Louisa Morgan Shelby
Sarah and John’s first child, Louisa Morgan Shelby, was born in 1853 in Cardiganshire [Tregaron 1853 4th qt]. The 1871 census stated that Louisa was 17, born in Aberystwyth, and a servant, living at 11 Regent Street, Wrexham Regis, a temperance hotel run by a widow called Mary Ann Davies.
In 1881 Louisa (age wrongly recorded as 19) was visiting 29 Primrose Street, Little London, Leeds, the home of Joshua and Rahab (‘Rachel’ in this census) Shaw with children John Labron Shaw (22), a tin-plate worker, Charlotte Labron Shaw (20) and Joshua Shaw (11); all but Louisa were natives of Leeds. About a fortnight later, on Easter Monday, 18 April, at St. Matthews Church, Leeds, Louisa married John Labron. She was purportedly living at 50 Meanwood Street, Leeds (probably Meanwood Road and a nominal address within the parish to enable her to marry at the parish church) and the occupation of her father was given as ‘carpenter’. The groom was the John Labron Shaw of the above census, with the same address and occupation, the son of Richard Labron, ‘leather dresser (deceased)’. Louisa’s sister, Miriam, was a witness. The family had been living in Primrose Street when John and Charlotte, the children of Richard and Rahab Labron (née Thompson), had been christened at St Matthew’s, Leeds, on 22 April 1860. Less than 3 years later Richard, then aged 27, died [Leeds 1862 4th qt]; Richard Labron of Primrose Street, Little London, Leeds, was buried on 16 November 1862. Eight years later Rahab married a neighbour Joshua Shaw.
Another entry in the 1881 census showed John Labron, tinner, born in Leeds and aged 22, was a prisoner in Her Majesty’s Prison at Armley. Having found John with his family it seemed impossible that this was the John who was to marry Louisa. There were several Labron families in Yorkshire and the birth of another ‘John Labron’ [Otley 1857, 3rd qt] was registered about a year before John’s [Leeds 1858, 4th qt]. However, he probably died in infancy [Otley 1860, 1st qt] so either the prisoner had assumed John’s identity or John was in prison but released at about the time of the census. >