I did the basic research for this blog series a couple of years ago. Then, as usual, flitted along to the next thing that caught my interest. Now I'm trying to flesh the cases out and present to you my justification for not being a fan of walking along the canal on dark and lonely nights...
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"DEATH BY DROWNING. A little girl named Elizabeth Giles, aged five years, the daughter of a boatman, residing at Llantarnam, fell into the canal, near that place, on Monday morning, and drowned."
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Elizabeth Giles was born in 1848 to Ann (b. 1815) and Joseph Giles (b.1817). Joseph worked as a boatman and the 1851 census recorded the family living at Two Locks in Llantarnam, along with their two lodgers, Thomas Harris and Uriah Silverthorn. At this point Elizabeth had three siblings: Leah (b. 1843), Thomas (b. 1846), and Amy (b. 1850).
I was interested to see what happened to the rest of the family after Elizabeth's death, so here's a very quick overview:
The family stayed at Two Locks, but in 1861 Joseph was working as a forge labourer - alongside his eldest son, Thomas. Another daughter, Mary Ann, had been born in 1855 but I'm not sure what had happened to Leah. On the 1871 census the family - consisting of Joseph, Ann, Thomas, Amy, and Mary - were living at Shop Row in Llantarnam; Joseph was still working as a labourer and Thomas was now a puddler. Youngest daughter Mary Ann was recorded as working as a dressmaker.
Joseph died in 1878 and Thomas had married an Elizabeth - they were living at #10 Oakfield Terrace on the 1881 census - so by the time of the 1881 census Ann was now a widow living at Two Locks with daughters Mary Ann, who was still working as a dressmaker, and Amy - also a widow with a young son of her own, William H James (b. 1873). Ann died in 1889.
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