged with the Pitts from June to September 1867, although left without paying his full rent.
In May 1868, the fight with the Lewis’ (who lived only a hundred yards or so down Pergoed Lane from Rose Cottage) rose to new levels, according to a report in the Monmouthshire Merlin on 23rd May 1868. The new man in Sarah’s life, James Williams had become involved in verbal fighting and a bit more, with the neighbours, Hannah and Philip Lewis. The judge summed up by saying “that the evidence had been of that contradictory nature, that it was impossible to know which to believe.“ We are in the same position – what is clear is the simmering resentment between the two families. An interesting side-note from this story is the suggestion that villagers (including the Lewis’) had made and burned an effigy of James Williams – over quite what we don’t know for sure, although it is clear that Sarah was expecting a child by James Williams by this point (the child was born in October) with James being her lodger. Perhaps it was one of those cruel rural parades of effigies, arranged for couples deemed to have been “living in sin”.
A tragic death and a coroner’s verdict.
On 3rd October 1868, newspaper articles with sensationalist titles such as “Suspicion of Infanticide” and “Inquest on the body exhumed by the Police at Glascoed Churchyard” appeared in the Pontypool Free Press (the fullest article), the Usk Observer and Monmouthshire Merlin.
They concerned the death soon after birth of James and Sarah’s baby in September 1868 barely two weeks before her planned wedding to James. Sarah appears to have chosen to marry in her sister’s parish to get away from the local area, where people seemed to be concerned that she had been living “in sin” with James Williams. The articles concerned the illegal burial of her new-born son (James was the father) on 20th September 1868. The baby died just four and a half hours after his birth. He was said to be a weakly child, who died of convulsions in the arms of his Grandmother, Rachel Williams, who had acted as midwife. He did not “catch” to the breast, although this was shown not to be a factor in his death. There was some commotion at Sarah’s insistence that the baby be given some gin and water, although again the Doctor at the inquest felt that this was helpful rather than dangerous. James buried his new-born son very late at night, accompanied by a witness, Richard Arnold (of the Maesmawr family). Within 12 years, Sarah’s eldest son, Henry James Pitt was to marry Richard Arnold’s daughter, Mary Ann (my great-grandparents).
Sarah appeared to have continued to live at Rose Cottage and on 6th October 1868, Sarah re-married. Her new husband had previously been her lodger – James Williams – son of Walter Williams. James had been born in Llanvihangel Pontymoile, but lived for a large portion of his life in Glascoed. At the time of their marriage, Sarah was said to be living at Penpedairheol in Gelligaer parish (at least according to the wedding certificate), although newspaper articles at the time show that she actually was still living in Glascoed, with James Williams as her “lodger”/ common law husband. Sarah had a sister named Ann, who lived in Gelligaer parish at this time.
Sarah was a widow for 3 years, until her marriage to James Williams. She did not have an occupation listed on her marriage certificate. We know from the Free Press newspaper report that James Williams was her lodger so presumably supported Sarah – he was a lime burner at this point. Witnesses were Thomas Price and Margaret Davies – I wonder whether she was Sarah’s sister? Both James Williams and Sarah left their X mark rather than signed the certificate, indicating that they had not learned to read. Sarah’s first husband John could sign his name and apparently taught some of the children of Glascoed to read – obviously had not tried or succeeded with his wife.
On the 1871 census Sarah’s youngest son Thomas Jesse was staying with his Aunt, Ann Davies and Uncle Thomas Davies nearby at Gwaunyrallt, Hengoed. Sarah must have been close to Ann, partly evidenced by Thomas Jesse continuing to live with his Aunt and Uncle. Thomas was there for the 1881 census too, listed as a son (adopted I guess). Thomas’ descendant, Eileen Hayes, told me that their family oral history reports that Thomas had left home after falling out with his father. The father in question must have been James Williams, since his natural father, John Pitt died when Thomas was just 8 months old. Economics may have been a factor too, I suppose, since a Labourer’s wage wasn’t high and there were by 1871, six other siblings to look after.
James and Sarah continued living at Rose Cottage until their deaths in the early 1900s.
James and Sarah had at least two more children at Rose Cottage. Alfred (born in 1869 at Glascoed) and Rachel Kate, born in 1871 at Glascoed.
Sarah was baptized on 26th May 1878, as an adult at Mount Zion Baptist Chapel. The minutes of the church meeting which took place on May 22nd, confirmed that it was “unanimously agreed that Sarah (and also Elizabeth Williams) should be baptized next Lord’s day and received into Church fellowship in this place.”
The second proposal by Henry Williams, the Church Secretary later of Bryn Farm and seconded by William Morgan was very interesting, bearing in mind the history of Sarah’s relationship with her neighbour Hannah Lewis. It was “unanimously agreed that our Sister Hannah Lewis be Suspended from Communion and fellowship in this Church, until such times that she will come to reasonable terms with our sister Sarah Williams.” This is ten years after the court reports where Hannah Lewis was bound over to keep the peace with Sarah. Neither Hannah nor Sarah appear in the Church minutes books after this entry.
An Ethel Williams is listed as their child on the 1881 census aged 3 months. “Ethel Williams” was actually Ethel Pitt, daughter of Alice Pitt. Alice was aged 18 at the time and unmarried. Ethel was born on 20th January 1881 at Chapel Lane, Trevethin, Monmouthshire, her sister Ellen Pitt (now married to Charles Stratton originally of Poplar Tree Cottages). Ethel’s father was not listed on the birth certificate. On the 1891 census, Ethel Pitt (Grand-daughter) was listed at Rose Cottage, aged 11, born Trevethin. Also on the 1891 census, we find an Alice Edwards, grand-daughter, who would have been Beatrice Alice Edwards, the daughter of Alice Ann Pitt and her husband, Robert Edwards, a furnaceman from County Durham.
Sarah died on 13th January 1901 at Rose Cottage of “General debility, 26 days”. Her husband, James, continued to live at Rose Cottage, Glascoed, after Sarah’s death – he was there on the 1901 and 1911 censuses. He married again shortly after Sarah’s death – to a Mary Ann according to the 1911 census.
Newspaper Reports
May 19th 1866. Usk Observer. “The Green eyed Monster.”
23rd May 1868. Monmouthshire Merlin. “GLASCOED.”
June 20th 1868. Usk Observer. “County Court, June 9th.”
October 3rd 1868. Usk Observer. “Suspicion of Infanticide.”
Pontypool Free Press and Monmouthshire Merlin. Both articles entitled “Inquest on the body exhumed by the Police in Glascoed Churchyard.”
Records:
Census:
- 1851 census at Coed-y-Cadno Farm, Llanfihangel Pontymoile.
- 1861 census at Panta House.
- 1871 census (No name) – I believe that this was Rose Cottage.
- 1881 census Near Penywood – I believe that this was Rose Cottage.
- 1891 census at Rose Cottage.
- 1901 census Widower James living at Rose Cottage.
Death certificate: 13th January 1901. Sarah died at Rose Cottage.
See also the Mount Zion Minutes books, entry 22nd May 1878.
Other records
Death certificate, 13th January 1901.
