William was a miner at the Nantyglo works in 1838 when he and Catharine were married, as were their fathers, Richard Matthews and John Evans. William and Catharine then moved around a bit, to Llangattock in Brecon, Machen and Tredegar in Monmouthshire, and finally to Trehafod (Llanwonno Parish) in in Glamorgan. By today's standards, these places are not very far apart, even though they are in different counties. By the middle 1800's coal was being mined in the Rhondda valley and the 1841 census finds the small family in Tredegar (Bedwellty Parish), Monmouth where William is a collier. By 1851 William is still working as a coal miner, the family has grown and is now in Trehafod (Llanwonno Parish, St. Gwynno Church), Glamorgan. However, they must have had a low tolerance for the harsh working conditions and a desire for land on which to farm, so they decided to emigrate to a place where they could more easily raise a family. William and Catharine arrived in America with four children on October 29, 1851. They had left Wales and sailed from Liverpool, England to New York City on the packet "Queen of the West". The voyage lasted six weeks, and tragically, their younger daughter Catharine-I, age 2, died at sea, shortly before arrival. William, Catharine and their children on the voyage were all born in Wales, while the remaining children of the family were born in America. They first came to Honesdale, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, and later settled in Spring Brook Township, Lackawanna County, also in Pennsylvania. There were eventually eleven children, and ten lived to adulthood. William also had two brothers, John R. and Richard, and a sister, Jane, all born in Wales. William settled on a farm at Maple Lake in Spring Brook Township near John. Richard moved to Chicago, Illinois and little was heard of since. Jane lived in Barry, Glamorgan, Wales where she kept a small store. The name MATTHEWS is seen with one T in the 1851 census for Wales, the "Queen of the West" passenger list, and also in early census records in Pennsylvania. However, by the 1890's it appears with TT, in wills, the 1900 census, and on the gravestones at Springbrook Cemetery. It's not known why the change was made, but all of the descendants of William and Catharine use the name with TT. |
