The massive Wrexham AFC history thread (The sad case of a founding members and player of Wrexham...)

[jonesfach]

Well done ESR.

[eastsussexred]

Originally Posted by dagg

Don't know if its my computer or the links but I'm getting this error when I click on the links.

A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: Warning
Message: call_user_func_array() expects parameter 1 to be a valid callback, class 'Error' does not have a method 'index/404'
Filename: core/CodeIgniter.php
Line Number: 532

Hi dagg, thanks for letting me know. No it isn't your pc, as I am getting the same message.
I have done a search online, and can only think that there is a conflict between the copy and paste from my own records (some of the links are now a couple of years old) which are stored on word documents on my pc, and pasting them onto RP raises some kind of script conflict on RP, and yet, when I open the links directly from word docs on my pc, there are no issues.
I will repost it from a different document and that will hopefully resolve the issue.

[dagg]

Originally Posted by eastsussexred

Hi dagg, thanks for letting me know. No it isn't your pc, as I am getting the same message.
I have done a search online, and can only think that there is a conflict between the copy and paste from my own records (some of the links are now a couple of years old) which are stored on word documents on my pc, and pasting them onto RP raises some kind of script conflict on RP, and yet, when I open the links directly from word docs on my pc, there are no issues.
I will repost it from a different document and that will hopefully resolve the issue.

Thanks for the reply.

[eastsussexred]

A new impetus from the poster named ‘Canary’ has helped to finally confirm the identity of the last unknown player of the 10-man-team who played against The Prince of Wales Fire Brigade, in our first ever game on 22nd October 1864.
Joseph Roberts was born in Oswestry, on the 21st May 1837 and he was baptised at The Welsh Chapel on Castle Lane, on 9th July 1837
The son of Frederick Roberts (b- 1804) and Jane Davies (b- 1807) Joseph Roberts had a brothers- Benjamin (b 1843) and two sisters- Jane (b-1833) and Elizabeth (b 1836). His father was a Miller/Flour Dealer and Maltster
The family moved to Wrexham where they were recorded in the 1851 Census as living near to The Racecourse, at 46 Mold Road. Frederick, then 51, was listed as a Miller and Corn Factor (dealer) who lived with his wife- Jane (45) daughter- Jane (17) Elizabeth (15) and Joseph (13). Joseph’s brother - Benjamin (9) is believed to have been living at a boarding school in Chester, at this time.

Frederick Roberts owned a bakery on Town Hill, Wrexham, which was destroyed by fire on 28th November 1853 https://newspapers.library.wales/vie...96/4462500/38/ and he wrote a letter to the directors of The Provincial Welsh Insurance Company, to thank them for their ‘great promptitude and fairness with which they had paid the claim’ which was published in The North Wales Chronicle on 10th December 1853 https://newspapers.library.wales/vie...505/4462506/1/ although the property was only partially insured and the losses incurred as a result of the fire brought a period of financial instability for the family.
By 1861, the family had moved to 5 College Street, Wrexham, where Frederick was described as a Provisions Dealer and Maltster, who lived with his wife-Jane, his son- Benjamin, daughter- Jane and grandchildren- Thomas Howes (1) and Elizabeth G (2 weeks). Jane’s husband, an accountant by the name of Thomas Howes Roberts is also listed as living at the property, as too is Joseph’s wife- Martha Roberts (30) although Joseph is not mentioned, as it is believed that he may have been away on business in America.
Frederick Roberts was later declared a bankrupt; although he was subsequently discharged from bankruptcy at Liverpool Bankruptcy Court on 13th May 1864
https://newspapers.library.wales/vie...16/4446922/49/ and he continued to trade at his shop in Wrexham, as reported in 1868. https://newspapers.library.wales/vie...07/4580012/27/ Frederick was then listed as a miller and baker, who lived with his wife and two daughters at 2 Abbott Street, Wrexham, in the 1871 Census, but he died at the age of 76, at Manchester House, in Colwyn Bay, on 26th April 1880. https://newspapers.library.wales/vie...65/3559069/34/


Within the context of this general history of the family, it has been possible to determine the events that would lead to Joseph Roberts being employed as an agent or clerk for The Provincial Welsh Insurance Company, where he was enrolled onto their cricket team, and subsequently made the connections that would result in him being one of the 10 founding players of Wrexham Football and Athletics Club, in 1864.

A court case from 1857 showed that Joseph Roberts had worked for a Mr Evans of Queen Street in 1854; most likely due to the financial issues endured by the Roberts family, due to the fire at their Bakers shop, in the previous year.
https://newspapers.library.wales/vie...83/4586986/12/
Another court case relating to the unpaid wages for a thirteen week period from September 1856, showed that Joseph Roberts had also worked as a book keeper for a Maltster in Wrexham, named as Mr Hughes. https://newspapers.library.wales/vie...57/4587461/38/
Joseph then became a new member of the Wrexham Cricket Club and played his first match against Hawarden, on The Racecourse Ground in June 1857 https://newspapers.library.wales/vie...08/4586911/12/ and again played for the cricket club against a united team of Wrexham, on The Racecourse in August 1857. https://newspapers.library.wales/vie...n%20racecourse
Joseph married Martha Hughes at Penybryn Chapel, Wrexham on 5 May 1859. They had three daughters: Elizabeth Jane (b-1860) Annie Poole (b-1863) Edith Alice (b-1868) and two sons David Frederick Roberts (b-1864) and Frederick E D Roberts (b-1865) although David died in 1864 and Frederick in 1865.
In February of 1863, Joseph Roberts was one of 32 insurance clerks and agents who wrote a letter of thanks (published in The Wrexham Advertiser) to the directors of The Provincial Welsh Insurance Company, after the company had installed a new gymnasium and reading room at their office in Wrexham. https://newspapers.library.wales/vie.../55/Provincial
Most of the clerks identified in the letter would later become founding members of Wrexham Football and Athletic Club, and many would play for the team in the earliest days of football on The Racecourse, including George Rumsey Johnson, who had also partnered Joseph Roberts as a member of the Provincial Welsh Insurance Cricket team in a match against Wrexham Cricket Club on 25th June 1864. https://newspapers.library.wales/vie...09/4579214/28/
Four months later, both G. R. Johnson and Joseph Roberts would play for Wrexham Football and Athletic Club, in the clubs first ever game against The Prince of Wales Fire Brigade at The Racecourse Ground, on 22nd October 1864. https://newspapers.library.wales/vie...55/4579360/19/


Joseph Roberts later moved to Chester where he was listed in the 1871 Census as living at 11 Pathway, St John’s, Chester with his wife Martha and two daughters – Annie P (11) and Edith A (3). Joseph’s occupation was listed as an “agent and corn dealer employing 1 man and 2 boys”. But by 1881, the family had moved to St Asaph, where they lived with Joseph’s brother-in- law, Thomas Howes Roberts, at Jesamine Cottage. Thomas, who was an accountant by profession, was also the Chairman of The St Asaph Board of Guardians and of the St. Asaph Rural District Council. The census for this year stated that Joseph (43) was a retired victualler whose wife-Martha was aged 43 and his daughter Edith was aged 13.
It is not known when the family moved from St. Asaph, but the 1891 census recorded that Joseph Roberts was living at 85 Huskisson Street, Liverpool, with his wife and two daughters – Annie P Roberts (28) and Edith Alice Roberts (23); his occupation was listed as ‘accountant’.
Joseph Roberts died in Liverpool in 1894, while Martha remained in Liverpool, where she died in 1907.

Joseph Roberts
Born Oswestry- 1837
Died Liverpool- 1894

Charles Edward Kershaw (Captain)
Born Saddleworth (Yorks) 1839. Died Southport 1874.

William Tootell
Born Nottingham 1831. Died Wrexham 1866

Thomas Henry Sykes
Born Huddersfield 1840. Died Nottingham 1910

Thomas Broster
Born Wrexham 1845. Died Bethlehem, South Africa 1921

Thomas Hanmer
Born Overton 1839. Died Wrexham 1887

Edward Ephraim Knibbs
Born Chester 1837. Died Wrexham 1875

Thomas Heath
Born Ramsbury (Wilts) 1824. Died Wycombe 1887.

John Taylor
Born Wrexham 1842. Died Newcastle 1895

George Rumsey Johnson
Born Bangor 1843. Died Denbighshire 1912

This concludes the list of the 10 men who played for Wrexham Football and Athletic Club in the clubs first ever game against 10 men of The Prince of Wales Fire Brigade, at The Racecourse, on 22nd October 1864.
I will now forward this list to the club, the FAW and Coflein to seek approval for a plaque to be erected at Y Cae Ras in recognition of these pioneers.

There is a photo of Joseph Roberts and his wife Martha, which I have attached to my post on the previous page of this thread. The date of the photo is unknown, although it was obviously taken when they were both in old age.

[eastsussexred]

Originally Posted by dagg

Thanks for the reply.

No problem. I have checked and the links are now working in the new post

[Cymru_Am_Byth_WXM]

Amazing work. You should publish your findings so it’s preserved forever.

[eastsussexred]

Originally Posted by Cymru_Am_Byth_WXM

Amazing work. You should publish your findings so it’s preserved forever.

Thanks CABW, I am currently in communication with Coflein, regarding all of the new information relating to the clubs history, the history of Y Cae Ras, The Turf Hotel and the history of the land on which it was built, and they are currently undertaking due diligence regarding this new information; after which, their records will be amended accordingly and updated on their websites.
I have emailed the club to request that a new heritage plaque be installed at Y Cae Ras in recognition of our founding players and members, and will also be writing to Cadw to seek official recognition for the new information recorded on any plaque that may be installed. I am also in regular contact with a number of historians who have specialised in the history of the club, Welsh Football, and the town of Wrexham in general.
In the past I have also posted historic information, relating to the history of The Racecourse, in The Denbighshire Archives, which I believe has been attached to historical documents, for the benefit of researchers, and I have posted a general history, including updated information about the club and The Racecourse on a couple of Ancestry Websites, while I have also written to quite a few relatives of our founding members, seeking additional information about their lives. Additionally, in the past, I had been in communication with media organisations and a university in South Africa, regarding the history of one of our founding players- Thomas Broster, although I think that the political situation over there is now such that they will not be publishing his story. I have also previously emailed FAW regarding our history, but didn't receive a response, though I will be writing to them again this week to request that they increase the profile of WAFC and Y Cae Ras in their documentation and on their web sites, to reflect its significance in terms of the history of Welsh football. Aside from this, I sometimes email sports and football websites with new information, and I believe that articles from this thread are also sometimes circulated on social media; so the information is being recorded and spreading further afield, but has not been published in a book because there always appears to be more information to find.

[Rhosymedre Red]

Typical FAW.i wouldn't hold your breath. Well done anyway. keep up the good work.

[Mr Wonderful]

Poster of The Year ESR.