A short History of the Evans family of Much Wenlock
Shropshire
William Evans born c.1794 married
Susanna Richards at Shifnall 4 July 1821.
The Richards family appear as early as 1763 in the Much Wenlock parish
registers when John Richards married Joyce Clivley. Their son Jasper was baptised there 18 October 1771 and he married
Martha Bould at Brossley 11 July 1796.
Susannah Richards their daughter was baptised at Much Wenlock 12 April
1801.
William Evans is shown as a schoolmaster in the Much Wenlock
parish registers when their children George (10.10.1821), Elizabeth
(16/2/1823), Eliza, (1/1/1825) and
Thomas William (27/7/1827) were baptised. Although others are named he does
not appear in the 1824 or 1828 local directory as a schoolmaster, nor in the Vestry Books, except as a
signatory to a petition of inhabitants on the 25 July 1822, also no William
Evans qualified to cast a vote in the Borough Election during the period. However, under the section ‘Wenlock Tythes
Occupiers’ in the Wynnstay estate archives,
a William Evans is listed for the years 1821 to 1824 but not between
1825 and 1830. To date no further information has been found about where he and his family originated and as he
died and was buried at Much Wenlock on the
1st April 1829 aged 35 it is not possible to find him on any
census returns.
His widow Susanna Evans remarried
Thomas Bayliss, a painter and
glazier, at Madeley on the 23/9/1832 and
they had three more children all baptised at Much Wenlock. Anne (7/11/1832), Edward (20/12/1834 - died
aged 12 buried 23/3/1847), and Ellin (31/7/1837 died aged 14 months buried
11/10/1838). Thomas Bayliss died aged 72 on the 12 November 1841
In the 1841 census Eliza Evans was
living with her mother, stepfather and stepbrother and sister, at Barrow Street, Much
Wenlock. George Evans, now a shoemaker and Elizabeth Evans, female servant,
were living with their uncle Francis Richards,
an Innkeeper in Wilmore
Street, Much Wenlock. No further reference has been found to
George. Thomas Evans is living with William Yates, blacksmith, [to whom he had been apprenticed c.1840] in Spittle
Street, Much Wenlock. .
Eliza Evans married James
Wrigley a Currier at the Beandlee Methodist
Chapel, Madeley on 13 August 1846. Their first son Frank was baptised at
Much Wenlock 1/2/1847. Another son William was baptised 25/6/1847 and died 3
March 1851. Eliza and James produced several children who were all baptised in
the Church at Much Wenlock including two sons, Frank 1/1/1847 and William
baptised 25 June the same year and was buried 3 March 1851. The family lived at 48 Barrow Street. James was buried 6 March 1877 and Eliza 24 September 1887 at Much Wenlock
Parish Church.
On 3rd December 1848
Elizabeth Evans gave birth at Barrow
Street to a son Edwin (there was no father’s name
on the birth certificate). In the 1851 census, she and Edwin were living at the
same address with her step sister Ann and mother Susannah, who was shown as a
dressmaker employing two hands – presumably her daughters as they are both
shown as such. They also had a
lodger, James Leeds aged 23, born in Canterbury in Kent, who
was a currier, and on the 11 May 1851 Elizabeth Evans aged 28, spinster,
dressmaker of Much Wenlock, daughter of William Evans, school master, married
him at the Baptist Chapel Madeley. James
was the son of Thomas a farmer. Their first son Alfred Leeds was born in 1852 and he and Edwin Evans were baptised on
Christmas Day 1853 at Much Wenlock. Elizabeth and James also had two daughters,
Elizabeth born Easthope c.1857 and Susannah born
in Wellington
c1860. The Leeds family are shown at St. John Street, Wellington
in the 1861 census where Edwin is called Edwin Leeds so possibly James was his
father. In 1871 they had moved to Jarratts
Lane, Wellington.
In 1871 Susanna Baylis (70) a monthly
nurse with her daughter Ann Baylis (38) dressmaker were listed at 1 Oldgate
House, Much Wenlock living with her other daughter Eliza Wrigley and family. On
the 23 May 1878 Susanna Baylis aged 77
[3 years bed sore - chronic paralysis]
widow of Thomas Baylis a painter, died at Constitution Hill, Wellington,
in the presence of (the mark of ) Hannah
Harnold (Arnold on census) King Street, Wellington. She was buried in grave
number 1182 on 25 May 1878 in Wellington Cemetery - its a single grave - and
was purchased by Alfred Leeds, Clerk, Wellington Solicitors 29/5/1878. [The
grave still appears on the Cemetery Plan but sadly no longer exists].
To return now to our great great grandfather Thomas Evans
blacksmith [who later called himself William Thomas].
He married at Hughley 5 March 1850 Sarah, daughter of Edward
Corfield, miller and their first child Emily was baptised there 23 June
1850. The family are listed there in the
1851 census and Thomas is shown as a blacksmith’s journeyman, probably working
for Richard Bullock, blacksmith, who is shown in the census as employing one
man.
Thomas and Sarah had
moved to Hill Top, Easthope by 1853 when their son William was baptised in
Easthope Church, Jane was baptised there
21/5/1854 and George 11/1/1857.
They remained in Easthope until 1857/8
but had moved to The Bank, Much Wenlock
by 13 March 1858 when another son Edward
was baptised at Much
Wenlock Parish
Church. Thomas (grandpa’s father) was born l June
1859 and baptised 25 December 1860 in Much Wenlock.
In the 1861 Census Thomas (34) born
Much Wenlock, blacksmith master; Sarah (34) born Hughley; Emily (10), scholar;
Wm (8), scholar; Jane (7), scholar; George (5)
Thomas (2) and Ann Baylis (28) unmarried dressmaker born Wenlock are listed living at The Bank, Much
Wenlock.
In early September 1862 Sarah
Anne, another daughter, was born, sadly on the 9 September, Sarah, wife of William Thomas Evans Blacksmith, died
at Bank, Wenlock of consumption 6 months. Susanna Bayliss was present at the
death which was registered 11 September.
The registrar was Susanna’s brother Francis Richards. Sarah was
buried at Hughley on the 12 September and the cause of death was, according to
an annotation in the margin of the Parish Register, ‘consumption after
childbirth’. Sarah Anne, daughter of William Thomas blacksmith and Sarah
Evans of Wenlock was baptised at Much Wenlock on the 22 October 1862 and
strangely her mother was not shown as deceased in the register.
On the 14 May 1868 Thomas Evans (41) widower, blacksmith, son of William Evans school master, remarried Sarah German (35) spinster, daughter of John German labourer. The witnesses were William Lawley and Eliza
Halford. As there are no relevant baptisms at Much Wenlock between 1868 and
1879 it appears there were no children of his second marriage. In the 1871 census George, Thomas and Sarah
were living with their father and step-mother at The Bank. Emily was a nurse
with a family in Paddington, and Jane
was a housemaid with a family in Shrewsbury.
Circa 1873 Thomas was apprenticed to William Dudley, a carpenter, in Wenlock
and in July 1879 he and his future wife Louisa Cartwright were witnesses at the
wedding of his sister Jane, to John Rogers, blacksmith of Bayston Hill at Christ Church,
Bayston Hill.
On finishing his apprenticeship Thomas moved to London where in the 1881
census he was a boarder at 71 Eland
Road Batterse, the home of Joseph Rice and his wife
Mary. Louisa Cartwright was a visitor (24) born Frankton staying with
her sister and husband John Henry Thickens (33) Station Master born York,
Harriet wife (26) born Frankton, John Henry son (5) Ellesmere, Frank Edgar son
(2) living at Railway Station, Bow Street, Clarach in the parish of
Aberystwyth.
It seems likely that Thomas was
probably working either with, or for, William Fake a bricklayer aged 35 who was
born in Stockwell, listed at 25 Kingsley Street,
Battersea in the 1881 census, the address given by Thomas when he married
Louisa Cartwright of the parish of Ellesmere, on 29 September 1881 at Battersea Parish Church.
Thomas and Louisa had two sons. Frank
Dudley Evans (my grandfather) who
was born 16 May 1883 at Abbey Cottage, Much Wenlock, the home of William
Dudley. Thomas gave his address as 102 Eversleigh Road,
Lavender Hill, London
in June when the baby was registered. Frank was baptised at Much Wenlock on the 27
May 1883. The second son Tom was born 9
February 1885 in London.
In the 1891
census Thomas is shown as a carpenter and the family are listed living at 102 Eversleigh Road,
Battersea. Nearby at 123 Sugden Road,
Battersea Frank’s future wife Rhoda E
Ashton, aged five born Westminster, was living with her aunt Mary Ann Lower
aged 41, born at Slaugham, and her husband Joseph Lower aged 43, a builder born Brighton. Rhoda’s mother had died when she was three
and her father then returned to live in Leicestershire, and her mother’s sister Mary brought her
up. The children all attended Gideon Road
School which is where
granny and grandpa met - Frank being admitted 27 October 1890 and Tom entering
in 1892, both boys having attended the infants department. Sadly the admittance registers for the girls
no longer survive at this date.
In 1901
Frank was still living with his parents and was an apprentice builder. However
this was not his chosen profession, and he went to night school and became a
qualified engineer, after which he
joined the Colonial service going out to Penang Malaysia c1909. Rhoda Eliza was a pupil teacher in 1901 and
having qualified had to work for a year and it was not until 1909 she was able
to join Frank in Malayia and they were married there on 13 February.
Although
Thomas junior moved down to London he and the family obviously still visited
Much Wenlock as I remember Granny telling me that Frank sang in the choir and
the local church and also competed in the Wenlock Games.
However our
families connection with Shropshire ended when William Thomas Evans died. He was buried in Much Wenlock
Cemetery in October 1894.
The grave is to the right of the path
leading to the chapel. (The headstone is very indistinct due to weathering of
the stone).
October 2010