Birth

William, the fourth child of Edward and Joan Park, was born at Hardington in 1827. His father, Edward, was a carpenter.

Marriage

In 1848, William married Elizabeth Genge, a widow with four children, including James Barrett Genge and John Barrett Genge.

Occupations

In March 1851, William was a farm labourer at White Vine. By April 1861, he was a railway labourer living at Hardington Marsh, and this remained his occupation for the following twenty years.

Bridgend

In the early 1880s, William and Elizabeth moved to Bridgend. By September 1885, they lived at 24 Nolton Street, and William was employed as a delivery man by a soda water manufacturer.

A terrible accident

On Wednesday, 30 October 1885, William spent the day making deliveries in the Ogmore Valley, eight miles north of Bridgend. At about 7 pm, he called at the Blandy Arms in Tynewydd High Street. As he left, the landlady’s son, William Davies, observed what happened next. After William got into the cart, the horse backed over an embankment, and the horse and cart rolled down into the river. The boy went to get help, and men were soon on the spot. Finding William unconscious and under the cart, they pulled him out and took him to the Blandy Arms. There, two doctors treated him for his injuries, which included three or four cuts on the back of his head, one quite large. The following morning, he seemed better, so someone took him home in a wagonette. Unfortunately, William gradually got weaker and died on 5 October. The inquest jury returned a verdict of “Accidental death.”[1]

Elizabeth’s later life

Elizabeth remained at Bridgend, dying there in December 1888, aged 78

Children

He and Elizabeth had two children: Rhoda, born in late 1848/early 1849, and Maria Elizabeth, born in 1851. Maria Elizabeth died in October 1858, aged seven.

References

[1] Bridgend Chronicle, 9 October 1885, p.3. This newspaper report states William’s age as 48 when he was 58.