This is the story of my Grandfather, his four brothers from Penyard, Merthyr Tydfil and their sons who played professional football from 1918 to 1970. One family who sent player after player to grace the teams of the football league for over 50 years. Even today, the family have members still involved in the game.…
My earliest memories of Grandad John (Shoni) and Nana Jones are visiting them at their home in Birmingham. 92, Gleneagles Road, Yardley, was a normal 3-bed semi-detached in the suburbs. There were two rooms downstairs complete with a ‘scullery‘ as they would call the small kitchen. The back room was used most of the time…
William Daniel Jones. Born on the 17th November 1874 to Moses and Hannah Jones (Richards). The address given on his birth certificate is 12, Cyfarthfa Row, Merthyr Tydfil. He was the eldest of 6 children, his siblings are, John, Catherine, Miriam, Moses and Ivor. How long the family were at Cyfarthfa Row for is unknown,…
This story appeared in The Merthyr Express on October 18th, 2002. The Jones Boys footballing dynasty began at 13, Baden Terrace, Penyard at the begining of the last century, writes Suzanne Evans. Shoni, Ivor, Emlyn, Bertrand and Brynmor Jones were the five sons of William Daniel known as Big Daddy, a self educated man –…
Merthyr Tydfil changed from a small farming community to a huge industrial town in the early 19th century. This video shows what life was like for those living there at this time. I can’t imagine how our Jones ancestors coped after moving from the beauty and fresh air of the Cardiganshire area to what has…
August 1938 and Bryn was transferred from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Arsenal for a world record fee of £14,000. A phenomenal amount of money at the time and I think it’s fair to say that the pressure must have had an effect on Bryn. However, world war II broke out just over 12 months later and…
Moses Jones was born at 7:00 am on Friday the 15th December 1843 in Bridge Street, Merthyr Tydfil. Our first Jones ancestor (2 x GGrandfather) to be born in Merthyr Tydfil. His twin brother, Aaron, was born nearly 6 hours later around 1:00 pm. The twins were the last of the 7 children of Daniel…
Early immigrants to the coalfield encouraged friends and relatives to leave their homes and take advantage of the mining boom. Exodus from Cardiganshire: Rural-Urban Migration in Victorian Britain by Kathryn Cooper. Cardiganshire in the mid 18th to 19th century was not the place we know it as today. I have seen many descriptions of it…
Ever since 1802 with the Baptism of Daniel Jones and his twin brother, Lewis, at Eglwys Newydd, Llanfihangel Y Creuddyn, every generation has produced a set of twins ending with Big Daddy’s siblings Moses and Miriam in 1880. 3 generations in total, but for all I know, there could be more. We can’t trace back…
The first appearance of Daniel Jones and his family moving from Llanbadarn Fawr, Cardiganshire to the South Wales coalfields and iron foundries is of them in the 1841 census. This is the first official census carried out in the UK and only gives their location (Aberystruth, Monmouthshire) names and ages together with a simple Y…
