End 5th Generation Oakley Leighs

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End of 5th Generation of Oakley Leighs

8th Generation of Leighs

 
84. JOHN HUNTINGDON LEIGH (chr 31 Mar 1785 Llanedi - aft 1834 ?Llangan, Glams)
Father: 74 Rev. EDMUND LEIGH
unmd (1) ELIZABETH WILLIAMS ( ? – ? ) 

109. Dafydd LEIGH (chr 23 Mar 1822 Llandeilo-Talybont - ?)

md (2) JENETT JENKINS of Ewenny, spinster (abt 1795 - ?1862 Swansea ) on 13 Nov 1826 in Llangan

110a. Edward Huntingdon LEIGH (abt 1826 – aft 1841 census)

110b. Selina LEIGH (abt 1831 –?)

110c. Jenett LEIGH (abt 1834 – aft 1861)
md William Morgan in Neath in 1859

Named as JOHN LEIGH in the Llanedi Bishop's Transcripts, later he had the middle name Huntingdon, which presumably honored the benefactress of the Methodists, Lady Selina Huntingdon. In Llandeilo-Talybont church records we found JOHN's son Dafydd by ELIZABETH WILLIAMS without marriage. He was described as a “draper of Pontardulais” when Dafydd was baptized by JOHN's younger brother Rev. (later Vicar) WILLIAM LEIGH. I did not study Dafydd further, but according to Derek Williams he was listed as a farm laborer near Pontardulais in 1841, 1851, and 1861. It is only a coincidence that Dafydd’s mother was named ELIZABETH WILLIAMS, and she was not related to the ELIZABETH WILLIAM who was the unmarried mother of 77.DAVID LEIGH. Possibly JOHN married Elizabeth because at his later marriage to JENNET JENKINS in 1826, he was called “widower” by his brother Rev. WILLIAM LEIGH, who officiated at the marriage. SAMUEL LEIGH's journal gave JOHN HUNTINGDON a son Edward Huntingdon LEIGH (p.27), and census records indicate that Edward was a child of this marriage in Llangan. JOHN signed his name as “J. Huntingdon Leigh” and he was said to be “of this parish” but I did not study the parish records after Rev WILLIAM left in 1834. Census records also show two daughters, according to Derek Williams, though they do not appear in the Llangan Transcripts.

85. NATHANIEL LEIGH (chr 30 Aug 1787 Llanedi – 1856?), schoolmaster.
Father: 74 Rev. EDMUND LEIGH

md JANE UNKNOWN (abt 1786 – 1851-1856?)

111a. Ann LEIGH (chr 31 Mar 1826 St Peter's - ?)

111b. Jane LEIGH (abt 1829 – aft 1861)

NATHANIEL became schoolmaster of the National School for boys in Carmarthen when it opened in November, 1822 to enlarge educational opportunities for working class and other boys who could not attend the famous Carmarthen grammar school founded by Elizabeth I in the Renaissance. NATHANIEL left the school by 1835, according to Derek Williams, who followed the family in indexed census records. By 1841 NATHANIEL was schoolmaster at the Duchess of Kent parish school in Llanedwen in north Wales, and by 1851 he was a schoolmaster in Liverpool and his daughter Jane was listed as a servant girl for a merchant nearby. He and his wife both died before the next census in 1861, when his daughter Jane was again listed as a servant for a merchant. We know nothing further of Ann and nothing of possible descendants of the girls.

87. Vicar WILLIAM LEIGH (chr 9 Mar 1791 Llanedi - 23 Feb 1860 Eglwysilan, Glams.).
Father: 74 Rev. EDMUND LEIGH

md MARY DAVIS (abt 1796 - 30 Sep 1871 Eglwysilan) on 9 Apr 1816 in Llannon, Carms.

Said to be Rev. EDMUND’s favorite son, WILLIAM remained pastor in the two neighboring villages of Eglwysilan and Llanfabon for over a quarter century and (also like his father) had a large family with at least two sons and two grandsons who became clergymen. Like his father he was sympathetic to the "Independent" clergy (i.e. not ordained in the Church of England/Wales), as is clear from his letter advocating such an Independent minister for the parish of Llanfabon dated 27 September 1849 (see Rev. EDMUND’s biography). Vicar WILLIAM must have been friendly with his siblings, because his niece REBECCA (DANIEL’s youngest daughter) was buried at Eglwysilan in 1847 on the same day that her infant son James Leigh EDWARDS was baptized by Vicar WILLIAM’S eldest son, the second Rev. Edmund LEIGH. Vicar WILLIAM’s children’s christening dates are from church records where he was a curate from 1817 to 1834. WILLIAM’S family itself formed its own close community.

In the Eglwysilan churchyard, the family cemetery plot is iron railed and near the church door. It has three flat stones: one for CATHERINE, first wife of JOHN, and WILLIAM, one for three unmarried children (Richard Nash, Letitia Vera, and Reginald Heber), and one for Vicar WILLIAM, his wife MARY, and unmarried daughter Mary Ann. Inside the church is also a wall tablet at the end of the chancel listing the Vicar, his wife, their four unmarried children, and CATHERINE, wife of JOHN, with the inscription BLESSED ARE THE DEAD WHICH DIE IN THE LORD.

112. Rev. EDMUND LEIGH (chr 15 Jan 1817- Dec 1871?Aberavon, Glams.)
md Mary HOOKER (abt 1821 Winnal, Hants - ?1878) in 1843 in Bath, England

This second Rev. Edmund Leigh studied at Jesus College, Oxford University until about 1839, became a curate with his father in Eglwysilan, then from 1844 worked in Monmouthshire (Mamhilad, Bedwelty, and Tredegar parishes). Several documents from the National Library of Wales diocesan collection and the Clergy Lists show his career, but with all this data on his parishes we found no reference to a wife or children. The journal of 103.SAMUEL LEIGH says Edmund’s wife was named Mary and she died by 1878, after his death "in 1871" (pp.4,26), and the journal of Samuel’s son WILLIAM DAVID LEIGH (when he was living in Wales in 1890) says this second Rev. Edmund died in Aberavon (p.41). Census results give Mary’s name as Hooker. Without children of their own they brought up Sarah, the younger daughter of Edmund’s brother JOHN after his first wife died, according to Derek Williams’ reading of the censuses.

113. JOHN LEIGH M.D. (chr 9 Apr 1819 Llandeilo-Talybont - 20 Dec 1884 Llanfabon)
md (1) CATHERINE BASSETT (abt 1816 – bur 18 Nov1848 Eglwysilan) in 1845 Bridgend

This JOHN was one of the few physicians in our LEIGH family, and the medical profession was taken up by his younger brother SAMUEL, his eldest son WILLIAM and one grandson, HUBERT. In JOHN’s first marriage, only two daughters were born before CATHERINE’s early death and burial in the churchyard of her father-in-law Vicar WILLIAM, as said above. MARY AGNES had been christened on 1 October 1846 and SARAH LOUISE on 23 September 1847. According to the census results, the former daughter made a good marriage to THOMAS WILLIAMS, a solicitor in Merthyr Tydfil, but he died in 1886 leaving her with 8 young children. The second daughter was brought up by JOHN’s elder brother Rev. EDMUND, and she married DAVID PARKER MORGAN, vicar of Aberavon then Aberdovey. At census time in 1851 JOHN was joined at least temporarily by his brother SAMUEL as a medical assistant and by his sisters Sarah and ELIZABETH, who were becoming of marriageable age.

md (2) HARRIET WATKIN (abt 1818 Bedwas – Dec 1897) on 23 Jun 1853 in Bedwas

JOHN eventually became a Justice of the Peace, and he described himself as “Esquire” by the census of 1871. He was known for his avid riding to hounds, and for founding the “Llanfabon Hounds.” This sport and pastime was continued by his younger brother SAMUEL, as described by T.F. Holley in an article in the Journal of the Gelligaer Historical Society in 2005. Holley also gives invaluable references to contemporary newspaper accounts of LEIGH family weddings and burials, including descriptions of wedding presents given, lists of family members attending an event, and full obituaries. JOHN died before his wife, and HARRIET was listed as a widow in the census of 1891. At age 72, she still lived in Llanfabon with a servant girl aged 20, and she was listed as speaking both English and Welsh.

The eldest son of this second marriage, WILLIAM WATKIN LEIGH M.D., was included in the book Famous Welshmen (1908) for his medical service in the Welsh branch of the British Medical Association. In turn, WILLIAM WATKIN’S youngest son, HUBERT VERE LEIGH MD, became even more widely known when he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his work in command of military hospitals during both world wars. Thus he could list the distinction O.B.E. after his name and medical degree. Following World War II he acquired a coat of arms and was included in Burke's Landed Gentry (1952 ed). He is the only LEIGH we know of (besides BRIDGETT LEIGH and Sir FRANCIS LLOYD) to appear in any of the Burke books with his ancestry back to RICHARD LEIGH in the time of Queen Elizabeth I. HUBERT married MARGARET ANN WALSH and had one daughter, Patricia Elizabeth Louisa LEIGH, who died young. He retired to Bro Castle near Bridgend, Glamorgan.

WILLIAM WATKIN’s eldest son, Rev. John Franklen William LEIGH, followed the more traditional path in the LEIGH family by becoming a clergyman. According to Clergy List he studied at Clare College, Cambridge, and became curate at Trevethin, Pontypool, Mons. Then he was a Royal Navy chaplain on HMS Venus in 1909-10, and became rector of Rockhampton in Gloucester. He married Dora Ellen Richmond, daughter of the late rector of Rockhampton. He had one other brother, who died in the first world war and a sister Mabel Harriet Louisa, who married twice but we learned of no children.

114. Mary Ann LEIGH (chr 6 Feb 1822 Llandeilo-Talybont - 16 Jan 1866 Eglwysilan)

She remained single and was living in Caerphilly, Glams. at her death. She was then age 43 according to the Bishop’s Transcripts, but the gravestone gives her age as 15 in error, according to the Memorial Inscriptions transcribed by the Glamorgan Family History Society, as sent to us by email from Carole Davidson on 16 March 1998

115. WILLIAM LEIGH (b. 23 Sep chr 5 Oct 1823 Llangan – 14 Jun 1908 Eglwysilan)
md MARY ANN MIDDLETON (1818 Clun Shropshire – 1906) in 1845 in Ludlow

This William was buried in the family plot, and his gravestone gives birth & death dates, according to the Memorial Inscriptions transcribed by the Glamorgan Family History Society, sent us by email from Carole Davidson on 16 March 1998. He was christened in Llangan on 5 Oct 1823. According to Derek Williams, the census and BMD records on www.ancestry.co.uk show his wife and one son RICHARD MIDDLETON LEIGH, who was educated at a grammar school but (like his father) apprenticed and employed as an ironmonger according to the 1871 census. Then by 1881 RICHARD was listed as a “curate in Accrington, Lancashire.” I cannot explain this radical change in occupation. RICHARD married a woman named Clara in 1845, and they had four daughters born near Blackpool and in Shropshire according to Derek Williams. WILLIAM and MARY ANN lived in various towns in England, but after her death and burial in Sussex in 1906, WILLIAM returned to Eglwysilan, where he later was buried.

116. Sarah LEIGH (chr 23 May 1825 Llangan – 1890 Eglwysilan)
md Henry JACKSON (1826 Cumrew, Cumberland – 1884 Eglwysillan) in 1858

This daughter Sarah and her sister Elizabeth were listed together (with both marrying men named Jackson) in the journal of SAMUEL LEIGH (pp.4-5,25-26), but Sarah is much better documented than Elizabeth. Sarah was educated at a Clergy School in Bristol before her marriage in Abergavenny. Henry Jackson was born in Cumrew, Cumberland, and was a civil engineer living in Caerphilly in 1871, but by the 1881 census they lived in Eglwysilan and he described himself as “Esquire” and was a Justice of the Peace. They were childless, according to the census results found by Derek Williams.

117. Richard Nash LEIGH (chr 5 Dec 1826 Llangan - 20 Mar 1847 Eglwysilan)

He died as a young man on 15 Mar 1847 in the Vicarage of Eglwysilan and was buried in the churchyard. Surprisingly we could find no certain information about his life.

118. SAMUEL LEIGH M.D. (chr 19 Oct 1828 Llangan – 1897 Gelligaer)
md. MARY ANN PERROTT (1832 Gelligaer – 1878 Gelligaer) in 1854

SAMUEL was listed in the Utah journal of SAMUEL LEIGH, and is well documented as the second physician in Vicar WILLIAM’s family. He had been a medical assistant to his elder brother JOHN. After his marriage they lived first in Llantwitfardre where their son William Alfred LEIGH was christened (Film No.883870 computer abstract of Bishop’s Transcripts on Film no.104480), and then by the 1861 census moved to MARY ANN’S home not far from Llanfabon. SAMUEL was like his brother JOHN not only in his medical career but also in his passion for hunting to hounds according to the valuable article by T.F. Holley in the Journal of the Gelligaer Historical Society. SAMUEL continued the “Llanfabon Hounds” started by JOHN, naming them the “Cascade Hounds” which he owned and hunted with. SAMUEL’s only son William Alfred married but died a decade before his father’s death according to the census records found by Derek Williams. William Alfred had no known career and apparently could live well without working.

119. Elizabeth LEIGH (chr 29 Aug 1830 Llangan - ?)
md Joseph JACKSON

See the note on 116.Sarah. We have no documentation of this marriage listed in SAMUEL’s journal, though a widowed Elizabeth Jackson with two daughters born in India was found in England in the 1881, 1891, and 1901 census records, who conceivably could be our Elizabeth if she married a man headed for a colonial career. There is no evidence besides these census reports of a widowed Elizabeth Jackson born in Llangan and of a similar age to ours.

120. Leticia Vera LEIGH (chr 24 Jun 1832 Llangan - 13 Sep 1859 Eglwysilan).

She lived in Woodfield, apparently single, and was buried in Eglwysilan churchyard. Her death date and age were given on her gravestone, according to the Memorial Inscriptions transcribed by the Glamorgan Family History Society, sent us by email from Carole Davidson on 16 March 1998.

121. DECIMA LEIGH (chr 14 Jun 1834 Eglwysilan - 1862)
md WILLIAM ANGEL THOMAS (1840 Milford, Pembs. - ?), schoolmaster, before 1862

Their son William George Leigh THOMAS was christened on 9 May 1862 in Llanfabon by DECIMA'S younger brother, Rector DANIEL LEIGH. Both DECIMA and her son died in that same year. According to Derek Williams, her widower remarried, taught school in London, and had a new family there.

122. Rector DANIEL LEIGH (chr 31 Jan 1837 Eglwysilan - aft 1901 ?Swansea)
md ANNE GRIFFITH (1836 Neath – 1891Llanfabon) in 1861

ANNE was the daughter of Daniel GRIFFITH, vicar of Llantwit-juxta-Neath. DANIEL LEIGH began as curate in Llanwonno, moved to Dowlais, then to Aberdare before taking his father’s place as rector of Llanfabon in 1870. The eldest son of DANIEL and ANNE was the second grandson of Vicar WILLIAM to become a clergyman. JOHN ROWLAND LEIGH (chr 1862 d.1911) studied at Oriel College, Oxford, and was ordained by 1885. After several Welsh parishes he settled as vicar of Yalding, Maidstone, Kent from 1896, according to the Clergy List of 1899, then became Canon of Yalding. He and his wife MARGARET DAVIES of Pontypridd (m. 1887) had four sons and a daughter, at least three of whom have descendants.

Four of Rector DANIEL’s younger sons were also listed in the 1891 census: Arthur W (brewer), Daniel Bertie (banker’s clerk), Edward Thomas Griffith (student), and Edmund C (student of law) (Census fiche no.6099519). Another son must have been away during the census, Richard Edward who was educated at Llandovery College and Oxford University and became a clergyman at Andover in Hampshire, according to Derek Williams’ study of census records on ancestry.co.uk. DANIEL and ANNE’s daughter Eleanor Sarah must be the girl called “Nellie Leigh, niece” who was listed in the census of 1891 as living with John and Ann Thomas in Garth near Llanfabon. Another daughter Alice Mary died in 1890 before this census. ANNE died in 1891, and Rector DANIEL was retired as a widower in Llanfabon, then later apparently moved to Swansea.

123. Reginald Heber LEIGH (chr 15 Apr 1839 - 24 Apr 1839 both Eglwysilan)

124. Reginald Heber LEIGH M.D.(chr 6 Feb 1841 Eglwysilan - ?)
md (1) Annie Maria Tomney (?Dublin – 1878 Newcastle Emlyn) in 1871
md (2) Anne Evans (? - ? ) in 1879

These two sons were named after the popular writer of hymns, Reginald Heber. This one who lived to adulthood became a surgeon and lived in Cefnpennar near Aberdare, according to Derek Williams, but I have no further information on him.

Sources: Bishop's Transcripts of Llanedi (Film no.105162), Eglwysilan (Film no.104869), Llanfabon (Film no.104881), and Llangan (Film no.104927); 1891 Census of Llanfabon on microfiche 6099519; online censuses used by Derek Williams at www.ancestry.com.uk ; Clergy Lists; Alumni oxoniensis; Burke's Landed Gentry (1952 ed.); T.F. Holley, “The Llanfabon/Cascade Hounds,” Journal of the Gelligaer Historical Society, 15 (2005), 45-62.