RAWLINGS OF MUCH COWARNE AND KINGTON
The William Rawlings who was the father of Naomi (Rawlings) Harrison was said
in census returns to have been born at Hereford,[1] with the
1891 returns specifically stating All Saints, Hereford.[2] However,
no William Rawlings is recorded in the All Saints
parish registers as having been baptised there in the period 1810 to 1820.
William’s age was given as seventy-six in the 1891 census returns and
seventy-nine on the certificate for his death in 1894. His age in 1881 was
given as fifty-six, apparently an error. The baptism of William Rawlings at
Much Cowarne in 1815, son of William and Eleanor, is
the only one I have been able to find which fits with the age of Naomi’s
father. The fact that William and Eleanor (Child) Rawlings were married at All
Saints and lived in that parish prior to William’s birth, coupled with William
(husband of Eleanor Child) being a mason, the same occupation as that of
William (husband of Ellen Jones), supports the identification of the latter as
a son of the former. Derek Vincent Davies, a descendant of Naomi (Rawlings)
Harrison, has DNA matches of 27 cM and 24 cM with descendants of Fanny (Rawlings) Potter, a daughter
of William and Eleanor (Child) Rawlings.[3]
William Rawlings, father of Naomi (Rawlings) Harrison, may have been married twice in view of the mother’s maiden names given on his children’s birth certificates: Edwards and Jones. In both cases, the wife’s name was Eleanor, or Ellen as it appears in some records. However, no marriage has been found for William with the bride’s surname as either Edwards or Jones, nor has a death or burial of the first wife been found which would allow William to marry again. It is possible that Eleanor Edwards and Ellen Jones were the same person, with the different surnames being due to a late use of the Welsh patronymic system or some other reason. Ruth Rawlings, born in 1842 with the mother’s name recorded as Edwards, is listed in the 1851 census returns along with other members of the family including Boaz Rawlings who was born in 1850 with the mother’s name recorded as Jones, so it seems clear that the father William Rawlings in each case is the same person.
An Elinor, daughter of John Edwards and Elizabeth his wife, was baptised on 23 June 1816 at Llanbrynmair Old Chapel.[4]
Derek Vincent Davies, a great-great-grandson of William and Ellen (Jones) Rawlings, has several DNA matches with descendants of individuals from Llanbrynmair surnamed Bebb. There was an Elinor Edward, illegitimate daughter of Blaney Edward and Elinor Bebb, baptised at Llanbrynmair on 24 February 1815. Blaney Edward and Elinor Bebb were married there later the same year.
Another possibility is suggested by DNA matches (17, 14
and 10 cM) Derek Vincent Davies has with descendants
of three children of David Robinson and Eleanor Edwards who were married in
1858 in Ohio. David was evidently from Llanbrynmair
and born in 1824, son of Evan Robinson and Elizabeth Jones. Eleanor was also
from Llanbrynmair and was a daughter of Josiah Edwards
and Margaret Jones who were married there in 1825. If Ellen, wife of William
Rawlings, was an illegitimate daughter of Margaret Jones, then the use of the
names Edwards and Jones would make sense. However, I have not found a birth or
baptism record for such a daughter, and the fact that Margaret had a daughter
called Eleanor who married David Robinson makes it less likely that she was
also the mother of an Eleanor or Ellen who married William Rawlings.
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RAWLINGS
1 RICHARD RAWLINGS married MARY.
Child
of Richard and Mary Rawlings:[5]
2 i WILLIAM RAWLINGS (1784-1866); m(1) ELEANOR CHILD; m(2) JANE ROGERS.
2 WILLIAM RAWLINGS of Burley Gate, Much Cowarne, Herefordshire, mason, was
born at Much Cowarne,[6] baptised
on 18 January 1784 at Much Cowarne[7] and died
on 10 March 1866 at Much Cowarne.[8] He
married first, on 26 May 1808 at All Saints, Hereford,
ELEANOR CHILD.[9] Eleanor was born about 1782 and buried on 24
September 1822 at Much Cowarne.[10]
William married second, on 21 August 1823 at Much Cowarne,
JANE ROGERS.[11]
Jane was born about 1795 at Bishop’s Frome[12]
and died about 1856.[13]
Children of William and Eleanor (Child) Rawlings:
i FANNY RAWLINGS, b Hereford, bap 19 Mar 1809, All Saints,
Hereford,[14] d 9 Nov 1870, Bethnal
Green;[15]
m 24 Feb 1834, Edgbaston, SAMUEL POTTER.[16]
3 ii WILLIAM
RAWLINGS (1815-1894); m(1) ELEANOR EDWARDS; m(2) ELLEN
JONES.
iii MARY RAWLINGS, bap 27 Jul 1817, Ocle Pychard,
Herefordshire.[17]
Children of William and Jane
(Rogers) Rawlings:[18]
iv ELIZABETH
RAWLINGS, bap 2 Jan 1825, Bromyard.[19]
v JOHN
RAWLINGS of Sedgley, builder, b ca 1829, Much Cowarne,[20]
d 25 Jun 1898, Roseville;[21]
m 28 Sep 1854, Walsall, MARY ANN BAKER.[22]
vi ELIZA
RAWLINGS, b ca 1837, Preston Wynne, Herefordshire;[23]
m(1) 3 Jul 1866, Pencombe,
THOMAS GURNEY;[24]
m(2) 11 May 1896, Moreton Jeffries, JOHN TURNER.[25]
3 WILLIAM RAWLINGS of Crooked Well, Kington, Herefordshire, stone mason, was
baptised on 14 May 1815 at Much Cowarne[26] and
died on 10 May 1894 at Kington.[27] He
married first, ELEANOR EDWARDS,[28] who was
born about 1815.[29]
William married second, ELLEN JONES,[30] who was
born about 1817 at Llanbrynmair, Montgomeryshire,[31] and
died on 22 January 1884 at Kington.[32]
Children of William and Eleanor (Edwards) Rawlings:[33]
i RUTH RAWLINGS, b 8 Nov 1842,
Abbey Dore, Herefordshire,[34]
d 28 Nov 1851, Leebotwood, Shropshire.[35]
ii NAOMI
RAWLINGS, b 16 May 1845, Hereford.[36]
Children of William and
Ellen (Jones) Rawlings:
iii NAOMI RAWLINGS, b 27 Nov 1847, Lymm, Cheshire,[37]
d 27 Apr 1903, Kington;[38]
m 30 Oct 1870, Kington Wesleyan Chapel, CHARLES HARRISON[39]
(see here).
iv BOAZ RAWLINGS, b 26 Feb 1850, Congleton, Cheshire,[40]
d 31 May 1854, Bodenham, Herefordshire.[41]
v RUTH
RAWLINGS, b 9 Dec 1852, Hereford,[42]
d 10 Feb 1855, Little Dean, Gloucestershire.[43]
[1] For example the 1861 census returns for Kington (National Archives, RG 9/4230, fol. 44).
[2] 1891 census returns, Kington (National Archives , RG 12/2077, fol. 41).
[3] Results from AncestryDNA.
[4] Llanbrynmair Old Chapel Congregational registers (National Archives, RG 4/4068).
[5] They may have also been the parents of Richard Rawlings (bap 4 Mar 1769, Much Cowarne) and Ann Rawlings (bap 20 Jan 1771, Much Cowarne), but the gap between the baptism of Ann in 1771 and the baptism of William in 1784 suggests the possibility that the parents were not the same. There appears to have been more than one contemporary Richard Rawlings in Much Cowarne.
[6] 1851 census returns, Preston Wynne (National Archives, HO 107/1977, fol. 374).
[7] Much Cowarne parish registers (Herefordshire Archive and Records Centre).
[8] Death certificate.
[9] All Saints, Hereford, parish registers (Herefordshire Archive and Records Centre). Richard Child and Fanny Child were witnesses. It is possible that Eleanor was a daughter of Richard and Anne Child who had children (including a daughter Fanny) baptised at All Saints, Hereford, around the time that Eleanor was born. Richard and Anne’s son Richard has descendants who have DNA matches of 10 cM and 9 cM with Derek Vincent Davies, a great-great-great-grandson of William and Eleanor (Child) Rawlings.
[10] Much Cowarne parish registers.
[11] Much Cowarne parish registers.
[12] 1851 census returns, Preston Wynne (National Archives, HO 107/1977, fol. 374).
[13] 1851 census returns, Preston Wynne (National Archives, HO 107/1977, fol. 374); 1861 census returns, Much Cowarne (National Archives, RG 9/1828, fol. 28).
[14] All Saints, Hereford, parish registers; 1851 census returns, Tower Hamlets (National Archives, HO 107/1547, fol. 193).
[15] Death certificate.
[16] Edgbaston parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[17] Ocle Pychard parish registers.
[18] See the 1841 census returns for Preston Wynne (National Archives, HO 107/419/20, fol. 3).
[19] England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 (www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J327-C2V).
[20] 1851 census returns, Sedgley (National Archives, HO 107/2031, fol. 148); 1881 census returns, Sedgley (National Archives, RG 11/2870, fol. 14).
[21] The Birmingham Daily Post, 28 Jun 1898.
[22] Walsall parish register abstracts (https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/61804e33f493fd422e92f8e0).
[23] 1851 census returns, Preston Wynne (National Archives, HO 107/1977, fol. 374); 1881 census returns, Little Cowarne (National Archives, RG 11/2601, fol. 52).
[24] Marriage certificate.
[25] Marriage certificate.
[26] Much Cowarne parish registers.
[27] Death certificate. His daughter Naomi (Rawlings) Harrison was the informant.
[28] Her maiden name is from the birth certificates of her daughters Ruth and Naomi.
[29] 1841 census returns, Tillington (National Archives, HO 107/422/6, fol. 18). She is shown as not born in Herefordshire.
[30] Her maiden name is from the birth certificates of her children Naomi, Boaz and Ruth.
[31] 1861 census returns, Kington (National Archives, RG 9/4230, fol. 44). However, in the 1851 census returns (National Archives , HO 107/2167, fol. 498), she is said to have been born at Manchester in Lancashire.
[32] Death certificate.
[33] They probably also had a daughter Margaret, born about 1839: 1841 census returns, Tillington (National Archives, HO 107/422/6, fol. 18).
[34] Birth certificate (as Ruth Rowlands); 1851 census returns, Congleton (National Archives, HO 107/2167, fol. 498).
[35] Death certificate.
[36] Birth certificate.
[37] Birth certificate. Her birth was registered under the spelling Rowlands.
[38] Death certificate.
[39] Marriage certificate.
[40] Birth certificate.
[41] Death certificate. This identifies the child as Boaz Rollings, aged four years, a labourer’s child, who was accidentally drowned. See also Hereford Journal, 14 Jun 1854, where he is called Boyce Rawlings.
[42] Birth certificate.
[43] Death certificate.