Glamorgan Lovelucks

The first of Richard Davies' sons born to Gwenllian Rees, at Bodringallt, Ystradyfodwg, in November 1824, Jenkin moved with his parents, in 1827, to Brynchwith, Llandyfodwg, where the family remained until the late 1830's, when they took overCandleston Farm (Candleston Higher) Merthyr Mawr. In 1854, at the age of 30, Jenkin married 22-year old Anne Wiltshire, daughter of Henry Wiltshire, butcher, of Studley, Near Calne in Wiltshire. Anne had been working as a house maid at Merthyr Mawr Mansion. Jenkin and Anne moved into Mynydd Herbert, a farm in Tythegston, about a mile and a half from the Davies family farm at Candleston. In November 1855, Anne gave birth to twin boys, Ebenezer and Ezra. The event was to end in tragedy, because two weeks later Anne died, followed by one of the babies, Ezra a few weeks after that. Martha Wiltshire, Anne's sister, who had been a witness at their marriage, came to nurse Anne during her last days and to help Jenkin with the twins. Within months of Anne's death, Jenkin and Martha left Merthyr Mawr and, with Ebenezer, started a new life together in Berkshire - at Wickcroft Farm, on the Englefield estate. See: http://www.englefieldestate.co.uk/englefield_house/e_history.asp Jenkin and Martha lived together there as man and wife, but did not marrry as, until 1907, it was illegal in England and Wales for a man to marry his deceased wife's sister. For details of the Deceased Wife's Sisters Act see: http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1430 Between 1855 and 1881, Martha gave birth to no less than fourteen children at Wickcroft Farm, eleven of whom survived to maturitry. During his time in Englefield, Jenkin became a well-known and well-respected member of the agricultural community. We learn from his obituary that he was one of the first "to adopt the four-course system of farming in Glamorgan" and that he "alsobought the first drill used". He was appointed joint secretary of the Pangbourne Agricultural Society (which later became the South Berks Agricultural Association) a post which his son, Ebenezer was later to hold. He was also a member of the RoyalAgricultural Society and the Royal Agricultural Benefit Institution. He was on the committee of the Reading Fat Stock Association and a member of the Berks and Oxon Chamber of Agriculture. He had a stand at the Reading Cattle Market in conjunctionwith his sons. He is known to have invented several items of 'agricultural machinery', including a 'sack holder', which he patented in 1865, and these he demonstrated on his stand at the Royal Agricultural Society Reading Show in 1882, together with a range of proprietory agricultural machinery. [The Source Folder contains details of his stand at the Royal Agricultural Show and newspaper coverage of the event]. Jenkin's activities were not limited to the field of agriculture. Professionally, he also carried on the business of an auctioneer, and he was extremely active in public and community affairs. He served on the Berkshire County Council as Councillorfor Bradfield, first elected in 1888 and re-elected in 1892. Extracts from minutes of Berkshire County Council Meetings are held in the Source Folder, detailing the committees on which Jenkin served, etc. He was, for over twenty years, Guardian of the Bradfield Union, see: http://users.ox.ac.uk/~peter/workhouse/Bradfield/Bradfield.shtml and an overseer of the parish of Englefield. Notes taken from minutes of meetings of the Guardians of Bradfield Union, detailing his active participation, are held in the Source Folder. Jenkin's heart was seriously weakened by an attack of rheumatic fever in March 1893 and he succumbed to angina six months later, on 14th. September 1893. He was buried at Englefield with Martha and their offspring who died in childhood - Margaret,Gwenllian and Henry.