Dear Listers, On my gt. grandfather's marruage certificate from April 1864, one of the witnesses was a young woman called ELIZABETH FLOOK. The 1861 census shows her living at 23, Bridge Street, Tredegar, Monmouthshire in the household of Daniel Bennett (who could have been my 2x gt. grandfather's brother) as a niece, a domestic servant, unmarried, born in Gloucestershire. Purely as a matter of idle interest, can anyone out there put some flesh on her long-dead bones? The unusual surname caught my imagination! (Incidentally, as another item of non-familial interest, the lodger at 30, Morgan St., Tredegar was Vladimir POTEMKIN, born in Russia. What on earth was he doing in Tredegar in 1861??) Thanks in anticipation! Iain, in Brampton, Cumbria, UK.

On Sun, 18 Feb 2001 04:43:27 EST, you wrote: > (Incidentally, as another item of non-familial interest, the lodger at >30, Morgan St., Tredegar was Vladimir POTEMKIN, born in Russia. What on earth >was he doing in Tredegar in 1861??) > > Thanks in anticipation! > > Iain, in Brampton, Cumbria, UK. Hi Iain Perhaps he arrived on one of the many boats from the Baltic that used the S Wales ports bringing in timbers for the mining industry and taking out coal and got to liking a local lady and did a bit of mining, or whatever, to subsidize his stay. Or if he was Jewish he could have been a refugee: seem to remember they were always the subject of persecution in Russia. Also seem to remember that S Wales has quite a large Jewish population, in relative terms, due to persecution in E Europe, much like the East End of London did about this time although his name doesn't have that ring about it? Sincere apologies for off-topic brain-storming :-) Paul Portland