Dinah R would have needed parental permission to marry, as she wished to do so before the age of 21 and that was the law in the mid 19th century. The object of her affection was a lead miner from North Wales, and they had a son together a year later. Eight further children followed, but the death of her husband’s father meant a change of prospects – and they inherited farm land.
Rather than leaving her profession blank on subsequent census records, Dinah called herself a farmer’s wife – and unusually no enumerator crossed this out considering it irrelevant.
The farm grew, from 14 acres to 46 1/2 acres, and Dinah continued to work on the land, gradually including their children in the workforce as the size increased.
She was bi-lingual, speaking both English and Welsh fluently.
When her husband died she was left the farm in its entirety, providing that she remained a widow. This she did, running the business and working on the land for a further 32 years, and in each census record it is her that is credited as farmer and head of the household though her sons and daughters remain.
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