Evangeline Morgan and Louis Marfell (General)

by kpegler, Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 22:38 (5245 days ago)

I've recently re-started delving into my family history, and one of the stories told to me by my grandfather that I wanted to investigate was that of my great great grandmother Evangeline Morgan (nee Roberts). I've never seen this website before but so many of my questions were answered in this thread earlier this year:

http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?mode=thread&id=22925

Since I think the story I was told may answer some of the questions of the people who have posted in the thread, I thought I would share it.

In 1911, Evangeline was living at High Beech, The Pludds, near Ruardean with her husband William (10 yrs her senior) and most of her 9 children. I have no idea what drove her to do it, but my grandfather told me that she walked to a local railway halt (possibly Lydbrook or Bishopswood, neither of which are a particularly short walk) to meet her lover who I now know must have been Louis Marfell. They planned to run away together, catching the train and then a ship to America, however, Evangeline had been followed by her youngest daughter (but not her youngest child), Evelyn. To take the child back home would have meant missing the train, so they took Evelyn with them.

In the previous thead, it was questioned why Evelyn was taken with them and why there was no record of marriage between Evangeline and Louis. From the story I was told, they certainly never meant to take a child with them and I very much doubt that the pair were actually married although I would expect that they would have travelled as husband and wife.

This story has always fascinated me as I wondered what would drive a woman in her mid 40s with 9 children to leave everything behind to move to the other side of the world with another man especially since, in the early 1900s, I doubt she really expected to see her children again (I think the youngest was just 4 years old). I've always wondered if she was just a terrible woman, tired of her older husband or a perhaps a victim of a bad husband. I guess I'll never know for sure, but thank you for everyone who has posted information that has helped!