Showing 1957 results

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Morgan family, Barons Tredegar

  • Family

The Morgan family claimed descent from Bledri (d. 1120), the third son of Cadifor Fawr (d. 1089), lord of Cilsant, now in Carmarthenshire. Sixth in line of descent from Bledri was Llywelyn ab Ifor, lord of St Clears and Gwynfe, who married Angharad, daughter and heir of Sir Morgan ap Maredydd, and in her right acquired the estates of Tredegar and Cyfoeth Feredydd in what is now Monmouthshire. His son Morgan (d. 1375x1387) succeeded to Tredegar and St Clears, and Tredegar descended within the Morgan family for almost six centuries. The second son of Sir John Morgan ('Y marchog tew', d. c.1492) was Thomas, an esquire of the king's body (21 Hen. VII), and ancestor of the Morgan family of Machen, which later became the senior branch of the family.

In 1661 William Morgan (d. 1680) of Tredegar married as his first wife Blanche daughter of William Morgan of Dderw in Breconshire, by which marriage that estate came to the Morgan family of Tredegar. He also married (2nd) Elizabeth, widow of Sir Francis Dayrell (d. 1675) of Buckinghamshire, and daughter and coheir of Edward Lewis of the Van, Glamorgan.

The male line of the Morgan family of Tredegar failed with the death without issue of John Morgan (1742-1792), and he was succeeded by his eldest sister and coheir Jane, wife (m. 1758) of Sir Charles Gould (1726-1806). In 1792 Gould was created baronet and changed his surname to Morgan. His grandson Sir Charles Morgan Robinson Morgan (1792-1875), 3rd baronet, was created Baron Tredegar in 1859. His second, but eldest surviving, son Godfrey Charles Morgan (1830-1913), 2nd baron, was created Viscount Tredegar in 1905, but he died unmarried, when the viscouncy became extinct. The barony devolved on his nephew Courtenay Charles Evan Morgan (1867-1934), 3rd baron, the eldest son of Frederick Courtenay Morgan (1834-1909) of Ruperra Castle, the third son of the 1st baron. This 3rd baron was created Viscount Tredegar (2nd creation) in 1926, and was succeeded by his only son Evan Frederick Morgan (1893-1949), 2nd viscount. The viscouncy became extinct on his death, but the barony and baronetcy devolved on his uncle Frederick George Morgan (b. 1873), 5th baron and 7th baronet, the second son of Frederick Courtenay Morgan (1834-1909).

The 5th baron was succeeded by his only son (Frederick Charles) John Morgan (1908-1962), 6th baron, who died childless. The barony became extinct on his death.

Powell family, of Nanteos

  • Family

The family originally resided at Llechwedd Dyrys, Cardiganshire. Sir Thomas Powell (1631-1704), Serjeant-at-law (1688), a Baron of the Exchequer and Judge of the King's Bench during the reign of James time married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of David Lloyd (Gwyn) of Aberbrwynen. It was Sir Thomas's successful legal career which ensured the rise to local eminence of the Powell family. Thomas's son, William Powell married in 1620, Avarina, daughter of Cornelius le Brun by his wife, Ann, daughter and co-heiress of John Jones of Nanteos. After this period Llechwedd Ddyrys became unoccupied and was later abandoned and became a ruin.
William and Ann's heir was their eldest son, Thomas Powell, M.P. for Cardigan Boroughs 1725-1727 and for Cardiganshire 1727-1742. He married Mary, grand-daughter of Sir John Frederick, Lord Mayor of London in 1662. They built the Georgian mansion on the site which was completed in 1757. On Thomas's death in 1752 the estate devolved on his surviving brother, Dr William Powell (1705-1780). Through the marriage of his sister Anna to Richard Stedman, the extensive lands of the Ystrad Fflur (Strata Florida) estate came to the Powells, including Strata Florida Abbey. Following this acquisition, the Powells owned 30,000 acres from Devil's Bridge and Ponterwyd to Aberystwyth, including extensive sheep walks above Llanddewibrefi.
William was succeeded by his son, Thomas (1745-1797), whose heir was his eldest son, William Edward Powell (1788-1854). The latter was M.P. for Cardiganshire 1816-1854 and Lord Lieutenant for the county. He purchased an army commission and left the running of the estate to agents. The estate, due partially to a series of family settlements, was heavily in debt. When William came of age in 1809 the debt amounted to over £20,000. He made some attempt to retrieve the situation, arranging for the sale of his un-entailed property at Llanbrynmair, Montgomeryshire, in 1823, but he also spent £2,880 on improvements to the mansion which were completed in 1847.
The estate passed to William's son, William T. R. Powell (1815-1878), M.P. for Cardiganshire, 1859-1865, who sold parts of the estate to the value of £80,000 between 1868 and 1873. According to the return of owners of land, he owned an estimated 30,573 acres in Wales (in Cardiganshire, Breconshire and Montgomeryshire) with an estimated rental of £9,372.
William T. R. Powell's heir was his eldest son, George Ernest John Powell (1842-1884), poet, scholar and friend of Byron, Swinburne, Longfellow and Wagner.He was succeeded by his father's cousin, William Beauclerk Powell (1834-1911), who along with his son, Edward Athleston Lewis Powell (1870-1930) sold extensive tracts of land which saw the estate dwindle to 4,000 acres. Edward married Margaret Louisa Joan, eldest daughter of Sir Pryse Pryse of Gogerddan, thereby uniting the two declining houses. Their only son, William Edward George Pryse Wynne Powell (b. 1899) was killed in action in France.
Various claims of male relations to the estate were rejected and when Edward Powell died in 1930, the male line of the Powells came to an end. A descendant of Edward Powell's widow, Elizabeth Mirylees, succeeded to Nanteos. Most of the remaining 2,250 acres and the house were sold in 1967.

Francis family, of Goginan and Cornwall

  • Family

Henry and Absalom Francis of Goldsithney, Cornwall, were heavily involved in the Cornish metal mining industry before Absalom moved to Flintshire in 1826 to manage the Duke of Westminster's mines on Halkyn Mountain. He also managed mines on the Lisburne estate in Cardiganshire, but fell out with his employers, the Taylor family, and was dismissed in 1840. His three sons, Henry, Absalom and William, all followed their father into the Welsh mining industry. Henry Francis the elder was manager of the Wheal Virgin mine in Cornwall for many years before opening the Wheal Guskus mine in 1849. Of his four sons, the most prominent was Matthew, who spent a number of years in the mines of Aroa in South America before following his uncle to Wales in 1834, settling at Goginan, Cardiganshire, to manage the Lisburne mines. He was very successful, but the cordial relationships which he enjoyed with the Taylors deteriorated, and he was dismissed in 1842. Despite his best efforts, his subsequent attempts to promote mines on his own account never met with the success that he had enjoyed whilst working on the Lisburne estate. From 1851 to 1854, he lived in London, managing Francis's Mining Offices, though he paid frequent visits to Cardiganshire and also inspected mines elsewhere, including Germany in 1853 and Ireland in 1854. He died whilst inspecting a mine in Spain in 1865. In 1840, Matthew was joined in Cardiganshire by his brother, Absalom, who was based at Goginan for the rest of his life apart from a short stay in London, 1855-1856, and trips to America and Norway. A third brother, Henry, seems to have been a wanderer during the period covered by this archive, never staying in one place more than a few years and often only months, whilst a fourth brother, James, suffered ill-health and stayed mostly in Cornwall with his father.

Leach family, Corston and Ivy Tower

  • Family

Henry Leach of Corston, Pembrokeshire, military captain, Justice of the Peace for Pembrokeshire and Sheriff of the same (1852), was born in 1824. He married in 1867 Mary Edwardes Lloyd of Cil-y-bebyll, Glamorgan. John Leach of Ivy Tower, Pembrokeshire, military major, also served as Justice of the Peace for Pembrokeshire and Sheriff of the same (1855). He was born in 1826, the son of John Leach of Pembroke. Educated at Harrow School and at University College, Oxford, he married in 1851 Mary Anne Agnes Skrine of Warleigh Manor in Bath. The name Ivy Tower first became associated with his residence in 1771.

Williams family, of Penpont

  • Family

In 1660 Daniel Williams, son of the Rev. John Williams (1580-1657), a descendant of the Williams family of Abercamlais, Breconshire, built the Penybont mansion and founded the Penpont branch of the family. The estate then descended in the male line, each heir being called Penry. The last male heir was Penry Boleyne Williams who died unmarried in 1893. According to the 1873 return of owners of land, Penry Williams of Penpont owned an estimated 7,010 acres, all in Breconshire, with an estimated annual rental of £4,370.

Phillips family, of Tre-faes, Llanilar

  • Family

Tre-faes Uchaf, Llanilar, Cardiganshire, was occupied by the Phillips family by the mid-19th century. John Phillips died c. 1855; his widow Charlotte and son John still lived there in 1876. John the younger's son, Richard Phillips, lived at Argoed, Llangwyryfon, by 1882. In 1829, Evan James (died 1875) of Grip, Llanddeiniol, had bought land from Augustus Brackenbury, as had his father-in-law, David Jones. Richard Phillips married Evan James' daughter and they had several children, including Dr Richard Phillips and Mary Phillips ([1887]-1969), who lived at Bow Street, Cardiganshire.

Davies-Cooke family, of Gwysaney and Owston

  • Family

The Llannerch estate, near St Asaph, and the Gwysaney estate, Mold, were united in 1631 on the marriage of Anne, daughter of Sir Piers Mytton of Llannerch and Robert Davies (1616-1666) of Gwysaney. Their grandson Robert Davies (c. 1658-1710) of Llannerch, antiquary and book collector, greatly expanded the manuscript collections at Llannerch through purchase, gifts and transcription; the Liber Landavensis came to Llannerch through his wife Letitia. Robert Davies's great-grandson, John Davies (1737-1785), died childless and in 1789 the two estates were divided between his sisters: Llannerch went to Mrs Letitia Leo and Gwysaney to Mrs Mary Puleston (d. 1802), widow of Philip Puleston of Hafod-y-Wern, Wrexham. Mary Puleston's daughter, Frances, married Bryan Cooke (1756-1821) of Owston, Yorkshire. Their son and heir was Philip Davies Cooke (1793-1854). During the nineteenth century the Davies-Cooke family lived mainly at Owston. However in 1888, due to the ill-health of Philip Bryan Davies-Cooke (1832-1903), the family returned to Wales and made Gwysaney their main home again.

Results 1 to 20 of 1957