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A John family of Pembrokeshire
Section BFBI-John-1

Introduction

My mother, Edith Marylin BRUSH, was born a JOHN. Her family, on her father's side, came from Pembrokeshire in South West Wales. The family roots are in a small area of Pembrokeshire in and south of Haverfordwest, ringed by the Western branch of the river Cleddau.  She was very proud of her Welsh heritage.  I inherited from her a large red box of mostly handwritten notes and charts of her JOHN family history (and a similar box about her mother's UMPELBY family).  This document is primarily a transcription and expansion of those notes.  She details many of her sources but (for the most part) I have not tried to verify them nor to identify which bit of information came from each source.

I have entitled this history "A" JOHN family, not "the" JOHN family. A search in the 1851 census records for 'JOHN' living in Pembrokeshire delivers 2,879 results. Even being more specific and searching for 'William JOHN' born 1790 +/- 10 years gives 31 hits.  One of them is my great-great grandfather. Some of them may be his cousins. Some will not be. Care is needed.

Unusually, this story begins part-way through the family history rather than with the earliest entries.

Section 2: Richard 1828-1914

Richard [J13005] is not the beginning of the JOHN story but he is a convenient and pivotal person for me to begin with, and seems to be well documented. He was my great-great-grandfather.

Richard was born in August 1828; a year when George IV is on the throne and the Duke of Wellington becomes Prime Minister.

Richard's parents were William[J12001] and Elizabeth who are considered in the next section.  One of Mum's handwritten trees records that his birth was on 12 August and that this was obtained from "STJ rec & from bible".  STJ was Sidney Thomas JOHN, my grandfather.  On another tree she says he was baptised on 12 August and that 'family tradition' (as passed to her by Betty Evans) says he was born on 10 August.

Richard married Mary LLEWHELLYN [J13009] on Christmas Eve 1859 at Burton Church . He was then a fisherman living at Llangwm, as he had been at the 1851 census. Mary is identified as living at Houghton, which is a village or hamlet within the parish of Burton. This is a sparse rural community. The population of the whole of Burton parish around 1870 is just 1,029 in 195 houses

Later that year, on 1 July 1901, at St Mary's Church Ilford, Seymour Stuart UMPELBY married Edith Lydia LEWIS, born 9 November 1875 in Paddington.  The LEWIS history is not yet online but I do have some material assembled by my mother.

A perfect illustration of why names should be added promptly to photos.  We have no idea who most of the people are.  Is this really at "The Bungalow" mentioned in the press cutting as the reception venue?  The contrast between the utilitarian housing and the smart dress of the guests is particularly striking.

Seymour and Edith UMPELBY had three children.  Edith Vera was born on 4 March 1902 in Ilford and Marjorie Evelyn (my grandmother) on 10 February 1906 at 62 Eastwood Road in Ilford.  At 1906 Seymour has progressed to being an 'Insurance Official'.

Seymour, Edith and daughters Vera and Marjorie were at 1911 living at 62 Eastwood Road in Ilford, Essex . It is recorded in the census as a 9 room house, which is relatively large. He was by this time an 'Insurance Superintendent'.

Marjorie and Vera.  The photo is undated but could be of them aged 9 and 5 (?) which would place them in 1911.

A third child, Seymour Albert Henry, (known to us normally as Henry) was born on 13 March 1912 in the Acton registration district.(1)

Seymour's mother Eliza died on 10 February 1917 and his father George died, age 86, on 24 April 1927.  They were both buried at Hanwell Cemetery.

Edith Lydia Umpelby, nee Lewis, died age 48 at 3 Montague Gardens in Acton on 11 January 1924. Seymour was present. She was buried at Hanwell.

On 5th August 1926, Edith Vera UMPELBY married Cyril Owen NEIL at St Martin's in Ruislip.

On Monday 1 July 1929 Marjorie Evelyn UMPELBY married Sydney Thomas JOHN at Christ Church, Willesden Lane, Brondesbury Park, London NW.   The reception afterwards, brief by modern standards, was from 3 to 5 pm at Christchurch Hall.  The history of the John family is in BFBI-John

Their home after the marriage was at 61 Dawlish Avenue, Palmers Green in North London which woud be the family home until the 1960s.

Marjorie and Sidney's only child, my mother Edith Marilyn JOHN, was born on 17 June 1932.  The story from this point focuses on her and is continued in : BFBI-EMB1.htm

With both daughters married, Seymour Stuart Umpelby remarried in 1930 to Alice Annie Barber, who Mum identified as "Aunt" Alice. {Copy press report of marriage at Ruislip in file}  Seymour Stuart UMPELBY died at 114 Woodcock Hill on 1 August 1942, aged 69 of liver cancer. Alice, his 2nd wife was present.

(1) back to text    His short form birth certificate in the file.

(2) back to text   

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(4) back to text