Thomas Miles (1830 - ) Mary Evans (1833 - abt. 1860), Martha Evans

Thomas Miles was born about 1830 in Mynyddislwyn, Monmouth, England, according to the 1881 and other census records.

His granddaughter Blodwyn (Miles) Morgan recorded that he was married at least twice. Blodwyn indicated that he had two children, Mary and Edmund (Blodwyn's father) by his first wife and several other children by the second wife. An important remembrance of Blodwyn's was that the latter marriage produced sons with the names Theopholis and Seth which made finding some family records much easier.

Marriages

David Vaughan^[5]has provided a copy of the marriage registration of Thomas Miles to his first wife

Marriage Registration of Thomas Miles and Mary Evans

This marriage certificate shows that Thomas was 22 when he married on 29 May 1852, giving an age that is consistent with that of the census records. We see that he is a collier and that his father, also named Thomas Miles is deceased. This is our first indication of the previous generation in our Miles line. We see, too, that neither Thomas or his wife Mary are capable of signing their names. The couple were married in a Baptist Chapel in Rhymney. (We should note that David Vaughan also acquired the birth registration of Edmund which verifies that his parents were those named in the above certificate

We do not yet have the marriage registration for Thomas and his second wife Martha Evans. Martha is the presumed sister of Mary who appears to have moved into the family after Mary's death. However, she is shown as a servant in the 1861 census and it is possible that she was not the sister-in-law of Thomas, as she might otherwise have been so identified.

Families

We are fortunate in being able to trace the family through several census reports from 1861 through 1891 inclusive. With these records we can augment the information give us by Blodwyn. These census records are included below but first we show the two families as revealed by the census records.

Children of Thomas Miles and Mary Evans^{^[1]}

Name	Date of birth	Date/Place of Birth	Married to	Date of Death	Place of Death
Ann^{^[1,3]}	1852	Mynyddislwyn, Monmouthshire^{^[3]}	Morgan Thomas
Edmund^{^[1,3]}	1st Quarter 1854^{^[2]}	Bedwellty, Monmouthshire^{^[3]}	Lucy Ann Thomas	27 March 1922	Mountain Ash
Esther^{^[3]}	1856	Bedwellty, Monmouthshire^{^[3]}
Lucy^{^[3]}	1858	Gelligaer, Monmouthshire^{^[3]}		1880^{^[5]}
Mary^{^[3]}	1860	Bedwellty, Monmouthshire^{^[3]}

The 1861 census shows Thomas a widower with the children listed above. We know then that these children are those which have survived to this date. As one appears every two years it is likely that these are the only children of the marriage.

By 1871 Thomas second wife Martha appears in the census listing as well as some new children. These and subsequent census returns allow us to recreate the following family.

Children of Thomas Miles and second wife Martha Evans^{^[1,3,4]}

Name	Date of birth	Date/Place of Birth	Married to	Date of Death	Place of Death
Margaret^{^[3]}	1863			1880^{^[5]}
William^{^[3]}	1866			1880^{^[5]}
Thomas^{^[1,3]}	1869	Bedwellty, Monmouthshire^{^[3]}
Theophilus^{^[1,3]}	1st Quarter, 1871^{^[2]} Feb, Mar 1871^{^[3]}	Bedwellty, Monmouthshire^{^[3]}	Martha Jane Williams, 2nd quarter, 1893^{^[2]}
Seth^{^[1,3]}	1874	Llananevo, Glamorgan^{^[3]}	Mary Ann Morris, 4th Quarter 1904, Bedwellty^{^[2]}
Sarah	4th Quarter 1873^{^[2]}	Bedwellty, Monmouthshire^{^[3]}

In the 1861 census we see that Thomas Miles has a household servant, Martha Evans of Pembroke, looking after the household which include two lodgers. Martha is 18 years old. By 1871 Thomas is married to a Martha who is 27 and ten years later Martha is 38. In 1871 Martha is born in Bedwellty as are all the children whereas in the previous and subsequent census returns they are born in various places. Consequently we can discount the 1871 report of Martha's birthplace and take the 1881 Pembroke location. It is natural to wonder if Thomas Miles married his servant Martha Evans. Sure enough we find in FreeBMD a marriage of a Thomas Miles to Martha Evans in Abergavenny in the second quarter of 1861. This is fairly conclusive evidence that this is our marriage and based on that I have so indicated the couple; full confirmation would require obtaining a birth registration for one of their children.

From these compilations we see that Thomas Miles had at least 11 children. What became of these children and their offspring is part of the objective of the Miles Family Project.

1861 Census of Wales

1871 Census of Wales

1871 census image spread over two pages. Folio 48 pages 27-8. Located 285 Cwmsifoig in New Tredegar. There are 7 children living with them at this time

1881 Census of Wales

At this time he is married to Martha (surname as yet unknown), 13 years his junior, and is the father of at least six children. Living with them is also a child Henry Jones, a grandson who presumably is the child of a daughter not living at home (perhaps deceased) who has married a person with the surname Jones. Itis unlikely that Martha is the biological mother of Edmund who is 26, while Martha is only 38.

In the 1881 census of Wales we find the family living on Railway Row in Bedwellty, Monmouthshire:

	Rel:	Marr	Age	Occ:	Sex	Birthplace
Thomas MILES	Head	M	51	Coal Miner	M	Mynyddislwyn, Monmouth, England
Martha MILES	Wife	M	38		F	Pembroke, Wales
Edmund MILES	Son	U	26	Coal Miner	M	Monmouth, England
William MILES	Son	U	15	Coal Miner	M	Bedwellty, Monmouth, England
Thomas MILES	Son	U	12	Coal Miner	M	Bedwellty, Monmouth, England
Theophilus MILES	Son	U	10		M	Bedwellty, Monmouth, England
Seth MILES	Son		7		F	Llananevo, Glamorgan, Wales
Sarah MILES	Daur		7		F	Bedwellty, Monmouth, England
Henry JONES	Grandson		1		M	Llanwonno, Glamorgan, Wales

Source: FHL Film 1342262 PRO Ref RG11 Piece 5244 Folio 83 Page 45. They have 7 children and one grandchild living with them. Lucy, Mary and margaret have left home (or died) by this time

Blodwyn (Miles) Morgan, his granddaughter has left the following description of this family: "My father was Edmund, brothers Thomas, Theo. I cannot remember the sisters names. One sister Mrs. Atkins"

1891 Census of Wales

1891 Census Image: Family at #85 George Inn Cottages, Gelligaer, Glamorgan. PRO Ref RG12/1443 Folio 118, Page 15

Research Required:

1. Obtain the second marriage certificate of Thomas and his death registration.

2. Obtain birth and death registrations for his two wives.

2. Obtain the descendent tree information for his various children and establish contact with them.

Credits

[1] Blodwyn (Miles) Morgan notes
[2] Free BMD
[3] Census of Wales
[4] Conclusions of Kenneth Scott
[5] David Vaughan of Berkshire, England; his great uncle John Vaughan married Ella, daughter of Edmund Miles b. 1854

last modified 12 July 2009