James Rees circa 1740 Labourer from the Steynton area Married 1770 Roch parish church Pembrokeshire Elizabeth Griffith circa 1740 from the Roch area Background to James and Elizabeth Rees It is not clear when or where James was born, it is stated on the Bann’s and marriage register that he was from Steynton. But as yet there is no record of his birth, despite the fact that the records for Steynton go back to the 1600’s.  This leads me to think that James was born in a neighbouring parish, such as Freystrop Johnston or Rosemarket. There are several Rees families in Freystrop area, and there is an outside chance they are related, but as yet no hard evidence has emerged, to back up this theory. Elizabeth Griffith was possibly born in the parish of Roch, and although the records go back to 1677 there is a gap at of ten years roughly corresponding to the estimated date of her birth. There is a slim chance that her birth was recoded on the bishop’s transcript. This is a copy of the yearly accounts of the parish to the Bishop, if it still exists she might be listed, but there was no standard system, so it might just be a list of the number of births berths etc. The Marriage at Roch The couple married on the 21st October 1770 at Roch parish church, and James place of residence was given as Steynton. As previously stated this may not be his place of birth, but simply his residence, at the time of the wedding. The Banns were read in both parishes, i.e., Steynton (aka Stainton) and Roch. Old Steynton The old parish of Steynton stretched from Haverfordwest to present day Milford Haven, which at the time of James and Elizabeth’s marriage was nothing more than a small village that rapidly expanded in time to become an important port on the West coast of Wales. I will not go into too much detail about Milford’s development as that has been extensively cover by many a good book. Getting back to the Steynton of 1770. Steynton was a large parish that started roughly at the bottom of Merlins Hill in what is the modern day parish of Merlins Bridge. Back then it was the parish known as the Hamlet of St Thomas. Running south from Haverfordwest its adjoining parishes were Johnston, Rosemarket and Llanstadwell. To the west it’s adjoining parishes were, Lambston, Haroldston West, Walton West, Walwyns Castle, Robeston West, Herbranston and Hubberston. Since then the parishes have changed and are now called Communities rather than parishes. Most of what was Steynton is now Tiers Cross Community, which is bounded by the community of Camrose to the north, Merlins Bridge, Johnston and Rosemarket to the east. The new community of Tiers Cross stops at the old parish church of Steynton, and is bounded to the South by the modern day urban area of Milford Haven, which includes Hubberston, although they think of themselves as the Independent Republic of Hakin. To the west the old parish names have disappeared, and Robeston West is now part of Walwyns Castle Community, whilst Walton West and Haroldston West are how part of the Havens Community. Their Four Children The couple appear have their first daughter Ann baptised at Johnston in 1771. Which was used as a sub parish of Steynton at the time. This was in part due to the long walk involved to get to your parish church, which about that time was not an option. You were expected to attend. The couple then appeared to have moved into the parish of Steynton as the other three children were baptised at that parish church, from 1773 through to 1774. All four children are baptised using the English form of the surname, Reese, rather than Rees. This was common in those days as most of the parishioners could spell, read or write, and had to take the word of the vicar or curate, and once he got it into his head it should be spelt one way that was it. The four children are Mary baptsied 1771 at Johnston, Ann was baptised 1774 early in the year and her brother James was baptised later that year. There was no attempt to record the actual date of birth so all we have to go on is the baptism date. The fourth child was Thomas who was born in 1776. Where they lived We can only guess where the family lived, but there are clues from the census returns of Thomas Rees the fourth son of James and Elizabeth. The 1851 census records his place of birth as Harbeston aka Herbranston, and the 1861 census has his place of birth as Steynton. Added with the fact that Thomas and his wife Eleanor lived in St Ishmaels at the time of the 1841 census. We can assume that the family lived in that general area. Plus the fact that both of Thomas’s elder sisters married and settled in Hubberston, adds weight to my theory. Death of James and Elizabeth Despite an extensive search of the parish recodes in the area of West Pembrokeshire, in and around the Milford Haven area, through to the Havens, I have no further details regarding James and Elizabeth, with the exception of a burial in 1827 at Marloes parish church, of a James Rees of Nash Wood Marloes, aged 75, putting his date of birth as 1752. But there is not enough evidence to claim him as our James. The Children of James and Elizabeth Rees circa 1740 1.      Mary Rees 1771 Johnston Married William Corke Hubberston. 2.      Ann Rees 1774 of Steynton Married Benjamin Evans Hubberston. 3.      James Rees 1774 Steynton 4.      Thomas Rees 1776 Steynton Married Eleanor Furlong 1778 St Ishmaels