Navan?

[Eric Hatfield]

John Jones married in Australia in 1881. He gave the information that he was 34 and born in Navan, North Wales. I haven't found anywhere in North Wales named Navan, but there seem to be two possibilities.

(1) He was born in Nefyn in Caernarfonshire, sometimes anglicised to Nevin, and the Australian Clergyman heard it in John's Welsh accent as "Navan".

(2) I have been told by one person that "Navan" is a local abbreviation of Carnarvon, which is of course in North Wales.

Is anyone able to resolve this question please? Thanks.

[Gadget]

It definitely could  be Nefyn.

https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/CAE/Nefyn

[Gadget]

Have you looked at the 1851 census.  There are quite a few John Jones b.c.1847 +/- 2  in Nevin/Nefyn.  Do you have his parents' names to check.

[Eric Hatfield]

Hi, and thanks.

The problem is that there are so many people with the same few names, as I raised on another thread recently. So inevitably there are many people who MIGHT be the ones I'm looking for, but difficult to distinguish them.

So I've looked at the 1851 & 1861 censuses without finding anything definitive (so far - every time I search I seem to find someone new!). But the most likely marriage of a Nefyn couple was in 1849, 2 years after he was apparently born. (Which may explain why he called himself by both his parents' surnames - John Griffith Jones.) But he could have been born then, to the same or a different father, so I need to search for John Jones as well as John Griffith.

So while I will keep searching, knowing of "Navan" ever did refer to Carnarvon, or never did, would help.

[Gadget]

The John Joneses are difficult - I sympathise. I have a few

I assume he did not mention his father on his marriage license.  His children's names might help.

Gadget

[Eric Hatfield]

He did name his parents - Hugh Jones & Jane Griffith, but there are many peope with those names.

[Gadget]

Have you found out when he arrived in Australia? 
Is there anything on his death cert?
Names of his children?

Also, have you followed up the Jones/Griffith family after 1851/61, including siblings?


Gadget

[Eric Hatfield]

Have you found out when he arrived in Australia?

It was about 1869. (27 years in Australia at his death in 1896.)

Is there anything on his death cert?

Just the same info as at his marriage. Parents were Hugh Jones (farmer) and Jane Griffith (domestic).

Names of his children?

I have all the details of his children, but none of his siblings.

Also, have you followed up the Jones/Griffith family after 1851/61, including siblings?

I have several pages of lists of possible people in 1851 & 1861. But until I can be sure of which family is him, I can't know siblings. The problem is that every plausible person/family I have found has something against them. Maybe Hugh Jones wasn't a famer, or not married until after John was born, or John not present in census, not born in Nefyn, etc. Of course any of these can be simply errors in the record, but it means no-one stands out as definitely him/them. That's why I was trying to narrow down the choice by my question about "Navan".

[Gadget]

I see that others have made similar comments/suggestions as mine *

My opinion is Nefyn.   As soon as I saw it in the heading, my thought was Nefyn.This is in the Pwllheli reg district. There are two registrations that might fit :

Dec quarter 1845  V 27 P 337
Mar quarter 1846  V 27 P 371

Both record Mother's name as Griffith. It might be worth getting these BCs to check.

*add -  https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=889122.0



Gadget