My Welsh Family Tree - Leaves and Branches

Leaves and branches are part of the family tree.  Just how one goes about figuring out all the connections help make up the tree climbing experience.  Then, putting everything together so that it makes some kind of record that can be followed, and examined, by anyone else who wishes to climb these branches, is just as important.  A map of the leaves and branches so to speak.  A family record it is.

This post tries to give the concepts utilized in my own Welsh tree climbing.  The past three post have given the major sources of information and documentation for part of this tree climbing.  The figure to the right gives the first page of my own family coding system which began many years ago.  I show it here to demonstrate one method that can be used to help keep the leaves and branches organized.  It is simple.  The letter "J" stands for my surname JONES.  The letters of  the alphabet are then used to represent the "generation", with "A" = generation "one", "B" = generation 2,...etc,etc.  Of course, this assumes that you have decided where the family begins. [I found 24 more generations after this was coded, so had to make adjustments!]  The number is then used to identify each individual that has been documented.  Thus a "leaf" [individual] is uniquely coded, i.e., JA-1 = Gadforch, and generations [branches] JA, JB, JC, identified.

Leaves and branches, a way to climb trees.  Thus the beginning of my Welsh family tree.

My Welsh Family Tree (Part III) Personal Research

Needless to say, Welsh tree climbing can be as difficult as JONES surname tree climbing.  Connecting the ends to the middle can be quite an undertaking.  First you have to have a sense of both ends, and then some sense of how to piece these ends together!  The two previous posts list several references which have helped me get one end of the branch. [The Welsh Branch!]  This post list the research that has helped me get the other side of this branch. [The American Side!]

There are three foundations of this genealogy.   Documentation, documentation, and documentation.  No way around the brick walls.   Some 52 years of doing this genealogy has left me many, many, many, references.  My personal research has involved many sources and materials.   They started as piles and piles of notes, pictures, tables, charts, graphs, records, etc...etc..., and when ever I want to find a certain documentation,  I often failed to uncover its location among my stacks.   Thus began my notebooks.  They helped me organize my research into a specific, locatable source.  I place a subject title, and number on each notebook so that I could at least put my finger on a reference or research topic if needed.  Over the years I now have more than 250 notebooks!

I thought it would be helpful to at least outline these notebook topics, and give some idea of their content.  When I give the documentation of my Welsh Family Tree, the research/references can be found in these notebooks.   A blog called The Jones Genealogist Research Notebooks has been started. [http://tjgresearchnotebooks.blogspot.com]  It can be used to give the genealogist an idea of the sources used during my own JONES tree climbing.  It can also be searched by topic using "search this blog" indicator along the top right of the blog site.  The notebooks are physically located in my personal research library, The Joseph Wheeler Jones Memorial Library, Danville, KY.  They are available for use if arrangements are made.   Please come for a visit.

My Welsh Family Tree (Part II) The Sources

The first reference to draw me into the world of Welsh genealogy was Nicholas and his "Annals and Antiquities of The Counties and County Families of Wales".  It was first published London, 1872 and in the preface states:

"The present work may be considered in the light of a New Visitation of Wales, conducted, not under the auspices or authority of the College of Arms, but in obedience to a frequently expressed desire that a more complete and faithful account than existed should be provided of the great families of the Principality, combining as far as possible ancient with modern times."

Ancient with modern times...my kind of fellow I though.

The text also provided a detailed account of the various counties of Wales.  It gives the chief physical features, its ancient history, and medieval accounts.  A list of "High Sheriffs" for each county is also given, and many times the members of Parliament for that county.  Many family histories are also given.

It was among these pages that I explored the origin of the JONES surname among the Welsh.  My own JONES family tree was hidden among these pages.

It is published in two volumes. First printing: London, 1872, and second printing 1875.  It has been reprinted by the Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1991.

My Welsh Family Tree (Part I): The Sources

Documentation is the foundation of genealogy.  They are the sources you have researched and reviewed to provide the information you are using to define your family tree. The "proof is in the pudding", and the "devil is in the details" as some are apt to say.

There are many sources which can be used to document the facts regarding a particular family tree.  This becomes more important as you travel back in time to search for those ancestors.  The above figure shows the front page of one major source for Welsh family tree.  "Dwnn", as it is most commonly referenced, is a primary source (document) for those doing Welsh genealogy.  His "Visitations of Wales" dating between 1586 and 1613, records the many, many families who claimed a lineage under the "Deputy Herald At Arms". Transcribed from the original manuscripts, this source records the families in Wales during this period of history.  These records were then edited and numerous explanatory notes (including errors and corrections) were added by Samuel Meyrick and published in 1846.  This becomes the standard reference for those doing Welsh genealogy.

 A second source is shown to the right.  It is most often referred to as "Burke's Armory".  It is titled as an record of "Armorial Bearings" from the earliest time to the present.  Of course, the present was 1884.  This document contains families from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales who record "Armorial Bearings".  Many folks in the academic world seem to disregard Burke as full of errors and mistakes.  These errors are certainly not clearly identified, but for many, this is a valuable source for the genealogist.

 Finding a reliable source for genealogical research is necessary as one goes out the branches of any family tree.  These two I have necessary for Welsh genealogy.  More to come.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE (4)

This is the forth blog to post my copyright notice.  Maps, drawings, tables, figures, pictures, graphs, and all content are included.

You may not use the contents of this site (blog and posts) for commercial purposes without explicit written permission from the author and blog owner.  Commercial purposes includes blogs with ads and income generation features, and/or blogs or sites using feed content as a replacement for original content.  Full content usage is not permitted.

Jerry E. Jones, MD, MS, The Jones Genealogist, Library of Congress No. 6192-01064476.

A Swinging Door

An impressive site, this Norman built fortification.  Yet before the Normans, the Romans had already occupied the site some 1000 years earlier.  The Silures [those Britons who occupied the area before the Romans arrived] had beat up the Second Legion... which was to make those Romans pretty mad.  Defeating the Silures, the Romans built an eight-acre fort on the banks of the river Taff taking advantage of this strategic military site.  Thus, it became one of the key military strongholds for the occupation and control of this southern area of what was to become Wales.  A "front door" so to speak.

Of course the Normans who could quickly grasp any military advantage, saw the importance of this location, and under Robert FitzHamon [Robert fitz Hamo] built a castle on the site of the prior Roman occupation.  Here, a "borough" was established by 1100 AD making those French speaking folks king of the mountain.  All sorts of "settlers" were invited to this area, and it became one of the first "swinging doors" of Norman, to Saxon, to English occupation.

Glamogran it was to become. [Robert fitz Hamo became know as "conqueror of Glamorgan"]  Divided into three ; West Glamorgan (Swansea), Mid Glamorgan (Rhondda), and South Glamorgan (Cardiff), it is shown geographically in the figure above.  It is here that the first JONES surname appears in Wales 1496.  I suspect this fact reflects the long history of this "swinging door".

[The photo above was taken by me in 1998.  I am sure the area has changed since then, but the impact will remain the same...:-).]

Tiny Town of Trefor

The small town (village) of Trefor (Trevor) is located about 1.5 miles east of the hill fort Dinas Bran.  It is nestled in Vale of the Dee, on the north side, just down river from Llangollen. [See p. 112, A Gazetteer of Welsh Place-Names, #33/2642.]  It is here that Welsh genealogist identify the location of the birth of the "Founder of The Tribe of The Marches", Tudor... thus, Tudor of Trefor, or Tudor Trevor (Tydyr Trefor).  It is a fairly uncommon Welsh naming that identifies a child with his place of birth. There must have been some significance to this location, since its identity is forever attached to this individual.

The figure to the right tries to place the River Dee in relationship to both Maelors, since in Burke, Tudor Trevor is identified as "Lord of Both Maelors".  The Dee seems to split this area, with what was to become "Welsh Maelor" to the northwest, and "English Maelor" to the southeast.  The town of Wrexham becomes central to the Welsh side, and the town of Overton to the English side.

The second drawing shows the approximate location of the village of Trefor.  The Viking raids had begun along the north coast of Wales, and it is possible that these "Black Gentiles" had caused the small village of Trefor to become a hideout.  The geographic relationship to Oswestry, Hanmer, Bangor, Chirk, Bersham, and Llanfair, are also shown. In time, these additional towns and villages will all become part of the "Tribe of The Marches"...starting from the tiny town of Trefor!