Continuing on from my previous post, about the numbers of PARRYs who died in the period covering the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, this post relates to the impact of 1918 on my own ancestral line. Two of my direct PARRY ancestors died that year, my great grandfather, John PARRY , and his father, Thomas.
John PARRY is featured in a post on my personal family history blog, which you can find
here. There will be more to add to his story, once I finish investigating the reasons for his nine months in prison, in 1911. He died on the 21st November 1918, of "morbus cordis" and syncope. As someone explained the causes to my Dad (who began our family history research), "they just died! It would be the most likely thing to put if someone died as a result of general weakness after 'flu".
John's father, Thomas PARRY, was 79 years old when he died in February 1918. According to the death certificate, he died of cancer, asthenia and syncope so, potentially, the pandemic had no direct connection to his death. It was just a matter of timing.
Thomas was born in 1838, in Llanwenarth, Monmouthshire. He'd married in 1863, to Sarah JONES and they'd had four children before Sarah died in 1869, aged just 26, from meningitis. Their youngest son, Lewis, born four days before Sarah passed away, then died from bronchitis at the age of 8 months. But the other three children survived to adulthood.
By 1891, Thomas was living in Walterstone, Herefordshire, at "Coed Gravel", a widower aged 53, working as a roadman. With him were his daughter, Elizabeth, aged 24, and his mother, Hannah, aged 81. It seems likely his mother died in the years soon after that census, although I haven't been able to identify her death yet. But Thomas remarried in 1893 to Ann JONES, formerly MEREDITH, a 53 year old widow. Thomas and Ann remained in Walterstone and, in 1901, were living at "Lower House". Thomas was aged 62, and still working as a roadman for the Rural District Council. By 1908, when Ann died, Thomas and Ann were living at "Quarries Green", Walterstone, and Thomas appears to still be living at the same property in 1911 (although, in the census, the property is described as "Quarrels Green"). He is now aged 72, and again it is recorded that he is working as a roadman for the RDC.
On the 9th December 1911, Thomas PARRY, of "Quarry's Green, Walterstone", wrote his Will.
He died on the 22nd February 1918, at Plum Tree Cottage, Graigamy, Clydach, Llanelly, Breconshire, which was the home of his step-daughter, Margaret Francis.
This is the relevant entry in the probate calendar:
The discovery of this record is something I always find amazing, whenever I think about it - one of those "chance finds" in genealogy, which help several pieces fall into place. No other evidence has been found, so far, for this address of 18 Newmarket Street, Hereford, being connected to Thomas PARRY, so this is the find that I believe helped my Dad to confirm the link between my great grandfather, John, and my 2xgreat grandfather, Thomas.
Dad had begun to research our family history in the early 1980s, just after his father, Donald PARRY, died, so it was too late to ask any further questions. (How many of us have found ourselves in that situation!)
Donald had been orphaned in 1918, when his father, John, died, and there was very little information available about our PARRY line. When Dad started, many of the records and search facilities, which we almost take for granted these days, were not available - even the 1881 census was not yet indexed, and the civil registration indexes were only available in a limited number of places.
So, identifying entries relating to the correct father and grandfather for Donald had been a bit of a 'brickwall' for Dad.
I now have the numerous letters from the research company Dad used, showing what research had been carried out when, and giving their reasons why the investigations into John and his father's parentage hadn't progressed far since they had last written to Dad. Over the years, bits and pieces of information had been collected, including, amazingly, details of the correct birth certificate for John. But it is difficult to say now exactly what was "
known" about the family at any particular time (without analysing all the research and putting it on a timeline) since details we now know to be correct are interspersed with various facts which turned out to be irrelevant (including incorrect birth details from other entries.)
Dad knew, from Donald's birth and marriage certificates, that his father was called John Parry and was a cattle dealer. John's marriage certificate revealed that John was 37 when he married the 21 year old Rosina Louisa PREECE, in 1903, which made his birth about 1866. The marriage certificate also indicated that John's father was called Thomas, a farmer.
Since Dad knew when his father, Donald, had been orphaned, it was possible to obtain John's death certificate. This gave John's address as 18 Newmarket Street, Hereford. An M.A Francis, "step-niece" was the informant, and her residence was the same address.
Although it seemed likely that the birth certificate identified by the research company in 1986 was going to be the correct one, as the father was recorded as Thomas PARRY, a farmer, the gap in information between that date and John's marriage hampered progress further back.
Despite the money spent on professional research, it was actually the 'chance find' by Dad, in 1993, that identified the correct Thomas. After years in the RAF and then being made redundant from an electronics company, Dad had found his 'dream job', working in a local Archives Office. Unfortunately, the job didn't last more than about six months, due to ill health. But during that time, a researcher had come in and requested the National Probate Index. Dad hadn't come across that then and so, once he was free, he decided to look up 1918 in the index, the year he knew John PARRY had died.
There was no entry in the index for John Parry, but, glancing down the page at the rest of the PARRYs, he suddenly spotted the address "18 Newmarkert Street" in the entry for a Thomas PARRY
Dad obtained a copy of the Will and death certificate and, finally, had sufficient information to enable him to be sure he was connecting John PARRY back to the right Thomas.
This is a transcript of the Will:
This is the last Will and Testament of me Thomas PARRY of Quarry's Green Walterstone in the County of Hereford made this ninth day of December in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and eleven. I hereby revoke all Wills made by me at any time heretofore. I appoint Alfred James Gilbert PHILLIPS, Trelandon, Walterstone and John PARRY, Carpenters Arms, Walterstone to be my Executors and direct that all my Debts and Funeral Expenses shall be paid as soon as conveniently may be after my decease - I give and bequeath unto my son John PARRY all my farming stock both live and dead also one Clock "Dresser bench" Three corner cupboard" one Iron bedstead" two Wooden Clothes boxes one silver watch and all my personal effects - The residue to be equally divided between my stepdaughters
Margaret FRANCIS, the wife of Henry FRANCIS Clydach
Mary Ann WILLIAMS the wife of Arthur WILLIAMS, Bredwardine
Bidget LEWIS the wife of William LEWIS, Leominster
Elizabeth POWELL the wife of Henry POWELL Ebbw Vale
Emma PORTMAN the wife of James PORTMAN, Bridge Sollars -
It is my wish that my stepdaughter, Margaret FRANCIS for the kindness and attention shewn to me shall be recompensed at the discretion of my Executors -
Signed by the said Testator - The mark of x Thomas PARRY - in the presence of us present at the same time who at his request, in his presence, and in the presence of each other have subscribed our names as witnesses
Alfred James Gilbert PHILLIPS - Mary Sophia PHILLIPS
Affidavit of due execution and reading filed
On the 27th day of May 1918 Probate of this Will was granted at Hereford to Alfred James Gilbert PHILLIPS, one of the Executors
Since neither the Will, nor Thomas's death certificate, show the Newmarket Street address that appears in the National Probate Index, my assumption is that it must have been the address that was entered for Thomas somewhere on the probate paperwork.
The Will at least answers the potential issue of John's birth and marriage certificates describing his father as a farmer, when this Thomas always seemed to be employed as a roadman. The statement about his "farming stock both live and dead" indicates he must have been engaged in some, probably small scale, farming, whilst also employed as a road labourer.
But there are some intriguing features of the Will - the John PARRY of the Carpenter's Arms, one of the executors, is not my great grandfather, John. Was there any blood relationship between the two PARRY families - not that I have found so far.
It is interesting that there is more mention made of Thomas's step daughters than of his own children and grandchildren. His daughter Elizabeth had died in 1906, but she had, had two children who were aged 4 and 5 in 1911. However, they were living in Buckinghamshire, so potentially had little contact with Thomas.
Thomas's first child, another Thomas, who had died in the Boer War, had three children. These were aged 23, 16, and 12. Although the oldest was in London in 1911, the mother and youngest child were still living in Herefordshire.
Finally, Thomas's son, John, also had two children, my grandfather, Donald, aged 7, and his sister, Rosina, aged 5, in 1911.
It is my assumption that Thomas PARRY didn't make his son the executor because, when he planned his Will, John was in Hereford Gaol (John was discharged the same day that the Will was signed, the 9th December 1911). Perhaps Thomas even made his Will
because John was in gaol, and he wanted to ensure his wishes were adequately known, should anything happen to him before his son was released?
We know that Thomas must have been in communication with his son, if he later moved from Walterstone to live in Newmarket Street with John, before going to stay with his step-daughter in Monmouthshire prior to his death in 1918. Years later, John's daughter would also tell relatives that she could remember visiting her grandfather in Walterstone. I do get the impression that the family members looked out for each other - as well as the above, in 1901, John had his sister-in-law and her children living with him, while his brother was away at war. From John's death certificate, his step-niece had been living with him at the time of his death, possibly helping to keep house and look after the children. And I have been told that, after John's death, it was relatives who took in John's two children, although they were separated.
What an impact the year of 1918 must have had on my grandfather, Donald - to have lost his grandfather, then his father, and then to be separated from his sister, as he was sent to live with relatives outside of Hereford.
In September 1923, aged 19, Donald PARRY obtained the administration of his father's estate:
And, on the 5th April 1924, Donald set sail for Canada, with a view to emigrating there permanently.
Fortunately, for me, sometime before February 1927, he returned to the UK - otherwise I wouldn't be here. 🙂
References:
1891 census: Class: RG12; Piece: 2066; Folio: 19; Page: 4;
1901 census: Class: RG13; Piece: 2485; Folio: 19; Page: 1
1911 census: Class: RG14; Piece: 15738; Schedule Number: 28
National Probate Index - https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/#wills
