A three-generation family story through Gwent Archives’ collection: The second generation
George Klein and Jane Gibson married in 1853 and had five children – Sarah Jane in 1854, Cornelia in 1855, Helene in 1857, George in 1858 and Fanny (Amelia’s mother) in 1861. George’s paralysis seems to have impacted his ability to find work as the year following his attack the whole family were admitted into Newport Union workhouse.
I was able to find Fanny and her four siblings throughout the Newport Workhouse records on several occasions. Once admitted, the family were seemingly split up. Fanny’s eldest sister, Sarah Jane, was admitted to Pen-y-Fal on 27th June 1863 where, from her notes in our collection, it’s clear she was a patient until her death in 1904. Fanny’s two other older sisters, Cornelia and Helene, were both admitted to Caerleon Industrial School – the school attached to Newport workhouse for children admitted to the workhouse – where they stayed for six to seven years until they left for ‘service’ in 1870 and 1871.
Knowing we also held a collection on Caerleon Industrial School, I was able to find Cornelia and Helene, as well as Fanny and George. Fanny was admitted to Caerleon Industrial School later, on 29th July 1973, and was there until she left for ‘service’ on 30th August 1875. The three sisters were sent to various employers including Mr Rees, a farmer in Cardiff, Mr Blackmore, a surgeon in Cwmbran, and Mr Powell, a collector in Newport. Similarly to Fanny, Fanny’s older brother George, born in 1859, had only later been admitted to Caerleon Industrial School in July 1872.
As I was searching for George in our collection, I discovered sadly his story had a particularly tragic ending. A year after being admitted he was sent to the service of Mr Hunt, a flannel manufacturer in Abercarn. Only a week after arriving at the factory, the Cwm Carne Reservoir burst after heavy flooding in the area and nine people died at the factory, including George. Not only was this tragedy covered in several local newspapers, but we hold the memorial card for this disaster in our collection.
We will publish the final part of this story (‘The third generation) on 25.06.26