1871 Wood Mill Aylburton
William Monday Head - Male 66 1805 Gardiner Devizes, Somerset, England
Sarah Monday Wife - Female 55 1816 Gardiner Carlron, Monmouthshire, Wales

1861 Aylburton
William Munday Head Married Male 51 1810 Agricultural labourer Devizes, Wiltshire, England
Sarah Munday Wife Married Female 36 1825 - Caerleon, Monmouthshire, Wales
Mary Munday Daughter Unmarried Female 21 1840 Dressmaker Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
George Munday Son Unmarried Male 19 1842 Forgeman Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
Eliza Munday Daughter - Female 14 1847 - Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
Fanny Munday Daughter - Female 8 1853 - Lydney, Gloucestershire, England

1851 Lydney Basin
William Monday Head Married Male 43 1808 Wharfinger Wiltshire, England
Sally Monday Wife Married Female 42 1809 - Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
Charles Monday Son Unmarried Male 18 1833 Butcher Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
Mary Monday Daughter Unmarried Female 12 1839 - Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
George Monday Son - Male 10 1841 Scholar Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
Hannah Monday Daughter - Female 7 1844 Scholar Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
Ann Monday Daughter - Female 5 1846 - Lydney, Gloucestershire, England
Eliza Monday Daughter - Female 4 1847 - Lydney, Gloucestershire, England

1841 Broad Holes Lydney
William Mundy Male 36 1805 Gloucestershire, England Ag Lab
Sarah Mundy Female 30 1811 Gloucestershire, England
Charles Mundy Male 7 1834 Gloucestershire, England
Mary Mundy Female 1 1840 Gloucestershire, England

Year: 1840
Month: Jan
Day: 4
Parents_Surname: MUNDAY
Child_Forenames: Mary Walker
Fathers_Forenames: William
Mothers_Forenames: Sally
Mothers_Surname:
Residence: Lydney
Occupation: Labourer
Officiating_Minister: Charles Taylor Vicar
Event: Baptism
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: PFC 209 IN 1/3
Page_Number: 179
Parish_Chapel: Lydney

Year: 1834
Month: Apr
Day: 7
Grooms_Surname: MUNDEY
Grooms_Forenames: William
Grooms_Age:
Groom_Condition: Bachelor
Grooms_Occupation:
Grooms_Residence: Hundred of St Briavels
Grooms_Fathers_Surname:
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames:
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation:
Brides_Surname: WALKER
Brides_Forenames: Sarah
Brides_Age:
Brides_Condition: Spinster
Brides_Occupation:
Brides_Residence: Hundred of St Briavels
Brides_Fathers_Surname:
Brides_Fathers_Forenames:
Brides_Fathers_Occupation:
Licence_or_Banns: Banns
Date_of_Banns:
Signature_or_Mark: Both sign
Witness_1: Edward Henson
Witness_2: Mary Walker
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: Yate Fosbroke Curate
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P278 IN 1/11
Page_Number: 2
Parish_Chapel: St Briavels

Births Sep 1870 (>99%)
Simmonds Charles William Westbury S. 6a 222 ( good for Blakeney birth)

Marriages Dec 1869 (>99%)
Munday Mary Walker Chepstow 11a 13
SIMMONDS George Chepstow 11a 13

Year: 1869
Month: Dec
Day: 30
Grooms_Surname: SIMMONDS
Grooms_Forenames: George
Grooms_Age: Of full age
Groom_Condition: Bachelor
Grooms_Occupation: Collier
Grooms_Residence: Lydney
Grooms_Fathers_Surname: SIMMONDS
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames: George
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation: Labourer
Brides_Surname: MUNDY
Brides_Forenames: Mary Walker
Brides_Age: Of full age
Brides_Condition: Spinster
Brides_Occupation: [not stated]
Brides_Residence: Lydney
Brides_Fathers_Surname: MUNDY
Brides_Fathers_Forenames: William
Brides_Fathers_Occupation: Labourer
Licence_or_Banns: Banns
Date_of_Banns: [not stated]
Signature_or_Mark: Both sign
Witness_1: James Wilkins
Witness_2: Sarah Ann Jones
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: Henry Morgan
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P209 IN 1/15
Page_Number: 236
Parish_Chapel: Lydney

1851 Joys Green
George Simmonds Head Married Male 38 1813 Labourer Herefordshire, England
Eliza Simmonds Wife Married Female 36 1815 Wife Gloucestershire, England
Mary Ann Wood Daughter Unmarried Female 15 1836 At home -
Eliza Simmonds Daughter Unmarried Female 13 1838 At home -
George Simmonds Son Unmarried Male 11 1840 At home -
William Simmonds Son Unmarried Male 2 1849 At home

1841 Ruardean ( Morse Drybrook area)
George Simmons Male 26 1815 Gloucestershire, England
George Simmons Male 1 1840 Gloucestershire, England
Eliza Simmons Female 25 1816 Gloucestershire, England
Eliza Simmons Female 2 1839 Gloucestershire, England

then maybe moved to the Black Country

Marriages Dec 1872 (>99%)
Dyke Sarah Wolverhampton 6b 805
SIMMONDS George Wolverhampton 6b 805

1881 Smiths Bldgs, 5, Bilston Street, Bilston, Wolverhampton
George Symmonds Head Married Male 41 1840 Tin plate worker Gloucestershire, England
Sarah Symmonds Wife Married Female 44 1837 - Tipton, Staffordshire, England
Mary Dyke Step daughter Single Female 24 1857 Domestic servant unemployed Bilston, Staffordshire, England
Jonathan Dyke Step son Single Male 20 1861 Boat steerer on canal Bilston, Staffordshire, England
Sarah J Dyke Step daughter Single Female 12 1869 Scholar Bilston, Staffordshire, England
Charles W Symmonds Son Single Male 10 1871 Scholar Gloucestershire, England
Phoebe A Symmonds Daughter Single Female 5 1876 Scholar Bilston, Staffordshire, England

1891 Bilston Wolverhampton
George Symmonds Head Married Male 51 1840 Iron worker doubler Walford, Herefordshire, England
Sarah Symmonds Wife Married Female 55 1836 - Tipton, Staffordshire, England
Charles Symmonds Son Single Male 20 1871 Iron catcher Blakeney, Gloucestershire, England
Phoebe Symmonds Daughter Single Female 16 1875 Iron worker Bilston, Staffordshire, England

Deaths Sep 1900 (>99%)
Simmonds George 60 Wolverhampton 6b 412

1901 Bilston
Sarah Simmonds Wife Widow Female 64 1837 - Tipton, Staffordshire, England
Phoebe Bennett Daughter Married Female 25 1876 Holloway on mather (brusher) Bilston, Staffordshire, England
Maud Shoobridge Grand daughter Single Female 17 1884 Holloway on mather (swiller) London, Middlesex, England

Thank you so much for contacting me,
It would be amazing if you can help with my serch.
My email address rworgan@hotmail.co.uk

Best, Robin

Truth to tell my memory of my findings is rather hazy now, but I did document a lot of the info and cross-reference it in an Excel spreadsheet. You're more than welcome to a copy of this. Just drop me a message on here with your email address.

All the best Nick D

1851
James Worgan Head Married Male 64 1787 Waterman St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Nelly Worgan Wife - Female 65 1786 - St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Eleanor Worgan Daughter Unmarried Female 40 1811 At home St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Eliza Worgan Daughter Unmarried Female 30 1821 Dress maker St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
John Worgan Son - Male 13 1838 At home St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England

Year: 1806
Month: Apr
Day: 29
Grooms_Surname: WORGAN
Grooms_Forenames: James
Grooms_Age:
Groom_Condition: Bachelor
Grooms_Occupation:
Grooms_Residence: Parish of St Briavels
Grooms_Fathers_Surname:
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames:
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation:
Brides_Surname: GWYNNE
Brides_Forenames: Eleanor
Brides_Age:
Brides_Condition: Spinster
Brides_Occupation:
Brides_Residence: Parish of St Briavels
Brides_Fathers_Surname:
Brides_Fathers_Forenames:
Brides_Fathers_Occupation:
Licence_or_Banns: Banns
Date_of_Banns:
Signature_or_Mark: Both mark
Witness_1: William Hulin, Clark
Witness_2: The mark of Sarah Worgan
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: Thomas Thomas, Curate
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P278 IN 1/9
Page_Number: 53
Parish_Chapel: St Briavels

Year: 1818
Month: Jan
Day: 11
Parents_Surname: WORGAN
Child_Forenames: James
Fathers_Forenames: James
Mothers_Forenames: Eleanor
Mothers_Surname:
Residence: Brockwear
Occupation: Waterman
Officiating_Minister: Tho[mas] Thomas
Event: Baptism
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P175 IN 1/4
Page_Number: 13
Parish_Chapel: Hewelsfield

1861 St Briavels
James Worgan Head Married Male 43 1818 Mariner St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Jane Worgan Wife Married Female 43 1818 - St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Margaret Worgan Daughter Unmarried Female 17 1844 - St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Richard Worgan Son Unmarried Male 13 1848 - St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Mary Worgan Daughter Unmarried Female 10 1851 - St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
James Worgan Son - Male 4 1857 - St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England

1851 St Briavels,
James Worgan Head Married Male 32 1819 Waterman St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Jane Worgan Wife Married Female 32 1819 - St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Charlotte Worgan Daughter - Female 10 1841 Scholar St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Margaret Worgan Daughter - Female 8 1843 Scholar St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Sarah Jane Worgan Daughter - Female 5 1846 Scholar St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Richard Worgan Son - Male 3 1848 Scholar St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England
Mary Worgan Daughter - Female 0 1851 - St Briavels, Gloucestershire, England

1939 No 3 Council Houses, Saint Briavels, Coldharbour,
William J Worgan 01 Apr 1876 Male Colliery On Setter Heavy Worker Married 78 1
Edith G Worgan 07 Dec 1879 Female Unpaid Domestic Duties Married 78 2
Dulcie M Worgan 29 Aug 1908 Female Daily Domestic Single 78 3
Mabel Worgan 20 Apr 1913 Female Daily Domestic Single 78 4
The record for this person is officially closed

1921 Cold Harbourne St. Briavels, St. Briavel's, Monmouthshire, Gloucestershire, Wales
Head William J. Worgan Circa 1877 Collier at Princes Royal Colliery Company Bream
Wife Edith Worgan Circa 1880
Son Stanley Worgan Circa 1903
Daughter Dulcie Worgan Circa 1909
Son Cyril Worgan Circa 1911
Daughter Mabel Worgan Circa 1913

1911 Cold Harbour Street, Briavels
Head William Worgan 33
Wife Edith Worgan 30
Son Stanley Worgan 8
Daughter Dulcie Worgan 2

1901 St Briavels Common, St Briavels,
Head Richard Worgan 53
Wife Sarah Jane Worgan 53
Son William James Worgan 24
Daughter Sarah Jane Worgan 20
Daughter Annie Margret Worgan 17
Son Richard John Worgan 14

1881 Common, St Briavels
Head Richard Worgan 33
Wife Sarah Jane Worgan 33
Daughter Mary Jane Worgan 8
Daughter Edith Rose Worgan 6
Son William J Worgan 4
Daughter Sarah Jane Worgan 6 months\

Year: 1877
Month: Apr
Day: 29
Parents_Surname: WORGAN
Child_Forenames: William James
Fathers_Forenames: Richard
Mothers_Forenames: Sarah Jane
Mothers_Surname:
Residence: S Briavels Common
Occupation: Labourer
Officiating_Minister: W[illia]m Taprell Allen Vicar
Event: Baptism
Memoranda: son of
Notes:
Register_Reference: P278 IN 1/7
Page_Number: 52
Parish_Chapel: St Briavels

Mountjoy was baptized at Drybrook in October 1824, and my Samuel Horobin was baptized in the same register volume, a few years and a few dozen pages apart in the same book.

My uncle quoted him in 1980 without, I think, knowing anything about him. Interesting!

One thought your post set off. I see from the Victoria County History that Mountjoy formed the East Dean Economic Benefit Society at the Baptist chapel in 1854, and that it promoted temperance, and that several Forest friendly societies met at chapels rather than public houses. That sits far more comfortably with my Samuel than a Masonic lodge does — he married at Parkend, and his children were baptized and both his wives buried at Coleford Congregational. A chapel benefit society badge would make sense of the star and the plain ribbon.

Do you know whether the records of those Forest societies survive anywhere, or what their regalia looked like?

Published in 1887 by A Chilver. Length 109 pages. Full Title The Life, Labours, and Deliverances of a Forest of Dean Collier,
Born the 11th Day of September, 1824, on Little Dean Hill, in the Hundred of St. Breveals, in the County of Gloucester, with Many Things He Witnessed as He Journeyed Through Life:

Year: 1824
Month: Oct
Day: 3
Parents_Surname: MOUNTJOY
Child_Forenames: Timothy
Fathers_Forenames: Joseph
Mothers_Forenames: Ann
Mothers_Surname:
Residence: Little Dean Hill
Occupation: Lime Burner
Officiating_Minister: H. Berkin
Event: Baptism
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P109 IN 1/1
Page_Number: 52
Parish_Chapel: Drybrook

1841 Dean Woodside
Rosanna Mountjoy Female 55 1786 Gloucestershire, England
Timothy Mountjoy Male 15 1826 Gloucestershire, England
Amelia Mountjoy Female 9 1832 Gloucestershire, England

1851
Woodside

Timothy Mountjoy Head Married Male 26 1825 Coal miner Gloucestershire, England
Caroline Mountjoy Wife Married Female 25 1826 - Cambridge, Gloucestershire, England

1861 Bilson Green Widower

1871 St John Cinderford
Timothy Mountjoy Head - Male 48 1823 Coal miner Little Dean Hill, Gloucestershire, England
Sarah Mountjoy Wife - Female 47 1824 - Cropthorn, Worcestershire, England

1881 Cinderford
Timothy Mountjoy Head Married Male 56 1825 Beer seller Cinderford, Gloucestershire, England
Sarah Mountjoy Wife Married Female 56 1825 - Cropthorne, Worcestershire, England

1891 Claremont Villa, 2, Commercial Street, Cinderford
Timothy Mountjoy Head Married Male 66 1825 Retired miners agent Gloucestershire, England
Sarah Mountjoy Wife Married Female 66 1825 - Cropthorne, Worcestershire, England

Year: 1896
Month: Nov
Day: 29
Surname: MOUNTJOY
Forenames: Timothy
Residence: Cinderford
Age_at_death: 72
Officiating_Minister: William Barker Vicar
Event: Burial
Cause_of_death:
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P109 IN 1/13
Page_No: 104
Parish_Chapel: Drybrook

Year: 1868
Month: Aug
Day: 1
Grooms_Surname: MOUNTJOY
Grooms_Forenames: Thomas
Grooms_Age: 24
Groom_Condition: Bachelor
Grooms_Occupation: Miner
Grooms_Residence: Claverands Green Clearwell
Grooms_Fathers_Surname: Mountjoy
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames: Thomas
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation: Miner
Brides_Surname: HILL
Brides_Forenames: Annie
Brides_Age: 23
Brides_Condition: Spinster
Brides_Occupation: Servant
Brides_Residence: Clements Tump
Brides_Fathers_Surname: Hill
Brides_Fathers_Forenames: James
Brides_Fathers_Occupation: Collier
Licence_or_Banns: Banns
Date_of_Banns:
Signature_or_Mark: Both sign
Witness_1: Mark of William Hore
Witness_2: Miriam Hore
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: Basil A. Galland
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P57 IN 1/8
Page_Number: 61
Parish_Chapel: Bream

Year: 1883
Month: Oct
Day: 18
Parents_Surname: MOUNTJOY
Child_Forenames: Arthur
Fathers_Forenames: Thomas
Mothers_Forenames: Annie
Mothers_Surname:
Residence: Sling
Occupation: Miner
Officiating_Minister: H L Perry Vicar
Event: Baptism
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P88 IN 1/2
Page_Number: 83
Parish_Chapel: Clearwell

1901 Clearwell Meand
Thomas Mountjoy Head Married Male 56 1845 Coal miner West Dean, Gloucestershire, England
Annie Mountjoy Wife Married Female 56 1845 - West Dean, Gloucestershire, England
Harry Mountjoy Son Single Male 19 1882 Coal miner West Dean, Gloucestershire, England
Arthur Mountjoy Son Single Male 17 1884 Coal miner West Dean, Gloucestershire, England

I suspect in 1910 1920 1930 and possibly 1940 he is in Sharon Ward 4, Mercer, Pennsylvania, United States
He appears to marry in 1911 in Lawrence, Pennsylvania, United States

The second part of your reply is interesting. The names you list — Mountjoy, Kear, Brain, Virgo, Gwilliam — are new to me as a group, and they change how I have been thinking about the emigration. I had been treating my family as individuals who happened to leave; a documented current of Forest families into Allegheny County for the mines and the iron is a different thing altogether.

Mountjoy particularly. My uncle, who compiled a family history in 1980, quoted Timothy Mountjoy on the hard times in the Forest — the passage about a great depression having visited them, the poor in a state of starvation, and many having left for other colonies. It had not occurred to me that Mountjoys were among those who went to the same corner of Pennsylvania my family did.

Is there a published account of that migration, or is it local knowledge? I would be very glad of a reference if one exists.

For what it is worth from this end: Samuel Horobin sailed from Bristol on the SS Devon, arriving New York on 12 April 1881, in a list carrying several other English colliers and a miner. His daughter Edith and her husband James Aston followed from Liverpool on the SS Wyoming in October 1882. Both ended up at Beadling, in Allegheny County.

Interesting that Allegheny took a lot of families from Wales and England, including the Forest, for their labour/ Iron/ Steel / Mining / Timber experiences - Mountjoy, Kear, Brain, Virgo Cinderey Gwilliam etc from the FoD.

https://drive.proton.me/urls/V3ZCZC4FKM#aSU4aeHCgiPF

One detail that may help: it isn't a sash worn across the body. It's a plain pale ribbon, about the width of the medal itself, hanging straight down from it on the left breast. No apron or collar is visible.

I've also asked the Museum of Freemasonry, and I'll post whatever they say here.

Mark Whitwill was born in 1857 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.

He was a shipowner, shipbroker, and philanthropist. He worked at Mark Whitwill & Son, Shipowners and Brokers and General Shipping Agents, a firm established by his father, Mark Whitwill (1826-1903), in Bristol in 1831. They were managers of Great Western Line of Steamers, Bristol & New York, and agents for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, the Allan Line of Steamers to Quebec, and the National Line of Steamers to New York.

In 1883, he married Emma Reece May (1860–). He died on December 5, 1921, in Keynsham, Somerset, England.

advert showing cost of one way steerage class ticket to New York
https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Mark_Whitwill_and_Son

Good to have the Buffaloes ruled out; I hadn't known their regalia carried a buffalo. And thank you for the point about the pentagram and freemasonry — I had been leaning away from the family's Masonic attribution, so it is worth my testing properly rather than dismissing.

I have since found that the Royal Forest of Dean Lodge No. 1067 was warranted in May 1865 and consecrated in June 1866, meeting at the Town Hall in Coleford and at the Speech House — about a mile from where Samuel lived. It moved to Newnham-on-Severn from 1869, which would have been a long walk from Coalway Lane End. A search of the Grand Lodge membership registers returns three possible entries under Horobin and Harobin, though I cannot see the details without a subscription, so I have asked the Museum of Freemasonry whether any of them relate to a Gloucestershire lodge.

If they come back with an answer I will post it here, in case it is of use to anyone else.

Might I ask one thing: do you know whether the friendly societies in the Forest — the Oddfellows, the Foresters, or local benefit or burial clubs — used a five-pointed star in a circular badge? The one in the portrait hangs from a broad plain ribbon on the left breast, with no apron or collar.

With thanks,

Lottie Aston