REPORT ON MARY (JEFFREYS) JONES,
WHO MARRIED DAVID B. JONES, IN 1865
IN LLANGADOCK PARISH, CARMARTHENSHIRE, WALES,
AND EMIGRATED TO MICHIGAN IN 1880.
PREPARED BY BRADLEY JEFFREYS
DECEMBER 2025
bradley . jeffreys @ gmail . com
Jackie Mangana Zimmer contacted me through Ancestry.com because our DNA tests indicated we’re distant cousins. She asked me if I could determine how we’re related. As I’ve been heavily involved in researching the Jeffreys family of Wales for about 50 years, I accepted her invitation to investigate her great-grandmother, Mary (Jeffreys) Jones.
To see what was already known about Mary, I first examined Jackie’s family tree. There were common ancestor matches in both our trees. Following that, I entered some basic facts about Mary Jeffreys Jones into a search on Ancestry.com. Current search results populated numerous family trees containing Mary and her family. Unfortunately, many of these sources appear to have duplicated repetitive errors from one another, resulting in widespread inaccuracies regarding Mary’s lineage. To address these discrepancies, this report provides refined data and corrected findings to ensure an accurate historical record.
The first issue is that she is regularly referred to in family trees as “Elizabeth Mary Jeffreys,” although I found no first-hand document with any name other than “Mary.”
Task: Perform deep research to determine the correct parentage of Mary (Jeffreys) Jones, who was Jackie’s great-grandmother. Once parentage is determined, ascertain if this Mary Jeffreys is one of my relatives. My paternal lineage is known as “Jeffreys of Llywel and Llanddeusant” to differentiate them from other Jeffreys lines in South Wales.
Known Facts: Mary Jeffreys married David Jones in 1865 in Llangadock, now called Llangadog, in Carmarthenshire, and the marriage license indicated that both David and Mary were “of full age.” David is listed as a farm tenant. Mary gave her address as “White Hart” which was an inn in the village of Llangadock. The license reads “Mary” with no first or middle name and no initial.
In the marriage license, Mary’s father, John Jeffreys’ occupation was listed as an engineer; however, the license failed to mention that he had been dead for more than 10 years.
This family appears on the 1871 Wales Census, living in Llanwonno in Glamorganshire, where David works as a butcher. Mary (no first name or initials) states her age as 24, born in Pontnewynydd in Monmouthshire.
David and Mary (Jeffreys) Jones emigrated to America in 1880 with their children.
In the 1881 Wales Census, there is found a David Jones (carpenter) and wife, Mary (born 1848 in Glamorganshire, no first name), living in Swansea, Glamorganshire, with children Elizabeth (age 11), Benjamin, Mary, and Edith. This is not the correct David and Mary Jones, as they were living in Michigan by this time.
David and Mary Jones and their children appear on the 1880 US Census of Jackson County, Michigan (just “Mary” with no first name or initials).
According to the obituary of Mary’s husband, David B. Jones in 1905, he was a mining pit boss; survived by wife and children: sons David, John, Benjamin (Benoni), William, Richard, and Morge, and daughter Mary.
Benoni Jones’ birth certificate says that he was born on May 10, 1870, and provides the mother’s name as Mary (no first name, no initials) Jeffries [sic].
On Mary’s death certificate in 1909, the informant (her son David) stated Mary’s father was named John, and her mother was Mary. David was mistaken about the name of the mother.
Search Ancestry.com records for Mary Jeffreys and father, John Jeffreys:
Searched 1851 Wales and 1861 Wales Census for a John Jeffreys with either a wife, Mary (per Mary Jones’ 1909 death certificate), or a daughter named Mary who was born about 1848.
Searched 1851 Wales and 1861 Wales Census for a John Jeffries, searching under alternate spellings.
There is a civil birth registration in Monmouthshire for a Mary Jeffreys, born in the 4th Quarter (Oct-Nov-Dec) of 1849 in the greater Abergavenny District. [Pontnewydd is part of the Pontypool District.] There is a baptism record in Monmouthshire, on 5 December 1849, for a Mary Jeffreys, daughter of John and Jane, of Blaina, Aberystruth, Monmouthshire. The record seems to read she was born on November 8; however, this John Jeffreys is a shoemaker, not an engineer. This baptism record seems to match the civil birth registry above. Further, this family appears on 1861 Wales Census, still in Aberystruth, listing John Jeffreys as a shoemaker, not an engineer. This family is not part of the Jeffreys of Llywel lineage, nor is this the correct Mary.
It is not the John Jeffreys, who was a son of William and Anne Jeffreys of Llangadock Parish. They lived on a farm called Caiobychan-Isaf. This John was born about 1827. In 1851, he was single, working on the farm. In 1861, he was single, renting a room near Merthyr Tydfil, age 36, and hauling coal. This family is not part of the Jeffreys of Llywel lineage, nor is this the correct John.
A certain Mary Jeffreys appears in this household near Llangadock in 1861, but this is not the correct Mary:
1861 Wales Census, Myddfai, Carmarthenshire
Williams, David, 56
Williams, Catherine, 45, wife
Jones, Mary, 22, servant, dairy maid
Jeffreys, Mary, 15, servant, house maid [note: born about 1846]
The story of Mary Jeffreys, daughter of John Jeffreys, an engineer, who married David Jones in 1865, and emigrated to Michigan in 1880, is found in records from Wales:
Mary’s parents were John Jeffreys and Charlotte Davies, who wed in 1834:
Ystradgynlais Parish, Glamorganshire, Wales
John Jeffreys, bachelor, wed Charlotte Davies of Llangadock Parish, on June 2, 1834
Enumerated in 1841 are Mary’s parents, John and Charlotte, plus her two older brothers, shortly before her birth in 1844:
1841 Wales Census, Trevethin Parish, Monmouthshire
John Jefferies, 25, engineer
Charlotte Jefferies, 25
John Jeffries, 6
Morgan Jeffries, 3
Also in the house were two boarders, non-related:
Thomas Davis, 15, engine tender
Jenkin Williams, 50, puddler
Mary Jeffreys’ birth is registered in 1844, Pontypool, Monmouthshire:
England and Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915, (Jan-Feb-Mar) of 1844, page 51, Volume XXVI, page 112:
Mary Jeffreys, Pontypool [note: Pontypool is in Trevethin Parish]
This is the first census in which Mary appears, living with her grandparents, Morgan and Mary Jeffreys, in Llangadock Parish, Carmarthenshire:
1851 Wales Census, Llangadock, Carmarthenshire
Jeffreys, Morgan, 60, farmer
Jeffreys, Mary, 60
Jeffreys, William, 38
Jeffreys, Jane, 26
Jeffreys, Sarah, 24
Jeffreys, Morgan, 21
Jeffreys, Mary, 18, daughter
Jeffreys, Mary, 7, granddaughter, born in Pontypool, Monmouthshire
Jeffreys, Mary, 7, granddaughter, born in Llandingat, Carmarthenshire
That same year, her father and older brothers were tabulated in 1851 in Monmouthshire:
1851 Wales Census, Trevethin, Monmouthshire
Household of David Morgans
Jeffries, John, 35, lodger, engineer, born Carmarthenshire
Jeffries, John, 15, lodger’s son, born Breconshire
Jeffries, John, 10, lodger’s son, born Monmouthshire [scrivener’s error? Morgan?]
By 1861, Mary Jeffreys is living with her father’s sister, Sarah (Jeffreys) Thomas:
1861 Wales Census, Myddfai, Carmarthenshire
Thomas, Rees, 37
Thomas, Sarah, 33, wife, born Llanddeusant
Thomas, Thomas, 72, father, (retired farmer)
Jeffreys, Mary, 18, niece (domestic servant)
Thomas, Ann, 11, dau (in school)
Here is Mary’s paternal ancestry in the “Jeffreys of Llywel and Llanddeusant” lineage:
- Mary Jeffreys was the daughter of John Jeffreys (1814-1853), a mining engineer, and his wife, Charlotte Davies.
- John Jeffreys was the son of Morgan Jeffreys (1790-1870), a farmer, and his wife, Mary Harries.
- Morgan Jeffreys was the son of William Jeffreys (1768-1796) and wife, Sarah Williams.
- William Jeffreys was the son of Morgan Jeffreys (1739-1798) and wife, Sarah Powell.
Morgan Jeffreys (1739-1798) was the first Jeffreys to “come over the top” of the Brecon Beacons, moving from Llywel Parish to Llanddeusant Parish. This Morgan Jeffreys inherited several farms and homes, including the primary Jeffreys home of Llwynyfron, from the Estate of his ‘Uncle Morgan Morgan.” Llwynyfron passed through the generations and was owned by my great-grandfather, Walter Powell Jeffreys. He ultimately sold it to another family member on a different branch of the family tree.
Llwynyfron in Llanddeusant Parish
About the career of John Jeffreys:
In 19th-century Welsh mining, an "engineer" was a highly skilled professional, often from a middle-class or senior artisan background. They were responsible for the design, installation, and maintenance of the mine’s complex infrastructure. This included the winding gear (to raise and lower the cages), the massive beam engines used for pumping water out of the deep levels, and ventilation fans. Unlike the "hewer" who cut coal, the Engineer was part of the management or specialist staff. Many Welsh mining engineers were world-renowned and later emigrated to lead mining projects in the US, Australia, and South Africa.
John Jeffreys died on December 23, 1853. No record of the death of Charlotte (Davies) Jeffreys was found, but it is assumed she died after the birth of Mary in 1844 and before the 1851 Census. Below is a photo I took of John Jeffreys’ grave marker at Llanddeusant Parish Church, The Church of St. Simon and St. Jude.
If questions, contact: bradley . jeffreys @ gmail . com
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