Greetings to All!
My name is Roland Morris. I am a descendant of Catherine Griffith, the
daughter of Griffith ap Evan of Fron Goch and the granddaughter of
Robert Evan Lewis. Im told by Emily that this is the place for gaining
knowledge, wisdom and insight for researching this area of Wales, so
here I am. I have not had the chance to read through the archives yet,
so if I ask questions that have already been answered, please bare with
me.
By way of introduction I am 41, married, and the father of two
daughters. The oldest is 16 and the youngest is 3. So far Ive
maintained a relative level sanity but Im still not quite certain how.
I work as an engineer for Motorola, in Horsham, Pennsylvania, where I
design printed circuit boards.
As I explained to Emily, I am reminded of my Welsh heritage on a daily
basis. On my way to and from work I pass through Gwynedd, Pennsylvania
on Morris Road, Welsh Road, and Penllyn Pike. The Gwynedd Friends
Meeting, where so many of our ancestors worshipped and met is only 10
minutes from where I work. I have photos of the cemetery grounds and the
exterior of the building, if anyone is interested in having copies. So
far I havent found anyone who will allow me to take photos of the
interior. It is still a very large and active congregation.
My research into the Quaker families of the Welsh Tract has really only
begun. I have researched my mothers family since my high school days,
so genealogy is far from new to me. However the Morris and Griffith
families are my paternal ancestors and my research on them just began
over the pass few months. I was (and still am) a humble assistant to my
uncle, who is the master of Morris research. He began his research when
I was 2 and he will always be one of my heroes in life. My knowledge of
Quaker and Welsh genealogy is very limited, so again please forgive me
in advance if I ask too many questions.
Given my location near the Welsh Tract, I will gladly offer my
assistance to anyone who asks for it. All I require is the same thing
that I give, which is everything I find! I will always share my own
information freely and completely as long as I receive the same in
return. I will be making trips to Swarthmore College in the near future
and I have easy access to Haverford and Bryn Mawr libraries. My
assistance is free for the asking.
Getting down to Fron Goch, I am looking for information especially on
Catherine Griffith and also her brothers Hugh, Edward, David and Robert,
all the children of Griffith ap Evan. Hugh Griffith came to America in
1696, perhaps with his sister in tow, although we have no record of
that. Robert died at sea in 1698. Edward and David both died in Wales.
My primary objective in all of this is discovering the first husband of
Catherine, from whom our Morris family descends.
Our oldest known male ancestor was Catherines only child, Cadwallader
Morris, who married Elizabeth Morgan (daughter of Edward Morgan) in 1710
in Gwynedd, PA. We know that he was born in Wales and that his father
died in Wales. Catherine was a widow when she came to America with her
son. While in America she was married twice. Her second marriage (the
first in America) was to Alexander Edwards and her third marriage was to
John Williams. We have no information on Cadwalladers father.
We think our best hope is to track the movements of Catherine Griffith
and her brothers in Wales. We hope that by gaining more information on
her and her brothers that we should naturally be lead to Cadwalladers
father. Where Grandmother Griffith is, were guessing that Grandfather
Morris/Maurice cant be far behind. ANY clues that anyone has on
Catherine or her brothers or a family of Morris or Maurice in that area
would be much appreciated.
As for the area around Fron Goch, this is all new territory for me. Im
studying hard but I remain ignorant of this area and the history of the
farm at Fron Goch. ANY and ALL information you could throw my way would
be greatly appreciated. The more the merrier, even if you think it
insignificant. Any info regarding the history of the area in general,
the farm itself, the Rhiwlas Estate, searching Welsh Parish records,
Quaker culture in Wales, etc. is all welcomed. This is all new to me, so
please fire away!
As for searching for records, by what I understand, the parish where
Fron Goch is located is Llanfor. A search for Lanfor Parish records is
an obvious step. But I also know that Hugh Griffith was a member of
Hendre Mawr Monthly Meeting. According to one source, this is 2.5 miles
NE of Bala. Although it is only a short distance away from Fron Goch,
this site is actually in Llanycil Parish. Just last evening I located a
place called Hendre on an Ordnance map of the area. According to my
Welsh-English Lexicon, Hendre means winter dwelling. It looks to be in
the same area where I was told Hendre Mawr Monthly Meeting is located. I
was also informed today that there is another Hendre Mawr a few miles SE
of Bala. Can anyone clear this up?
Now again Im only going by what another researcher has told me. As Ive
said I have no direct knowledge of this area. However I do know for a
fact that Hugh Griffith received a transfer of membership from Hendre
Mawr MM when he move to America in 1696. We have a copy of that transfer
in our files. If he was a resident of Fron Goch then it is reasonable to
suppose that Hendre Mawr was the Quaker Meeting for the other residents
of Fron Goch as well, and therefore Llanycil Parish may contain some of
the records that were searching for? While Fron Goch appears to be in
Llanfor Parish, I think a search of Llanycil records may also be in
order. Does anyone have any knowledge of Hendre Mawr or the records
available for it? How were the Quakers treated in regard to records by
the established church? Do Bishops Transcripts or Parish records even
exist for Quakers? I have also noticed that there is another Fron Goch
closer to Cynwyd. Any ideas about this place?
Enough for now I suppose. Ill have plenty of questions later. I look
forward to reading the archives and hearing from everyone. I would
especially look forward to meeting you in Wales this summer! From what
Ive read it appears that we have plenty of clues to work with. Every
set of eyes we can bring to the libraries will help us all. And as Emily
pointed out, where would be a better place to meet than where we
started?
Roland Morris