CHAPTER 5 DRAIN-DUON. Exhibit 31

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1 CHAPTER 5 DRAIN-DUON This chapter builds on prior chapters to prove by a preponderance of evidence that Elizabeth Evans, wife of Roderick Williams, was born in about 1738, and that she was buried 28 Aug 1832 in, Breconshire, Wales. Exhibit 31 Source: This is from Frank Esshom, Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah (Salt Lake City: Utah Pioneers Book Publishing company, 1913), p See also p Explanation: In Wales it is customary for people to name their houses and farms. Blackthorn (Black Thorne) is an English translation of Drain-duon, a 110-acre farm in parish, Breconshire, Wales. Accuracy: It is unlikely that John Jones Williams was born at Drain-duon (Blackthorn) farm. I have found no record of his parents, Daniel Williams or Ruth Jones, ever living at Drain-duon. Daniel probably lived at Cefn-gwyn until According to the Parish 1

2 Registers of, Daniel lived at Brunant in 1813 and 1816, and at Nant-ygwrdu in Sometime between 1820 and 1839, Nant-y-gwrdu became a field annexed to Bryn-Melyn farm. In 1840 and subsequent years Daniel Williams and his family lived at Bryn-Melyn. Therefore, the documents of Wales suggest that John Jones Williams was born at either Nant-y-gwrdu farm or Bryn-Melyn farm. Application: Although this record is probably mistaken as to the birthplace of John Jones Williams, it correctly suggests a family connection to Drain-duon (Blackthorn) farm. Exhibit 32 Source: This is a passage from David W. Howell, Estate Records, which is Chapter 11 in Welsh Family History: A Guide to Research, Edited by John Rowlands and Others (1993, Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc.), pages

3 Explanation: The trend in Wales was to keep land in the family. This was true not only of land ownership, but also tenancies on land owned by someone else. Although subsequent ownership or occupation of land is not enough, by itself, to establish family relationships, it does suggest the possibility. When other evidence is inconclusive, subsequent occupation of the same land may be enough to settle questions of family relationship. Exhibit 33 1 Mar 1771 John Jones of Drain Duon was buried (BT). 7 Jul 1773 John Thomas of Drain was buried (BT). 21 Jul 1773 Anne wife of John Thomas of Drain was buried (BT). 16 Jan 1798 Morgan Evan of Drainduon wrote his will: wife Susannah Evan (WP). 5 Jun 1804 Priscilla Jones, a spinster, wrote her will, conveying Tyr drain dyon to her brother Thomas Jones (WP). 3 Aug 1819 Mary Morgans of Drain-duon, age 1, was buried (PR, BT). 29 May 1820 Joan Williams of Draindyon, age 57, was buried (PR, BT). 17 Nov 1822 Isaac Evans of Drainduon, age 1, was buried (PR, BT). 21 Nov 1822 David Evans of Drainduon, age 38, was buried (PR, BT). 18 Jan 1824 Margaret Davies, daughter of John & Mary Davies of Drain-duon was baptized (PR, BT). 28 Aug 1832 Elizabeth Williams of Drainduon, age 93, was buried (PR, BT). 9 Jul 1834 Rees Davies, son of David & Mary Davies of Drainduon was baptized (PR, BT). 21 Nov 1837 Mallt Williams, daughter of Howell & Margaret Williams of Drainduon was baptized (PR, BT) In the Tithe Apportionment, Drain duon was owned by Rees Powell and occupied by Howell Williams (TA). 7 Jun 1841 Draindion was inhabited by Roderick Williams, age 25; William Williams, age 60; Anne Williams, age 60; Margaret Price, age 15; Rees Price, age 13; Ann Powel, age 5 months (CR). 19 May 1843 Mary Williams of Draindion, daughter of William Williams, was married to Evan Evans (PR). 23 Nov 1843 Elizabeth Williams of Draindion, daughter of William Williams, was married to Rees Price (PR). 7 Apr 1851 Draindion was inhabited by Roderick Williams, age 40; William Williams, age 72; Ann Williams, age 73; Elizabeth Price, age 44; Ann Powell, age 10 (CR). 17 Jun 1851 Margaret Williams of Drain duon, daughter of William Williams, was married to Thomas Prosser (PR). Source: This is from Kyle Williams s summary of events at Drain-duon farm up to The events were gathered from the Parish Registers (PR), Bishop s Transcripts (BT), Wills and Probate (WP), Tithe Apportionment (TA) and Census Records (CR) of, Breconshire, Wales. 3

4 Application: Starting at the end of the list, the inhabitants of Drain-duon between 1841 and 1851 were the family of William Williams, son of Roderick Williams and Elizabeth Evans, as already noted in Chapter 4 (especially Exhibits 29, 26, 16, 30, and 22). The inhabitants of Drain-duon in 1837 and 1839 were the family of Howell Williams. Future chapters will show that Howell Williams was a brother-in-law of a granddaughter of Roderick Williams who married Elizabeth Evans. The inhabitants of Drain-duon in 1834 were the family of David Davies. Exhibit 34 will show how David Davies, who lived at Drain-duon in 1834, was related to Roderick Williams and Elizabeth Evans. An inhabitant of Drain-duon in 1832 was Elizabeth Williams. Exhibit 35 will show how she was related to Roderick Williams. Exhibit 34 Source: Parish Registers of, Breconshire, Wales. The originals are kept in the chest at the Parish Church in. This copy was made from microfilm at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion County, Wales. A microfilm copy of the Bishop s Transcripts, showing identical information, is available on FHL 104,471, item 4. Transcription: BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Llandilo r fane in the County of Brecon in the Year 1834 When Baptized July 9 th. No. 329 Parents Name. Child s Christian Name. Christian. Surname. Rees son of David and Mary Abode. Quality, Trade, or Profession. Davies Drainduon Farmer By whom the Ceremony was performed. John Evans Curate. 4

5 Explanation: In this record, Mary Davies and her husband David Davies, a farmer at Drain-duon, had their son Rees baptized on Wednesday, 9 Jul 1834 at the Parish Church in, Breconshire, Wales. Application: Recall that Rees Davies and Ann Jones had a son named David Davies who was christened 22 Feb 1807 (Exhibit 14). Three men named David Davies could possibly have been the son of Rees Davies and Ann Jones: One David Davies was a cooper who married Ann Powell ( ). I don t know much about him, but he may have been from Llangammarch, Breconshire. Another David Davies was a labourer of Bryn-ty-mawr farm who married Mary Price 12 Oct 1826 and had at least three children John christened 8 Dec 1829, David christened 29 Jun 1834, and Thomas christened 21 May Although it s possible that the son of Rees Davies and Ann Jones married in 1826 at age 19, the legal age for marriage was 21. This David Davies, then, is not the best match for the son of Rees Davies and Ann Jones. The David Davies in the above record was a farmer at Maes-gwyn and Drain-duon farms. His wife was also named Mary (possibly Mary Williams who married David Davies 17 Jan 1832 in Llanwrtyd, Breconshire, Wales). They had at least two children David christened 9 Sep 1832 and Rees christened 9 Jul I favor this man as the son of Rees Davies and Ann Jones for three reasons: (1) He would have been about age 25 when he was married. This was a normal age to marry in nineteenth century Wales. (2) He named a son Rees. It was common to name a son after his grandfather. (3) He lived at Drain-duon in This indicates that he may have been related to the family of Roderick Williams and Elizabeth Evans. Exhibit 7 proves that Elizabeth Evans had a son named Rees Davies. Exhibit 14 proves that Rees Davies had a son named David Davies, christened on 22 Feb In 1834 David Davies lived on the same farm as other relatives of Roderick Williams and Elizabeth Evans. This fact brings these records together, proving by a preponderance of evidence that Rees Davies of Chapter 3 was a son of Elizabeth Evans who married Roderick Williams. Exhibit 35 5

6 Source: Parish Registers of, Breconshire, Wales. The originals are kept in the chest at the Parish Church in. This copy was made from microfilm at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion County, Wales. A microfilm copy of the Bishop s Transcripts, showing identical information, is available on FHL 104,471, item 4. Transcription: I bring the name of Thomas Price, Perpetual Curate, down to the ditto: BURIALS in the Parish of e in the County of Brecon in the Year 1832 Name. Abode. When buried. Age. Elizabeth Williams Drainduon No Aug t. 28 th 93 By whom the Ceremony was performed. Thos. Price per. Cu. Accuracy: Burial records from Parish Registers are generally accurate, although the age of the deceased is sometimes incorrect. In the absence of contradictory information, though, the age from a burial record is acceptable. Explanation: This record proves that a 93-year-old woman named Elizabeth Williams inhabited Drain-duon farm in when she died. She was buried 28 Aug 1832 in. Until contradictory information indicates otherwise, it may be accepted that she was born between 28 Aug 1738 and 28 Aug Application: Prior exhibits in this chapter show that relatives of Roderick Williams and Elizabeth Evans lived at Drain-duon farm between 1834 and This suggests, then, that the Elizabeth Williams who died at Drain-duon in 1832 was the same person as Elizabeth Evans who married Roderick Williams on 28 Feb 1778 (Exhibit 4). Summary This chapter shows that between 1832 and 1851 four distinct families lived at Drainduon farm in parish, Breconshire, Wales. Because it was customary in Wales to pass tenancies of land to family members, and because it can be shown that these four families were related to Roderick Williams, it is fairly certain that Elizabeth Williams of Drain-duon, who died in 1832, is the same person who married Roderick Williams in It may be worthwhile to conduct further research on the inhabitants of Drain-duon. At first glance, for example, it appears that John Davies who lived at Drain-duon in 1824 was a son of Rees Davies (Exhibit 10). However, the 1841 census and his burial record indicate that he was too old to be the son of Rees Davies. Also, is it possible that David Evans who lived at Drain-duon in 1822 was he related to Elizabeth Evans? 6

7 Chapters 3, 4 and 5 build up to a climax in Exhibit 35, which establishes the life span of Elizabeth Evans, who married Roderick Williams in It is significant that Elizabeth was about forty years old when she married Roderick, and that she had already given birth to at least three children. Considering these facts, it should come as no surprise if in 1778 Roderick Williams, too, was a middle-aged widower with children of his own. Now we know a little more about Elizabeth Evans and her children: Rees Davies b. Breconshire m. 18 Nov 1791 Ann Jones [unknown] 5 April 2010 William Walter b. Breconshire [wife] b. South Wales Kyle Williams 215 W. High St. Woodbury, TN (615) kyle.d.williams.1959@gmail.com Elizabeth Evans born about 1738 South Wales buried 28 Aug 1832 Rees Walter b. Breconshire Roderick Williams born Breconshire married 28 Feb 1778 William Williams ch. 21 Mar 1779 m. 10 Apr 1807 Ann Price ch. 15 Oct 1779 Margaret Williams b. South Wales Daniel Williams b. 23 Aug 1783 m. 16 Apr 1805 Llywel, Brec. Ruth Jones b. Mar 1780 Tirabad, Brec. 7