Dear Rodger,
Regarding your relation born in 1814 and emigrated in 1845, I found a William C Williams
mentioned in the part of Minnesota your relation comes from in the reissue of "Hanes
Cymry America" (1872) published by the Great Plains Welsh Heritage Project.
On page 196, "The majority of the Welsh settled in Blue Earth and Le Sueur counties
around Mankato... The first settler in 1855 was David C Evans... Others who arrived [ie
in or after 1855, one would imagine] here were... William C Williams, and Davd Williams
and his family from Bradford, Pennsylvania..."
Now, whether William C and David were related and had come together from Bradford
Pennsylvania, is not explained in the text. The relevant section in the book on Bradford,
Pennsylvania is no more enlightening and mentions neither man.
William could be referred to as either William Cadwalader Williams, William William(s) or
William Cadwalad(e)r if our assumption that he was William the son of a Cadwalad(e)r
Williams is correct. At this time in Wales, people rarely took a middle name as such and
middle names are, in fact, a reflection of a patronymic naming culture.
Tyddyn Llowarch is in the 1841 census for Llanuwchllyn in District 25 page 5 and there is
no William Cadwalader [Williams]:
Tyddyn Llowarch
Cadr Williams 57 farmer y
Anne 47
Robert 25
Cadwaladr 5
David 2
Elisabeth 15
Margreat 8
This lack of a William doesn't mean that the family are not the correct one...
Indeed on the IGI, for 1816
William Williams born 17 March 1816, baptised 3 April 1816 Ebenezer or the Old Chapel,
Llanuwchllyn, son of Cadwalader Williams and Anne Roberts (Batch no C102421).
There are other siblings under the same batch number.
There might be something in looking at Hanes Cynulleidfa Hen Gapel Llanuwchllyn by R T
Jenkins (1937) - it is in Welsh so someone at the Archives might need to look for you.
There might be additional clues in gravestones, wills or house and farm names - do you
have any such information? I have found wills on both sides of the Atlantic can be very
specific and helpful.
Equally, if people are raised in communities made up of families from one geographical
location, there is every chance they too came from the same locale (although this is
inferred rather than proven).
Yours,
Ian Thompson
Bromley
S London
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