Table of Contents
G5: William Henry Trotter (1853-1897) and Jane Evans (-1934)
Birth: William Henry Trotter was born in Holywell in around 1853. There is no accompanying birth registration and we do not know who his parents were.
Marriage: to Jane Evans during 1875 in Holywell.
Spouse history: nothing is known about Jane’s early life.
Children: (1) Peter in 1875, (2) Sarah in 1878, (3) Margaret in 1881, (4) Mary in 1883, (5) Gwaldys in 1885, (6) Robert in 1888, (7) Joyce in 1891. Peter and Margaret both died in childhood. Unusually they seemed to be christened in batches, with the three youngest girls on 5 September 1883 and the three elder children on 5 June 1898.
Occupations: William worked as a painter, presumably of the decorating variety rather than as an artist. By 1901 the widowed Jane worked alongside her children as a wool picker in a mill, remaining in a similar role for at least the next 20 years when in 1921 she was employed by Holywell Textiles.
Residences: the family initially lived on Pen-y-ball Street, the street running south out of the Holywell. In around 1883 they moved to the north, living in a dwelling on Davies’ Square off New Road and overlooking St Winefride’s Well. They would remain in this area, if not the same house, for the next 15 years.
- William: Pen-y-ball Street, Holywell (1875-1881); Davies’ Square, New Road, Holywell (1883-1897)
- Jane: Pen-y-ball Street, Holywell (1875-1881); Davies’ Square, New Road, Holywell (1883-1897); 3 St Winifrede’s Terrace, Holywell (1901-1933)
Deaths: William died in July 1897 when aged just 44 and was buried on 3 August. Jane died in 1934 when aged 77 and was buried on 2 January 1935.
Notes: it is sad to note that Jane was predeceased by four of her seven children, and that two more died aged 50.
G4: Peter William Trotter (1875-1877)
Birth: Peter William Trotter was born in Holywell during 1875. He was the first child of William and Jane.
Christening: on 11 November 1875 in Holywell alongside his siblings.
Residences: Pen-y-ball Street, Holywell (1876-1877)
Death: died aged 2 and buried in July 1877.
G4: Sarah Ann Trotter (1877-1918)
Birth: Sarah Ann Trotter was born in Holywell during 1877. She was the second child of William and Jane.
Christening: not until 5 September 1883 when she was aged six, being christened alongside siblings Margaret and Mary.
Occupations: Sarah entered service and in 1901 was a domestic servant in the house of the Reverend John Rees in the rectory of nearby Caerwys. She remained unmarried and in 1911 worked for Arthur and Gertrude Tunnicliffe in their large home on Gronant Road in Prestatyn.
Residences: Pen-y-ball Street, Holywell (1877-1881); Caerwys Rectory, Caerwys (1901); Haulfryn, Gronant Road, Prestatyn (1911); 3 St Winifrede’s Terrace, Holywell (1918)
Death: Sarah died during November 1918. The spinster still lived with her mother on St Winefride’s Terrace.
G4: Margaret Jane Trotter (1881-1890)
Birth: Margaret Jane Trotter was born in Holywell during 1881. She was the third child of William and Jane.
Christening: not until 5 September 1883 when she was aged two, being christened alongside siblings Sarah and Mary.
Residences: Pen-y-ball Street, Holywell (1881); Davies’ Square, New Road, Holywell (1883-1890)
Death: died in 1890 when aged just 9 and was buried on 9 January.
G4: Mary Elizabeth Trotter (1883-1914)
Birth: Mary Elizabeth Trotter was born in Holywell during 1883. She was the fourth child of William and Jane.
Christening: on 5 September 1883 in Holywell alongside siblings Sarah and Mary.
Occupations: in 1901 Mary worked as a factory hand. She then entered service and in 1911 was a domestic servant for Peter and Mary Brown who ran the Boars Head pub on High Street.
Residences: Davies’ Square, New Road, Holywell (1883-1891); 3 St Winifrede’s Terrace, Holywell (1901); Boar’s Head, High Street, Holywell (1911); 3 St Winifrede’s Terrace, Holywell (1914)
Death: Mary died aged just 31 and was buried on 6 June 1914. The spinster still lived with her mother.
G4: Gwladys Ellen Trotter (1885-) and G4: Isaac Jones (1885-)
Birth: Gwladys Ellen Trotter was born in Holywell during 1885. She was the fifth child of William and Jane.
Christening: not until 5 June 1898 when he was aged 13, being christened alongside siblings Robert and Joyce.
Marriage: to Isaac Jones on 19 May 1913 in Bagillt. She was aged 28 and he was 27.
Spouse history: Isaac had been born on 19 October 1885. Little is known of his childhood due to his very common name with many possible birth and baptism records.
Children: (1) Robert in 1914, (2) William in 1917, (3) Owen in 1922.
Occupations: in 1901 when she was aged 15, Gwladys worked alongside her mother as a wool winder in one of the local textile mills. Little changed over the next decade and by 1911 Gwladys was a weaver in a flannel mill. Isaac meanwhile had become an ironworker. The 1921 census revealed that he was out of work, having most recently laboured in the steelworks of John Summers & Sons Ltd. who had a large plant at Shotton. This was only temporary however, and he still laboured in a steelworks in 1939.
Residences: at the time of their marriage Isaac lived in Bryn Houses in Flint, which was one of a short row of isolated terraced houses on a footpath off Northrop Road to the south of the town. Gladys lived with her mother but soon moved in with her new husband.
- Gwladys: Davies’ Square, New Road, Holywell (1885-1897); 3 St Winifrede’s Terrace, Holywell (1901-1913); 4 Bryn Houses, Flint (1913-1922)
- Isaac: 4 Bryn Houses, Flint (1913-1922); 8 Maes-Y-Dre Avenue, Flint (1939)
G3: Robert Stanley Jones (1914-1991) and Hazel Hughes (1921-2003)
Birth: Robert Stanley Jones was born in Flint on 27 October 1914. He was the first child of Isaac and Gwladys.
Christening: on 6 December 1914 in Flint.
Marriage: to Hazel Hughes during 1945 in Flint. He was aged 30 and she was 24.
Spouse history: Hazel had been born on 2 March 1921 in Holywell to William and Sarah. She was christened on 21 April 192. The family lived in The Crown & Anchor pub in Greenfield, which was run by her paternal grandfather, while her own father was a steel worker. By 1939, the family lived in Meadow Villas in Holywell.
Children: (1) a boy born in 1954.
Occupations: by 1939 Robert had followed his father into the steelworks. Hazel was an artificial silk worker, likely in a factory making rayon, a fabric made from purified cellulose fibres typically created from wood pulp. North Wales was once at the heart of the British rayon industry with thousands employed at Courtaulds’ sites at Flint and Holywell.
Residences:
- Robert: 4 Bryn Houses, Flint (1914-1922); 8 Maes-Y-Dre Avenue, Flint (1939)
- Hazel: The Crown & Anchor, Greenfield (1921); 2 Meadow Villas, Greenfield (1939)
Deaths: Robert died during 1991 when aged 76. Hazel survived him for 12 years and died in July 2003 when aged 82.
G3: William Tudor Jones (1917-)
Birth: William Tudor Jones was born in Flint during 1917. He was the second child of Isaac and Gwladys and commonly known by his middle name.
Christening: on 7 March 1917 in Flint.
Residences: 4 Bryn Houses, Flint (1917-1922)
Notes: it’s possible that he married Eliza Hill in 1934, but due to the commonality of his name more information is required.
G3: Owen Glyn Jones (1922-)
Birth: Owen Glyn Jones was born in Flint on 29 March 1922. He was the third child of Isaac and Gwladys and commonly known by his middle name.
Residences: 4 Bryn Houses, Flint (1922)
Due to the commonality of his name, nothing further is known, although it is thought that he was killed during the Second World War.
G4: Robert Henry Trotter (1888-1938)
Birth: Robert Henry Trotter was born in Holywell during 1888. He was the sixth child of William and Jane but the first boy to survive infancy.
Christening: not until 5 June 1898 when he was aged 10, being christened alongside siblings Gwladys and Joyce.
Marriage: to Ellen Williams during 1912 in Holywell. He was aged 24 and she was 26.
Spouse history: Ellen had been born in the in the nearby village of Greenfield on 28 January 1885. She was one of the nine children of labourer Robert Williams and his wife Hannah Jones. The family lived on Dykins Row for her entire childhood.
Children: (1) Ira in 1916, (2) Robert in 1919, (3) Stuart in 1922.
Occupations: in 1911 Robert worked in a mill, possibly alongside his mother and sisters, where he was a ‘bearer of works’. Future wife Ellen also worked in a mill at this time as cloth weaver, and this is perhaps how they met. She still worked in the textile industry in 1939. Robert meanwhile became a coal miner, with the 1921 census revealing that he out-of-work coal and had most recently been employed by the Bettisfield Colliery in Bagillt.
Residences: the young family settled in nearby Greenfield where they lived on Battery Row. Also present in the house on the night that the 1921 census was taken were Ellen’s mother Hannah and adult siblings Peter and John, and his wife Annie. It is not known if they were visiting or if this was a permanent arrangement.
- Robert: Davies’ Square, New Road, Holywell (1888-1898); 3 St Winifrede’s Terrace, Holywell (1901-1911); 9 Battery Row, Greenfield Road, Greenfield (1916-1938)
- Ellen: Dykins Row, Greenfield (1891); Dykins Row, Greenfield (1911); 9 Battery Row, Greenfield Road, Greenfield (1916-1939); Dunromyn, Sunnyside, Bagillt (1964)
Deaths: Robert died aged 50 and was buried on 3 December 1938. Ellen died on 23 June 1964 when aged 79 at The Cottage Hospital in Holywell. At the time she had lived with daughter Ira on Sunnyside in Bagillt.
G3: Ira Trotter (1916-1973)
Birth: Ira Trotter was born in Greenfield on 4 April 1916. She was the first child of Robert and Ellen.
Marriage: to John Edward Bellis on 13 August 1938 in Holywell. She was aged 22 and she was 25.
Spouse history: John had been born in Bagillt on 26 July 1913 – at least the fourth child of John Bellis and Mary Elizabeth Spencer. The family resided on Voel Gron close to Bettisfield Colliery where his father was a coal hewer.
Children: none.
Occupations: John was an omnibus driver.
Residences: the newlyweds moved to Bagillt where they lived in the same house on Sunnydale until their deaths.
- Ira: 9 Battery Row, Greenfield Road, Greenfield (1916-1938); Dunromyn, Sunnyside, Bagillt (1939-1973)
- John: 5 Voel Gron, Bagillt (1921-1938); Dunromyn, Sunnyside, Bagillt (1939-1971)
Deaths: John died on 18 November 1971 when aged just 58. Ira survived him for only two years and died on 17 April 1973 when aged 57. She was buried Bagillt Cemetery on New Brighton Road.
Note: later in life Ira was often cited as Eira. It is not thought that they had any children.
G3: Robert Henry Trotter (1919-)
Birth: Robert Henry Trotter was born in Greenfield during 1919. He was the second child of Robert and Ellen.
Christening: on 4 January 1920 in Holywell.
Residences: 9 Battery Row, Greenfield Road, Greenfield (1919-1921)
G3: Stuart Trotter (1922-1980)
Birth: Stuart Trotter was born in Greenfield on 3 September 1922. He was the third child of Robert and Ellen.
Occupations: Stuart became an artificial silk worker.
Residences: 9 Battery Row, Greenfield Road, Greenfield (1922-1939)
Death: on 12 July 1980 in Halifax when aged 57.
Notes: it’s likely that he married Eunice Strefford in 1948, but further confirmation is required.
G4: Joyce Trotter (1891-1941)
Birth: Joyce Trotter was born in Holywell on 25 June 1891. She was the seventh child of William and Jane.
Christening: on 25 March 1895 in Holywell, then again on 5 June 1898 alongside siblings Gwladys and Robert. Both were Anglican ceremonies, although her school record shows that she had attended a Roman Catholic school before 1903.
Occupations: Joyce was a domestic servant.
Residences: Davies’ Square, New Road, Holywell (1891-1989); 3 St Winifrede’s Terrace, Holywell (1901-1941)
Death: Joyce died in 1941 when aged just 50. She had never married.
