Swansea Wales Archives electoral rolls look up Please

[Annie65115]

According to an elderly cousin "They were in Swansea in south Wales in 1946. I do not remember their address, though it was near the railway line down to the shore and I remember coal wagons going by. One day we went to Mumbles, in the Gower Peninsula, where I collected shells on the sandy beach".

Would this information be enough to be able to pin point in what area they lived?

I think there are 2 possible areas, both quite large, that this could suggest:

1. Somewhere in the Swansea Valley, where railway lines came south from Morrison (on the west side of the river) and Llansamlet (on the east side), to the railway station/shore. This was the industrialised and far more populous side of Swansea and if the trains were carrying coal, this is probably the more likely.

2. But another possibility would be the Clyne Valley, out of town towards the west, where trains ran through the Clyne Valley from Gowerton to Blackpill. This was a less industrialised route, but there was a brickworks in the Clyne Valley itself so I presume that there would have been some trains carrying fuel.

Mumbles is not actually on Gower but is sometimes called the gateway to Gower! It was a popular day trip from all over Swansea (still is!) and a light tramway ran along the seafront from the centre of the town, passing through Blackpill and on to Mumbles - so I'm afraid that memory wouldn't help locate your family.

Here's a link to old maps which might help you narrow the search if you get some more info:

http://www.rootschat.com/links/01i4q/

[Annie65115]

Here's something that might be worth checking out:

1891; Fulham, London
Thomas Farley head age 29 or 39, railway guard, b Runcorn, Lancashire (other censuses suggest Ireland)
Mary Ann Farley age 29 b Shoeburyness, Essex
Thomas Harry Farley age 6
Francis Farley age 2  both b Fulham

1901:
Thomas Farley age 48, railway guard
Emily Farley age 34 b Herefordshire
Francis Farley age 10

In 1911 there is a possible sighting of Francis living close to Swansea. The same man may again be living close to Swansea in the 1939 register.

Possible death for Mary Ann Farley
Deaths Dec 1896 
Farley    Mary Ann    34    Fulham    1a   192    

Possible remarriage for Thomas to Emily
Marriages Sep 1898
FARLEY    Thomas        Fulham    1a   766    
Hyde    Henry         Fulham    1a   766    
Jones    Emily         Fulham    1a   766    
Tijou    Ellen Mary         Fulham    1a   766

[Annie65115]

These register entries may be relevant:

Marriages Dec 1911   
Farley    Francis        Neath    11a   1658    
Harris    Annie         Neath    11a   1658    
Harris    Beatrice         Neath    11a   1658    
Morgan    John         Neath    11a   1658


Deaths Mar 1933 
Farley    Annie H    59    Neath

The Harris surname is relevant when you look at the 1911 census ----

[Maria Goretti]

Thanks very much Girl Guide for your advise, yes, their marriage cert. would probably be my best option right now.
Greatly appreciated,
Maria

[Maria Goretti]

Hi Annie,

Thank you ever so much for all this research, I greatly appreciate all the time you have put into this.
London appears to be very far away from my points of research as people don't appear to have moved very far from their roots back then (my experience). I will keep it all in mind and see if I can get anywhere with it. My problem is I have little or no information to go on except the church marriage and the few notes from an elderly cousin. I never knew this side of my family until fairly recent.

Thanks once again for all your help,
Maria

[Annie65115]

People moved around a lot more than I have previously been led to believe. And you already have the suggestion that Francis went between Runcorn and Swansea, whilst Mary Gertrude went from Birmingham to Runcorn and then to Swansea. Swansea to Runcorn would have been quite a long journey - it's still about 5 hours by car - whilst London to Swansea is just a direct line trainline ride away. And the 1911 census states that the person concerned wasn't born locally 

Another thought -- if Francis's father Thomas was indeed from Ireland, it's likely that the family was Catholic (and I can tell you that there was not a large Catholic community in Swansea by any means!) That's not proof but again helps point towards the possibility of a Catholic marriage for Francis.

Francis's marriage certificate won't give you his mother's maiden name. It will however give you his father's occupation, Francis's age (or maybe just "over 21"), Francis's occupation and of course his address (which, if this was in Runcorn, may be a red herring). It will also tell you if he was a widow. Those things will help confirm or exclude the Swansea link I've suggested.

Please come back to the thread and let us know what you find!

[CarolA3]

Are you in the UK or abroad?  I can't see anything on the GRO website that indicates if it costs more to order from abroad or the same as ordering in the UK.  The only way to find out would be to ask them.

Just dropping in to confirm that GRO charge £9.25 for a certificate regardless of where you are - no extra postage charge for overseas orders
You just order online and they do the currency conversion.

Carol

[Maria Goretti]

Hi Carol,

Thank you ever so much for info., yes I am overseas but have ordered certs before, I will see to that when I get back from holidays.
Happy Holidays & Summer to all you good folk and once again thanks for all your help.
Kindest regards,
Maria