Glamorgan Lovelucks

At the time of the baptism of their first child, Mary, William's occupation was given as "Maltster" and the address of the birth Marlas (adjacent to Llanmihangel Mill). At the time of the 1841 census, he was a Customs Officer, living in Pyle. There is also extensive evidence of his appointment to the position of "Coastwaiter" [Customs Officer] at Newton in 1839 [see WORD document "William POWELL Customs Service" prepared by Howard Lewis from Kew Archive records]. He does not appear in later censuses for Glamorgan, although his wife Jane, is shown as 'married' in 1851 and 1861, not 'widow' until 1881.

The following input from Howard LEWIS of Pontardawe: We know he was a maltster at Marlas when he married Jane and that he became a Customs Officer at Newton near Porthcawl. He went to Boscastle near Padstow and had a chequered career there until he fell foul of local wreckers and requested a transfer to anywhere else! Although he had seven children in Wales, the Customs headquarters classed him as a single man and he was posted to Orford in Suffolk in 1857. Our next record of him is in 1867 when he is dismissed the Service for some financial irregularities...." [William POWELL is the maternal great grandfather of Howard LEWIS]

In the 1861 and 1871 censuses he appears in Suffolk with a new "wife" Sarah A. POWELL (note that wife Jane is still alive in Pyle). See image files [1861 Census] RG9_Pce-1175_Fo-45_Pg-21 William Powell and [1871 Census] RG10_Pc-1722_Fo-128_Pg-34 William POWELL. William then disappears from the Suffolk - and all other - censuses. In 1881 the only William POWELL b.1814 in Kenfig, is now back in Bridgend - a pauper inmate in the workhouse, where he dies several years later. Although not totally at ease with this, I have assumed it to be the correct William and that the explanation for his position is that, following the death or departure of his second partner, William must have returned home to Pyle, hoping to be accepted by his wife, Jane, or to be housed by one of his family in the area, but that he was rejected by them. Not unreasonable, I feel, but would like to find further evidence.

William's son Joseph was in a small private school in Swansea in 1851 with two other POWELL boys, one of James POWELL's sons from Llanmihangel Mill, and a Thomas POWELL still to be identified. Another elder POWELL boy (son of Edward POWELL of Llanmihangel Farm) was visiting them.