Wednesday, September 3, 2014

The Pitfalls of Researching the Welsh!

If you have Welsh ancestry, you should appreciate my comments. My first Welsh lines to be researched were those of the Pugh and Evans families and the Rogers family. All three were Quaker families. The Rogers clan was well-documented in Frederick Co., VA. The Evans-Pugh line was easy to follow after arrival in Pennsylvania.

Robert Pugh and Sarah Evans were married in Wales and their daughter Ellin married John Rogers in Pennsylvania.

Now, those of you unfamiliar with Welsh research need to stifle the yawn. Pugh, Evans, Rogers - two of the three common surnames, the third a bit rare - easy to tackle!

Nooooooooo! The Welsh, you see, used patronymics. The child took the given name of the father in each generation. [ap/ab were used for boys, ferch/verch for girls]

Sarah verch Evan, Robert ap Hugh [Pugh is a contraction], etc.

So, the Rogers immigrant was Roger ap Roberts. Roger's kids elected to use the Rogers surname. My John ap Roger became John Rogers.

Robert ap Hugh became Robert Pugh. Sarah verch Evan became Sarah Evans.

Here's an example of a five generation Welsh family: Evan ap Rhys = Rhys ab Evan = Thomas ap Rhys = Llewellyn ap Thomas = Robert ap Llewellyn. Robert's sister would be Sarah verch Llewellyn. Imagine tracking the family back 10-12 generations!

The Welsh kept good track of their "royal families." My Evans-Pugh line goes back to King John! The Welsh and English intermarried for the sake of political or military alliances and other reasons.

I'm currently working on my Thomas line in Massachusetts. Dorothy Thomas > George Thomas > Evan Thomas > Evan Thomas > John Phillip ap Thomas > Thomas ap Rhys > Rhys ap Gruffydd > Gryffudd ap Rhys, and so on. [Rhys = Rice; Gruffydd = Griffith]

May you discover a Welsh ancestral line and have fun with it!

2 comments:

  1. My name is Ann Ramage. I found our post when I was researching my Evans, Pugh, Rogers lines. We must be cousins for I, too, have a Robert Pugh who married Sarah Evans. Their daughter Ellen (Ellin) Pugh married John Rogers. Their daughter Elizabeth Rogers married Jacob Jenkins. Their daughter Rachel Jenkins married William Manker, the Revolutionary soldier I'm researching. Rachel and her family were Quakers. Rachel got kicked out of the Hopewell Meeting for being married by a hireling preacher. I couldn't find much about Rachel, so I started looking at her mother's side of the family. Do you have any info about Rachel Jenkins or the Jenkins family?
    Thanks,
    Ann

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    1. Sep 19 at 12:17 PM






      Hi Ann,




      Yes, Elizabeth's older brother Evan is my ancestor. I'm not sure if I have anything on the Jenkins family, but can give you some suggestions.

      Try to locate a copy of Wilmer L. Kerns' "Frederick Co., Virginia: Settlement & Some First Families of Back Creek Valley 1730-1830." Pages 145-148 covers the Jenkins family. Rachel is on p. 147-148. The Rogers family is covered on p. 129-143 [Ch. 7]. Wright family is covered in Ch. 8. It's a good read and has info & photos of the area. The Rogers family had a heck of a time staying in the fold! My John [son of Evan] got booted for marrying contrary to faith. You might try contacting the Handley library in Winchester, Frederick Co., VA. They have a good local collection & should have material on the Jenkins clan. http://www.handleyregional.org/handley/default.asp With a heavy Back Creek heritage, the Kerns book is worth buying. If I can be of help on the Rogers/Pugh/Evans end, let me know!




      Terry

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