Conclusions from the Guild Blog Challenge 2024

 Having taken part in the Guild Blog Challenge that ran over the last five months of 2024, I thought it might be a good idea to review how things went, particularly picking up on some of the issues that I mentioned in my first post for the Challenge.¹

Frequency of posts

The aim was to produce at least one blog post a month, based on topics suggested by Melody McKay Burton, who set up the Challenge for us, following requests at a Guild Seminar.  I didn't succeed in sticking to the timescale - my first post was early, my second and fifth were on time (just!), but the third and fourth were both late. However, I did at least manage to write five posts. So that's a small success, because I didn't let the failure to post during October discourage me from continuing.

Correspondents

I'd expressed concern about the 'trade-off' in time, between communicating with others about the study as opposed to just getting on with the research, and about how difficult it can be to get the balance right.  The one comment I did receive on the blog, which aided my own understanding of an issue, was much appreciated. But, since I only notified the Challenge Group about my posts, I managed to avoid the issue of 'too much communication,' which might have arisen if I had publicised the posts more widely.

So this balance is still an issue I need to be mindful of in the future (especially since I did find myself getting a bit sidetracked trying to help a researcher who contacted me in November, regarding Parry ancestors that emigrated to the United States, potentially from North Wales - there are a lot of Parrys in North Wales!)

Content and Prompts

Pretty much in line with what I'd written before, I found that having the prompts for each month was useful in ensuring I attempted to write something - but some of the prompts were also almost 'stumbling blocks'. "Similarities and Differences" was one such topic, because I didn't think I knew enough about any particular individuals, or families, in the study, in order to do the detailed analysis that I considered would best fit the topic. This accounted for why October's post was so late, and why the post ended up as the wider overview of the "Parry vs Perry" surname.

How to overcome that?  Perhaps the key, at least for me, is to separate out the 'challenge' from the 'prompts'.  Having a challenge is an incentive - so my pact with myself, for the future, is that I will continue to try to write at least one post each month.  But, in order to keep the usefulness of prompts, without the possibility of stumbling blocks, I am going to give myself a choice - I am going to create a list of topics (probably based on those of past Guild challenges, and other genealogy blog series, such as the "52 ancestors" ²) so that I have a range of topics to choose from each time, with the proviso that I can't write about the same topic twice.

Organisation

I don't think the Challenge made any difference to this - it merely highlighted the fact that I'm still not as organised as I need to be, to make the study as good as it could be!

 

Final thoughts - Motivation

Well, I definitely feel more motivated to keep on posting, so that's progress!  

The Challenge didn't just provide an incentive to get blogging again, but it also reminded me of how much I enjoy researching the PARRYs, and passing on the results of that research.  So it has provided an answer to the question I posed - "Why am I writing this blog?"

It might seem strange to say that one conclusion from the Challenge is that I am going to be a bit more "selfish".  But, if research into family history, and the PARRY One-Name Study, really are the priorities for me that I want them to be, because I enjoy them, then that should be reflected in the time I put into them.  

So, rather than allowing myself to get involved with things that are often to achieve other people's (or organisation's) priorities, I'm going to aim to follow the advice of a well-known genealogist - "life is short – do genealogy first!"³

(And, finally, thank you to Melody for organising the Challenge - you doing so has made a difference!)

Notes and References

1. The first post of the Challenge: https://parry-one-name-study.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-challenge-of-blogging-guild.html

2. Amy Johnson Crow's "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks": This is a link to sign up for the current series

https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-new/ but many of the topics from previous years can easily be found by searching online. 

3. "Life is short – do genealogy first!": Geoff Rasmussen of Legacy Family Tree Webinars, 

https://familytreewebinars.com/

December - Celebrations

The topic for December's Guild Blog Challenge is "Celebrations" and, while Christmas, or other such 'happy' occasions, might have been an obvious subject for this post, I'm going "off-piste" again (and tissues may be required.)   

I was inspired to write this (perhaps "moved" might be a better word) after coming across a newspaper report of an inquest into the death of a William PARRY.  William was a discharged soldier, who had been found in an archway near Bath in a state of starvation and who later died in hospital. 

We often describe someone’s funeral as a "celebration of life,” and I couldn’t get that phrase out of my mind - hence my choice for this month's topic. 

The Discovery

The case was widely reported during November 1919.  One of the earliest references, in the Western Daily Press of 5th November 1919, was headed "Helpless and Starving. Without food for a fortnight":

William Parry, aged 44, a discharged soldier, of no home, was found yesterday morning in a terrible state in one of the arches of Newton Bridge¹, near Bath. Parry, who could hardly speak, said he crawled into the place for shelter on October 18 and had been unable to move owing to weakness; he had, had no food since then. Parry looked 74 when discovered. He was taken to hospital.

A 'page filler' underneath the article indicated that heavy snowstorms were falling in France. Searching online revealed that England and Wales were also experiencing very cold weather at this time, with some snow in September, a "prolonged frosty spell" during October, and a " remarkably cold" November 1919.²

More details of William’s situation, and his history, emerged in reports published over the next few days: William had been discovered at 11 o'clock Tuesday, by a roadman, Richard Bush (whose address was mentioned, as well as the fact that Richard was employed by the Bath Corporation).  Richard had heard faint moaning.  The roadman called the Twerton police and PCs Marshall and Crouch were dispatched to the spot, where they found William among the debris under the smaller arches on the city side of the Avon.  He was in a “pitiable condition”, unable to speak above a whisper, and looked like a hermit, with a long growth of beard. He said he had no friends or relatives.  His feet were wrapped in hay bands - he’d served two years in France, where he’d suffered from trench foot, which had been treated in hospital. Following discharge he’d tramped the country but the trouble with his feet had come back after he’d set out from Bristol.  

He'd crawled in to the arch, which was partly filled with debris and, owing to sickness and weakness, had been unable to get out again. He’d taken his boots off to ease his feet but couldn’t get them back on, as his feet were so swollen. He’d been under the arch for seventeen days. He was a mere skeleton when found. William was taken to Bath hospital, in the Bath Fire Brigade Ambulance in the charge of Chief Officer England. He’d been examined by the house surgeon, a Dr Cuppage, and his condition was critical.

Although William seems to have rallied at first, he then developed pneumonia.  The first reports of his death appeared on the 18th November, the day that he died.

The Inquest

An inquest was held on the 20th November and the most detailed report seems to be in the Bath Chronicle of the 22nd:

The Newton Bridge Mystery

Pathetic Inquest Story

“One of England’s lonely soldiers”

Found dying under an arch

Long tramp in search of work

Wandering of a wounded hero

Military Honours tomorrow

The Coroner’s inquiry into the death of William Parry (44), the ex-soldier who was found lying exhausted under one of the arches of Newton Bridge just a fortnight ago, was held at the Bath Guildhall on Thursday afternoon. Parry was described as a seaman, and his address was given as 36, Catherine Street, Exeter. His death occurred at the Royal United Hospital, Bath, early on Tuesday morning.

“Sounds of Moaning”

P.C. Marshall, of the Bath Police Force, stationed at Twerton, said he was called to the Newton Bridge at 11.15 a.m. on November 4th by Richard Bush, a roadman, who told him there was something amiss in one of the arches. Witness went with Bush to the waterside, and heard “a moaning noise.” The sound evidently came from one of the arches, which was partly filled with stones and rubbish. Witness called “What’s the matter?” And a voice replied “I can’t get out; my feet are so bad.” Witness removed his helmet and coat and crawled into the arch over the stones. He then struck a match and found the deceased lying on his back on some hay. He asked how long he had been there, and Parry replied, “What month is it now?” When witness told him it was now November, Parry said he had been in the arch since October 18th. Witness sent P.C. Crouch to call the Bath Fire Brigade ambulance, which arrived in about 15 minutes. In the meantime he had a further conversation with the deceased, who said he had no friends and no fixed abode. Further questioned, he said he could not say how long he had been in the arch.   

“Tramped from Bristol”

Parry said he was born in Swansea, had served in the 2nd Devons, and was demobilised in Exeter last March. He got into the arch because his feet were aching. He had come from Bristol. He did not say where he was going.

The coroner remarked that it must have been a lot of trouble for Parry to get into the position in which he was found. Witness said he would have had to crawl into the cavity, over the stones, but once inside there was plenty of room.

Dr Burke Cuppage, house physician at the Royal United Hospital said Parry on admission was very emaciated and suffering from “trench feet.” He made no statement on admission. Pneumonia supervened on November 12th, and from this he did not recover. Witness had made a post-mortem examination, but found no special features about the case. There were no marks of emaciation; but this was not surprising, he added in reply to the Coroner, as he had had good food while in hospital. This witness emphatically agreed with the Coroner that it was highly improbable that Parry had been lying in the archway since October 18th. He improved when first admitted to the hospital.

“Gifts from sympathetic ladies”

The Coroner’s Officer (Inspector Lovell) produced an inventory of Parry’s belongings. These included a ration book, issued to him for the address in Exeter, his insurance card, and his out-of-work book. Parry had 10s. 8d, in cash on him; but 10s. 6d. of this sum was given him by a lady since his arrival at the hospital. Parry had received various other gifts sent him by ladies from all over the country, who had read the account of his discovery in the Press.  The last out-of-work donation received by him was on June 26th, and the ration book was issued at Exeter on March 24th. The address at Catherine Street, Exeter, at which Parry had stayed was that of a Church Army Home. He had also with him a card indicating membership of the Comrades of the Great War. The entries on his insurance card showed he was last employed on September 8th.

“Twenty-two years a seaman”

Inspector Lovell then gave the Coroner the result of exhaustive enquiries which he had made since Tuesday regarding Parry’s antecedents. He had communicated with the police at Exeter and at Teignmouth. By the Exeter police he was informed that Parry registered at the Labour Exchange there as a seaman on March 25th. He then produced his certificate showing him to be a member of the Mercantile Marine. He had apparently served as a seaman for 22 years. He subsequently served with the 2nd Battalion of the Devon Regiment for 2 1/2 years. On May 16th, 1919 he obtained work as a painter in Exeter. He retained this employment till June 21st. A week later he obtained similar employment with another Exeter firm at 1s. 3d. an hour, and his earnings averaged £2 or more a week. He left the Church Army Home on September 12th, explaining he was going to Barrow-in-Furness, where he expected to obtain employment with Messrs Vickers, Sons, and Maxim. While staying at the Church Army Home he appeared to have been regarded as of a morbid disposition. Witness also produced a report from the Devon Constabulary of Teignmouth which corroborated the statement of the Exeter police in certain particulars. So far, said Inspector Lovell, he had been unable to verify the statement that Parry was born in Swansea, or to enquire into his intended journey to Barrow-in-Furness, as time had not permitted.

“Letter from friend at Exeter”

Inspector Lovell added that the members of the Exeter branch of the Comrades of the Great War had assisted him in the matter, and he was able to furnish the court with a letter from Mr F W Drew, with whom Parry had lodged at the Church Army Home. The writer said he met Parry in the latter part of April, and their friendship lasted until ten weeks ago, when deceased left Exeter. As they were two ex-servicemen they became intimate friends. Parry was reticent concerning his friends, but apparently before the war he belonged to London.

“A Prisoner in Germany”

After enlistment he had served in France, and was taken prisoner by the Germans. He was in their hands for three months; and acted as interpreter between his captors and the other British prisoners. He could speak German and other foreign languages, and undoubtedly was a man of superior education. Apparently, however, so far as his relations were concerned, he was “one of England’s lonely soldiers.” He said he was badly treated by the Germans, and suffered from a bad cough, the result of a wound in the chest. He was liable to depression when out of work, and the writer well remembered how pleased he was to think that he had obtained work at Barrow-in-Furness - as he understood, in an aircraft department. “I deeply regret” concluded the writer, “that he has come to such an untimely end. He was a good fellow, and would do anyone a good turn, if possible.”

Inspector Lovell produced additional particulars concerning Parry from the Record Office of the Devon Regiment.

The Coroner remarked that nothing was said concerning the manner in which Parry contrived to escape from the Germans.

“The Coroner Sums Up”

In summing up, the Coroner remarked that exhaustive enquiries had been made into the case. There was no doubt from the medical evidence that the cause of death was pneumonia. It would appear that Parry had been on the road for some time when he crawled under the arch where he was found; but he must have made some mistake in telling the constable he had been there since October 18th.

The jury found that death was due to pneumonia.

“A Military Funeral”

Mr G Dudley, the local secretary of the Bath branch of the British Federation of Discharged Soldiers and Sailors, said arrangements were being jointly made by his organisation and the Comrades of the Great War (represented at that inquiry by the secretary, Mr E G Snell) for Parry to receive a military funeral. It was hoped to obtain a grant towards the expenses from the local War Pensions Committee.

The Coroner cordially approved this suggestion.

Inspector Lovell thanked the local members of the Federation, and also Mr Snell, of the Comrades’ Association, for their kindly interest.

The arrangements for the funeral are already practically complete. The funeral procession will leave the Royal United Hospital at one o’clock on Saturday; and the internment will be in St. James’s Cemetery at 1.30.

The report of the inquest in the Yorkshire Evening Post drew attention to the “mystery” of William’s identity, given the contents of Mr Drew’s letter, in contrast to William’s stated birthplace of Swansea. 

And, unfortunately, that mystery still remains.

William’s death was registered on the 25th November 1919, following the Coroner’s Inquest. As might be expected, the certificate details matches the information given at the inquest:

There is an entry for William’s grave in the record set “ Commonwealth War Graves Commission Debt Of Honour” on FindMyPast, which gives his number in the Devonshire Regiment as 33812.
Details on the CWGC site include grave registration report forms, but only confirms the information about William known from the sources above.
With his number, it becomes possible to identify his medal card and the associated entry in the medal rolls, on Ancestry:

Based on information from the Long Long Trail, and the associated Great War Forum³, the reference on the medal card (c2/103 B17 1221) is the reference to the relevant medal roll for the Devonshire Regiment: 

(expanded view of the red text relating to William)

The additional references on the medal card, and the red text on the medal roll relate to the two medals having been returned.⁴

The fact that the medals were recorded as "returned" might indicate that they were sent out somewhere when first issued - unfortunately, William's service record, which might have shown his address on enlistment, no longer seems to exist, as I was unable to find anything in either the British Army WW1 Service Records, or the Pension Records 1914-1920 (the "Burnt" and "Unburnt" Records.) 

As well as demonstrating that William was entitled to both the Victory Medal and the British War Medal, the medal records show that he had two previous service numbers, 41594 (in the 12th Devonshire) and 90950 (in the 152 Labour Corps). It was quite common for soldiers to be moved between different battalions or regiments during the First World War and this sequence does seem to fit in with the history of the Devonshire Regiment, as shown on https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/devonshire-regiment/ where the 12th (Labour) Battalion became the 152nd and 153rd Labour Companies in April 1917. Given the general level of casualties during WW1, it is not difficult to imagine that, at some stage after that, William was transferred into the regular 2nd Devons. 

The War Diary, "The 2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment and its lost men 1914-1919" can be found at https://archive.org/details/2ndbattaliondevo0000body/mode/2up although there is no reference to William Parry in it.

The 2nd Devons took part in the battle of Bois des Buttes⁵, in which many of them were either killed or captured - perhaps that was when William became a prisoner of war?

There is an entry for him in the “ British Red Cross & Order Of St John Enquiry List, Wounded & Missing, 1914-1919” record set on FindMyPast. However, I have been unable to find a relevant Red Cross “Prisoner of War” record on the site at https://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/ .

So I have found no further information about his military service, his time as a prisoner of war, whether he was released or escaped (as the inquest seemed to indicate.) Neither have I found any details for his time in the 'mercantile marines.⁶

And, unfortunately, without further information, it is currently not possible to identify William in records such as the censuses or birth indexes, because of the frequency of the names.

The Funeral

William’s funeral was reported in detail in the Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette dated 29th November 1919. The front page carried a photograph at the graveside, where there was a large gathering of ex-servicemen. Page 2 carried four photographs - the cortège arriving at St James’s Cemetery, a different photograph of the large gathering at the graveside, the procession leaving the Chapel for the grave, and the open hearse, on which rested the coffin, draped with the Union Jack. Page 16 then included a write-up of the funeral:

“Lonely Soldier’s Funeral”

Last rites at St James’s Cemetery

The final scene in the tragedy associated with William Parry, the ex-soldier who was found lying exhausted under one of the arches of Newton Bridge, a fortnight ago, and who succumbed at the Royal United Hospital, as the outcome of exposure and privation, took place on Saturday, when his remains were buried in St James’s Cemetery. the Rev. J. O. Evans (curate of St. James’s) officiated.

This “lonely soldier” was not permitted to pass unattended or unhonoured to his last rest. from the hospital entrance to the grave-side he was followed by a large muster of ex-Service men. There were no private mourners, and the only vehicle in the procession was the open hearse, on which rested the coffin, draped with the Union Jack. On this hero’s pall lay several wreaths, including a token from an anonymous lady donor, and garlands from the two local organisations for the relief and assistance of discharged soldiers.

There was no band, and the only music was that of the measured tramp of the feet of the following comrades, led by the ties of fellowship and kindred suffering, to pay this last honour to one whom they had never seen. Thus through lines of sympathetic by-standers, the funeral train moved on. There was another large attendance at the cemetery.

The coffin was born by six soldiers- Private R W Carey, of the 1st Hants; Lance-Corporal E L Higgins, of the 1st Devon’s (who represented Parry’s old regiment); Private G Oakes, Machine Gun Corps; Bombadier J Kelson, R.G.A. (Mountain Battery); Sapper B Gunter, 1st Wessex Field Company, R.E.; and Private J Kelson, 2nd/4th Somerset L.I.

Members of the Comrades of the Great War and of the British Federation of Discharged Soldiers and Sailors were well represented. These organisations had jointly made arrangements for the funeral. In the absence of the Deputy-Chairman (Sergeant-Major Hills), the Somerset Division of the Comrades was represented by Sergeant A J Berry. Mr E G Snell, the local secretary of the Comrades, was unavoidably absent, and was represented by Mr J H Tacker. Mr H Baker (a member of the committee) was also present, and Mr Hodgson (of the Broadstairs branch), who happened to be in Bath, attended, and sent some flowers. R.Q.M. J J Barry was also present.

The British Federation was represented by Messrs F Dangerfield (chairman), F Salmon (vice-chairman), G Dudley (secretary), and J Phillips (one of the committee). Mrs Briscoe represented the widows and dependents’ section. Others present included Mr G Withers (late 4th Devon’s).

After the ceremony the “Last Post” was sounded by the Buglers G. And B. Comm, of the 1st/44th and 4th Somerset L.I.

The funeral arrangements were conducted by Mr A E Tanner, of 6 Monmouth Street.

P S Maynard had charge of the police arrangements at the cemetery.

And so the “final scene” of William’s life took place, the ‘celebration’ of a man honoured after his death, but seemingly alone and neglected before that.

In conclusion

In 1919, it had been suggested that those soldiers mentioned in dispatches should have permission to wear a small oak leaf on the ribbon of the Victory Medal. And, in the Daily Herald, 22nd November 1919, the following poem appeared:   

The Song of the Leaves

Eighty thousand oak-leaves,

Leaves in hordes and batches

Oak-leaves for the heroes

Mentioned in Dispatches.

Eighty thousand oak-leaves,

As well as stars and crosses,

To keep our memories evergreen

And help us bear our losses.

Eighty thousand oak-leaves!

We learned when we were younger

How robins covered up with leaves

Babes who died of hunger.

Eighty thousand oak-leaves

Won on dangerous marches

To cover William Parry up,

Who starved in Newton Arches.

Notes and References

1. The Newton Bridge and its arches:

https://www.freshford.com/Bath%20old%20%20Photos/Slide39.JPG

2. The weather in 1919: 

https://www.trevorharley.com/1919.html

3. The Long Trail:

https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/

4. Medal Card & Roll text interpretation:

Possible red text "BW&V Meds Retd CRV 525B d/22.6.23 KR 1743. Auth 7998/adt"

BW&V = British War and Victory Medals

CRV = Certified Receipt Voucher"

KR 1743 = Kings Regulations 1743

Sources

https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/240160-returned-medals-para-922-kr-1923/

https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/17637-kings-regulations-1743/

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044048604474&seq=484

5. About the battle of Bois des Buttes:  

Devon Heritage site at https://www.devonheritage.org/Nonplace/DevonReg/BoisdesButtes1918.htm

Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bois_des_Buttes_(battle_honour)  

6. Mercantile Marines

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchant_Navy_(United_Kingdom)#:~:text=The%20British%20Merchant%20Navy%20is,training%20institutes%20around%20the%20UK.&text=10th%20Largest;,40.7%20Million%20Deadweight%20Tonnage

Potential Distances William walked or intended to walk:

Exeter to Barrow in Furness: about 320 miles

Exeter to Bristol: About 75 miles

Bristol to the Newton Bridge: About 10 miles

Current (2022-23) Number of homeless UK ex-servicemen 

"2,110 households with someone who served in the armed forces were assessed as homeless in 2022-23, according to figures from the Department of Housing, up from 1,850 last year.

Source

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/26/homelessness-armed-forces-veterans-england-rises#:~:text=But%202%2C110%20households%20with%20someone,made%20homeless%20every%20three%20months.

On the wrong side of the law - John PARRY (1865 - 1918)

It often seems that some people are proud to have a convict among their ancestors.  Finding one certainly make research interesting, as there are usually more records concerning anyone convicted of a crime, than there are for those who never put a foot wrong.

But I must admit that I found it a bit of a 'heart-stopping' moment, when I first discovered a family member in gaol. "What did he do?", "Was it something horrible?", "Dare I tell the rest of the family?", were some of the questions that rushed through my mind.

Once I'd got over the initial surprise, I set about finding out more - after all, there's no point panicking because of 'unknowns'.  Discovering all the details of that case is still an ongoing process, since I need to take at least one more trip to Kew, in order to (hopefully) find the conclusion of the case and view the relevant documents.  So what I'm going to write about here is how discovering that my ancestor had been on the wrong side of the law led me to learn much more about him at other times of his life, including confirming a family story that he had been to America.

This all began back in early 2009 when, no doubt like many of you, I was eagerly awaiting the release of the 1911 census - the first census in which I would find people who I had actually known.  I was expecting to find my grandfather, Donald Martin PARRY, living in Hereford with his father, John, and sister, Rosina Jane, the children's mother having died in 1905, when Rosina was born.  

The children were easy to find, in Widemarsh Street, Hereford (reference RG14PN15703 RG78PN957 RD337 SD4 ED4 SN38):

But why were they boarding with an OLDACRE family, and where was their father, John PARRY?

Again, he was easy to identify - he just wasn't where I had expected him to be, since he was in Hereford Gaol (reference RG14PN15712 RG78PN957 RD337 SD4 ED13 SN215):

Further investigation revealed that John had been convicted of "Contempt of Court" and committed to gaol on the 23 March 1911, through the Sheriff's Court, Hereford.  He was finally discharged on the 9 December 1911, by order of the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division.

From my point of view, the date of his conviction was quite fortunate, as it was just ten days before the 1911 census was taken, on the 2nd April - if it had been at any other time, I might never have discovered this incident, or found confirmation of the family story!

The Contempt of Court case is the one that I still need to find the final documents for, along with, hopefully, the affidavits by those involved in the case.  But one of the pieces of information recorded in the prison book is a cross reference to any other convictions - from which I discovered that John PARRY had also been gaoled in Hereford in 1895, having been convicted at Abergavenny on the 11 March 1895, for debt.  The sentence was described in the prison book as "10 days or £6.14.3."

It appears John either chose to serve his time, or could not afford to pay the money, since he was not discharged until the 4th April 1895.

Back in 2009, I'd been able to visit Abergavenny and found a reference to this case in the "Abergavenny Chronicle and Monmouthshire Advertiser", for Friday March 15, 1895. In a column headed, "Abergavenny County Court. Monday, - before His Honor Judge Owen" there was a list of judgement summaries relating to several cases, including that of John PARRY.

The judgement read as follows:

 "Emanual COX v John PARRY ~ Mr Hodgens for the judgement creditor. Plaintiff said that he continually saw the defendant buying and selling cattle.  He had seen him with as many as 10 beasts at a time. Committed for 10 days."

[Looking back at my emails, it seems I did try to follow this up with the local archives at the time, to see if they held the records of the Abergavenny County Court, and whether there was any further information about the case. Unfortunately, I don't appear to have received any reply and don't seem to have tried chasing it up - yet another action to add to my 'todo' list!]  

I've been unable to recheck the judgement, or to check if there were any other reports of the case in the "Abergavenny Chronicle and Monmouthshire Advertiser", since copies of the newspaper for 1895 seem to be missing from the newspaper database, which is now on FindMyPast.

But, the important issue, from the point of view of this post, was that, from this case, I knew my great grandfather, John PARRY, had been in debt to Emanual COX.  

So, when I happened to spot another case involving a PARRY and COX, it obviously attracted my attention!  

In this other case, from 1893, a Richard PARRY was suing Emanual COX for the price of some cattle - which, it turned out, had been sold to Mr COX by my great grandfather, John PARRY, acting as an agent for the Richard PARRY!

I have found two newspaper reports relating to the case. Unfortunately, the first, in the Abergavenny Chronicle dated the 15th December 1893, is of poor quality so some of the words are unreadable. [It also doesn't seem to make sense in places!] 

However, I am transcribing below both that report, and the second, from the Monmouthshire Beacon, dated the 16 December 1893, because there are a few differences in the details, which might lead to the discovery of further information elsewhere.  [Since the case was a 'remitted action', there might also be earlier reports available, but I haven't yet been able to identify them.]

I have highlighted some of the additional information learnt through these reports.

REMITTED ACTION
Richard Parry v Emmanuel Cox. This was a claim for £30 for cattle sold, and the defendant pleaded a set-off as against John Parry, the agent of the plaintiff, who, it was alleged, did not disclose his principal.
Mr Corner (instructed by Messrs. Corner, of Hereford), for the plaintiff, and Mr Arthur Lewis (instructed by Mr Hodgens), for the defendant.
John Parry said he lived with his sister, at Walterstone. Until March or April, 1892, he sold cattle as agent for Mr Williams, of Crickhowell, but ceased to be employed by him about April 1892. A subscription was made by some dealers in the market with a view to giving him a start on his own account. He traded on that from April until July when he was in pecuniary difficulties.  He was then indebted to Emmanuel Cox for £31, which he still owed. He made his insolvency known and went to America. He returned in August or September. He saw Mr Cox, who asked him about paying him the money, and he told defendant that he had not got any money to pay with. He went on a cattle boat to America three times.  In April 1893, he was engaged by Mr Richard Parry, who was no relation to him. On the 15th April he attended the market at Abergavenny and helped the plaintiff to sell some cattle to the defendant. Two cattle were sold for [£18 10s?]  He saw the defendant two or three weeks after that in Hereford Market, and he asked witness whether he was along with Mr John Parry.  Witness told him that he was.  The witness detailed a number of other transactions with the defendant when he (defendant) paid him, and said nothing about stopping payment of the amount due to him.  On the 11th September he met the defendant at Monmouth and sold him cattle for £21 10s, and there was due £5 10s for a [heifer] sold to him before. The next day he met him in Abergavenny, and defendant said "..... about this £31 you owe me?  I owe you £30, if you will give me £1 we shall be square."  He said that as long as witness was working for Mr Parry he could owe it to Mr Parry instead of to him (the defendant) and could work it out.  Witness saw defendant on the following Wednesday and asked him for the money, when he said that he had put the matter in his solicitor's hands and his solicitor advised him not to pay. Witness told defendant that he did not believe that any honest solicitor would advise him to do such a thing as that. (Laughter.) I went with him to Mr Hodgens. Mr Hodgens asked me a lot of questions, and said that as we were old friends Cox did not want all his money at once, but would take £15 at a time.
By Mr Lewis: I got a commission from the plaintiff. He doesn't lend me money. I have not dealt on my own account since last April. He has lent me some money, but I have not spent it in the purchase of cattle. I may have said to Mr Hodgens "If you keep this money he won't let me have any more."  He divides the profits and lets me have money.  I bought some cattle for myself at Tymawr, in February, and Mr Richard Parry became responsible for the payment. I received cheques from defendant which were payable to Mr Parry. I endorsed some of them when they were payable to order.
Richard Parry said that he lived in Walterstone. In the month of April he employed the last witness to buy and sell cattle on commission.  He found the money and they divided the profits. He had helped the last witness to make deals with the defendant. On the 19th September he asked Cox for the money and he said there was a difference between him and John.
For the defence, Mr Philip Morgan said that he was at Monmouth on the 11th September and assisted in a deal between John Parry and the defendant. He heard John Parry distinctly say that he could not sell the cattle at the price offered by Cox for they cost him more money.
The evidence of the defendant was next taken, to the effect that the agent, John Parry, never disclosed that he was selling for the plaintiff. He made several payments of £22, £18 5s, £18 and £10 18s. He did not stop payment out of those sums because he was advised that stoppage was no payment, and he thought that difficulties might arise which would prevent dealing with John Parry.
Mr Hodgens gave evidence as to an interview he had with John Parry, when the latter stated that plaintiff let him have some money and they divided the profits. If they kept this money, plaintiff would not let him have any more, and he was not fit for any other business.

His Honour said that it was a case of considerable importance and interest. He could not get over the fact that the defendant had paid several sums of money without stopping the amount due from John Parry. He thought that upon the whole case the defendant either knew, or had reason to suspect, that John Parry was selling as agent, and judgement would go to the plaintiff.

[Abergavenny Chronicle, 15th December 1893]

Cattle Dealing. - Richard Parry sued Emmanual Cox for £31, the price of some cattle purchased by Cox of one John Parry, who although the same name as plaintiff was no relation of his, and had acted as his agent in the sale of the said cattle to Cox. Mr. Corner for the plaintiff and Mr. Lewis for the defendant. The case occupied a very long time in the hearing ; briefly the facts were as follows. 

John Parry was a man well-known in the markets as a dealers' agent, up to March 1892, when some of the dealers got up a subscription for him, and gave him £20, on which to start for himself. By the 15th July, John Parry found himself hopelessly in debt, and among  those to whom he was indebted was the defendant in this action, Emmanuel Cox to whom he owed £31. On the 16th July John Parry started for America, but returned in the following November, as  badly off as ever. On the 13th April 1893, he become agent to Mr. Richard Parry, the plaintiff in this action. He met defendant at Hereford market and told him he was now agent for Mr Richard Parry, same as he had formerly been for Mr.  Williams, of Crickhowell. On the 25th John Parry sold a couple of steers to defendant for £22, which Cox paid. On the 12th August he sold him two for £13, for which he paid. After that he sold some heifers for £18, and Cox when paying never spoke about stopping the money due to him from John Parry. In September John Parry sold some cattle to Cox for £30.  Cox told him the next time they met that if John Parry would give him £1, they would be quits.  John Parry said he could not do that as the cattle belonged to Mr. Richard Parry, and that he (John Parry), was only selling as agent. Cox refused to pay, hence this action.  Richard Parry deposed to John Parry being his agent, and in reply to the Judge, said he had been in the habit of giving John Parry £50 or £100, to go to market and fairs, and then divided the profits on the various transactions. The defendant said he did not know that Parry was agent, and the reason why he did not stop the money on their first transaction was that he thought it better to wait until the sum was nearer to that owing to him by John Parry. Judgment for plaintiff. 

[Monmouthshire Beacon, 16 December 1893]

There are a few pieces of information in these reports which seem to tell us something of the character of John PARRY.  He was well-known in the markets as a dealers' agent and, one would assume, must have been liked in order for some of the other dealers to have taken up a subscription on his behalf.  He also seems to have been trustworthy, if Richard PARRY was giving him £50-£100 to deal with, at a time when average weekly wages were often less than £2 per week.¹   The fact that John PARRY was  referred to as an 'old friend' of Mr COX, and that Mr COX seemed to want to continue dealing with him, perhaps also indicates a level of trust in the relationships.

As indicated above, the articles confirmed the family story that John PARRY went out to America - and, armed with the exact date, I was able to find an outward passenger list on Ancestry for 16 Jul 1892 that does indeed show a J Parry travelling from Liverpool to New York on the Gallia. Although that record just shows "A" for "Adult," rather than his age, the corresponding entry for a "John Parry, farmer", arriving in New York on the Gallia on 25 July 1892, indicates he was 26, which corresponds to his known birth in September 1865.

I haven't identified John's return to England - or the other journeys to America he supposedly made on cattle boats. But I have a similar issue regarding my grandfather, John's son, Donald, who went out to Canada in 1924 - I can find his outward passage but not his return and it has been suggested that, if he worked as crew, the entries might not be in the online databases.  

Other information, for example, that John was living in Walterstone with his sister, ties in with what is known about the family but also adds to it - in the 1891 census, John's widowed father, Thomas PARRY, was living in Walterstone, along with Elizabeth, John's sister, and Hannah, Thomas PARRY's mother.  I haven't identified an entry for John in that census but, in July 1893, his father, Thomas, remarried, so it would make sense that Elizabeth and John might have moved out before then, but still shared a property.

So, was John PARRY a poor businessman, to end up in such debt?  Or was he good at what he did, but the cattle dealing business just required a higher level of capital to fall back on? 

I will probably never know the answers to questions like that, but my (admittedly biased) view is that John PARRY was a 'good guy,' despite spending time on the wrong side of the law!   

Note 1: Tentative figures for average weekly wages taken from p70, "Wages in the United Kingdom in the nineteenth century," by Bowley, A. L. (Arthur Lyon), Sir, 1869-1957 available at https://archive.org/details/wagesinunitedkin00bowl/page/70/mode/2up

"Similarities and Differences" - a late challenge post!

 Back in July, at the start of this current Guild "Blogging Challenge", I wrote:

 "Don't let a long gap prevent you from posting something!" 

I'm reminding myself about that today because, having not posted anything during October, and seeing the end of November approaching rapidly, it would be very easy to give up and say, "that's it, I've failed the challenge." 

But, in an effort to get back on track, this is just a short note, to comment on what I might have written, regarding October's topic of "Similarities or Differences." 

One of my ideas for this was to compare the PARRY surname with that of PERRY, since the two spellings are often interchanged - although the names have very different origins and distributions.  

Two things prompted this idea.  The first was due to me clearing out some old paperwork and finding a letter from a university, which confirmed that I'd successfully completed a period of study with them - but spelt my surname as PERRY.  (Fortunately, that mistake didn't have consequences for what I did next!)  Then, secondly, the Guild webinar for September was Howard Benbrook giving a talk entitled "Most Surnames come from Somewhere." He illustrated this using the Surname Atlas program that was produced by Steve Archer, and which contains numerical data for all forenames and surnames in the 1881 census of England, Scotland and Wales.¹

Surely, I thought, a combination of map images, to illustrate the distributions, combined with some verbal descriptions about the origins of the two surnames, would make an interesting article that fitted the topic?

Of course, having an idea is only the first step - it then needs to be followed by action, putting the information together in order to write the post.  And that was when life got in the way!

When I sat down at the computer today, I wasn't actually going to write about this - I'd been planning to start on November's post, and just conveniently 'forget' about October.  But I happened to come across an interesting website called "Select Surnames," by Colin Shelley, which provides very similar information about the two surnames, along with some examples of name bearers.  You can see his page at Select Surnames.

Since there are no images there, the following shows the distributions derived from Surname Atlas.  In the top row, the images show total numbers of PARRYs and PERRYs per county.  This is followed by the frequency figures (number of PARRYs and PERRYs per 100,000 people.)  As you can see, for the PARRYs, this moves the northern concentration away from Lancashire and Cheshire, back into North Wales, in particular, Anglesey, and the South Wales concentration moves from Glamorgan up into Brecon and Cardiganshire.  While the PERRYs do appear strongly along the English side of the border with Wales, adjusting for population indicates their highest concentration is in Somerset.

The lower two rows of images are derived from the same figures (total numbers and then frequency), but displayed per census district.  

There are probably several points that could be made from these but, for now, I think it's sufficient to say that, although there is some encroachment of both surnames in opposite directions across the border, the images do illustrate the different distributions of the two surnames, and the fact that PARRY originates in Wales and PERRY in England. 

1. Howard Benbrook's talk, https://one-name.org/surnamessomewhere2/

Surname Atlas, by Steve Archer, website http://www.archersoftware.co.uk/satlas01.htm 

'Genealogy Mistakes' - George Franklin PARRY

We all make mistakes when researching.  Sometimes they are fairly simple ones, easily done, for example, typing a 6 instead of 9 in a year, or forgetting to add an "m." before a date, to signify it's the person's marriage, rather than their birth year (both of which I have recently done. Hopefully discovered - and corrected - before the information is published in a rather permanent form.) 

Such simple mistakes mainly cause difficulty in finding the relevant records again in the future (and, perhaps, some embarrassment at the time of discovery! :-) )

But more serious mistakes can result in us spending years researching the wrong family.  In this post I'm going to consider some of the evidence relating to the origins of a "George Franklin PARRY", who is said to have died in Texas in 1878. Although I imagine issues have arisen because of the difficulties faced when tracing an immigrant ancestor back to their home country, the tendency for people to just copy other people's family trees can soon result in the spread of misinformation.  

How can we counteract this?

My attention was first drawn to this family back in March 2018, when one of my autosomal DNA matches in America told me that his paternal grandfather was a George Frank PARRY - obviously someone of interest to me, given the surname. I began researching George through the various online sites, such as Family Search, Ancestry, FindMyPast, etc.  What seems to be established is that this George Frank PARRY, also known as George Franklin PARRY, was born on the 5th November 1874, in Madison, Illinois, and his parents were recorded as another George F PARRY and Emma WALTERS (that information, at least, comes a Social Security file on Family Search¹, rather than just family trees, but it is from the son's record.  I have yet to find any original records relating to his father in the US.)   The family moved from Illinois to Texas, where the father died in 1878, and the mother later remarried. George junior married in 1897, and had five children, four daughters - Viola, Ida Ruba, Hazel Ellis, and Willie Mae, and one son, who always seems to be referred to as "B.L."

It's the earlier generation, of George F PARRY senior, that I'm concerned with here, since it would be him and his wife, Emma, who emigrated, and who therefore need identifying properly in the UK records, in order to trace the family further back.

Just to note initially, that I have looked at the "parent's birthplace" recorded in the US censuses in entries linked to George junior on Family Search, which show George senior as born in England in 1910 and 1920, and then, according to the 1930 census, in the United States. But I'm not placing a great deal of weight on that information - given that George senior had died in 1878, when George junior was only aged four, it would be very easy for a mistake to be made regarding the deceased father's birthplace. [There are also some anomalies in the linked records, eg in the entry for 1910, the surname is recorded as PEARY, and in the entry for 1930, George and his wife's forenames/initials are reversed. I haven't carried out additonal searching to confirm these are the correct entries.]  Another possible entry, in the 1880 census, which has the surname as "PERRY", would also indicate that George senior was born in England. 

So it was interesting to note that the majority of the family trees on Ancestry that show a birthplace for George senior, placed it in Wales, rather than in England.  

I did a quick assessment regarding the information shown in the various Ancestry trees - which is a bit of a 'nightmare' to summarise, as many researchers can probably imagine!

Basically, as at September 2024, there are over fifty family trees visible on Ancestry showing George Franklin PARRY junior.  Only twenty of them show his parents.  Of those, fifteen show his father as George Franklin PARRY and five show him as just George F PARRY.  Dates for George senior are shown in several versions - as just the death date of 1878 in five trees, as 1843-1878 in one tree, and as 1849-1878 in thirteen others. George junior's mother, Emma, is shown with her surname as WALTERS in twelve trees (one of them also including an additional middle name of "Lovisa"), as WATERS in seven trees, and as PARRY in one.

As mentioned above, I haven't seen any references to original records in the US relating specifically to George senior so, apart from the Social Security document for his son, there seems to be no contemporary evidence for George senior having used the middle name of "Frank," or "Franklin," despite what twenty family trees say.

Seven of the twenty family trees also show parents for George senior, two just showing a father called Thomas PARRY, four showing both parents as Thomas PARRY (1811- ) and Martha MORRIS (1812-1900), and the last one showing both Thomas and Martha as PARRY, along with just their birth dates. 

The UK 'facts' attached to "George Franklin PARRY" (senior) in the various trees are as follows:

Birth: 

April 1849 Abergavenny, Monmouthshire (12 trees) or just "Monmouthshire" (5 trees) 

[Only one tree is linked to the "England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index 1837-1915", the others have no source.]

1851 Residence: 

New Moat, Pembrokeshire, Wales [1851 Wales Census.  Class: HO107; Piece: 2475; Folio: 169; Page: 11; ]

1861 Residences: 

New Moat, Pembrokeshire, Wales [1861 Wales Census. Class: RG9; Piece: 4147; Folio: 27; Page: 2;]

Or

Blaenavon, Monmouthshire, Wales [1861 Wales Census. Class: RG9; Piece: 4147; Folio: 27; Page: 2;]

Marriage of George PARRY to Emma WALTERS/WATERS: 

1868 (no place given)

1868 Monmouthshire, Wales 

18 December 1868 

6 May 1869 Llanelen, UK

18 December 1869 Llanellen, Monmouthshire, Wales

July 1870, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire

Or just "Bef. 1870"

The "July 1870" entry is linked to the "England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915" but, since the four names shown in the database for that reference are Martial Espian, Mary James, Ellen Jones, and George Parry, this clearly isn't the right entry for the marriage of George PARRY to Emma WALTERS.

Amusingly, the "1868 Monmouthshire" entry is the only one of the 'facts' that is linked to the "Monmouthshire, Wales, Anglican Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1551-1994" database, showing the certificate for a marriage between a George PARRY and an Emma WALTERS, which took place in Llanellen on 6 May 1869! [This particular tree also includes a fact for Marriage Banns, with a date of 18 December 1969, Llanellen, Monmouthshire, Wales - no source. But one wonders why that specific date of "18th December" appears in some trees, even if the year varies?]

If the George PARRY who emigrated was married to the Emma WALTERS - which later records in the US for Emma and their children do seem to indicate is true - this marriage is probably the correct one, since there are no other marriages in the Civil Registration database for a George PARRY to either an Emma WALTERS, or to an Emma WATERS.

From the details of the marriage certificate, the father of the George PARRY who married Emma WALTERS was a Thomas PARRY. George and his father, Thomas, were both labourers. George and Emma are both shown as "of full age", and both are living in Llanellen, Monmouthshire. [Note - there's no middle name recorded for George PARRY on the marriage certificate - an official record, which one might expect to include the middle name, if it existed.]

Following up the census entries quoted in the family trees:

1851 New Moat, Pembrokeshire HO107; Piece: 2475; Folio: 169; Pages 10 & 11

Enumerator's schedule: 40, Address: Pont Garreg

Thomas Parry Head 41 Ag. Lab.                 Llanddewi, Pembrokeshire  

Martha Parry Wife     38                         Llancefn, Pembrokeshire

Sarah Parry Daur 13 Ag. Lab's Daur New Moat, Pembrokeshire

John Parry Son         10 Ag. Lab's Son         New Moat, Pembrokeshire

Hanah Parry Daur 4 Ag. Lab's Daur New Moat, Pembrokeshire

George Parry Son         1 Ag. Lab's Son         New Moat, Pembrokeshire

1861 New Moat, Pembrokeshire Class: RG9; Piece: 4147; Folio: 27; Page: 2, and Folio 28, Page 3;

Enumerator's schedule: 10, Address: Pontcarreg

Thomas Parry         Head     Mar 50 Ag. Lab.         Lampeter

Martha Parry         Wife     Mar 49                 Llanycefen

George Parry         Son                 11 Scholar         New Moat

Sarah Llewellin Daur     Mar 22 Ag Lab wife New Moat

Owen Parry         Grandson 6/12                         New Moat

Eleanor Parry         Granddaur 6/12                         New Moat

[The county for all of these birth entries has been 'dittoed' down from Carmarthen.  However, Lampeter would have been in Cardiganshire, the rest are in Pembrokeshire.]

One can immediately (hopefully!) see a problem with these census entries, in that the birthplace for the son, George, is New Moat, Pembrokeshire, and not Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. So, if these are the correct census entries, then the "Abergavenny" as the birthplace in the trees must be incorrect.

A search of the GRO Birth Index for any George PARRYs registered in 1849 +/-2 produces 40 records, only eight of which are in Wales - three in Wrexham, Denbighshire, and one each in Abergavenny Monmouthshire, Narberth Pembrokeshire, Bangor Anglesey, Crickhowell Breconshire, and Chepstow Monmouthshire.

Since New Moat is in the Registration District of Narberth, Pembrokeshire, and the mother's maiden name for the Narberth entry in the civil registration index is MORRIS, that explains where the 'MORRIS' has come from, as the maiden name for George's mother in some of the family trees.  Clearly the Narberth birth registration would be more likely to be the correct one for the family in the census.

But is it the right family for George senior?  Is the George PARRY from New Moat the one who marries Emma in Llanellen (in Monmouthshire) and then emigrates?

Returning to the censuses and looking for George in 1871, it is possible to find the following entry in New Moat, Pembrokeshire, at Class: RG10; Piece: 5506; Folio: 59; Page: 10;

Enumerator's schedule: 51, Address: Pontcarreg

Martha Parry Head Wid 63 Formerly labourer's wife Llandcefn, Pembrokeshire

George Parry Son Unmar 21 Carpenter New Moat, Pembrokeshire

Eleanor Parry Granddaur 11 Scholar New Moat, Pembrokeshire

So, at a time when the relevant George PARRY is married and potentially emigrating to the US, this George is unmarried and still living at home, with his mother and a niece, in Pembrokeshire.

Later records also confirm that the George PARRY, born 1849 in New Moat, continues to live there, marries a Mary DAVIES on the 9th June 1874, and then they go on to have about ten children, before he dies in 1917.

Clearly, the Narberth George PARRY is not the correct one, and any of the family trees containing that information could mislead other researchers.  While the census entries for the New Moat family might be one of the very few showing a George PARRY, of a suitable age, and with a father called Thomas, one can't assume a particular entry is the correct one, just because it's the only one found.  There are many reasons why a child might not appear with their father in a census. 

One family tree quoted a different 1861 census entry, in Blaenavon, Monmouthshire, Wales [1861 Wales Census. Class: RG9; Piece: 4147; Folio: 27; Page: 2;]

Enumerator's schedule: 214, Address: John Street

Anne Parry Head Mar 63 Ho(r/u?)sekeeper Llangredmore, Pembrokeshire

George Parry Son         Un 27 Coal miner         Blaenavon, Monmouthshire

Apart from the fact that this entry would give a birth date of 1834, fifteen years earlier than that suggested for the George who emigrates, later census entries for this George can also be found in the Blaenavon area up until his probable death in 1909.

Where does this leave us?  Basically, with the only relevant UK record being the marriage in Llanellen on 6 May 1869.

So, are there any other George PARRYs in the UK records who might be candidates for marrying Emma WALTERS? 

To be honest, unfortunately, yes - there are over a hundred births for a "George PARRY" registered across England and Wales in the period from 1841-1851.  Narrowing that area down to birth registrations in the county of Monmouthshire produces eleven possibilities. Narrowing that down further, to just the Abergavenny registration district (which covers Llanellen), still results in seven entries as follows:

 Name:     Mother's Maiden Surname: 

PARRY, GEORGE    -                      GRO Reference: 1841  D Quarter in ABERGAVENNY  Volume 26  Page 23

PARRY, GEORGE    HUGHES       GRO Reference: 1843  M Quarter in ABERGAVENNY  Volume 26  Page 22

PARRY, GEORGE    WATKINS      GRO Reference: 1843  J Quarter in ABERGAVENNY  Volume 26  Page 25

PARRY, GEORGE    BOWEN         GRO Reference: 1843  S Quarter in ABERGAVENNY  Volume 26  Page 58

PARRY, GEORGE    FISHER          GRO Reference: 1844  J Quarter in ABERGAVENNY  Volume 26  Page 53

PARRY, GEORGE    HUGHES        GRO Reference: 1845  M Quarter in ABERGAVENNY  Volume 26  Page 5

PARRY, GEORGE    PERKS            GRO Reference: 1849  J Quarter in ABERGAVENNY  Volume 26  Page 70

Eventually I hope to be able to match up all of the corresponding civil registration births, marriages and deaths, for PARRYs in certain counties, along with their relevant census entries as well, but I haven't achieved that yet.

[And, if I didn't have other evidence, then only researching these seven would involve making the risky assumption that the 'right' George PARRY was someone local, and not someone who moved into the area, before marrying Emma.]

I do know that some of these entries can be discounted - for example, there is a marriage of a William PARRY to a Sarah PERKS in 1838, in Crickhowell District (which covers part of Monmouthshire), and an 1851 census entry shows William and Sarah with a one year old son, George, as well as other children whose birth registrations showed a mother's maiden name of PERKS.  So that discounts the George Parry registered in 1849, since his father's name is not Thomas.  

There are also some, potentially relevant, deaths of George PARRYs in the Abergavenny district - infants in 1842 and 1843, a 5 year old in 1849, and an 11 year old in 1855. Purchase of all the certificates would possibly clarify who is still alive at the time of the marriage - but the cost, even of just the cheaper pdf certificate versions, would soon become prohibitive, if one wasn't making assumptions to reduce the number of results.

Doing a search on FindMyPast for a George PARRY with a father Thomas, across all the record types in the Abergavenny district, within that 1846 +/-5 birth date range, might seem a useful method to narrow the entries down, especially since it results in only two entries, the marriage in Llanellen and a baptism of a George in Llanwenarth Ultra in 1843, the son of a Thomas and Hannah PARRY.  Unfortunately, I suspect that particular baptism isn't the correct one, since an infant George PARRY is buried in Llanwenarth less than a week after the baptism, and I know that the son of Thomas and Hannah that was born in 1843 dies soon after birth (although there is an anomaly with dates, since the baptism date is the day before his birth certificate indicates he was born! Such are the joys of genealogical records!) 

Identifying the correct George PARRY from the available information would seem to be an almost impossible task - and it would certainly help if there were more records available regarding his emigration with Emma, or in the US, when his children were born, or when he died.

But there was a clue as to a potential solution, at the start of this post, when I mentioned my autosomal DNA results.  

Because it just so happens that I have a 'missing' George PARRY, a sibling to my direct line.   He's the George PARRY whose birth was registered in the March quarter of 1845, with the mother's maiden name of HUGHES. 

Thomas PARRY and Hannah HUGHES, who married in May 1838, had a tendency to "border hop" around the Herefordshire, Breconshire and Monmouthshire area, probably in response to whatever work Thomas could find.  They were married in Llanelly, Breconshire, when they were recorded as living in "Twinclydach".

Six children followed:

Thomas, born in Llanwenarth Citra, Monmouthshire, in 1838

John born in Lloyndu, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, in 1840

George, born in Llancavan, Llanwenarth Ultra, Monmouthshire, in 1843 (died at 23 hours)

The second George, born in Frogmore Ward, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, in 1845

James, born in Upper Govilon, Llanwenarth Ultra, Monmouthshire, in 1848

And finally. Elizabeth, born in Longtown, Herefordshire, in 1851 (the family having been "removed" from Llanwenarth to Longtown.)

In the 1851 census, most of the family were in Longtown, Herefordshire

Class: HO107; Piece: 1978; Folio: 646; Page: 22;

Thos Parry     Head Mar 45 Poper Longtown, Herefordshire

Hannah Parry     Wife Mar 42         Llandilo, Monmouthshire

John Parry     Son 10         Abergavenny, Monmouthshire

George Parry     Son 6         Abergavenny, Monmouthshire

James Parry     Son 2         Llanwenarth, Monmouthshire

Elizabeth Parry    Daughter 9 Days         Longtown, Herefordshire

In the 1861 census, George is possibly the 15 year old servant living in Llanthewy Rytherch, a carter with his birthplace as "Govilon, Brecon" [Class: RG9; Piece: 3991; Folio: 44; Page: 7;] (Govilon is actually in Monmouthshire, a hamlet of Llanwenarth Ultra)  His mother, and brother James, are still in Longtown [Class: Rg 9; Piece: 1824; Folio: 59; Page: 13;] his father, and siblings, John & Elizabeth, all having died by then.  

In 1871 George's mother, recorded as "Anna" rather than "Hannah," is living in Llanellen, along with George's brothers, Thomas and James, and Thomas's four children:

Class: RG10; Piece: 5311; Folio: 28; Page: 9

Enumerator's schedule: 41 Address: No.1 Bryn-y-Betts

Anna Parry     Head            Wid         Female 65 1806 Ag labs wid Clydach, Herefordshire, England

Thomas Parry     Son         Widr        Male 30 1841 Ag lab         Clydach, Herefordshire, England

James Parry     Son         Unmar Male 23 1848 Forge lab         Clydach, Herefordshire, England

Tom Parry     Grandchild -     Male         7 1864 -                 Capel Y Fiele, Breconshire, Wales

John Parry     Grandchild -     Male         5 1866 -                 Capel Y Fiele, Breconshire, Wales

Elizabeth Parry    Grandchild -     Female 4 1867 -                 Cwm Llanelen, Monmouthshire, Wales

There's only one other Parry family living in Llanellen in 1871, headed by a father called William, so that family wouldn't fit the marriage detail.

According to the above 1871 census entry, Anna, Thomas, and James, were all born in Herefordshire, but I know from earlier records that, that was not the case - they were all born in Wales, in various places in Monmouthshire.  So this 'border hopping' across the Wales/England divide, without strong connections to Wales (as far as I am aware, none of them spoke Welsh) could easily explain why George Franklin PARRY gave his father's birthplace as England, rather than Wales.

As can also be seen from the above 1871 census entry, Elizabeth, Anna's grandchild (and daughter of the Thomas) was born in Upper Cwm, Llanellen, in April 1867.  Although Thomas and his family did move to Pwlldu for a time after that (in 1869/70, based on certificates for the birth and death of another child, as well as the death of Thomas's wife), it is possible Hannah/Anna continued to live in Llanellen during that period.  I will admit to not having spent a great deal of time looking for "my" George elsewhere, so it is possible he remained somewhere in the UK.  But the fact that members of the family were in the Llanellen area at the time the George PARRY married Emma WALTERS does seem to make "my" George a fairly good candidate to be the one marrying Emma and then emigrating.

What do you think?

In addition to the first autosomal DNA match, who brought the George Franklyn PARRY junior to my attention, I now have another autosomal DNA match who descends from a different child of the George Franklyn PARRY junior.  I also have an autosomal match with a descendant of James, the other brother of George and Thomas PARRY.  And that descendant of James also matches the descendant of George.

Of course, one thing that would really add to the evidence that "my" George is the correct one, would be if a direct male line descendant of the George Franklin PARRY was to take a Y-DNA test.  Since an uncle of mine has already taken that test, a match from such a descendant of George Franklin PARRY would help to confirm that the connection is through the direct male line.

Unfortunately, based on the Ancestry pedigrees, time for that might be running out, as their line looks to be as in danger of "daughtering out" as my branch now has.

Some final thoughts

While I have been commenting on the mistakes in these family trees on Ancestry, this post isn't meant, in any way, as a criticism of the individual researchers, or as yet another opportunity to have a moan about "Ancestry trees".  Instead, I've tried to indicate how such mistakes can come about, and perhaps offer some suggestions towards counteracting them.  The lack of available records about George PARRY senior in the US is a problem, because it means the details that do exist have often come through later generations. The discrepancies in records, such as the variations in birthplaces across census entries for the same person, can complicate research, as can the sheer numbers of possibilities when dealing with a 'frequently occurring' surname.  But such problems can be overcome, by carefully following up additional possibilities and trying to 'disprove' one's own theories, by not assuming the only entry found must be the correct one, and by educating oneself about the geography and records for areas that aren't familiar.

Oh, and putting the alternatives "out there" in the world, in the hope that a well-researched correction of a mistake might eventually gain more support than the original mistake.

The relationship of some of the places mentioned in the blog to Llanellen

References:

1. "United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6K7L-FMTJ : 10 February 2023), George Franklin Parry, Jr, .

Possible US Census entries

"United States Census, 1880", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFNZ-8WJ : Thu Mar 07 21:08:35 UTC 2024), Entry for John F Dugger and Joseph A Pope, 1880.

 "United States Census, 1910", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M23R-4JQ : Fri Mar 08 11:05:41 UTC 2024), Entry for George F Peary and Mary S Peary, 1910.

"United States Census, 1920", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK17-9NML : Fri Jul 12 07:50:39 UTC 2024), Entry for George F Parry and Mary S Parry, 1920.

"United States Census, 1930", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HKM8-9N2 : Fri Mar 08 03:30:01 UTC 2024), Entry for Frank G Parry and Susie Parry, 1930.