Family tales of ancestors on the Watkins side of the family are beginning to have some substance. At the weekend, mum’s cousin Islwyn handed over a photocopy of a ‘Certificate of registration of Sub-Board No 1’ for my great grandfather John Watkins (given as “of Forest City”, although he came from, and returned to, Tonypandy in Wales).
Dated 7th May 1893, it has been issued at Carbondale Pa, under “An Act to provide for the Examination of Miners in the Anthracite region of this Commonwealth etc” – passed 9th May 1889.
This image is a scan from a photocopy (merged from lighter and darker scans).
So far I have failed to find any useful material about the issuing of these certificates, such as explaining the purpose behind them.
Great grandfather John appears to be with his family in Neath, Wales in the 1891 census, just a few years before grandad Levi (Len) Watkins was born in Tonypandy (1894). So did he travel to and from America several times? And if so, where is he in the passenger lists?
Notes
Passenger list records previously checked include those on Ellis Island and Ancestry, but the latter may have added more Philadelphia records since.
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