However, when I reach that point, the beginning of the
"modern" era, I am at
an impasse. So if I find that my great aunt's claims (e.g. that Robert and
John Evans descended from Elystan Gloddryd) are echoed in other documents, the
likelihood of finding a grain of truth in it is thereby reinforced, and I am
obliged to seek the resources that will bridge the gap. As you correctly
state, one cannot be content with speculation in genealogy. One must locate
the primary sources that support the claims. This is what I am striving to do.
Hello Roy
I'm not sure your reasoning above is necessarily correct - if you find claims of
the descent in other documents, it still won't make them true!
I am engaged in a similar task for some of the PARRY families as part of my
one-name study. In my case, the sources I am trying to confirm are the
"established" accounts which were published in various books during the 1800s
and early 1900s, as well as a few handwritten pedigrees from researchers in the
1800s. One of the articles I have found helpful is "An Approach to Welsh
Genealogy", by Major Francis Jones, T.D. published in the Transactions of the
Honourable Society of the Cymmrodorion, session 1948. It does have some Welsh
phrases in it, which makes it difficult to appreciate the full details of some
of his points. However, he gives a good overview of the documentary evidence
with regard to the old Welsh pedigrees, and makes some interesting points. For
example, the earliest documents do not mention the tribes - accounts of them
appear between 1450-1600, and initially only mention three Royal tribes. In
discussing these problems of the tribes, Jones writes "there were to arise
writers whose imagination was in excess of their honesty, and who were to
"solve" all the intricacies concerning the fifteen tribes" (and that was
before
1600!).
With regard to Burke's "Landed Gentry and Peerage" he states "not even
the
maddest Welsh pedigree can produce anything to compare with some of the
statements that appeared in the pages of those curious volumes".
And I have seen some dubious claims about PARRY families by researchers in
Pennsylvania as well.
So, in other words, even if you find early records that appear to support the
claims, if they were written well after the event, then all they really support
is what the people at the time of writing believed (which makes them fascinating
in another way, but not strictly genealogy).
There is a (rather "wordy") account on my website at
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/im.griffiths/parryfamilyhistory/parrytrees/g...
of why I think the most commonly quoted account of one of the Parry families is
probably incorrect. Some of the sources I have quoted, such as Llyfr Baglan and
Dwnn's Visitations, might be of interest to you in that they will probably also
mention people such as Elystan Gloddryd and Kidrig ap Gwaitvoed, Lord of
Gwynvaye. (Rephrase that - Llyfr Baglan definitely does eg p126 "Thomas Lewis
of the Vann, esquior, is descended by the fathere sid of Kydrich ap Gwaithvoed".
It looks like various of the Monmouthshire gentry regarded themselves as
descendants of Gwaithvoed!).
Most of the PARRY families with similar pedigrees came to prominence during or
soon after the Tudor period and so I am now searching records such as the
Calendars of Patent Rolls, and Inquisitions Post Mortem etc since I believe only
such contemporary records can establish the existence of the people in the
pedigrees, and the links between them. A possible source for further
information on the earliest generations is Bartrum's "A Welsh Classical
Dictionary. People in History and Legend up to about A.D.1000" He suggests
there were various persons called Gwaithfoed who have been gradually combined
into one. He also notes some fictions with regard to Elystan Glodrydd.
If you want information on Medieval Records then Chris Phillip's site at
http://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/index.html is a great resource.
Regards
Barbara Griffiths
Coventry UK
PS Major Francis Jones was the Welsh Herald 1963-1993 There is information
about the Herald's post at
http://www.heaton.celtic.co.uk/cgnfhs/walehe98.htm
and about the works of Francis Jones at
http://www.brawdybooks.com/ .