In a message dated 24/01/2003 21:30:34 GMT Standard Time,
Jmt.Compton(a)btinternet.com writes:
There is definitely no 'h' in the middle
and no 'p' at the end .........but..........putting yourself in the
position
of the Enumerator who had to rely on the phonetic pronunciation of the
resident .........and perhaps the resident could not spell
etc...........then how might it have been spoken and heard? Would the 'h'
and/or 'p' have been given much prominence when spoken? If it could have
been pronounced 'Aberavis' then that is just how it looks on the census
page. What do you think?
H, P and B are often dropped in speech and are as often not heard when they
are spoken, so I would not be surprised to see Aberhafesb / Aberhavesp
written as Aberavis.
Although Aber is a fairly common element in Welsh place names, places called
Aberxxxx tend to be by the sea, so they are uncommon in Montgomeryshire.
Aberhafesp is the only parish in MGY beginning with the element Aber. There
are also 8 non-parochial villages Abercegir, Aberangell, Aberbechan, Aber
Miwl, Abernant, Aber Rhaeadr, Aberriw and Abertridwr.
Unfortunately I don't know anybody in Montgomeryshire who can look up
original parish registers - I wish that I did ;-)
Your best option would probably be to have a look at this web site:
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHC/frameset_fhc.asp
To see if there is an LDS family history center near you. The LDS has filmed
most copies of the Welsh Bishop's Transcripts, including Aberhafesb 1676-1835
(with gaps).
You can also search the LDS transcriptions of the Aberhafesb BT's for 1787 -
1835 from Jim Wallace's site:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hughwallis/IGIBatchNumbers/Count...
gomery.htm#PageTitle
All the best
Alwyn