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I'm trying to locate the birthplace and family of William Harris. Here's what I know.

His death certificate says he was born in Pasthumdras, Wales. No such place exists and I've tried to guess what he might have been saying - I understand he had a very thick accent. His birth date is given as Sept. 26 1852.

Parents - not sure but may have been Thomas Harris and Mary Ann Phillips - have been through the census for Wales searching for a family that matches and havent found one.

Married - Elizabeth (Lizzie) Morgan - we dont know when or where. Lizzie was born in Llangwm, Pembrokeshire on 11 Nov 1860 to Richard Morgan & Elizabeth Pickering.

They both emigrated to the US and by 7 March 1881 were married and having their first son James who was born 7 March 1881 in Ohio. I cant find them separate or together in the 1880 US census - or in the immigration records.

Have also searched name variations such as Harries.

Any ideas would be welcome. Thank you.

For our ref:
(It wouldn't be William's accent causing a problem, as he was dead.)

Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947 about William Harris
Name: William Harris
Birth Date: 26 Sep 1852
Birth Place: Pashumdras, South Wales
Death Date: 24 May 1934
Death Place: Odin, Marion, Illinois
Burial Date: 25 May 1934
Burial Place: Odin, Marion, Ills
Cemetery Name: Peaceful Valley
Death Age: 81
Occupation: Coal Miner
Race: White
Marital Status: W
Gender: Male
Residence: Village of Odin
Father Name: Thomas F. Harris
Father Birth Place: South Wales
Mother Name: Mary Ann Phillips
Mother Birth Place: South Wales
Spouse Name: Elizabeth Ann Harris
FHL Film Number: 1711830

Deleted the marriage ... wrong one

Dianerae -

You say his parents "may have been Thomas Harris and Mary Ann Phillips ".

Does that mean you're not sure if that death record is the right William Harris, or someone else?

If the birth date is correct, his birth would have been registered in the Dec qr of 1852.
Per FreeBMD, there are these possibles:

Births Dec 1852
HARRIES William Haverford W 11a 544
HARRIES William Thomas Merthyr T 11a 262
HARRIS William Newport M 11a 165
HARRIS William Llanelly 11a 407
HARRIS William Pontypool 11a 129
HARRIS William Merthyr T 11a 265
HARRIS William Merthyr T 11a 253

Doesn't help to identify his birth, but perhaps narrows it down a bit.

His birth could have been registered promptly in Sept


Births Sep 1852

Harris William Newport M 11a 131
Harris William Daniel Llandilofawr 11a 576
Harris William Davies Haverfordw'st 11a 576

Harries William Llandilofawr 11a 463
Harries William Cardigan 11b 11
Harries William Neath 11a 354
Harries William Llandovery 11a 443


he could even have been born with a different surname and later taken on his stepfather's name

Wonder if Pasthumdras could be Penrhyndeudraeth ?

Thanks to everyone - that is his death record. However, information for US death records are given by family and we have different information for his mother's name - father is almost always Thomas. I pulled the most promising of the birth records or looked at the families in the 1861 census and couldnt match any of them.

Can Mike tell me what Penrhynedeudraeth is close to? In the US he became a coal miner. The Morgans were fishermen in Wales.

Easily found on Google ....

Penrhyndeudraeth, Merionethshire
Penrhyndeudraeth is a village and community in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. It is located between Traeth Mawr, the now largely reclaimed estuary of the Afon Glaslyn, and Traeth Bach, the estuary of the Afon Dwyryd
Penrhyndeudreath is a village in the county of Gywnedd and the home of the popular Italianate village of Portmeirion.
Located in the Snowdonia National Park


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penrhyndeudraeth

If accurate, the death record says the mystery village/town was in South Wales, which would certainly fit with William being a miner - if he was a miner before emigrating..

Just a suggestion:
As Elizabeth/Lizzie was born in Pembrokeshire, most likely William lived/was born in Pembrokeshire too.
How about Prendergast or Poyston Cross as places which might be misheard, mis-spelled, or mistranscribed from poor handwriting as Pashumdras??
Neither is very far from Llangwm, where Lizzie was born.

???
Births Sep 1852 (>99%)
Harris William Davies Haverfordw'st 11a 576