I visited Preston Gubbals, north of Shrewsbury on the Ellesmere road, as a result of an enquiry from someone overseas whose ancestors emigrated from there. If anyone knows anything of one John Higgins Jones who emigrated to Canada in 1880, I will be pleased to put you in touch. Email me here.
I learn from Shropshire Towns and Villages by Julie Meech that Preston Gubbals is "a small village of Saxon origin on a slight hill in gently undulating country ... centred on the Church of St Martin ... a few ... fragments of the original church remain, to which S Poultney Smith added a new church in 1866 ... later demolished ... (there is) a 17th Century font and a ... 14th century effigy slab. The village also has some timber-framed cottages and a large farm with sandstone barns. The name ... derives from Godebold, the landholder ... after the conquest".
The photos show a little more clearly what that means. The church is now maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust.
The inscription reads:
In memory of Margaret Jones wife of Thos Jones of Bomere Heath,
died April 29th 1887 aged 64 years.
In response to the above, Ruth (Jones) Yaremko of Saskatchewan wrote:
(I am) looking for information on grandfather, John (Higgins) Jones who was born in November 1839 in Preston Gubbals. Father was John Higgins and mother was Sara (Walton) Higgins. John Higgins (senior) passed away when my grandfather was very young and Sara remarried (FNU) Jones. John Higgins Jones emigrated to Canada in 1881 settling in Ontario. His last known employment was with the Fields Mercantile.
Can anyone add anything further?