Anne & Mary Phillips
The two daughters of Greenmoor
Mary Richards was born in Llanedeyrn during 1825, it was a small village to the east of Cardiff. She came to St Brides in Wentloog when she married Phillip Phillips of Greenmoor Farm in 1852. Phillip was living with his family at Greenmoor and was preparing to succeed his elderly father as master farmer and owner.
Phillip and Mary Phillips had eight children, all born at Greenmoor Farm in St Brides. Philip was first in 1854, followed by Anne 1855, Thomas, 1858, John 1860, William 1861. David 1863, Mary 1865, and Rees 1867. In this story we are going to look at the lives of their two daughters Anne and Mary, our 2nd great-aunts.
Anne Phillips
Anne (often spelt without the e) was born at Greenmoor Farm in St Brides on 3rd January 1855, she was the second of eight children born to Phillip and Mary Phillips. On the 1861 census she was age 6 and already attending the local mixed school. By 16 she had left education and was helping her mother with duties on the farm. Four years later, at age 20, Anne married William Morgan. He was five years her senior and a fellow native of St Brides. The wedding took place at the local church on the 27th December 1875.
William had been born in St Brides in 1850 to Daniel and Rachel Morgan. Daniel was from Pentrych. a village on the western outskirts of Cardiff and Rachel from St Brides. The Morgan family lived at Ty Llwyd Fam where Daniel farmed 60 acres, the property still exists today. William grew up on the farm with elder brothers John and David, and younger sister Mary. He went to school in St Brides where he was educated alongside the Phillips children.
Prior to marrying Anne, William had left St Brides to live in St Woollos, Newport. He lived with his brother David who was working as a Grocer and Provisions Dealer. William had decided farming wasn’t for him and worked alongside David as a grocer learning the trade. Whilst the brothers left faming behind, their sister Mary Morgan married Thomas Williams and they settled at Grey House farm in St Brides and they raised three daughters.
Immediately after their marriage Anne and William moved to a commercial premises with living accommodation at 132 Commercial Road in Newport. Here Willam ran a grocery store and operated as a Provisions Merchant. They had five children in all. Florence 1877, William 1879, Maud 1880, Archibald 1882, and Reginald 1893. The first three children appeared on the 1881 census along with an Assistant Grocer named Morgan Hughes. The building today is still used as a commercial premises, most recently as a Locksmiths.
By the 1901 census the Morgans had moved from the town centre to a nice home at 107 Risca Road in Newport. William was 51 and listed his trade as a self-employed Commissions Agent and Anne was 46. What William did for work isn’t entirely clear, however when his daughter Maud married in 1908, he agian listed his job as Grocer, so we would assume he was involved in the wholesale trade of provisions.
Still at home on the 1901 census was Florence age 24, Archie age 19 who was working as a Commercial Clerk, and Reg age 9 who was at school. William had departed to seek his fortune overseas and Maud was living at Greenmoor Farm with her uncle Phillip Phillips. Shortly after the 1901 census was completed Archie left home to join his elder brother William in Canada where he achieved great success.
The 1911 census showed that William and Anne have been married for 36 years, Willam was 61 and still self-employed in sales. They were still living on Risca Road but had moved to a larger property at 112. Also at home were Florence, now 34 and Reg who has started a career as a Clerk in a local colliery.
William died aged 70 in 1925, his estate passed to Anne who was able to live comfortably with daughter Florence for her remaining years. Two years after her husband’s death, her son William died in The Congo leaving his estate to his mother. On the 1939 register Anne was 84, the two were living at 65 Llanthewy Rd, Newport, a traditional three bedroom property near the Handpost area. Anne died a year after the census in 1940, she was 85 years old and survived by five of her six children.
Mary Phillips
Mary Jane Phillips was born at Greenmoor Farm in Saint Brides on 15th June 1865. She was the seventh of the eight children born to Phillip and Mary Phillips, and named after her mother. Like the rest of her siblings Mary received a good education and by the age of 6 was already studying at the St Brides Board School.
On the 1881 census Mary was 16 and living at Greenmoor Farm with her family. She had finished education and was assisting with home duties, the daughter of a landowner, Mary did not have to consider working in service. Greemoor Farm was a busy place in 1881. In addition to her parents, Mary lived with uncle Thomas Phillips, five siblings and a domestic servant named Julia Fairfax.
Mary was only 19 when in 1884, her father Phillip died. This led to a period of change at Greenmoor with her elder brothers returning home to work on the farm in preparation for eldest brother Phillip Jr. taking over. On the 6th August 1890, 25 year old Mary married William Rosser Jenkins at the church in St Brides. Mary’s eldest brother Phillip acted as the witness.
William Jenkins was working as an accountant in Newport. He was the son of William and Eleanor and had been born in Llanfrechfa, Monmouthshire 1862. William and Mary had three daughters, Hilda May in 1891 and Olwen Mari Ann 1893, both born in Llanfrechfa and Blanche Phyllis in 1896 following their move to Newport.
By the 1901 census the family were living at 9 Park Place, St Woollos, Newport, not far from Mary’s elder sister Anne. Mary was now 35 and William 38, he worked as a Clerk in a colliery. Just ten years later the family were living at Court Perrott Farm in Llandegveth. William has left his previous carer behind and was now farming 100 acres of land. Hilda and Olwen were both supporting their father on the farm and 14 year old Blanche was at school.
Hilda was the first of the children to leave the farm when in 1913 she married Llewellyn Whiteman. They had five children together before Llewellyn’s death in 1932. Olwen left the family home in 1918 when she married Cecil Roberts, an airman who was serving in the war. They enjoyed a long life together settling in Warwickshire and raising a family.
Mary and William worked hard and retired together to 3 Sunny Place in Ponthir. In the 1930s they were joined by the recently-widowed Hilda, who came to live with her parents. William died in 1941 at the age of 79, Mary followed on 2nd February 1947 aged 81. They were buried together at St Tegfedd, a little country church in Llandegveth.
Mary was the last of the eight siblings of Greenmoor Farm to pass. Her estate was administered by her daughter Olwen and son-in-law Cecil.