The WOOLLEY family of Swansea, Glamorgan

Family names of interest: WOOLLEY (and variants WOLLEY, WALLEY), plus THOMAS, HARRIES, DAVIES and JAMES.

My great-great-grandfather George William WOOLLEY was born in Hastings, Sussex in about 1837, the son of George and Rebecca WOOLLEY. In the 1851 census, he was listed as a 14 year old scholar, living with his parents in Hastings, but by the time of the 1861 census, he was a boarder at the "Scotch Hero" (a pub or hotel?) at 29 Wind Street, Swansea, occupation mariner. In the March quarter of 1862, he married my great-great-grandmother, Margaret THOMAS in Swansea. I assume that he started working as a seaman/mariner in Hastings, and one of the vessels he worked on bought him to Swansea where he met Margaret in the early 1860's.

George and Margaret has six children that I know of - three girls and three boys, born between 1862 and 1879. In the mid-1860s they were living in Frog Street, Swansea, but by the 1881 census, where their surname was given as WOLLEY, they were living at 8 Edward Street, Swansea, with George's occupation given as "master mariner".

Reg Davies excellent Welsh Mariners site has a database entry for George:

"On 26 Jan 1881 a Court of Inquiry was held at Cape Town into the stranding of the 'Mountain Ash' on 8 January 1881 on Monille (or Mouille) Point. George William Wolley the master was found in default, (neglect to use lead and anchor in due time). Cert suspended for 12 months. On 7 Apr 1881 1m cert sent to 8 Edward St., Swansea, GLA. On 25 Jan 1882 1m cert lost with 'Annie Corbit' on 28 Nov 1881. OC returned on 25 Jan 1882, (BT167/35/page?)."

By 1901, it appears that George had retired from the merchant service, his occupation given as "works watchman". Also in 1901, the census gives their surname as WALLEY, although it's not clear whether this was a deliberate change or an enumeration / transcription error.

One of George and Margaret's children was my great-grandmother, Margaret Annie WOOLLEY, born on 5 October 1865 at Frog Street, Swansea, and baptised at St. Mary, Swansea on 29 November 1865. In the March quarter of 1891 at Swansea, she married Joseph William Adams ROWLES. Joseph, a school teacher, was the son of Joseph Adams ROWLES, a Bristol Channel pilot from Pill, Somerset. It's possible that my great-grandparents, Joseph and Margaret, met because their fathers met professionally - perhaps Jospeh Adams ROWLES, piloted a vessel captained by George William WOOLLEY?

	The WOOLLEY family and Swansea, Glamorgan
Links The GENUKI pages for Glamorgan (lots of information and links). Rootsweb mailing lists for SWANSEA and GLAMORGAN Reg Davies Welsh Mariners site and database of merchant navy officers. Bryan Richards Swansea Mariners website The Swansea History website Try the LostCousins site.	Family names of interest: WOOLLEY (and variants WOLLEY, WALLEY), plus THOMAS, HARRIES, DAVIES and JAMES. My great-great-grandfather George William WOOLLEY was born in Hastings, Sussex in about 1837, the son of George and Rebecca WOOLLEY. In the 1851 census, he was listed as a 14 year old scholar, living with his parents in Hastings, but by the time of the 1861 census, he was a boarder at the "Scotch Hero" (a pub or hotel?) at 29 Wind Street, Swansea, occupation mariner. In the March quarter of 1862, he married my great-great-grandmother, Margaret THOMAS in Swansea. I assume that he started working as a seaman/mariner in Hastings, and one of the vessels he worked on bought him to Swansea where he met Margaret in the early 1860's. George and Margaret has six children that I know of - three girls and three boys, born between 1862 and 1879. In the mid-1860s they were living in Frog Street, Swansea, but by the 1881 census, where their surname was given as WOLLEY, they were living at 8 Edward Street, Swansea, with George's occupation given as "master mariner". Reg Davies excellent Welsh Mariners site has a database entry for George: "On 26 Jan 1881 a Court of Inquiry was held at Cape Town into the stranding of the 'Mountain Ash' on 8 January 1881 on Monille (or Mouille) Point. George William Wolley the master was found in default, (neglect to use lead and anchor in due time). Cert suspended for 12 months. On 7 Apr 1881 1m cert sent to 8 Edward St., Swansea, GLA. On 25 Jan 1882 1m cert lost with 'Annie Corbit' on 28 Nov 1881. OC returned on 25 Jan 1882, (BT167/35/page?)." By 1901, it appears that George had retired from the merchant service, his occupation given as "works watchman". Also in 1901, the census gives their surname as WALLEY, although it's not clear whether this was a deliberate change or an enumeration / transcription error. One of George and Margaret's children was my great-grandmother, Margaret Annie WOOLLEY, born on 5 October 1865 at Frog Street, Swansea, and baptised at St. Mary, Swansea on 29 November 1865. In the March quarter of 1891 at Swansea, she married Joseph William Adams ROWLES. Joseph, a school teacher, was the son of Joseph Adams ROWLES, a Bristol Channel pilot from Pill, Somerset. It's possible that my great-grandparents, Joseph and Margaret, met because their fathers met professionally - perhaps Jospeh Adams ROWLES, piloted a vessel captained by George William WOOLLEY?
	To contact me please email: jeremyb at pcug.org.au	© Jeremy Bishop

The WOOLLEY family and Swansea, Glamorgan

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