Life after prison
for
Rhys Williams
Roughly a year later, (in 1876) he married Mary Evans, the daughter of David and Ann Evans of Gwarallt, Tregaron. She was then eighteen year of age and she joined him at Nant-
Their first child was born when Mary Williams was around 21, and she named him after her father (David or Dafydd). Sadly, there is no record of him in any subsequent census returns and one must presume that he died before the family moved from Nant-
It is interesting to note that around the same time that Rhys Williams moved from Nant-
At Nantcwnlle, John Jones became a well known public figure. He was a J.P. and was elected as County Councillor in 1889. Following the marriage of one of his daughters to a J.D. Edwards he ‘set-
Marriage Certificate
Rhys and Mary Williams
To return to Rhys Williams – it seems that Rhys and Mary Williams began life at Tycanol as a child-
Notes
[18] Wernfelen and Tycanol -
[19] Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick, The History and Antiquities of the county of Cardigan, Longman, London ,1810.
[20] See http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/CGN/Nancwnlle/HanesNantcwnlle.html, page 49
The life story of Rhys Williams would not be complete without some reference to his wife Mary, and her family background. Her parents were David and Anne Evans and she was born and brought up at Gwarallt, Tregaron. She was one of eight children :
By the turn of the century (1901) two of the above had left home ; Liza was working at Frongoch with William and Sarah Roberts, but little is known about David Williams’ (Dafydd Williams) whereabouts at this time.
Rhys Williams
Rev Bold’s written words would have sounded pretty hollow to Rhys Williams ― his time in prison must have been quite harrowing. However, he appears not to have dwelt too much on his unfortunate experience ; following his release he went back to shepherding and, soon afterwards, he was living at Nant-
Maybe, these were some of the attractions for Rhys and Mary ― like most local married couples, in those days, they were probably contemplating a large family and these were important considerations.
Tycanol also had a well built farm house -
On the other hand, Rhys Williams may well have been offered a string of other temptations to entice him away from Nant-
Tycanol today
(2008)
The life story of an old Elenydd shepherd
.
For further details of Rhys Williams’ life history, go to page 6
. . . continuation from page 4
In the summer of 1875, Rhys Williams was sentenced to two months in Brecon’s House of Correction for wounding Hugh Jones, a shepherd working for Mr E.D. Thomas and Mr R.M. Hope (page 3). He was discharged from prison about a fortnight following a routine visit by the Rev Hugh Bold, a local magistrate, (page 4) who wrote in the ‘Visiting Magistrate Journal’ :
Visited the prison and found everything in good order and the prisoners – 31 – all well and orderly.
Sometime around 1882 (at a guess), Rhys Williams moved to Tycanol to work (still as a shepherd) for William Jones Wernfelen [18] and subsequently for his widow Margaret Jones. Wernfelen was (and still is) one of the principal lowland farms near Pontrhydfendigaid ; Tycanol was one of its outlying sheep farms on Elenydd. The latter was situated in Cwm Mwyro (the valley of the river Mwyro), about two to three miles east of Strata Florida (see map). Its sheep walk boundaries were more set than those at Nantstawen and, as a consequence, there was less conflict over grazing rights.
Page 5
The rents are paid by the sale of cattle and horses bread on the farm, and on the uncertain profits of . . . some distant sheep walks on the surrounding hills . . . which much depend on the mildness of the winters . . . and the fidelity of the shepherd . . .
Elizabeth . . . b. around 1882
David . . . b. around 1885
Jane . . . b. around 1887
Anne . . . b. around 1890
John and William . . . b. around 1893
Thomas . . . b. around 1896
John . . . b. around 1852
Martha . . . b. around 1855
Elizabeth . . . b. around 1857 (d. 1861)
Mary . . . b. around 1859
David . . . b. around 1861
Elizabeth . . . b. around 1863 (named after her dead sister)
Josuah . . . b. around 1865
Daniel . . . b. around 1867
Elizabeth, Mary’s younger sister (born around 1857), died when she was 4 years old on the 8th April 1861 and is buried at Bwlchgwynt cemetery, Tregaron. On the gravestone are the following touching words (in Welsh) :
Gwywodd y glaswelltyn, a’i flodeuyn a gwympodd, a thegwch ei bryd a gollodd.
The next girl born into the Gwarallt family some two years later (1863) was, as one might expect, also named Eizabeth after her deceased sister. She went on to play a key role in the history of Gwarallt and the family.
Mary’s mother died on the 2nd October 1886 at 60 years of age and the records show that Elizabeth, then returned to live at Gwarallt. At the time, she was the only single daughter, and maybe she felt it was her duty to return home to look after her father. By now, all the boys had left for far-
Just before the turn of the century (21st November 1899), David Evans, the head of the family, died leaving Elizabeth Evans as the sole person in Gwarallt. The 1901 census describes her as a single person, 38 years of age, and a farmer living on her own account. She remained a single woman for another 15 years, or so, before marrying a David Edwards (or Dafydd Edwards). When she died in 1934, at the age of 72, she was buried with her parents, and on the gravestone is written :
Elizabeth Edwards, eu merch, 3ydd Mehefin 1934
It would be interesting to trace and record the story of Gwarallt following Elizabeth’s marriage – what happened to Elizabeth afterwards, and when did David Williams (or Dafydd Williams, Mary and Rhys Williams’ eldest son and Elizabeth’s nephew) succeed her at Gwarallt? But that is another story and is too much of a diversion at this point – the emphasis here is on Rhys Williams
Cwm Mwyro
(on a vey cold and wet afternoon in winter)