John B Davies born May 3, 1842 in South Wales
I am seeking information on John B Davies. He was born on May 3, 1842 in South Wales. His father's name was John Davies. He emigrated to USA between 1860 and 1869.
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Re: John B Davies born May 3, 1842 in South Wales
Unfortunately I think that you are very unlikely to find your man without being able to narrow down the field a little.
All births from 1837 onwards had to be registered with the civil authorities, so for England & Wales there is one index covering all such births. The indexes are arranged by quarter, so your man should appear in either the Apr-Jun quarter or the Jul-Sep quarter (there was a grace period for registration). The indexes only show a child’s name, registration district, Volume No and Page No. It is not until late 1911 that the index includes the mother’s maiden name. So in 1842 there is no indication whatsoever of the child’s parents names. They can only be obtained from the birth certificate, which has to be purchased from the General Registers Office at a cost of £9.25 per certificate.
In 1842, there is no birth registration for a John B Davies. That does not surprise me as often middle names or initials where acquired later in life. In 1842 there were more than 200 births registered in Wales for boys named John Davies.
That number could be reduced by eliminating (a) any births in North Wales *, and (b) any births registered outside of the 2 quarters identified earlier. However, given that his father has the same name, John, I don’t see any way of identifying which birth is the one in question.
*you should note that there is no single definition of what constitutes “South Wales”. It is very much down to individual’s opinion.
If you were really lucky you might be able to find a baptism record, which also records the birth date. However, not all children were baptised, and not all baptism records are easily accessed, and most baptism records do not record the date of birth.
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Re: John B Davies born May 3, 1842 in South Wales
Thank you so much for your time and expertise. Yes, I have been encountering those quarterly indexes. Common names can be a challenge. When my husband and I were touring Wales a few years ago, our tour guide told us that John Davies may be one of the most popular names in the country.
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Re: John B Davies born May 3, 1842 in South Wales
Hi, The 1851 census has 75 John Davies as fathers of a John Davies.What else do you know?"What was the fathers occupation,that might narrow the search?
Regards
Sandra
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Re: John B Davies born May 3, 1842 in South Wales
He had a brother, William Davies, born in 1838. John B worked in the steel mills in the USA. There may be a mining tradition from his father.
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