Dr Ian asked about sending details from the LDS microfiche extraction from
Gwynedd Wills to the list.
Please do send the details to the list, Ian. I'm sure that they will prove to
be a valuable contribution. However list members should be made aware of some
potential problems with the LDS wills index which have been discussed in an
interesting article about the treatment of wills from Wales in the IGI by Chris
Pitt Lewis in the book Welsh Family History, a Guide to Research edited by
John and Sheila Rowlands
The main conclusion made by Chris Pitt Lewis is that the entries derived from
Welsh wills are "highly confusing". Most of the confusion is caused by the
compilers' difficulties in knowing what to do with Welsh surnames (a problem
with the whole of the IGI but, apparently, worse in the Wills section).
Incidentally if anybody doesn't know what to ask for whilst writing their
letter to Father Christmas I would highly recommend three books edited by John
and Sheila Rowlands and published by FFHS Ltd all of which I think are essential
reading for family historians with Welsh roots:
Welsh Family History, a guide to research ISBN 1 86006 065 X
Second Stages in Researching Welsh Ancestry ISBN 1 86006 066 8
and
The Surnames of Wales ISBN 186006 025 0
All availiable from the FHSS Publications Ltd stand at
http://www.genfair.com/
All the best
Alwyn