Hi Donna,
My Lewis ancestors originated in the Llanafan Fawr area of north Breconshire. My 5 x
great grandfather Morgan ap Simon ap Lewis ap John was married there in 1727 and his great
grandfather was known to have lived there although there is no documentation to say where
he was born.
The family started dispersing from the end of the 1700s to the mid 1800s. My particular
line moved north to Rhayader (Rhaeadr) through Radnorshire but many of the extended family
moved down to industrial area of South Wales.
In "The Surnames of Wales" by John and Sheila Rowlands they say the following
about the surname Lewis.
1813-37 This is a prominent surname in south and mid Wales although it also occurs with
reasonable frequency in Anglesey (up to 2.3%). There are also concentrations of the name
in Radnorshire (Rhaeadr 6.2%), Carmarthenshire (Derllys 6.3%, Kidwelly 5.5%, Cathinog
5.2%), Glamorgan (Caerphilly 5.0%) and Monmouthshire (Wentloog 5.0%)
In a list of the 10 most common surnames in Wales in the early to mid nineteenth century
Lewis came 8th with 2.97%. By the way Jones came top with 13.84%.
Anglesey is a small island off the north coast of Wales with a road and rail bridges from
the mainland. There is a tiny village on the island with the longest name in Britain.
Regards,
Margaret Harvey