Mary Ann Dolamore (1828-1899) and Robert Petch (1820-1897).
My 2nd great-grand aunt and uncle.
Mary Ann was baptised on 17 February 1828 at St Lawrence’s Church in Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire, to parents David Dolamore and Mary Ann Walker.
She was working as a servant at the time of the 1841 Census in Nascot House in Leavesden, her employer being the aged George William Ricketts, who for 21 years had been the Receiver General for the County of Southampton.
Ten years later she was a cook many miles from home at Ham Farm House in Shirley, Surrey, and it was while there that she must’ve met her future husband, Robert Petch, who was working in the stables at the grand 18th century Shirley House – the home of the Earls of Eldon. The house was demolished in 1962 and a private school built on its site.
Robert was born in Culford, Suffolk, in 1820 to carpenter William and Sarah Petch and was baptised in St Mary’s Church there on 6 August that year. The couple married on 4 May 1852 at St John’s Church in Shirley and initially lived in the area – their first child was baptised there. However, they then moved on and at some point in the 1850s they moved with their children to Wales, with the 1861 Census giving their address as Llansanffraid Glan Conwy in Conwy.
Robert was employed as a coachman and the family lived in a lodge at the country house Bryn Eisteddfod. This 18th century house had been inherited by the Venerable Hugh Chambres Jones, Archdeacon of Essex, in 1833 and he set about a programme of renovation work, although he died in 1869.
Robert and Mary continued to live at the lodge, raising their children, but Robert died on 27 October 1897 and was buried in the village on 30 October. Mary Ann died on 15 February 1899 and was buried with him on the 18th. Their gravestone remains. Their children were:
- Robert Petch (1852-1892). Born in Shirley and baptised there on 14 September 1852, he grew up in Wales and was apprenticed to cabinet makers there. He worked as a joiner in the north of the principality before moving to Cockermouth in Cumberland. He continued to work as a joiner and married Sarah Fallows nee Cass, a milliner, on 31 March 1875 at All Saints, Cockermouth. They had a family but the North Wales Weekly News of 28 April 1892 reported his death on 16 April that year at the Greyhound Inn, Cockermouth, of which he was the landlord. It added that he had been a keen cornet player, who’d won prizes at such places as the Crystal Palace in London, and was bandmaster of the Volunteer and Mechanics’ Bands. His death followed a bout of bronchitis. Sarah died in 1922.
- Maria Petch (1854-1935). Baptised in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, on 10 September 1854, she was working as as a servant in the grand Pabo Hall in Conwy at the time of the 1871 Census. She married Edwin Morton at St Bartholomew’s in Wilmslow, Cheshire, on 9 April 1877. They remained in his home county of Cheshire, in Wilmslow in 1881 and from then in Styal. Together they raised a family. Edwin worked as a gardener and later as a market gardener. Edwin died on 13 July 1929, Maria on 13 May 1935, and they were buried together in Wilmslow.
- William Petch (1856-1927). Born in Llansanffraid Glan Conwy and baptised there on 4 January 1857, William married Elizabeth Jane Jones at Conwy, Caernarvonshire, on 15 July 1878 and had a number of children with her. They lived in Caernarvonshire, with William spending most of his adult life working as a railway signalman and porter. Elizabeth died on 25 July 1900 and was buried in Conwy. William then married Sarah Ann Roberts, a sub-postmistress, in Conwy in 1902. She continued to be the Waen sub-postmistress. The family also lived at the Post Office. William died in March 1927 of influenza and pneumonia (North Wales Weekly News 10 March 1927). Sarah died in 1930.
- Alfred Petch (1860-1923). Born in Llansanffraid Glan Conwy, he was baptised there on 22 July 1860. He was living in Festiniog in 1881, working as a watchmaker. In later years, he also described himself as a jeweller. Alfred married Liverpool native Anne Clarke in Tibshelf, Derbyshire, on 30 August 1882. They had children and lived in Conwy and Bangor in Wales before emigrating to Canada early in the 20th century – his death certificate pointed to 1901. Alfred, his wife and two children took a trip back to Britain in 1912 on the White Star ship Celtic. They lived in Victoria, British Colombia, where Alfred died of cancer on 1 June 1923. He was buried at Ross Bay Cemetery on 4 June. Anne died on 28 November 1931.
- Sarah Emily Petch (1873-1958). Born on 20 January 1873 in Llansanffraid Glan Conwy, she married joiner, builder and contractor Hugh Lloyd Williams there on 29 June 1898 and had a number of children with him. They lived in Llandrillo-yn-Rhos and his neighbouring home town of Colwyn Bay, where he ran his own business, for many years. Hugh died on 31 December 1939, Sarah on 17 September 1958.
Sources:
Birth, marriage, death and burial records including civil registrations from the General Register Office, census returns and other records at Ancestry.co.uk, Findmypast.co.uk and familysearch.org.
British Newspaper Archive, titles in text.
Watford Observer (Nascot House).
British Listed Buildings (Bryn Eisteddfod).