Harris Brickwall Smashed! (Probably)

For more than 20 years, my father and I have wondered where in Wales our immigrant ancestor, William Harris, came from. Now, thanks to computer indexing and the Internet, we have found out! (Probably.)

We knew for years that our William Harris married Sarah Ann Jones and had two children, Thomas J. and Lewis W., before leaving Wales and coming to Ohio. We had looked at the IGI and seemed to find indication that they came from Monmouthshire, but we had nothing firm. However, not long ago, I used Ancestry.com to check for Thomas Harrises living in Wales who were 1 year old at the time of the 1861 census, and whose parents where named "William" and "Sarah." Amazingly, there was only one hit for these critieria.

The family lived in the parish of Merthyr Tydfil, in the county of Glamorgan. At the time of the census, they were living at 41 George Street, with two children (John, age 3, and Thomas, age 15 months); William's father, Thomas, age 70; and William's brother, Charles, age 40. The census notes that Sarah and the children were born in Merthyr Tydfil, but that husband, grandfather, and brother were born in Abergwili, Carmarthenshire.

But is this our family? The ages listed for William and Sarah were both too young by 1 year when compared to our family records and U.S. census data. Using FreeBMD, I found and ordered the birth registration certificate for their child, Thomas. It listed his mother's maiden name as "Jones." Hurray, a match! But wait, the birth date on the certificate was 13 Jan 1860, and the birth date on Thomas's Akron, Ohio, death certificate was 16 (or possibly 15) Jan 1860, off by 2 or 3 days. Seeing this, and having William and Sarah too young by 1 year, made me lose confidence. But there was another test I could make.

My William and Sarah had one more child who was born in Wales, Lewis W. Once again checking FreeBMD, I found there was only one Lewis Harris birth registered in Glamorgan within the timeframe. I ordered the certificate. It showed that Lewis's mother's maiden name was "Jones," and that he was born at 41 George Street. An exact match on mother's maiden name and linkage to the 1861 census family!

I don't have Lewis's death certificate, but none of the his U.S. census data matches the certificate's birth date of 4 Dec 1861:

• 1870 census - born Jun 1859/May 1860
• 1880 census - born Jun 1860/May 1861
• 1900 census - born Nov 1862
• 1910 census - born Apr 1862/Apr 1863
• 1920 census - born Jan/Dec 1862
• 1930 census - born Apr 1862/Mar 1863

Still, I think that this is him, and that this is my family, despite the discrepancies with birth dates. The names of the childen are right. The names "Thomas" and "Charles" repeat frequently in this family line. The family disappears from Merthyr Tydfil by the time of the 1871 census.