Pedigrees of Montgomeryshire Families

PUBLIC mm lilS RMPR7. LIBRAR 3 1833 00863m4419 ^ M £#'• •• . ,:.:--A: I ten 1*1 1/ PEDIGREES MONTGOMERYSHIRE FAMILIES. : OF MONTGOMEBYSHIKE FAMILIES. SELECTED ABOUT THE YEAR 1711-12 FROM iLetots Btonn's ©ristnal Visitation, BY THE CELEBRATED WELSH POET AND GRAMMARIAN, JOHN RHYDDERCH, A nd preserved in a MS. Volume formerly belonging to Lord Berwick, at Attingham House, near Shrewsbury, and afterwards in the possession of Sir THOMAS PHILLIPPS, Baronet, AT MIDDLEHILL, WORCESTERSHIRE. PRINTED FOR THE POWYS-LAND CLUB FOR THE USE OF ITS MEMBERS. LONDON WHITING & CO., 30 & 32. SARDINIA STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS. 1888. JL 222/064 THE MONTGOMERYSHIRE PEDIGREES, THE "VISITATIONS OF WALES", by LEWIS DWNN. The project, commenced in 1884, for printing these pedigrees for the use of the Members of the Powys-land Club is now carried out. The high authority of Lewis Dwnn's Visitations, and the extreme rarity and costliness of the work in which they were first printed by the Welsh Manuscript Society in 1846, rendered it desirable that the Montgomeryshire portion of such Visitations should be placed in the hands of the Members. This has been done, with- out extra cost, as part of the publications of the Club. One hundred extra copies have been printed before the type was distributed, which are intended to be offered to Members of the Club in the first instance. Any not taken by them will be offered for sale to the public. INTRODUCTION. To aid the memory in cherishing and perpetuating the record of what is honourable and of good report in families, has been pro- nounced "the science of fools with long memories." If wisdom were always associated with a short or tarnished one, we might accept such a dictum; but, as this is not so, we may safely refer else- where for a more truthful definition of so well-abused and mis- represented a study as genealogy. The notion that Welsh genealogy is a pleasant fiction, invented to favour some personal or local conceit, or harmless peculiarity, is doubtless the property of fools ; but one not generally accepted by the wise. Those who have interested themselves in the study of Welsh history, will affirm that the investigation of pedigree was the province of a specially-selected body of official persons, termed Arwyddveirdd, or Herald Bards, upon whom the State imposed the particular duty of registering arms and pedigrees. Theirs was neither a vain nor fanciful work, but one of practical and social utility. The law, as it affected real property in Wales, doubtless gave rise to that predilection for pedigree generally attributed to Welshmen. This amiable weakness, however, was strongly infused with a con- siderable portion of practical common sense. There was something more solid than personal vanity which moved the acute but mis- represented genealogist. The law of the land was so constituted that the Welshman's pedigree was his title-deed, by which he claimed his birthright in the country. Everyone was obliged to show his descent through nine generations in order to be acknow- ledged a free native, and by which right he claimed his portion of land in the community. " A person passed the ninth descent, formed a new fen cenedyl, or head of a family. Every family was represented by its elders, and these elders from every family were delegated to the national council." 1 Hence the Welshman, rightly or wrongly, was led to look upon his pedigree as a charter of his national rights and personal estate ; but, in addition, it stamped the possessor, no matter what might be the fortune or the misfortune of himself or of any particular generation of his ancestry, as a Gwr Boneddig, i.e., a gentleman with a bonedd, a pedigree. 1 History and Antiquities of the County of Cardigan, quoted in the Introduction to Lewys Dwnn's Visitation of Wales, by Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick. — ; ii INTRODUCTION. " The origin of this system is buried in the depths of antiquity, for it was found to be in existence at the early part of the tenth century, when Howel the Good revised the laws of his country." Out of deference to Saxon misconception, we omit the enumeration of the Herald Bards of what might be deemed a mythological era, and refer to some of these Arwyddveirdd, or keepers of genealogical records of more modern times. Among those who are in evidence, and of greater distinction at the close of the fourteenth century, was Llewelyn Ofeiriad, a descendant from Owen Brogyntyn, whose genealogical registers are still preserved at Jesus College, Oxford. 1 The fifteenth and sixteenth century authorities, whose works are still extant, continued the family records of descent for those times but our attention is naturally arrested by three names of distin- guished Powysians of the recording fraternity ; of Rhys Cain, who between the years 1560 and lived to an old age, and wrote 1600 ; " Lodwic Lloyd, who was serjeant-at-arms to Queen Elizabeth", " and wrote from 1586-1609 ; Lewys Dwnn," the result of a small portion of whose labours is offered in its present form to the Members of the Powys-land Club. We must not measure Lewys Dwnn by the standard of the ordi- nary genealogical amateur. His was a life-long professional experience. He tells us that he was one of the disciples of William Llyn, and had a copy of all his pedigrees and books ; and prior to that had been a disciple of Hywel ap Sir Matthew, and that he possessed several of his collections. This shows not only his heraldic education, but that he lost no opportunity of adding to his genealogical authorities. His fellow-student was the highly esteemed Rhys Cain of Oswestry, who became possessed of William Llyn's books, 2 and liberally allowed Lewys Dwnn to copy them. In 1585, Robert Cooke, Clarenceux, and William Flowei*, Norroy, Kings of Arms, turned their attention to Wales, and, on the recom- mendation of many gentlemen of local interest and genealogical acquirements, appointed Lewys Dwnn as their " Deputy Herald-at- Arms over the three Crowns of Wales and the Marches". Subse- quently a second patent was granted, by Cooke and Somerset, on the 3rd of February, in the 28th of Elizabeth 1585, as follows : " To all and singular as well noble estates and gentlemen, as others to whome these p'ntes shall come, Robert Cooke, Esquire al's Clarencieulx Kinge of Arines for the East, West and South partes of the realme of England from the ryuer of Trent southward, and Somersett, Marescall to Norroy Kinge of Armes of the East West and North partes of the realme of England from the same river northward, send Greetinge. Whereas it hath pleased the Queenes most excellent Matie to authorize us, the said Clarencieulx and 1 The list down to Ehya Cain appears in Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick's Introduction " to th.' Visitations, pp. xi, xii, as follows : Llewellyn Gruperyr, Cynevrig ap Grono, who flourished in 1150; Gutyn Owain ( 1 400-1)0) ; John Leiav (1180) ; Gruffydd ap Jouanap Llewellyn Vychan (1170 152(1); Jeuan Brechva(o&. 1500); Gruffydd Hirae- '-' xxviii. thog (1520-50) ; Sion Tudyr (1580-1602). Introduction, p. INTRODUCTION. Ill Norroy by our selfes or our deputies to make visitacions and surveyes within our severall provinces and precinctes for knowledge and view of all manner of Armes, creastes, cognoysances, and other lyke devyses, and of the descentes pedegrees and marriages of all the nobilitie and gentrie therein through-out conteyned to be for memory and the benefyte of all posteritie, recorded and entred, and to enjoyne us to sondry other services and duties belonging to our office and charge, as by her highnes' gracious letters, patentes and comissions severally to us granted under the great seale of England more largely doth appeare. In which said comissions all paynters, glasyers, goldsmythes, gravers, and all other artificers whatsover he or they be, are expressly prohibited and forbidden to paynt, grave, glase, devise or settle forth by any wayes or meanes any manner of armes, creastes, cognoysances, pedigrees or other devises perteynenge to the office of Armes within either of the said provinces. And lykewyse that no person or persons should intro- mitte or meddle in any thinge or thinges touchinge and concerninge the office of Armes within either of the said provinces, otherwise or in any other forme or manner then they may lawfully doe, and shall be allowed, and specially therevnto licensed and aiitorized by us the said Clarencieulx and Norroy our deputie or deputies under the seales of our said offices first had and obtained. Know ye that we the said Clarencieulx and Somersett as Mareschall to Norroy, care- fully myndinge the advancement of her Maties service, and the per- formance of all that our places and roome do crave to have done within our severall provinces and our charge ar moved to enclyne unto the request made unto us by sondry gentlemen of good credit well willers unto the contrey of Wales on behalfe of this bearer iSgir Lewes ap Rhis ap owen al's Dun of Buttus in the cantred of Kedewen within the contie of Montgomerie, that on respecte of his former trayveyles thouroughowte the most part of the said countrey for the atteyninge unto the knowledge of the lynes pedigrees and descentes of the chiefest families and kindredes within that principalitie (the bookes and gatherings whereof we have seene) may the rather upon their comendac'on, and his paynfull dilig heretofore vsed together in regard of his skill in the Welshe or Britishe tongue be by us encoraged and allowed to contynew and goe forward in makinge his collections thoroughowt the said principalitie whereunto

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