Conwy grave Hephzibah Williams

conwy_grave_hephzibah_williamsHephzibah Williams (d.1824)

The tombstone records that Hephzibah Williams, who died aged 39, was married to Maurice Williams of Plas Mawr. He died in 1873 but probably moved out of Plas Mawr long before then, since he isn’t recorded as living there in the 1841 census.

Plas Mawr is the big Elizabethan town house on the High Street, now a museum which you can visit. If you’ve already been there, you may have visions of Hephzibah and Maurice being extremely well-to-do!

The reality is rather different. Plas Mawr in the 19th century was occupied by five different families. The painting on the right shows a room in Plas Mawr in this period.

In 1841 the occupations of the family heads were: farmer, Williams family; barker, Roberts family (barkers prepared bark for use in tanning leather); agricultural labourer, Jones family (son, aged 19, was a coachman); house keeper, the other Roberts family; and lawyer, Thomas family.

The 1851 census lists 29 people who were living in Plas Mawr, including eight members of the Williams family and their lodger. Three of the adults living there were listed as “Pauper”.

Return to Churchyard Page