Tag Archives: Llanelly

Chapter 6 – Lewis ap Richard (Lewis Prichard, Prickett, Ryckett)

Chapter 6 – Lewis ap Richard (Lewis Prichard, Prickett, Ryckett)

Lewis ap Richard, son of Richard Lewis, married Catherine Morgan who grew up near Llantilio Pertholy.

Lewis ap Richard died young.  Lewis Prichard (Lewis ap Richard), was buried May 4, 1616.  His wife, Catherine Richard (Richard is her Patronic name, her maiden name was Catherine Morgan), was buried Sept 29, 1615.  They were both buried in the churchyard of St Telio’s of the Bright Bush Church in Llantilio Pertholy.

Lewis ap Richard – Family notes:

After Lewis ap Richard’s early death, his son John Lewis Prichard (our emigrant ancestor, later called John Lewis after the end of the Patronymic naming system) was raised by his Uncle Edward.

For around 1,000 years, our ancestors lived in Breconshire in the area of Crickhowell and Llanelly.  Lewis ap Richard left Breconshire and moved a short distance down the Usk River valley to Abergavenny / Llantilio Pertholy in Monmouthshore where he married Catherine.  His son John was born and lived there before immigrating to Virginia.

Lewis ap Richard’s wife Catherine was the daughter of Watkin Morgan, gentleman of Triley and Gwenllian Powell (ap Howell).  It is possible that emigrant John inherited some of his wealth from his grandfather Watkin or Grandmother Gwenllian.

Triley, home of the Morgans, was an ancient estate on the slope of Deri Mountain just North of Abergavenny and Llantilio Portholey.  Llantilio Pertholy is a small community two kilometers Northeast of Abergavenny, on the road to Hereford, England.  The Morgan home on the estate was named Ty-Hir (long house), an old stone house that is still lived in but no longer owned by descendents of the Morgan family.  The Morgan hunting lodge, named <name>, has been converted to a group home and is actively used to this day.

Whose family was from Triley – Catherine Morgan, mother of emigrant John, or Catherine Lewis, wife of Emigrant John???????

Watkin Morgan was buried at St Teilos March 18, 1592/93.  Gwenllian Morgan was buried there July 24, 1596. (GM p31 The Church of St.Teilo, historically known as St. Teilo in the Bright Bush, is the heart of the Parish of Llantillo Pertholey.  It was founded in the sixth century.  The original church is gone, but it was rebuilt in the 13th century.  After a fire in 1974, it was restored.  Fortunately for us, many church records are preserved and we can learn information about our early family from them.

Whose?? Children: Thomas, Maudelen,

Chapter 4 – Rhys Goch

Chapter 4 – Rhys Goch

Rhys Goch (Red-Haired), also referred to as Cynhyllin foel ap Rhys Goch, Lord of Ystrad Yw and Ewyas, (T Jones: History of Brecknockshire p. 225) was a tribal chieftain born around 1070 in Breconshire, Wales.  Ystrad-Yw, literally meaning yew tree by the riverbank, was a large area containing parishes of Crichhowell, Llanbedr, Llanfihangel Cwm Du, Llangattock, Llangenny, Llanelly and Llangynidr.  Today only the area around the village of Llanbedr is still referred to as Ystrad-Yw, but that subset of the original Ystrad-Yw is not the area where our ancestors lived.

Rhys Goch was a warrior who fought the Norman invaders as they attempted to conquer Wales.  His older brother, Bleddyn ap Maenyrch, was killed in the fighting with the Norman invaders.  As second son, he inherited his Lordship.  His younger brother, <name>,

Rhys Goch’s coat of arms was “a dragon’s head erased vert, holding in its mouth a sinister hand gules“.  This same coat was on the top of the shield and in the first quarter of the coat of arms on the grave stone of our emigrant ancestor John Lewis.

The meaning of this coat has been lost in history, but one recorded theory is that the chieftan Llewellyn ap Ynyr, of Ial, or Yale, in Denbighshire was talking to his Prince, Gryffydd ap Mdaoc, Lord of Dinas Bran, after a battle.  His left hand was smeared with blood.  He accidentally drew it across his sword, and left on it the mark of his four fingers.  The Prince, observing this, ordered him to carry them on his shield.

Rhys Goch Family Notes:

King Arthur

Caradawg Freichfras

Rhys Goch’s son Gemilling married a woman Genet, daughter of  Sir Howell, Prince of Caerllon (today the city of Caerlon ), about 25 miles South of Crickhowell.  This is the town the Romans garrisoned the second legion, and extensive Roman ruins exist there today.

Sir Howell’s coat was “Gules three castles triple-towered Argent“.  Sir Howell inherited these arms from …, and gave a grant of the Howell arms to Gemilling.  These arms are found on the second quarter of the coat of arms on the grave stone of our emigrant ancestor John Lewis.

The Rhys Goch coat of arms passed down through sons to two sets of families.  The first family ended up with the names Herbert and Morgan, and the second was our Lewis family.  The Herbert / Morgan descendents settled in Llangeny, while the Lewis branch (our ancestors) remained in Llanelly.  The ancestral home of the Lewis family was Aberclycach, meaning above the Clydach. Clydach is a small settlement between Llanelly and Bryn Mawr, in the parish of Llanelly.

Four of the six history books that contain accounts of Rhys Goch  show his father as Maenyrch, Lord of Brecknock, a male descendent of Caradawg Freichfras 14?? generations removed.  Two of the six books show his father as Einion ap Gwage, not a descendent of Caradawg Freichfras.  However, all six agree that his mother was Elinor, daughter of Einion ap Seleff, Lord of Cantreff-Seleff, who descended from Caradawg Freichfras but through a different line.  So, Rhys Goch was descended from Caradawg Freichfras through one parent if not both.