Thomas and Elizabeth Morgan

There has long been a tradition that 'Caerleonites' can live to a ripe old age. The lady pictured here is one such example, and her story is amazing.

Elizabeth was born in Caerleon at the end of the 1700s. She married Thomas Morgan in the early 1800s and they remained together until her death in 1891.

Local historian, Graham Lawrence, noticed the couple's gravestone at Elim Independent Chapel, Commercial Street, Cwmbran, while researching his family history. The stone clearly records their ages as being 105 and 106 when they died!

Elim Independent Chapel, Commercial Street, Cwmbran

Mr Lawrence investigated old newspaper reports from the times of their deaths and sure enough he found articles reporting the couple's remarkable longevity.

The Monmouthhire Merlin, Monday January 23rd 1891, reported the following under the heading LONGEVITY NEAR NEWPORT THREE CHILDREN BORN BEFORE THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO:

"Mrs. Elizabeth Morgan, of Foundry-row, Cwmbran, has just died at the age of 105. Her date of birth has been fully attested. Messrs Tovey Brothers, of Dock Street, Newport have been entrusted with the funeral arrangements, and the breast-plate of the deceased bears the age as given. Deceased's husband, who singular to state, was born in the same year, and is also 105 years of age, still lives, but is very feeble. Three of the children were alive when the Battle of Waterloo was fought on the 18th June, 1815. For many years past the Patent Nut and Bolt Company have allowed Mr. and Mrs. Morgan to live in one of their houses rent free, and have gratuitously supplied them with firing. The neighbours, too, have been remarkably kind to them, the wife of a shopkeeper having daily sent in a hot dinner for the aged couple for many years. A daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, who is 80 years of age, is in America."

In the South Wales Weekly Argus on Monday January 30th 1893 the following announcement appeared DEATH OF A CWMBRAN CENTENARIAN:

"Mr. Thomas Morgan, living with Mr William Larramy, of Cwmbran, died on Sunday at the age of 106. A few years ago deceased's wife died, aged 102, and only the other day a son of the centenarian died at Middlesbrough at the age of 77. He lived with Mrs. Larramy (a daughter of his) whose age is 65. Mr. Morgan was possessed of all his faculties up to the last, and he would often speak of things which occurred nearly a century ago. He was not a total abstainer, but always moderate in his habits. He had resided at Cwmbran nearly all his life, and was married at Caerleon Church. He was chiefly engaged in outdoor work. Deceased was an Oddfellow."

Mr Lawrence contacted the Guinness Book Of Records to tell them what he had discovered and it transpired that the reported aggregate age of the married couple was indeed a record. You can see their entry on the Guinness Book Of Records website by following this link.

We visited a direct descendant of Thomas and Elizabeth Morgan, Ruth, Gray. She told us that the story of couple's longevity had been passed down the family. In fact her son David, now Reverend David Gray, wrote to the TV programme Blue Peter to tell them about it back in 1976 and received a Blue Peter badge! Mrs Gray's Great Grandmother was Mary Morgan who married William Laramy. It was Mary who looked after Thomas Morgan after the death of Elizabeth as reported in the South Wales Weekly Argus in 1893.

Using the parish records and 1841 - 1891 censuses the Caerleon Net team have delved in to this amazing story...

Until civil registration came into being in 1837 (England and Wales), and birth certificates were issued, many people didn't know exactly when their birthday occurred. Our investigations cast some doubt as to exactly when Elizabeth was born. Though there is no doubt that the married couple both lived to ages that were astonishing.

The only way to investigate births and marriages before 1837 is by studying old parish records. (Or being fortunate enough to posses a family bible containing such records of events.) The Caerleon Net website includes all the surviving records for St Cadocs Church. These can be accessed alphabetically or in chronological order. And here we think we have found the marriage of Thomas and Elizabeth: (follow this link)

4 May 1817
Thomas > Morgan > batchelor
Elizabeth > Thomas > spinster
Witness: James Thomas, Catherine Edwards banns

The only contemporary report of their marriage date we have come across is in the book Glimpses of Welsh Life and Character by Marie Trevelyan, published in 1893. This records their marriage as being on May 4th 1809. It would seem that the date was correct but not the year. The years when their children were born (see below) fit better with a marriage in 1817 than 1809.

Nine of their children were baptized in St Cadocs. Again these records are all on Caerleon Net. (baptisms 1820-1829, baptisms 1830-1839)

Date > First Name > Parents' First Names > Last Name > Other Information
9 Apr 1820 > Louisa > Thomas & Elizabeth > Morgan > Labourer Caerleon
21 Jul 1822 > Thomas > Thomas & Elizabeth > Morgan > Labourer Caerleon
15 Aug 1824 > Reece > Thomas & Elizabeth > Morgan > Labourer Caerleon
6 Aug 1826 > Louisa > Thomas & Elizabeth > Morgan > Labourer Caerleon
23 Nov 1828 > Mary > Thomas & Elizabeth > Morgan > Labourer Caerleon
19 Sep 1830 > Frederic > Thomas & Elizabeth > Morgan > Labourer Caerleon
21 APR 1833 > Elizabeth > Thomas & Elizabeth > Morgan > Labourer Mill St Caerleon
18 May 1835 > Edward > Thomas & Elizabeth > Morgan > Labourer Mill St Caerleon
3 Jun 1838 > Selina > Thomas & Elizabeth > Morgan > Labourer Mill St Caerleon

These records show us that the couple were still living in Caerleon (Mill Street) in 1838, possibly with Elizabeth's family.

We now follow their lives using national census records. In 1841 they were living in Pentwyn Clubhouse, Trevethin, Abersychan. The census record also shows their children Thomas, Reese, Louisa, Mary and Salina. In 1851 the couple were living in Forge Row, Llantarnam and here they lived for the rest of their lives. There are discrepancies in the ages given in all the censuses we studied, however this is understandable given the fact that the couple were born before the days when proper records were kept.

We may never know exactly how old the couple were when they died, but we have delved into the St Cadocs birth records to try to locate the baptism of Elizabeth. Working on the assumption that the Marriage record we have found is the correct one, Elizabeth's maiden name was Thomas. Here is a list of all the Elizabeth Thomases baptised between 1780 and 1800:

Date > First Name > Parents' First Names > Last Name > Other Information
25 Mar 1781 > Elisabeth > Joseph & Mary > Thomas >
24 Jun 1781 > Elisabeth > William & Anne > Thomas >
2 Nov 1788 > Elizabeth > Henry & Margaret > Thomas >
15 Dec 1795 > Elizabeth > Revd I & Elizabeth > Thomas > (born 12 May 1794)
14 Feb 1796 > Elizabeth > Edward & Mary > Thomas >
28 DEC 1800 > Elizabeth > Robert & Anne > Thomas >

The 1796 entry is the most likely we think. According to Glimpses of Welsh Life and Character by Marie Trevelyan, published in 1893, Elizabeth was born on January 17, 1786. It seems likely that January 17th is correct, but the year is wrong. So the baptism on 14th February 1796 would be the most likely one, as babies were usually baptised within a short time of birth and where this was not the case a note to this effect was made in the records. Another thing that supports this entry as being the correct one is that two of the couple's children were named Edward and Mary - Elizabeth's parents' names.

As we stated earlier, there is no doubt that the couple both survived to an age that was remarkable for our days let alone the times they were alive in. How interesting it would be to find out more about how they managed in their old age and how they were cared for. The contemporary newspaper reports tell us that the Patent Nut and Bolt Company allowed Mr. and Mrs. Morgan to live in one of their houses rent free, and supplied them with 'firing'. The neighbours, too, were remarkably kind to them, the wife of a shopkeeper daily sending in a hot dinner for many years and their daughter, Mary, looked after Thomas following the death of Elizabeth.

As we write this in the autumn of 2007 the leaves are falling from the trees, the branches now nearly bare. But already the new buds can be seen that will grow into next year's foliage. It reminds us of the descendants, past present and future, of Thomas and Elizabeth. If you are descended from one of their children or from Elizabeth's parents Edward and Mary please get in touch with us and we will pass your details on to Ruth Gray. Also, with your permission, we will use any information you can send us to update this story.

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Many thanks to Sue Waller for her help researching the Census data.