HENRY SAWLEY/SELWAY (3)

HENRY SAWLEY (SOLEY, SELWAY 3)

Henry (3) was born in North Petherton in 1833 and christened on 28 April of that year. (The name Henry was used a second time as his brother, who was also named Henry had died in 1821) Records show that Henry (3) was another bargeman in the 1891 census. The 1871 census shows that Henry (3) lived next door but one to sister Jane Sawley (Vickery) and next door but one to the Boat and Anchor Pub. It is during this period that the name Sawley seemed to change, according to various records. A range of spellings were used in different documents. However, the spelling Selway eventually took prominence. Henry (3) married Eliza Mead, who was born in 1838 at North Petherton. ( The Meads being closely connected to the Sawleys (Selways) including through marriage.)

Henry died in 1899 at the age of 66

The decline of work on the waterway meant that few were able to continue working on the canals. Others had to look elsewhere for work. Some found jobs at local brickworks while others were forced to move within the UK or abroad. Therefore, only some of Henry (3) and Eliza’s children were able to stay in the area while others were forced to move away. The children scattered. Some to the coal mines of South Wales and one, Edwin, to Australia.

Henry and Eliza’s children and partners are listed below.

SELWAY BROTHERS MARRY SISTERS

HARRY SELWAY was born 1879 at Huntworth and the name is sometimes noted as being Handy Selway. He moved from North Petherton, like others of his age, and went to South Wales in search of work in the coal mines. In 1901 he was boarding at 14 Oak Row, Aberdare. The home of his sister, Rosina, and her husband, William Lewis. Harry met and married Mary Gwenllian Jones (born in 1876) at St Catherine’s Church, Baglan Church on July 4, 1901

WEDDING OF HARRY AND MARY

ERNEST SELWAY AND FAMILY

ERNEST SELWAY... Like his brother, Ernist moved from Somerset to Aberdare in search of work. He is recorded as being a collier and hewer in the 1901 census. He married Magaret Jones, the sister of Mary Gwenllian, in 1894. Ernest and Margaret’s children were Florence Mabel Selway, Richard Henry Selway, Trevor Ernest Selway, Mary Maude Selway, Annie Beatrice Selway.

AMERICAN CONNECTION

It was through Richard Henry Selway, who married Elsie Evans, that the American family connection took place. Richard Henry lived until 1996, reaching 99 years. His son, Richard Arthur Selway and his wife Dannith Karen, are still strongly in connection with the Selway family in the UK.

DICK and DANNITH SELWAY

JAMES HENRY SELWAY Brickyard Laborer at 19 years

FREDRICK CHARLES SELWAY, born 1863, and an unmarried, Bricklayer and labourer in 1881 census. However, by 1891 he was lodging at St Saviours, Bermondsey, London where he had become a fireman. By 1901, he had married a girl named Eliza and had three children, Doris, Fredick J and Lilian.

ELIZA JANE SELWAY married Frederick John Farrant born at Axminster, Devon, England. The family moved from Somerset to Aberdare., living at 13 Crown Row Aberdare in 1901. There, John Fredrick was a coal miner. Their children were ...Floria Farrant, Lily Farrant and Alice Maud Farrant. Lily, was born in 1895 at Aberdare. She married Richard Albert Bevan (Bert) of Tonmawr, Port Talbot, at Merthyr Tydfil in 1918. (They were known to us as Uncle Bert and Aunty Lily)

ALICE SELWAY ... married Fredrick Allen from Bridgewater whose occupation was a miller. They moved to Cardiff in about 1891 where Fredrick continued his work. They lived at 11 Tenby Road, Cardiff in that year. By 1901 they were living at 25 Abernant Row, Aberdare where Fredrick is recorded as being self employed, though it is unclear as to his actual occupation at the time. Their children were Fredrick, born 1890, Alice, born 1893 and Harry, born 1895.

EDWIN SELWAY (Salway) and ERNEST SELWAY were twins, born in 1871. (Edwin,, according to the 1891 census was a servant aged 18 at the home of a farmer and dairyman, Sidney and Mary Maria Dinning .... at 66 Saltmore, Stoke St Gregory. Edwin emigrated to Australia and a search of records have shown that lived in the Victoria region. He is recorded as being a driver with a home at Drysdale Road, Moolap, Corio. He married a Elizabeth Jane Everett in 1900 and their children included John Edwin Selway, born 1905 and Elsie Elizabeth Selway. Further records show that John Edwin died in 1949 at Geelong, Victoria, Australia. His father Edwin Selway died in 1955, also at Geelong.

ROSE SELWAY(Rosina) married William James Lewis of Aberdare, South Wales.

EVA BLANCH SELWAY married to someone with the family name of HODD.

JAMES WALTER SELWAY ( known as Walter) He married Louise Watts at Bethesda Chapel, Monk Street, Aberdare on 1 October 1905. Although he was born in Somerset and worked as a bargeman, he moved to South Wales. James and Louise had the following children between 1906 and 1921 ... Martha Elizabeth Selway, Ada Evelyn Selway, Elma Jean Selway who died as a child, Charles H Selway, Walter James Selway, Rosina Selway, Haydn Selway, Jean Elma Selway.

Hayden married Enid and lived in South Wales. Their children are Robin and Steven Selway, living in the South of England. Robin’s children are Mark and Donna. Mark’s wife, Karen, has contributed to the family history.

FLORENCE SELWAY married Ted Bernard. They were living in North Petherton, Somerset in 1901.

JAMES WALTER AND LOUISE SELWAY

ENID & HAYDON SELWAY (son of James Walter)

Dannie & Dick Selway with Geoff Selway (middle) in Barcelona April 2009

Descendants of HENRY SELWAY (Sawley) 3, 1833 and ELIZA MEAD

1 HENRY SELWAY (SAWLEY) 3

.. +Eliza Mead

............. 2 James Henry Selway

............. 2 Frederick Charles Selway

............. 2 Eliza Jane Selway

................. +Frederick John Farrant

............. 2 Alice A Selway

................. +Fredrick Allen

............. 2 Edwin Selway (Salway)

................. +Elizabeth Jane Everett

............. 2 Ernest Selway

................. +Margaret Jones

............. 2 Rose Selway (Rosina)

................. +William Lewis

............. 2 Eva Blanch Selway

................. +..... Hodd

............. 2 Harry Selway

................. +Mary Gwenllian Jones

............. 2 James Walter Selway

................. +Louise Watts

............. 2 Florence Selway

................. +Ted Bernard

THE SOUTH WALES COAL MINES

South Wales' valleys and mountain ridges were once a very rural area of great natural beauty, famous for its river valleys and ancient forests. This changed to a considerable extent during early the Industrial Revolution when the Glamorgan and Monmouthshire areas were exploited for coal and iron. By the 1830s, hundreds of tons of coal were being transported by barge to ports in Cardiff and Newport. In the 1870s, coal was transported by rail networks to these docks.

The Marquess of Bute, who owned much of the land north of Cardiff, built a railway system on his land that stretched from Cardiff into many of the valleys where the coal was being found. Lord Bute then charged taxes per ton of coal that was transported out using his railways. With coal mining and iron smelting being the main trades of South Wales, many thousands of immigrants from England, Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall and even Italy came and set up homes in the valleys and cities. Very many came from other mining areas such as Somerset, the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire and the tin mines of Cornwall, as a large but experienced and willing workforce was required. Whilst some of the migrants eventually left the area, many settled and established in the South Wales valleys between Swansea and Monmouth, English speaking communities with a unique identity. Industrial workers were housed in cottages and terraced houses close to the mines and foundries in which they worked. The large influx over the years caused overcrowding which lead to outbreaks of Cholera, and on the social side, the near-loss of the Welsh language in the area.

Although the coal mines offered work, it was extremely hard and never without danger. Explosions and other accidents were bound to happen in such conditions and many men died as a result of such work.

The 1930s saw the loss of almost half of the coal pits in the area, and this number declined further in the years following Second World War. Now, very little coal mining exists.