I Mary David otherwise Davies do hereby solemnly and sincerely declare:
That I reside at Goitre in the county of Monmouth and am the widow of Thos Davies otherwise David late of Pentre bach in the parish of Goitre in the said county
That I am 78 years of age
That when I was a girl I well knew and now remember Wm Andrews late of the Goitre aforesaid yeoman deceased
That the said Wm Andrews lived upon the Pentre bach estate in the said parish of Goitre and was always deemed and considered to be the owner thereof as well as of the Graig ddu and Alt withy estates
That the said Wm Andrews devised the property to his wife Mary Andrews and died soon afterwards and was buried at Goitre Church under the seat in the said Church belonging to the estates and I remember his funeral
That I knew Mary Andrews the widow and devisee of the said Wm Andrews deceased
That the said Mary Andrews continued in the possession of the said Pentre bach and other estates up to the time of her decease as the owner thereof
That the said Mary Andrews died about the year 1793 when I was a girl and was buried at Goitre Church aforesaid in the same grave with her husband the said Wm Andrews deceased and I remember her funeral
That I knew Ann David otherwise Davies
That the said Ann David otherwise Davies was the first wife of my said husband Thomas David otherwise Davies the devisee for life mentioned in the will of the said Mary Andrews deceased
That the said Ann David otherwise Davies died about the year 1796 and was buried at Goitre Church in the same grave with the said Wm Andrews and Mary his wife
That about 2 years afterwards I married the said Thomas David otherwise Davies the marriage being solemnised at Goitre Church aforesaid
That I knew Wm Andrews the devisee for life mentioned in the will of the said Mary Andrews deceased
That the said Wm Andrews was a soldier in the 8th Regiment of the line and was in the American War
That he was absent from Goitre aforesaid for many years and was supposed to be dead
That at the time of his return my said husband was in possession of the said estates
That on the return of the said Wm Andrews my said husband purchased from him the said Wm Andrews his life interest in the estates for the sum of £90 and an annuity of £5 5 0 but no writings or deeds were signed or prepared between them
That I repeatedly paid the said annuity to the said Wm Andrews
That the said Wm Andrews on his return to Goitre aforesaid resided at Burgwm in the said parish and intermarried first with Mary the widow of Michael Lewis an aged woman
That the said Mary died without any issue by the said last mentioned Wm Andrews her husband but I know not in what year she died or where she was buried – but I remember her death
That I remember the said last mentioned Wm Andrews the devisee for life after the death of his said first wife the said Mary Lewis intermarried with Sarah the daughter of John Cadogan of Burgwm aforesaid
That the said Wm Andrews the devisee for life died in the month of June 1828 and was buried at Goitre Church aforesaid on the 24th day of June in the same year in my presence
That the said last mentioned Wm Andrews the devisee for life mentioned in the certificate of burial marked with the letter ‘B’ produced and shewn to me at the time of making this declon is the Wm Andrews mentioned in the will of the said first mentioned Mary Andrews deceased
That the said Sarah Andrews survived the said last mentioned Wm Andrews many years and died in the month of December 1832 and was buried at Goitre Church aforesaid and is the same person mentioned in the certificate of burial marked with the letter ‘C’ produced and shewn to me at the time of making this declon
That the said Wm Andrew was never married previously to his first marriage with the said Mary Lewis
That the said Wm Andrews never had any issue by either of his said wives
That I remember the death of Wm Davies otherwise David my husbands eldest son by his first wife
That he died in the year 1806 a bachelor in his 23rd year without issue and without being made and deposition and will or otherwise of his interest in the said estate or estates or them and was buried at Goitre Church aforesaid in my presence on the 8th day of February 1806
That the Wm Davis mentioned in the certificate of burial produced and shewn to me at the time of making this declon and marked with the letter ‘A’ is my said step son the said Wm David otherwise Davies
That I knew Wm Williams of the parish of Lanover carpenter
That I have on many occasions paid him his annuity of 20/- given to him by the will of the said first mentioned Mary Andrews deceased
That he died many years ago and was buried in the parish of Llanover in the said county
That my said husband had 5 sons by his first wife namely the said Wm David otherwise Davies now of Pentre bach aforesaid yeoman, Francis David otherwise Davies, Walter David otherwise Davies and David David otherwise Davies
That the said Thos David otherwise Davies was my said late husbands 2nd son
That I had 7 sons by my said late husband namely Daniel 2. John 3. Daniel 4. William 5. David and two others who died immediately after birth my eldest son Daniel any my youngest son David died infants of tender age
That my said husband the said Thos Davies otherwise David died on or about the 12th day of January 1842 and was buried at the Baptist Chapel called Hanover Chapel situate at Llanover in the said county
And I make this solemn declon:
We think that a declaration made to the above effect will ratify the position on the point’s compound to?
Hamley Tugood 1857
I hereby certify that I was present when the above declaration of Mary David was taken and that the same was carefully read over and explained to her by the above named Richard Greenway the commissioner she thoroughly and completely understands the same. And I further certify that the said declarant notwithstanding her age was at the time of making her said declaration a person of intelligence and of sound and perfect memory and understanding.
Dated the sixth day of June one thousand eight hundred and fifty seven
Thomas Evans
Rector of Goitre – Monmouthshire