Samuel Thomas (1824 - 1895) and Ann Thomas nee Lewis (1825 - 1897)

This photograph is of my great-great grandparents Samuel Thomas and his wife Ann. It is the oldest photograph I have to date and the most interesting. It is very rare to find anyone smiling in old photographs for one good reason - Victorian photographers only had very slow emulsions available, therefore with the often primitive lenses available would mean an exposure that would be measured in minutes rather than today's thousandths of a second. Often in studio portraiture the photographer would use a head clamp to ensure that the victim moved as little as possible during the exposure. Closer examination of these photographs reveals that you cannot see the eyes properly. This is due to the involuntary movements of the eyes not registering on the photographic emulsion. If a close photograph of a persons face was taken, the photographer would usually paint the eyes in afterwards.

At the time of my great grandmothers birth in 1860 SAMUEL was a master blacksmith in Aberelan which is adjacent to  Rhayader, Brecon and Radnor, Mid Wales. The actual residence at the time of Elizabeth's birth is given as Aberelan, Cwmtoyddwr. His wife ANN'S maiden name was LEWIS. Details of Samuel's and Ann's parents can be found by clicking the link.

The 1841 Census* shows Samuel living at Tycoch, a farm adjacent to Crawnant Fach, in Llanwrthwl, along with his parents and grandmother Lewis. (His mother's mother).
From the time of his marriage in 1845, he moved around quite considerably, possibly in accommodation tied to his employment, which ranged from labourer to blacksmith, and herdsman. This becomes clear by the various addresses his children were born. (see below)

* The theory in the 1841 Census was that every person up to and including the age of 15 should have their actual age recorded; those above 15 should have the age rounded down to the nearest multiple of 5 (i.e. 45 is
45, 39 is 35, 52 is 50 etc). As always, what was meant to happen did not always take place. I have seen forms where actual ages of people were put in every all case.

SAMUEL and ANNE were married at St Afan's Llanafan Fawr, Brecon on 24th June 1845. The details of the entry record that Samuel's father Nathaniel Thomas was a Labourer and Ann's father Rees Lewis was a Farmer. The witnesses were Edward Thomas and Thomas Lewis (the bride's brother)

The 1851 Census gives a good snapshot of the family at the time. They were living at Crawnant Bach, Llanwrthwl-upper Radnorshire at the time. Incidentally the 1851 census took place for the night of 30/31 March. From 1851 to the present day

• exact ages were recorded (though it is best to have additional confirmation)
• marital status and relationship to the head of the household
• birth places in England and Wales are given precisely

Of the three children listed in the 1851 Census

• SAMUEL was born on 18th March 1846 at Dolcraiglyn, Nantmel, Radnorshire

The site of where Samuel Thomas was born in 1846. The farm was demolished many years ago

• THOMAS the second son was born two years later on 4th May 1848 at Blaengwnynolwyn, Llanwrthl, Radnorshire . He married ELIZA, (details unknown), Eliza was born circa 1852 in Llandilo, Carmarthan. By 1901 Thomas and Eliza Thomas had two sons and four daughters
  It is believed that Thomas also lived at Sengenydd the scene of one of the worst Pit disasters this country has experienced
• ANN "ANNIE" (1850 - 1935) - was born on 12th October 1850 in Crawnant Fach, Llanwrthl. Ann married Frank Tucker in 1875 and emigrated to Australia.

After the 1851 Census Samuel and Ann Thomas had four more sons and two daughters

• RICE was born on 25th February 1853 Crawnant Fach, Llanwrthl  - The 1901 census shows him resident at 20 Ynyscynon Road, Trealaw, Rhondda where he was employed as a collier. He married a woman called MARY (Maiden name not known) who was born in Llwynypia, Rhondda 1848. 
• EVAN was born on 3rd March 1856 at Penrhyddlan, Llanwrthl. He married a woman called JANE (details unknown apart from the fact that she was born in Devon circa 1858)  There was a son Charles and a daughter Phyllis from the marriage
• BENJAMIN (1858 - 1938) - was born on 26th March 1858 at Penrhyddlan, Llanwrthl. Like his elder sister Ann, Benjamin emigrated to Australia where he had four sons and two daughters
• ELIZABETH MARGARET (1860 - 1947)- my great grandmother
• MARY was born 10th March 1862 but died at the relatively young age of 29 on 19th June 1891
• CHARLES was born on 30th April 1864 at Hengiau, Llysdiam and died 47 years later in 1911
• WILLIAM was born on 5th September 1866 at Hengiau, Llysdiam,Breconshire. Very little is known about William's life. It appears that he married a woman called Lill and that they had two children Protheroe and Lena. That is the sum total of the information I have to date

a total of seven sons and three daughters.

The other points to note are as follows. The next two entries in the census registry were as follows

and it begs the question was Samuel an employee of John Evans and did he live in a tied cottage? The evidence would point to this.

Secondly SAMUEL in the space of less than ten years went from being a farm labourer to a master blacksmith. Given the rural nature of the district this was quite an achievement.

Aber-Elan is the former home of Samuel and Anne Thomas, and it is where my great grandmother Elizabeth Hobbs (nee Thomas) was born. On the above photograph of Llanwrthwl-Upper is the family cottage on the front right. The river flowing by is the River Elan and the river flowing to the front of the picture is the River Claerwen. The area was flooded in 1904 to create the Caban Coch reservoir so that the growing towns of the English Midlands would have an adequate water supply. It is close to where today the Nantgwyllt Church stands. The photo was taken circa 1880

The family also appear on the 1861 Census for the Township of Dyffryn Elan in the Parish of Llansanfraid, Cwmddeudwr (ref /61/p8)

The only puzzling point on the Census is that Samuel's wife is put down as Jane instead of Ann

The Powys Digital History Project has an excellent section that is devoted to Rhayader prior to the twentieth century. It can be accessed by clicking on the link

The 1881 Census gives the family's address as Ludbrook Villa, Builth, Brecon, Wales

(Source FHL Film 1342312 PRO Ref RG11 Piece 5455 Folio 23 Page 24

SAMUEL died 28th September 1895 at the age 71. The death certificate gives his age as 72 which means that he must have been born circa 1823 and not circa 1826 as indicated on the Census Returns of 1851 and 1881. The cause of death on the death certificate is given "Morpus Cardis Syncope" which is really the terminology used at the time for heart disease that could not be accurately diagnosed by the methods then employed. The certificate indicates that he died at his home address of Spring Gardens, Builth, Breconshire and that he was with his son WILLIAM THOMAS at the time. The death was registered two days later on the 30th. (Reference Counties of Brecon and Radnor No 491).

Spring Gardens, Builth, Brecon

His wife ANN died eighteen months later age 71 on 16th March 1897. Her death was the result of a massive stroke that left her speechless and with few faculties.

SAMUEL and ANN are buried in Builth. The gravestone reads

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This page was last updated on 07/02/26 15:39

I would like to acknowledge the help and assistance that has been provided by my Dad's cousins Ray and Dennis Hobbs With the information that they have passed on to me, we now have a far fuller picture of our ancestors. Without their commitment and enthusiasm this would not have been possible. Their help was, and still is, greatly appreciated