Alice was born at Glascoed in the middle of 1862 (her birth was registered in the 3rd quarter of 1862), the second daughter of John and Sarah Pitt (she also had two brothers).

Her father, John, was a stone mason although she probably remembered little of him, since he died sometime around her 3rd birthday, on 9th August 1865. The next years of her life were probably quite tough, since her mother in all likelihood moved away from Glascoed to live near to her sister, in Gelligaer parish, Glamorgan. Her mum re-married, to James Williams (a quarry man, and later a labourer at the Iron works). The family had moved back to Glascoed by 1869.

Her mother had another two children by James Williams, bringing the family numbers up to seven by 1871/72.

In early 1881 (when Alice was aged 18), a baby girl joined the family at Rose Cottage - Ethel Pitt. It appears that she was the daughter of Alice. In both of the following censuses (1881 and 1891) Ethel was with her grandparents and not her parents. In 1881, she was down as Ethel Williams, daughter of James and Sarah Williams. I believe that this Ethel was most likely Ethel Pitt, and the daughter of the unmarried Alice.

Alice married a Robert Edwards, 8 years her senior, in 1884 in the Newport area. Her husband hailed from Tudhoe, Spennymoor in County Durham. Robert’s family had moved to Blaenavon to work at the Iron works by the time of the 1871 census. He then moved to Llanvihangel Pontymoile, which is where I assume that he met Alice. He was described as a furnaceman on the 1891 census. They had at least six children:

Gertrude (born 1885), Alice (born c. 1887), Eva May (born 1891), Sarah (born 1892), George Edwin (born 1894) and Jessie Maud (born 1897). All were born in the Pontypool or Pontymoile area. Robert was working as an excavator (Navvy) at Abersychan by 1901.

Census links:

1871 census (at Glascoed)

1881 census (at Glascoed)