Wales of Old

Robert JONES & Sarah GRIFFITHS of Rhosllannerchrugog, Denbighshire Pictures and notes provided by Sara Grimes McBeth of the USA

Robert David Jones was born on September 11th, 1851 in Rhosllannerchrugog, a parish and village about ¾ mile south-west of the town of Wrexham in the county of Denbighshire, North Wales. In the family it was just known as "Rhos".

On March 21st, possibly in 1875, Robert married Sarah Griffiths, who was also born in Rhos (in July 1854). They were married in the town of Wrexham. Sara is not yet certain of the year in which they married because the entry in the family bible is smudged, perhaps to conceal the short period between the marriage and the birth of their first child.

Between 1875 and 1878, Sarah had three children at Rhos: John Edwin (born May 31, 1875), Richard Thomas (born Dec 3, 1876), and Sarah (born Jun 26, 1878). By the time their third child was born, Robert and his wife had decided to make a new life for themselves and their family in America. Tragically, in November 1878, just before they set sail, their youngest child died, in Tyldesley, Lancashire. Years later, in 1932, a niece of the family, named Fanny Travis, wrote a letter from an address in Tyldesley to Sarah in America, saying that she too missed her family in Wales (though she was less than 50 miles away from Rhos, whereas Sarah was 4000 miles away!).

Robert and Sarah eventually settled in Bevier, Macon County, Missouri, where there was a large Welsh community and where Robert could work in the coal mines. Sarah soon had more children: Joseph Thomas (born Jun 25, 1882) - he left home and never returned; Mary Elizabeth, "Lizzie" (born Aug 9, 1884); Sarah Emily (born Apr 20, 1889); and Edward Emanuel (born Feb 19, 1894).

	When Lizzie herself had children, she named her two daughters Eileen and Olwen, after the daughters of the British Prime Minister, probably David Lloyd George (left), who was also of Welsh descent. When Lizzy died in 1923, the children were brought up by their grandmother, Sarah Griffiths Jones. Olwen is the mother-in-law of Sara Grimes McBeth, who provided these photographs and family history data.
	Sarah's life must have been hard, as perhaps can be seen in this detail of her hands (right), enlarged from her portrait. Robert died on February 27th, 1913, aged 61. But Sarah died just four months short of her 100th birthday, on March 19th, 1954.

As well as the lovely photographs of her husband's great grandparents, Sara Grimes McBeth has also acquired this memorial card (above). The ivy leaves are tinged with green and the borders are silver. It is inscribed in the Welsh language with a biblical text (Psalm 64, verse 10) but as there is no name on the card, Sara isn't sure for which member of the family it was intended.
Sara is still in the early stages of researching the family history, and most of the dates she's quoted are from handwritten entries in the Jones family bible (see extract below).

Finally, another puzzle. In his studio portrait, Robert Jones is wearing this metal badge on his lapel. It appears to be in the form of a ship's anchor. Do you recognize this badge, and perhaps know something of its significance? If so, please send Sara an e-mail  -  she'll be delighted to hear from you.

Many thanks to Sara Grimes McBeth for allowing me to use her family photographs.

Wales of Old