This is the true story of how love conquers all... but only if you're prepared to be very patient.
Bronwen and Dai were born around the time of the First World War to farming families in the parish of Llanboidy in west Carmarthenshire. Bronwen was a distant cousin of my Mother's and it is she who told me this story.
Bronwen came from a progressive farming family that believed in giving their daughters every opportunity in life. They were a large family and Bronwen was considered the "beauty" but not the most academic. Nevertheless, she was sent away to a good school to further her education and experiences but decided after she finished her education to stay on the farm to help her mother run the busy household.
Dai was a farmer's son from Pencwnc Farm, Llanboidy. Dai was also good looking with an open happy face that matched his mild good nature.
When Bronwen and Dai meet there was an instant attraction and to no one's surprise they fell in love. An engagement soon followed and Bronwen excitedly prepared herself for a life as a farmer's wife at Pencnwc Farm.
But there were two major difficulties to overcome - Dai's sister and Dai's soft heart.
Dai's parents had now passed away but Dai's sister lived on the farm with Dai. She had no interest in the farm, no interest in marrying and no interest in sharing the house with another woman. She refused point blank to accept Bronwen as a sister in law.
It may seem odd to us looking at things from today's perceptive that Dai would have tolerated his sister's attitude but she had every right to stay on the farm and the farm was Dai's liveihood. If he moved away he would have had nothing. He was also the type of man who wouldnt throw his weight around - he wanted everyone to be happy.
Bronwen was also a very mild mannered person but after the situation had dragged on for almost 20 YEARS, she finally decided enough was enough and announced she was emigrating to America. This wasn't an idle threat, within a couple of months she had sailed the Atlantic to live and work with relatives in the US.
This left Dai completely heart broken but at last galvanised him into action. For the first time in his life he asked his neighbours for help. He arranged for them to look after the farm while he sailed over to America to plead and beg his fiancee to come back home with him. It was unheard for a farmer to spend more than a day away from the farm at this time and he was the talk of the district. He also took out a loan to enable him to build an extension on the farmhouse as separate accommodation for his sister. She didnt like it at all but Dai was insistent.
This belated plan of action worked and Bronwen returned to Wales to be married and to live out her days at Pencnwc. Sadly, they married too late in life to have children.
I visited the farm in the 1970s with my family and had a wonderful meal with the hospitable Bronwen and Dai. I never saw Dai's sister - she stayed in her part of the house, curtains closed.
Legend has it that she spent her time playing Patience.
Pencnwc Farm is only a couple of miles away from Cefnmeurig Cottage. and was the home of my great great grandparents.
Wednesday 25 January 2012
Thursday 19 January 2012
The 10 Best Free Websites for West Wales Family Historians
#1 Genuki (Genealogy UK and Ireland)
Whatever stage you're at with your family history you will need to consult this quite amazingly comprehensive site. It is non-commercial and run by volunteers who know what they're doing. We are very very lucky in west Wales to have one of the most dedicated family historians in the country in Gareth Hicks helping us out. He looks after the Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion (Cardiganshire) and all the parishes relating to the three counties' pages. If it's not listed here it probably doesn't exist.
For Carmarthenshire county and parishes - http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/CMN/
For Pembrokeshire county and parishes - http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/PEM/
For Ceredigion county and parishes - http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/CGN/
#2 Welsh Mariners
Even though west Wales is lapped by water on two sides we forget how important the sea was to our ancestors. Roads were virtually non existent and those that did exist were very rough. It would make much more sense to sail from say Aberporth to Milford Haven than try and get there by land. It is well worth checking this Welsh Mariners database which has been set up as a labour of love by Dr Reg Davies. It contains a fully searchable database of 23,500 mariners covering the period 1800-1945.
Even if you think that your family had no connection with the sea you may be mistaken - even some small smallholders were known to have owned a Sloop (small sailing ship) for transport and trade. Sounds idyllic doesn't it? - growing your own veg and sailing at the weekend - back breaking and perilous more like.
#3 National Library of Wales
The question "Have you visited the National Library yet?" should be written in large capitals on every Welsh family historian's brick wall. It must be one of the best positioned National Library's in the world with its uninterrupted view over Cardigan Bay, but it's location in Aberystwyth does make it rather a trek (by road , I've never tried getting there by Sloop).
I digress - the reason I've included their website in the "Top 10" is because of their digitised and searchable database of pre 1858 Welsh Wills. You can spend hours checking to see whether there is a will in existence for various ancestors but it's undoubtedly a very useful resource.
In the old days you had to ask the Library for a parish listing and then order a copy of the will. I have the listings for the following parishes - CMN Llangan, Henllan Amgoed, Llanboidy, Llangynin, Llanwinio, Meidrim, Llandysilio; CGN Llandygwydd, Llangoedmor, Llangrannog, Penbryn; PEM Walton East, Llanbedr Felffre. I would be happy to email anyone a copy of the part of the listings if they thought it would be useful for their research.
#4 Welsh Archives
If you're at the second stage of your research and have exhausted all the standard sources such as census data, wills and Births, Marriages and Death then a search through the Welsh Archives might prove fruitful.
This website covers all catalogued collections held by all 13 local government archive services in Wales plus the Welsh University archives, National Library, National Museum and Royal Commission for Ancient Monuments in Wales archives.
The catalogues can be browsed, text searched or indexed searched. I particularly like the fact you can browse the archive as you might find something you didn't even know you were looking for. There is a fair amount of information for each indexed item but you will not be able to view the item itself online, you will have to visit or contact the archive repository for that.
There is always the hope that hidden in a quiet corner of a collection, that nobody has taken any notice of, there will be a 1872 transcript of all the gravestones in all the chapels and all the churches in west Wales.
If I find it - you'll see it here first.!
#5 Plwyf Llangynfelyn
I wish I had some ancestors in the north Cardiganshire parish of Llangynfelyn as all the relevant transcripts can been found on this great little site. Many aspire to record online all the historical documents of their favourite parish but most give up before the task is completed. The site hasn't been updated since 2006 but that doesn't matter as all the work has been done. You will find census records, parish records, chapel records, tithe records, maps and photos. It's a joy to navigate and full marks to the individuals behind the project.
#6 Ceredigion Archives "The Search Room by the Sea"
There is something very heartwarming when you come across someone who really loves their work and this is certainly the case with Helen Palmer, the Ceredigion County Archivist. She not only loves her job but she also loves people and positively encourages and promotes the study of Cardiganshire history and genealogy. The website reflects this. The collections have been transcribed with a large amount of detail, useful to the family historian, available on the site.
#7 Returns of Owners of Land 1873
There were very few large land owners in west Wales in the 19th century but there were hundreds of people of owned small farms and small parcels of land. This site has digitised copies of this important document - The Return of Owners of Land 1873. Everyone who owned more than an acre in 1873 is listed here.
#8 Dyfed Family History Society
The Society members have put a lot of work in indexing the 1830 Pigots Directories, listing and photographing all the churches and chapels in the three counties and compiling a Place Name Directory. They have made it freely available here.
#9 Brawdy Books
This really is a hidden gem of a site. It contains details of the archive of Francis Jones, probably west Wales' finest Genealogist. He lived a life full of intellectual romance and physical adventure and spent 70 years studying and writing about the families and history of west Wales. It is well worth searching the site to see whether Mr Jones wrote something witty and observational about your ancestors.
#10 Pembrokeshire Archives
This local authority Records website has their catalegue online, with a great deal analysed down to item level.
These are my personal favourites but I'm sure there are others out there that I've missed. Please let me know about YOUR personal favourites and why they have been helpful to you.
Whatever stage you're at with your family history you will need to consult this quite amazingly comprehensive site. It is non-commercial and run by volunteers who know what they're doing. We are very very lucky in west Wales to have one of the most dedicated family historians in the country in Gareth Hicks helping us out. He looks after the Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion (Cardiganshire) and all the parishes relating to the three counties' pages. If it's not listed here it probably doesn't exist.
For Carmarthenshire county and parishes - http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/CMN/
For Pembrokeshire county and parishes - http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/PEM/
For Ceredigion county and parishes - http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/CGN/
#2 Welsh Mariners
Even though west Wales is lapped by water on two sides we forget how important the sea was to our ancestors. Roads were virtually non existent and those that did exist were very rough. It would make much more sense to sail from say Aberporth to Milford Haven than try and get there by land. It is well worth checking this Welsh Mariners database which has been set up as a labour of love by Dr Reg Davies. It contains a fully searchable database of 23,500 mariners covering the period 1800-1945.
Even if you think that your family had no connection with the sea you may be mistaken - even some small smallholders were known to have owned a Sloop (small sailing ship) for transport and trade. Sounds idyllic doesn't it? - growing your own veg and sailing at the weekend - back breaking and perilous more like.
#3 National Library of Wales
The question "Have you visited the National Library yet?" should be written in large capitals on every Welsh family historian's brick wall. It must be one of the best positioned National Library's in the world with its uninterrupted view over Cardigan Bay, but it's location in Aberystwyth does make it rather a trek (by road , I've never tried getting there by Sloop).
I digress - the reason I've included their website in the "Top 10" is because of their digitised and searchable database of pre 1858 Welsh Wills. You can spend hours checking to see whether there is a will in existence for various ancestors but it's undoubtedly a very useful resource.
In the old days you had to ask the Library for a parish listing and then order a copy of the will. I have the listings for the following parishes - CMN Llangan, Henllan Amgoed, Llanboidy, Llangynin, Llanwinio, Meidrim, Llandysilio; CGN Llandygwydd, Llangoedmor, Llangrannog, Penbryn; PEM Walton East, Llanbedr Felffre. I would be happy to email anyone a copy of the part of the listings if they thought it would be useful for their research.
#4 Welsh Archives
If you're at the second stage of your research and have exhausted all the standard sources such as census data, wills and Births, Marriages and Death then a search through the Welsh Archives might prove fruitful.
This website covers all catalogued collections held by all 13 local government archive services in Wales plus the Welsh University archives, National Library, National Museum and Royal Commission for Ancient Monuments in Wales archives.
The catalogues can be browsed, text searched or indexed searched. I particularly like the fact you can browse the archive as you might find something you didn't even know you were looking for. There is a fair amount of information for each indexed item but you will not be able to view the item itself online, you will have to visit or contact the archive repository for that.
There is always the hope that hidden in a quiet corner of a collection, that nobody has taken any notice of, there will be a 1872 transcript of all the gravestones in all the chapels and all the churches in west Wales.
If I find it - you'll see it here first.!
#5 Plwyf Llangynfelyn
I wish I had some ancestors in the north Cardiganshire parish of Llangynfelyn as all the relevant transcripts can been found on this great little site. Many aspire to record online all the historical documents of their favourite parish but most give up before the task is completed. The site hasn't been updated since 2006 but that doesn't matter as all the work has been done. You will find census records, parish records, chapel records, tithe records, maps and photos. It's a joy to navigate and full marks to the individuals behind the project.
#6 Ceredigion Archives "The Search Room by the Sea"
There is something very heartwarming when you come across someone who really loves their work and this is certainly the case with Helen Palmer, the Ceredigion County Archivist. She not only loves her job but she also loves people and positively encourages and promotes the study of Cardiganshire history and genealogy. The website reflects this. The collections have been transcribed with a large amount of detail, useful to the family historian, available on the site.
#7 Returns of Owners of Land 1873
There were very few large land owners in west Wales in the 19th century but there were hundreds of people of owned small farms and small parcels of land. This site has digitised copies of this important document - The Return of Owners of Land 1873. Everyone who owned more than an acre in 1873 is listed here.
#8 Dyfed Family History Society
The Society members have put a lot of work in indexing the 1830 Pigots Directories, listing and photographing all the churches and chapels in the three counties and compiling a Place Name Directory. They have made it freely available here.
#9 Brawdy Books
This really is a hidden gem of a site. It contains details of the archive of Francis Jones, probably west Wales' finest Genealogist. He lived a life full of intellectual romance and physical adventure and spent 70 years studying and writing about the families and history of west Wales. It is well worth searching the site to see whether Mr Jones wrote something witty and observational about your ancestors.
#10 Pembrokeshire Archives
This local authority Records website has their catalegue online, with a great deal analysed down to item level.
These are my personal favourites but I'm sure there are others out there that I've missed. Please let me know about YOUR personal favourites and why they have been helpful to you.
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