Can anyone shed some light on the ancestors of my great grandfather, Thomas Grove Davies or Davis who was born in 1848 at Mumbleshead or possibly Swansea, Wales ? His mother was Ann Grove. Tom ran away to sea in 1862 on the "Mary Ann Johnson" which was bound for South America. In 1863, to celebrate the marriage of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII), Tom , who was on a ship anchored at Gibraltar, was asked to row to a Dutch galleon to buy some liquor for the crew. While he returned to England in 1866, later in that year he joined the "Ocean Empress" to sail to Australia. He had an eventful working life - sailing, cotton picking, hauling timber with horses, working with slate and marble, tin mining and farming. In 1881, he married Mary Allen in Warwick, Queensland. They had the following children :- Henry Allen 1883 Ann Grove 1884 Essie 1886 Eliza Griffiths 1887 Eleanor Jane 1889 Mary 1891 Thomas Llewellyn 1893 Mary died shortly after Llewellyn's birth and death in late 1893 and all the children except Henry were raised by various members of Mary's family. Tom lived until he was 82 years old. The names of the children would suggest that Tom's father's name was Henry as it was certainly believed that Aunty Ann was named after his mother. My father, Harold Allen Davies, was Henry's first son. The Mumbleshead birth information came from him, although a newspaper article written about Tom's adventurous life in 1924 said he came from Swansea. (Perhaps that was more recognisable to the readers in far away of Queensland.) It was believed that his father or brother was at one time the Mayor of Swansea. Fact or fiction we don't know ! Thank you in advance. Wendy