29th July 1907 alma pitt nee griffith to walter norman pitt
birmingham, warwickshire to llandudno, conwy, wales
100 miles
the message
“July 29th / 07
“St Tudno”
Murdock Rd
My dear Norm,
many thanks for lovely p.p.c. Sunday. Be Sure you send to Gina & later on to Aunt Jennie. We all hope you will have good weather & enjoy yourself. Our love to O. & N. & self
“mother”
Love to Edgar”
the sender
Alma Pitt nee Griffith (1857-1936) was born in Llandudno in North Wales. Her parents were William Roberts Griffith (1822-1876) and Catherine Price (1825-1902). William was a Coal Merchant.
In 1861 Alma was living with her parents in Llandudno. The same is true in 1871. In 1881 she was with her widowed mother, now a Lodging House Keeper, in Tudno Street, Llandudno. In 1887 Alma married William Edward Pitt (1862-1939) an Engineer from Birmingham, Warwickshire. In the 1891 census Alma was recorded in Llandudno, with her mother and children but William is with his family in Handsworth, Birmingham and describer as a Letter Cutter and Engraver. The same is true in 1901 but in 1911 William and Alma are together in Handsworth. Alma sent this card from Birmingham in 1907.
Alma’s death is recorded in Birmingham 1n 1936.
the recipient
Walter Norman Pitt (1889-1975) was born in Llandudno. His parents were William Edward Pitt and Alma Griffith as described above.
In the 1891 and 1901 censuses he was living with his mother in Llandudno while his father was in Birmingham . In 1911 he had moved with his mother to join his father in Birmingham. In the 1939 Register Walter was living at 135 Murdock Street in Handsworth, the same address as 1911. He was a Steel Roller Cutter.
Walter did not marry. His death is recorded in Handsworth in 1975.
the trees
Pitt
Griffith
the places
Birmingham, Warwickshire to LLandudno, Conwy, Wales
Llandudno showing Kings Road
Birmingham showing Murdoch Road
what the card says to us
The picture shows a painted view of Glendalough, Wicklow, Ireland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glendalough) which does not seem to have any connection to the family or the message.
At the start of the message there is a reference to “St Tudno, Murdock Road”. This is presumably a house name for 135 Murdock Road which is where the Pitt family lived. “St Tudno” harks back to Tudno Street in Llandudno where the Griffith family used to live and run a lodging house.
Alma. the sender of the card, seems to have split her time between Llandudno, where her mother lived until her death in 1902 and Birmingham where her husband and his family lived and worked. Perhaps she was caring for her mother during that time. At the time that the card was sent the recipient, Walter Norman Pitt, though now resident in Birmingham, seems to have gone to visit family in Llandudno. The card is sent care of Mrs Griffith. There are two possible identities for Mrs Griffith. Firstly it may have been a slip of the pen. Alma had an elder brother called William Eden Griffith (1850-1887), a Commission Agent, who had married Laura Jane Owen (1854-1949) in 1880. This is the Mrs Griffith referred to and the mistake is that in 1885 she remarried to William Henry Hughes (1863-1906), a Painter and SIgnwriter. Laura, now widowed again, would have been Mrs Hughes. The other possibility for the identity of Mrs Griffith is Naomi Moreland Griffith nee Praetor (1881-1945). She had married William Eden and Laura Jane’s son Owen William Griffith (1881-1975) in 1906. Owen and Naomi are almost certainly the O and N mentioned in the message. The Edgar mentioned in Edgar Edward Griffith (1884-1977) who was Owen’s younger brother.
There are two other people mentioned in the message. One is Gina, but there are no other clues to who that was. The second is Auntie Jennie who might be the aforementioned Laura Jane Owen. This would lend weight to the argument that Mrs Griffin is Naomi.
There is a lot going on behind this card. At the heart of it is Alma who is managing to look after her mother while bringing up her family between Llandudno and Birmingham.