Thomas Lewis
The list of the inscriptions on the gravestones at the Chapel contains a Thomas Lewis who died on the 20th June 1904 aged 79 years. I performed some historical investigations on this person and found that that he was born in Llanvair Discoed and his father was a William Lewis. Perhaps he is a grandson of Ann Rosser?
Census information showed that his family lived, for most of the time, in a property called “Pandy” very near to Earlswood Chapel. I have located this in the Cynefin Project files and provide here two images from that project regarding this property. (It can be seen on the maps that the Chapel is just across the brook from this property).
We can see that William Lewis is the occupier of the land at this time. Overall ownership lay with the Duke of Beaufort. The family unit can be found at this address in the 1841 Census.
The register entry for the birth of Thomas in 1824 tells us that his father, William, was a Mason.
I asked Gwent Archives to look for any information that might shed light on the age/ date of birth of William Lewis. Nothing of interest could be located in Mason Apprenticeship lists, and there was no Will. However, Gwent Archives did find a William Lewis, aged 55, being buried at the Llanvaches Parish Church in February 1848. I obtained the Death Certificate relating to this burial.
The information on this Death Certificate ties in very exactly with what we know about William Lewis from all the other parts of the research. His age at death indicates that he was born in 1792-3 and this is at variance with the date of birth of Ann’s son, William, in 1786.
Summary
The evidence, based on William’s age given in the 1841 Census and on his Death Certificate is that he is not a son of Ann Rosser and that Thomas Lewis is therefore not a grandson of Ann Rosser.