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Wales of Old

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The VAUGHAN Family

of Tredegar, Monmouthshire

Photographs and commentary provided by Raymond Vaughan of Johannesburg, South Africa

Raymond's great grandfather was David VAUGHAN, born on October 12th, 1845 in the parish of Machynlleth, Montgomeryshire, the son of John VAUGH(A)N (b. ca. 1807) and Jane LEWIS? (b. ca. 1808). For reasons Raymond has yet to discover, David moved to Tredegar, Monmouthshire where he worked as a builder and undertaker. There, around 1866, he married Elizabeth JONES. Elizabeth was born in 1846 in Tredegar, the daughter of Joseph JONES (ca. 1814-1898) and Diana ORPHAN (d. 1892).
David and Elizabeth had eight children, all born in Tredegar, including George Henry VAUGHAN, Raymond's grandfather. The whole family is shown in the photograph below, taken in January 1890.

Vaughan family group
David and Elizabeth Vaughan and their family, in January 1890
Elizabeth (centre) was said to be short in stature but fearsome in nature!

Left to right, with approximate ages:
Back:George, 15; Joseph, 24; David John, 17; Priscilla, 21; Ernest, 3
Front:Mary, 19; Edgar, 12; Elizabeth, 44; Fred, 9; David, 45

(Photograph by B. Thomas of  90 Taff Street, Pontypridd)


So what became of the children?

In 1902, George and his brother Edgar were recruited to South Africa as school masters by Lord Milner. Both became headmasters of respected schools and Edgar became President of the Teachers Association. They both married Welsh ladies on the same day (8 Sep 1904) in Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa.

Their elder brother Joseph, was a minister of religion (educated at Yale) and he also ministered in a free church in Bedford, a small town in the Eastern Cape, for about two years in 1903/4. His wife wouldn't join him in South Africa so he returned to Wales and continued his ministry there and in Somerset.

David John (known as John) was a political animal in Wales, involved in councils and various committees and was Labour Member of Parliament for the Forest of Dean from 1921 to 1931. He took over the undertaking business from his father and later became a Wesleyan preacher.

Fred was involved in the motor business in Birmingham, and Mary married Edward Bell, a London school master. Priscilla and Ernest both married, and Raymond believes they remained in Wales.

Below: The VAUGHAN brothers, photographed in the 1930s

Left to right: Joseph, John, Edgar, Fred, and George.
Vaughan brothers

Many thanks to Raymond Vaughan for allowing me to use his family photographs. He told me he would be visiting Wales in July 2000 and hoped to find out more about his family history.
To contact Raymond send him an e-mail.

Wales of Old

Details of each website feature (for newcomers) Direct links to each website feature (for regulars) Advance news of new developments on my website Summary of all the latest updates Help for those having problems accessing my website Gateway to Welsh Family History Archive (WFHA) A link to the main 'gateway' page to my entire website