The Watkins Family of Whitson and Pye Corner in Nash
A potted history
The Watkins Family of Whitson are the maternal family of our grandfather, Doanld Skinner. We started researching the family with the birth of Thomas Watkins in 1790 and discovered a family closely linked to Whitson and Pye Corner in Nash. Thomas was the son of Thomas and Julia Watkins of Christchurch. He was baptised 1st April 1790 and we were pleased to find the baptism record still exists and is legible. Thomas grew up in Christchurch and married Rachel Jones on 15th July 1816 at St Tegfedd Church in Llandegveth.
The couple then moved to Llantarnam, where five of their children were born. All the baptism records were Nonconformist. They went on to have seven children, Rachel 1818, Ann 1820, Thomas 1822, William 1824, David 1828, Henry 1830, and John 1835. John Jr. William Watkins was our 2nd great-grandfather and continued the family line.
During the 1840s the family made a move to Whitson on the Gwent Levels, where Thomas took on a 114-acre farm. Thomas died 17th March 1855 and is buried at the Holy Trinity Church, Christchurch. The Impressive grave reads “In memory of Thomas Watkins of Whitson”. Rachel later lived at Rose Cottage in Pye Corner, Nash and died in 1881, aged 92. Rachel had been officially recorded as the oldest person in the village!
After growing up in Llandegveth with his family, and moving to Whitson, 30-year-old William Watkins married Ann Baker. The wedding was on 25th April 1854 at the Parish Church in St Brides. Ann was the daughter of William Baker and Ann Leonard, a wealthy farming family from St Brides in Netherwent. The couple settled at Pye Corner Farm in Nash, where William farmed the 111 acre property. Census returns show that William and Ann spent 40 years at Pye Corner. The farm was Grade II listed in 1996 as a farmhouse typical of the Gwent Levels.
The family line of Ann Baker was one of the most interesting we researched. We traced Ann’s line to a Jewish émigré who left Germany for the UK to avoid persecution. Samuel Levi was born in Frankfurt to parents Alexander and Erol. He travelled to England with his brother Moses and acquired property in Lambeth, London. Sensing opportunities in Wales, the brothers initially settled in Swansea before moving to the bustling port of Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire.
Samuel went on to make a huge impact in Wales. After adopting the name Phillips he became a successful jeweller and founded the Haverfordwest Bank. He acquired significant wealth in his lifetime and the family lived at Slebach Hall, a magnificent Grade II listed 18th century estate near Haverfordwest. Samuel was married twice and had nine children. Amongst them was Catherine Levi who married Samuel Baker and gave birth to Ann Baker, our 2nd great-grandmother.
William Watkins made a real success of the farm. He won awards for his cattle, and his beef, pork and dairy were sold far and wide. He also become a powerful man in Nash, he stood unopposed as a local councillor and also became a parish overseer. This involved organising the collection of taxes and ensuring rules and regulations were followed.
William and Ann had nine children, all baptised at Nash Baptist Chapel. William Henry was first in 1855, followed by Eliza 1857, Matilda 1859, Herbert 1861, Frederick 1863, Selina 1865, Rosa (our great-grandmother) 1867, George 1869 and finally Myra in 1873. When we looked at the lives of the brothers and sister of our great grandmother, we found some fascinating stories.
There was Herbet and Frederick who both emigrated to Australia to seek their fortunes, Herbert ended up farming while Frederick tried his luck in the gold rush. Then there was Matilda Watkins who left home at 18 to marry 41 year old Simeon Warder.
Matilda moved to Penhow and worked with her husband at the Post Office and General Store. Unfortunately, Matilda’s time in Penhow was cut short by the courts. Following a conviction for riotous behaviour, she was ordered to return to her mother’s house in Nash.
In 1894 our great-grandmother married James Skinner from Kemeys Inferior and moved to Abernant Farm. She was joined by younger sister Myra, who lived at the Abernant until her death, and also lived close to her brother George who was at Dranllwyn Farm with his family.
James and Rosa had seven children. Wallace 1895, Ralph 1896, Jessie 1898, Donald (our grandfather) 1899, Reginald 1901, Raymond 1903, and Margaret 1909.
James died in 1927 and left a substantial estate for Rosa and his eldest son. Rosa then left Abernant and lived with her son Wallace at Hendrew Farm. She died in 1941 and was buried with James at All Saint’s. When the church was later demolished Rosa and James were reburied in Tredunnock.
All of their children achieved a great deal. Wallace, Ralph, and Reginald followed the family tradition and became farmers, raising families in Monmouthshire. Jessie studied in Oxford and became a teacher, before later retiring to Jersey with her husband. Raymond was a successful butcher in Newport, whilst the youngest sibling Margaret became a nurse and emigrated to South Africa where she married and had a son.
Our grandfather Doanld remained at Abernant and became the 3rd Skinner to tenant the farm. He married Catherine Phillps on 4 June 1932 in Rogerstone. Catherine was from Cwm Farm in Rogerstone where she had grown up with her parents and older brother Gus. Donald and Catherine had two children Mary 1934 and Janet (our mother) 1937.
Donald gave up the tenancy at Abernant in 1941 and retired with his family to Langstone where he had a small-holding. Catherine continued to work and operated the local milk round for Unigate. When their youngest daughter Janet married Bernard in 1964, they purchased the house next door for the newlyweds to live in. Donald died in 1973 and Catherine in 1995, their ashes are buried at Langstone church.
Our Auntie Mary married Raymond Adams in 1955 and they had had four children. Cousin Susan was born in 1962, followed by Paul in 1964, Kathyrn 1967 and Julian in 1969. The family settled in Wolverhampton, Ray worked for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. and Mary was a Physiotherapist.
Our parents, Janet & Bernard, lived at Langstone Cottage and had the three of us, Cathy, Ann-Marie, and Rosie. Our Dad become a steelworker at Llanwern and passed away in 1995, he was buried after a packed service at Langstone church. Our Mum suffered with poor health and died in 2011, she was reunited with our Dad in Langstone.
The three of us no longer live in the area but retain close links with Langstone and regularly visit the grave of our mum and dad. Through this project we also had the opportunity to visit the graves of our aunties and uncles for the first time.