Welsh & Welsh-Australian Llewellyns in Macon County, Missouri
Clete Ramsey - May 14, 2012
Recently, while cleaning up my notes after looking into the descendents of Charles E. Lewellin (1826-1901) and Mary E. (Ridings) Lewellin (1833-1911), I returned to examine some Llewellyns who had lived in Macon County, Missouri, where Joseph Fayette Lewellin (1857-1927), a son of Charles and Mary Lewellin, died. I recalled having seen Llewellyn death certificates from Macon County in the Missouri State Archives’ death certificate database (http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/deathcertificates), a source to which I refer frequently.
The database holds these Llewellyn death certificates from Macon County:
Jas. Llewellyn 18 January 1926 Certificate No. 1746-b
John Llewellyn 15 November 1927 Certificate No.34057
Llewellyn D. Llewellyn 25 June 1913 Certificate No. 20210
Sarah Ann Llewellyn 19 April 1923 Certificate No. 13290-c
In a 2 April 1999 post by Donna Lester, “Evan, William and Daniel Llewellyn,” I saw on the Genealogy.com Llewellyn family GenForum, she noted that her great-grandparents, Daniel Llewellyn and Mary Ann (Badger) Llewellyn, had come to America in 1850, and settled in Macon County, Missouri, after stops in Pennsylvania and Illinois.
While listed in the Missouri State Archives’ death certificate database as “Jas. Llewellyn,” a miner born in Missouri in 1850, I believe he actually was Joseph “Joe” Llewellyn, who was listed on the 1920 census as having been born in Illinois in 1850. The only other resident of Joe Llewellyn’s household in Macon County in 1920 was his wife Sarah, also 70. She was Sarah Ann (Sneed) Llewellyn who died in Macon County on 19 April 1923 (Certificate No. 13290-c above).
In her 2 April 1999 post, Donna Lester identified Joseph Llewellyn, who married Sarah Ann Sneed, as a son of Daniel Llewellyn and Mary Ann (Badger) Llewellyn.
Macon County was a coal-mining center in Missouri, and several histories note coal was discovered there in 1860 by Alexander Rector, when he was digging a well for farmer Wilburn Hughes 1 1/2 miles west of Bevier. Macon County’s coal mines are said to have attracted miners from Wales. I’m certain Llewellyn GenForum poster Donna Lester is/was Macon County resident Donna (Llewellyn) Lester, who authored the 1993 book, “Our Black Diamond Heritage: A Pictorial History of the Coal Mining Areas of Macon County, Missouri.”
Wales-born Llewellyn D. Llewellyn lived and died in Bevier Township. This is some of the information his death certificate contained, with my additions in brackets:
File No. 20210
Full Name: Llewellyn D. Llewellyn
Pace of Death: Bevier, Macon County, Missouri
Date of Death: 25 June 1913
Cause of Death: Senile Debility; Cystitis
Personal Particulars: Male; White; Married
Occupation: Carpenter & Cabinet Maker (Retired)
Age at Death: 80 years; 5 months; 17 days
Date of Birth: 8 January 1833
Birthplace: Aberdare, Wales
Name of Father: David Llewellyn
Birthplace of Father: Wales
Maiden Name of Mother: Margaret Lewis
Birthplace of Mother: Wales
Place of Removal: Dawn [Livingston County], Missouri
Date of Burial: 26 June 1913
Undertaker: F. O. DeLong, Bevier, Missouri [Fred O. DeLong or Delong]
Informant: John Llewellyn, Bevier, Missouri
Searching the 1880 census, I found this household in Blue Mound Township, Livingston County, Missouri:
LLEWELLYN Llewellyn D. Head Married Male 47 White Wales Wales Wales Farmer
LLEWELLYN Mary Wife Married Female White 47 Wales Wales Wales Keeping House
LLEWELLYN David Son Single Male 26 Australia Wales Wales Work on Farm
LLEWELLYN John Son Single Male White 20 Australia Wales Wales Work on Farm
LLEWELLYN Lewis Son Single Male White 18 Australia Wales Wales
LLEWELLYN Edward Son Single Male White 9 MO Wales Wales
LLEWELLYN Thomas Son Single Male White 7 MO Wales Wales
By 1900, Llewellyn D. Llewellyn’s household in Bevier, Bevier Township, Macon County, Missouri, was down to two people:
LLEWELLYN L. Head 68 (b. Jan. 1832) White Male Married Wales Wales Wales Carpenter
LLEWELLYN Mary Wife 67 (b. Apr 1833) White Female Married Wales Wales Wales
According to the census, the Llewellyns had been married for 47 years. Mary had had 10 children; six still living. The year they immigrated into the United States was 1869, and they had been in the country 31 years. Llewellyn Llewellyn was a naturalized U.S. citizen. Both he and his wife could read and write English. They rented their home, which they appeared to share with a family with the last name of Davis. John Davis, a teamster, and his wife Ann were both born in Wales, and had come to the United States in 1866. Jno. J. Richard, a coal miner, was head of the household listed immediately after the Llewellyn household. He and his wife Ann were both born in Wales, and had come to the United States in 1869. There were a goodly number of other individuals on the same census page who had been born in Wales or who had at least one parent born there.
In 1910, Llewellyn and Mary Llewellyn, both 77, were again the only residents listed in a household in Bevier. Llewellyn Llewellyn was dead before 1920. So far, I haven’t found Mary on the 1920 census or in the Missouri death certificate database.
The Missouri death certificate database holds death certificates for at least two of their Australia-born sons; David and John:
File No. 25467
Full Name: David E. Llewellyn
Pace of Death: Chillicothe, Livingston County, Missouri [Chillicothe is the county seat.]
Date of Death: 3 August 1919
Cause of Death: Chronic [illegible] Nephritis
Residence: 1107 Calhoun St., First Ward [Chillicothe]
Personal Particulars: Male; White; Married
Occupation: Grocery Salesman
Age at Death: 65 years; 4 months; 6 days
Date of Birth: 7 March 1854
Birthplace: Milburn, Australia [Melbourne, Victoria, Australia]
Wife: Ella Llewellyn
Name of Father: Llewellyn D. Llewellyn
Birthplace of Father: Wayles [Wales]
Maiden Name of Mother: Mary Jenkins
Birthplace of Mother: Wayles [Wales]
Place of Removal: Collar Cemetery, Dawn [Livingston County], Missouri
Date of Burial: 26 June 1913
Undertaker: J. Mohrs & Son, Chillicothe, Missouri
Informant: Ella Llewellyn, Chillicothe, Missouri
[Note: The database also holds a death certificate for David Llewellyn’s widow, Ella (Dobson) Llewellyn (1867-1934), who was born in Chillicothe.]
File No. 34057
Full Name: John Llewellyn
Pace of Death: Bevier, Macon County, Missouri
Date of Death: 15 November 1927
Cause of Death: Bronchial Asthma and Emphysema
Personal Particulars: Male; White; Married
Occupation: Coal Miner
Age at Death: 68 years; 0 months; 27 days
Date of Birth: 19 October 1859
Birthplace: Melbourne, Australia
Wife: Mary L. Llewellyn
Name of Father: Llewellyn Llewellyn
Birthplace of Father: Abadeer [Aberdare?], Wales
Maiden Name of Mother: Mary Lewis
Birthplace of Mother: Abadeer [Aberdare?], Wales
Place of Burial, Cremation, or Removal: East Oakwood [Cemetery, Bevier]
Date of Burial: 17 November 1927
Undertaker: H. G. Edwards, Bevier, Missouri
Informant: Mary L. Llewellyn, Bevier, Missouri
The 1910 census reflects John’s wife Mary as having been born in Wales about 1851. Her year of immigration to the United States was 1880. I don’t know when or where she died.
Curious about the Wales-Australia-Missouri connection, I searched the Llewellyn GenForum for “Australia” and hit on a 24 November 2008 posting by Margaret Snowman about Jenkin Llewellyn, who was born in Victoria, Australia, in 1855.
I found a Jenkin Llewellyn in California on the 1880 census. It’s not clear to me if he was the Jenkin Llewellyn for whom Margaret Snowman was searching, but the California-resident Jenkin Llewellyn had a connection to north-central Missouri, which leaves me wondering if he was kin to Llewellyn and Mary Llewellyn.
There is a LDS Church FamilySearch Individual Record noting Jenkin Llewellyn married Mary E. Tudor in Livingston County, Missouri, on 12 November 1879, a time when Llewellyn Llewellyn and his family most likely were living in the county.
On the 1880 census, I found Jenkin Lewellen, Mary Lewellen, and their one-month-old, unnamed son in what appears to be a hotel in San Francisco, California. From the 80-plus individuals named in the San Francisco “household,” these were the entries for the Lewellen trio:
LEWELLEN Jenkin Other Married Male White 25 AUSTRALIA WALES WALES Miner
LEWELLEN Mary Other Married Female White 18 IRE IRE IRE At Home
LEWELLEN ----- Other Single Male White 1M CA AUSTRALIA IRE
I suspect the hotel was the Grand Hotel. Among those listed in the “household” were Squire P. Dewey and Theodore Payne. New Yorkers by birth, they were partners in the San Francisco firm of Dewey & Payne. An 1879 city directory for San Francisco lists their residences as the Grand Hotel. The occupation of each was listed on the 1880 census as “Capitalist.” At least one source named Squire P. Dewey as the owner of the Grand Hotel.
It’s possible Jenkin Llewellyn was counted twice on the 1880 census. There was a Jenkin Llewellyn heading this household in Fish Creek Wells, Eureka County, Nevada, in 1880:
LLEWELLYN Jenkin Head Married Male White 24 AUSTRALIA WALES WALES Miner
TIPPIT Charles Other Single Male White 30 ENG ENG ENG Miner
Find A Grave lists Jenkin Llewellyn (b. 1856, Australia; d. 1907, CA), Mary Ellen (Tudor) Llewellyn (1861-1948), Walter T. Llewellyn (b. 1880, CA; d. 1901, CO), David Arthur Llewellyn (b. 1885 MT; d. 1917, NB), and Albert Jenkin Llewellyn (1889-1956) as buried at the Akron Cemetery, Akron, Washington County, Colorado. Estella (Alley) Llewellyn (1889-1956), the wife of Albert Jenkin Llewellyn, is also buried in the Akron Cemetery.
Marlea Llewellyn - May 16, 2012
What I find extremely interesting is that my Llewellyn line also came from Wales at that time frame and I have been told that my Noah who married Cecelia Davis was on the same boat. I have never been able to find anything as to an exact date or ship registry.