Weathervane Wednesday ~ Weathervanes in Wales!

I post a series of weather vane photographs every Wednesday.  This started with images of weathervanes from the Londonderry, New Hampshire area, but now I've found interesting weather vanes all across New England and across the globe.  Sometimes my weather vanes are whimsical, or historical, but all are interesting.  This series will be ending with post #400 later this month.

Today's weather vanes were photographed in Wales.

Do you know the location of weathervane post #397?  Scroll down to find the answer.

This first weathervane was spotted over the train station in Betws y Coed in Wales.  We passed by this little village on our way through Wales on the way to Snowdonia with the General Society of Mayflower Descendants Historic Sites tour last year.  The train station was build in 1868, and it is quite a tourist attraction.  Many tour buses were parked here, and there were plenty of folks milling around the shops and restaurants even on a rainy day.

This little bird weathervane caught our attention right off the bus.  I guess the local song birds like it, too!

After viewing Snowdonia we stopped to see Caernarfon  Castle, and then the town of Llangollen, where we saw this weathervane above the storefronts.

This is an elaborate banner style weathervane with fancy cardinal points.  Perhaps at one time it was painted with a date or name?  We enjoyed poking about the town, and the tour included a canal boat ride over the Pontcysllte Aqueduct, which was very interesting.  It is the longest canal aqueduct in Great Britain, and the highest canal aqueduct in the world at 126 feet above the River Dee.  Poncysllte is Welsh for "Cysllte Bridge" which connects the Cysyllte township with Trevor in Llangollen parish.

A passenger looking down from the canal boat
to the Dee River Valley below the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

Kayakers crossing the aqueduct

The local sheep were unfazed by our canal boat

Click here to see the entire collection of Weathervane Wednesday posts!

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday ~ Weathervanes in Wales!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 9, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/12/weathervane-wednesday-weathervanes-in.html: accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ LAMBERT of Boston

LAMBERT / LOMBARD / LAMPORT / LAMPERT / LUMBARD

Lambert family, probably of Boston, is one of my biggest brickwall mysteries in my family tree.  My 5^th great grandmother, Elizabeth Lambert (about 1775 – 1834) was described as a Boston debutante by her grandson, Governor John Owen Dominis of Hawaii.  However, I am unable to find out anything about her LAMBERT family except for one tantalizing clue.  She had a possible sister, Sarah, who married a John DARKE/DARGUE in 1796.   Elizabeth named her eldest daughter, Sarah Dargue Jones (about 1794 – 1875) after this sister. 

Elizabeth and Sarah Lambert would have been born in Boston around the time of the Boston military occupation by British troops prior to 1775. They probably were not even born in Boston at all.  Civilians fled Boston during the occupation.  In 1768 the British had deployed two regiments, or 2,000 soldiers, to restore order.   A fleet of British war ships crowded the harbor, which was closed.  Then, in 1775, the British retreated from the battles of Lexington and Concord to Boston, which was held under Seige by militas and the Continental Army.  Most civilians fled, or at least sent their wives and children out of the city.  Most of those left behind were Loyalists.  If the Lamberts were here before or during the military occupation and the Seige, where did they go during the conflict?  This might be where Elizabeth and Sarah were born, or where their parents married. 

Bostonians reclaimed Boston after “Evacuation Day” on 17 March 1775 when the British fleet departed Boston Harbor with troops and Loyalists aboard.   Citizens returned to Boston to rebuild the city, which had been ransacked.   The population of Boston in 1765 had been about 15,000 people.   The number of people in Boston fell by 2/3 during the 1770s to a low of less than 6,000. 

In 1793 Elizabeth Lambert married Owen Jones, the son of a British customs official.  Were they loyalists? I have no proof one way or another.  They had eight children, six daughters who all married well, and two sons who died young.  One son died as a young child, the other died unmarried at sea.  My Lambert lineage daughters out, and my 4^th great grandmother was Catherine Plummer Jones (1799 – 1828) who also died young after giving five children to her mariner husband, Levi Younger, of Gloucester.

The Lamberts and the Joneses lived in Boston’s North End neighborhood.   Owen Jones lived on Ship Street,  Hanover Street, and Tileston Street.   Records were found in the New North North church and at the 2^nd Baptist Church. 

Interestingly, Elizabeth (Lambert) Jones’s obituary was carried in the Nantucket Inquirer on 11 February 1834.  Did she have relatives on the island of Nantucket?  

Unfortunately, It is difficult to find vital records or any other type of information on Boston families during and before the Revolutionary War.  And LAMBERT and all its spelling variations were very common.  There were many LAMBERT families in Boston and other parts of Massachusetts.  I have had some luck searching church records, newspapers, and other sources. 

If anyone has a clue as to the identity of this LAMBERT family, please leave a comment or email vrojomit@gmail.com

My LAMBERT genealogy:

Generation 1:   Unknown Lambert; married and had two daughter (probably more children)  1.) Elizabeth 2.) Sarah Lambert born about 1776 and died 3 September 1796, married on 1 Dec 1793 to John Darke/Dargue

Generation 2:  Elizabeth Lambert, born about 1775, died 6 February 1834 in Boston; married on 11 May 1793 at the 2^nd Baptist Church, Boston, Massachusetts to Owen Jones, son of Owen Jones and Ann Unknown.  He was born about 1678 in Wales, and died 22 April 2850 in Dorchester, Massachusetts.  Eight children.

Generation 3:  Catherine Plummer Jones, born about 1799, died 2 May 1828; married on 23 October 1816 in Gloucester, Massachusetts to Levi Younger as his first wife.  He also married Jane Unknown, who died 26 November 1845 in Boston;  and Margaret Unknown, who died 21 February 1895. Five chidren.

Generation 4:  Mary Esther Younger, born 17 Feb 1826 and died 7 January 1913 in Boston.  Eight children.

Generation 5:  Mary Katharine Emerson m. George E. Batchelder

Generation 6:  Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 7:  Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~  LAMBERT of Boston", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 21, 2017,  ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/01/surname-saturday-lambert-of-boston.html: accessed [access date]).  

Surname Saturday ~ JONES of Wales and Boston, Massachusetts

Vincent and I at Washington Place, Honolulu, Hawaii
the home built by my 4th great aunt
Mary Lambert (Jones) Dominis, born in Boston, 1803.
This was Queen Lili'uokalani's last residence,
and the current governor's residence.

My 6^th great grandfather, Owen Jones, born about 1735, was a Royal Customs agent at Aberystwyth, Wales and also a customs agent at Boston, Massachusetts (probably before the Revolutionary War).  His son, Owen Jones, my 5^th great grandfather, was born about 1768 in Wales and he married Elizabeth Lambert in Boston.  Apparently the rest of the family returned to Wales, and Owen, Jr. stayed in Boston.  Owen’s sister, Ann, is buried at Aberystwyth with the following epitaph:

“Here lies the body of Ann, the daughter of Owen Jones, Collector of the Customs at Aberystwyth, by Ann, his wife, who was born at Boston, New England on the 17th of February 1769, and departed this life the 18th of February 1791, aged 22 years. Also to the above named Owen Jones, who departed this life the 28th of February 1798, aged 62”

Owen Jones, Jr. was a mariner, and he lived at Ship Street in Boston’s North End in the 1810, 1820 and 1820 censuses and city directories.  In the 1842 Boston directory he was living at 199 Hanover Street, also in the North End.  His death notice in the New England Historic Genealogical Society Register, Vol. 4, page 293 (July 1850) reads: “Jones, Mr. Owen, Dorchester, 22 April, ae 82, formerly of Boston”.    His obituary in the Boston Evening Transcript, 22 April 1850, page 2 reads “At Dorchester, this morning, at the residence of Wm. Hart, Mr. Owen Jones, 82, formerly of this city.  Funeral services at the house of Enoch H. Snelling, No. 108 Salem Street, on Tuesday, at 3 ½ o’clock PM. Relatives and friends are invited to attend.”   William Hart was his son-in-law (married to his daughter Agnes Jones), and Enoch Snelling was another son-in-law (married to his eldest daughter Sarah Dargue Jones).

Owen Jones married Elizabeth Lambert and had eight children.  Six daughters, and two sons (one died young, the other died at sea unmarried).   One of these daughters was my 4^th great grandmother, Catherine Plummer Jones (about 1799 – 1828).  Another daughter was Mary Lambert Jones (1803 – 1889), who married Capt. John Dominis and removed to the Kingdom of Hawaii where she became the mother-in-law to Queen Liliuokalani.  Two other daughters are named above, and the other two were Laura Williams Jones, who married John Lee, and Anne Marie Stanwood Jones, who was the first wife of Robert William Holt who also removed to the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Catherine Plummer (Jones) Younger died at age 29 and left her husband a widower with young children.  Their daughter, my 3^rd great grandmother Mary Esther Younger, was adopted by her aunt Mary (Younger) Harris and raised in Boston.  It was a letter written by her nephew, William Lee, to his aunt Mary Dominis in Hawaii that told me the connection to Queen Liliuokalani.  This letter in the Hawaii State Archives, dated May 9, 1887, was written when Princess Liliuokalani, her husband Governor John Owen Dominis, and Queen Kapiolani were visiting relatives in Boston enroute to Queen Victoria’s Jubilee celebration in London.  “…I tell you Aunt Dominis, the Jones & Lambert race will never die out!... [mentions Esther Emerson]… you can easily see the coming of the Queen and her party has been a marked event with our people.”  [M-93 Lili’uokalani Collection, Box 9, Folder 94 (years 1185 – 1888, #1164, s.n. 1305, Hawai’i State Archives]. 

Another letter dated May 11, 1887 from Governor John Owen Dominis to his mother says “Yesterday forenoon we had a reception for all my Cousins and aunts and nearly all were here…. The Queen and Lydia [Liliuokalani’s Christian name] had quite a jolly time with our cousins – Lydia has the names of all who were here.”  [ibid]

Esther Emerson, who met the Royal party in Boston, lived at #57 Nixon Street in Boston.  Her 1913 death record in the Massachusetts vital records gives her maiden name as Younger and her adopted name of Harris, as well as her parents and husband’s names.  She is buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Boston.   My great grandmother, Carrie Maude (Batchelder) Allen, died during my lifetime, and she was alive during the Queen’s visits to Boston both in 1887 and later after the overthrow of the monarchy.  She remembers visiting with “Auntie Lydia” and was one of the cousins mentioned in the letters above.   It was Great Grandmother Carrie’s insistence that we had a princess in our family tree that led me to start tracing this line back in the 1970s – my first foray into genealogy!

My JONES genealogy:

Generation 1:  Owen Jones, born about 1735, died 28 February 1798 in Aberystwth, Wales; married to Anne Unknown.  Two known children (probably more)

Generation 2:  Owen Jones, born about 1768 in Wales, died 22 April 1850 in Dorchester, Massachusetts; married on 11 May 1793 at the 2^nd Baptist Church, Boston, Massachusetts to Elizabeth Lambert.  She was born about 1775 and died 6 February 1834 in Boston.  Eight children

Generation 3:  Catherine Plummer Jones, born about 1799, died 2 May 1828 probably in Boston; married on 23 October 1816 in Gloucester, Massachusetts to Levi Younger, son of Levi Younger and Mary Wotton.  He was born 1 May 1786 in Gloucester, and died 8 December 1858 in Boston.  Five children.

Generation 4:  Mary Esther Younger, born 17 February 1826, died 7 January 1913 in Boston; married on 11 August 1845 in Boston to George Emerson, son of Romanus Emerson and Jemima Burnham.  He was born 11 July 1817 in South Boston, and died 11 January 1890 in Dorchester.  Eight children.

Generation 5: Mary Katharine Emerson m. George E. Batchelder

Generation 6:  Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 7: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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To cite/link to this blog post: 

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, " Surname Saturday ~ JONES of Wales and Boston, Massachusetts ", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 14, 2017,  (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/01/surname-saturday-jones-of-wales-and.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ BRAY of Gloucester, Massachusetts

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Some early settlers to Massachusetts were followers of Reverend Richard Blinman/Blynman, and they were called “The Blynman Party”.  Most of this group were members of his church from Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales, who joined with Rev. Blinman when he was told to leave his post as minister because of his Puritan leanings.   They arrived before 1640 in the Plymouth Colony, and tended to migrate together as a group when they later removed to Cape Ann and settled in Gloucester.  This group established the First Church, where Rev. Blinman was minister until 1649, before he removed to New London, Connecticut and some of his group followed him there, too. 

Thomas Bray, my 10^th great grandfather, may have been a member of the Blynman Party.   BRAY is a surname found in Wales, and he was a resident of the Plymouth Colony.   Thomas Bray, a “single person”,  and the wife of Francis Linceford, were charged with adultery on 7 December 1641 in the Plymouth court. He was sentenced to be whipped and to wear the letters “AD” as long as he lived in Plymouth Colony.  In 1642 he left for Gloucester.  In 1646 he married Mary Wilson (“Marie” in the vital records) and is named as a “ship carpenter” on the marriage record.

In Gloucester Thomas Bray bought several plots of land, and lived near Little River.  Today there is a Bray Street and a Bray Hill (overlooks Stage Fort) in Gloucester.  On Bray Street there is a small Bray Cemetery with about 80 graves, and of those there are about 25 BRAY gravestones dating from the early 1800s.   Thomas Bray signed a will in 1672 and left his wife Mary “all my goods, cattle, housing, orchards and lands”.  His will also mentions his sons John, Nathaniel and Thomas, and his daughters, and he left books which meant he was not only literate, but successful.

His son, also named Thomas Bray, my 9^th great grandfather, left a will in 1742 that mentioned his children and wife Mary:

"I Thomas Bray, Senior, of Gloucester in the County of Essex in New England, being at this present time in perfect health and memory, through the goodness of God, yet knowing it is appointed for all men to De and set his house in Order before he Dyeth, I do therefore Declare & make known this to be my Last Will & testament in manner & form following.

                "And first I Committ my Spirit unto the hands of God the father of Spirits, and my body to the Grave to be decently Buried by my Executor, and for my Outward Estate & Goods I thus Dispose of them -- Imprimis."

                "I give unto my Dear & loving wife, all my house hold goods to be at her own Disposal, if in case she out live me Besides what I have ordered my executor to Do for her Maintainence while Shee Liveth.

                "I give my eldest son Thomas Bray a Certain Peice of upland Ground, adjoining to land now in his Own hands, be it more or less, as also twenty five pounds passable money or Equivalent to Money to be paid by my Executor, and this to Be in full (with what I have already given him) and to be paid within one year after my Decease by my Executor.

                "I give unto my son John Bray five pounds to be paid by my Execr. (besides what I have already given him in lands) and this to be in full for him. I give unto my son Nathaniel Bray thirty pounds money or equivalent to Money to be paid by my Exectr., and this to be in full for him and to be paid within one year after my Decease by my Executor. The above said John Bray's five pounds to be paid in money or equivalent to money within One year after my Decease as well as the Rest. I give unto my son Moses Bray a certain peice of upland Ground, adjoining to land now in his own hand, be it more or less, as also Twenty eight pounds money or equivalent to money To be paid within one year after my Decease by my Executor. I give unto my daughter Mary Ring fifteen pounds money, or equivalent to money to be paid within One year after my Decease by my Executor. I give unto my Daughter Abigail Woodbury fifteen pounds money or equivalent to money, to be paid within One Year after my Decease by my Executor -- I give unto my son Aaron Bray all my remainder of upland & meadow in Gloucester, which lyeth adJoyning to land in his own possession by a Deed of Gift from me, he performing what is mentioned In said Deed of gift, as also the remainder of my Chattels and a Common right that may be now in my hands. I do also Order & appoint my son Aaron Bray to be my whole & Sole Executor of this my last will & testament.

                "In Witness Whereof I the above said Thomas Bray have hereunto sett my hand and seal this tenth Day of April One thousand and severn hundred and thirty two."

Thomas Bray, Sr. (Seal)

Signed sealed & published in the presence of John Ring, Daniel Ring

her mark

Sarah X Dike.

Ipswich Essex April 11 1742

This will is proved: approved: & allowed: The executor accepted the

trust and gave bond.

Hon. Thomas Berry Judge; Daniel Appleton Register."

Some BRAY sources:

Seven Generations of Brays of Massachusetts, Maine, Wisconsin and Minnesota,  by William M. Bray, 1956 available as a digital version to read online at FamilySearch.org

“Descendants of Thomas Bray of Gloucester”, The Essex Antiquarian, Volume 11, pages 101 - 104

My BRAY genealogy:

Generation 1:  Thomas Bray, born about 1614 probably in Wales, died 30 November 1691 in Gloucester, Massachusetts.  He married Mary Wilson on 3 May 1646 in Gloucester ( dated “3: 3m 1646” in the vital records).   She was born about 1625 and died 27 March 1707 in Gloucester.  They had nine children born in Gloucester.

Generation 2:  Thomas Bray, born 19 January 1658 in Gloucester and died 1 April 1743; married Mary Unknown and had nine children born in Gloucester.

Generation 3: John Bray, born 7 September 1689 in Gloucester; married on 19 December 1716 in Gloucester to Susanna Woodbury, daughter of Humphrey Woodbury and Anna Window.  She was born 18 September 1695 in Gloucester.  Three children born in Gloucester.

Generation 4:  Humphrey Bray, born 27 March 1728 in Gloucester; married on 22 June 1749 in Gloucester to his third cousin Lydia Woodbury, daughter of Isaac Woodbury and Abigail Herrick.  She was baptized on 27 June 1725 in Beverly and died 14 September 1779 in Gloucester.  Seven children born in Gloucester.

Generation 5: Humphrey Bray, born 18 October 1756 in Gloucester; married on 20 May 1777 in Gloucester to Molly Herrick.  Nine children born in Gloucester.

Generation 6:  Polly Bray, baptized on 17 October 1779 in Gloucester; married on 24 December 1801 in Ipswich to Asa Burnham, son of Westley Burnham and Molly Woodbury.  He was born 9 September 1778 and died 23 May 1850.  Eight children born in Essex, Massachusetts.

Generation 7:  Lydia W. Burnham married Samuel Mears

Generation 8:  Samuel Mears married Sarah Ann Burnham

Generation 9: Sarah Burnham Mears married Joseph Gilman Allen

Generation 10:  Joseph Elmer Allen married Carrie Maude Batchelder

Generation 11: Stanley Elmer Allen married Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, " Surname Saturday ~ BRAY of Gloucester, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 22, 2015 (  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/08/surname-saturday-bray-of-gloucester.html: accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ BOWEN of Wales, Boston and England

BOWEN

Griffith Bowen is an ancestor I had researched many, many years ago.  When his name came up for a Surname Saturday sketch, I realized that there were many new articles and books on Griffith Bowen.  It was fun updating his files, and it just goes to show how valuable it is to work on a surname from my family tree every week.  My Bowen line daughters out in the first generation, but it was still worthwhile to learn all the newest research on Griffith Bowen.  This “exercise” is keeping me on my toes!

Griffith Bowen has a royal lineage going back to semi-mythical kings such as Beli Mawr, King of Britain 55 BC (probably more familiar to you as King Pelinore in the King Arthur myths).    This royal lineage could be an entire new blog post.  What a good idea!  Stay tuned….

Here is the story of Griffith Bowen’s brief time in the New World. In 1638 he sold his estate in Wales.  He left sailed for New England with his wife and several children and arrived in Boston sometime later in 1638.  In the First Church of Boston there is a record “Taken in for members of ye congregation the 6^th of ye same 12 month (1638) Griffyn Bowen & his wife Margarett”.   He was granted a lot and made a freeman in 1639. His house was located approximately on the corner of today’s Essex and Washington Streets in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood. 

In 1649 he sailed back to London with his wife and several children, leaving the others in Massachusetts.  He lived first in Swansea, Glamorgan, South Wales, and then in 1669 removed to St. Savior, Southwark, London. There are many records of Griffith Bowen’s later years in England for bankruptcy, imprisonment for debt, and litigation.  Some of this litigation was against his eldest son.

It is not known where or when Griffith Bowen died, and no will or administration of his estate has been found in England. His estate in Suffolk County, Massachusetts was appraised at 535 pounds, and was settled 21 February 1683.

Some sources for information on Griffith Bowen:

Bowen Genealogy, by Jesse Montgomery Seaver, Philadelphia, PA, 1931 

My Ancestors: In Memory of John Paine and Mary Ann May of East Woodstock, CT by Lyman May Paine, privately published, 1914.

The History of Peter Parker and Sarah Ruggles of Roxbury, Massachusetts, by John William Linzee, privately printed, Boston, 1918 (available to read at Google Books)

Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants to the American Colonies of the United States, Who Were Themselves Notable or Left Descendants Notable in American History, by Gary Boyd Roberts, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2008.

The American Genealogist, Volume 76, pages 263 to 278.

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My Bowen Genealogy:

Generation 1:  Frances Bowen and Ellen Franklin of Wales

Generation 2: Griffith Bowen, born about 1600 in the county of Glamorgan, Wales, died about 1676 probably in London, England; married about 1627 to Margaret Fleming about 1627 in Wales.   

Children:

1.      Margaret, see below

2.      Francis, born about 1630 in Wales

3.      William, born about 1632 in Wales, died about 1686 as “A Christian Captive to the Turks” (his ransom from Roxbury arrived too late to save his life).

4.      Henry, born about 1633/4 in Wales, died 13 March 1724 in Woodstock, CT

5.      Mary, born about 1635 in Wales, married Benjamin Child

6.      Elizabeth, born about 1637, married Isaac Addington

7.      Esther, baptized 17 February 1639 in Boston

8.      Abigail, baptized 25 April 1641 in Boston

9.      Penuel, born 10 March 1644, baptized 5 May 1644 in Roxbury, MA

10.  Deriah, baptized 11 April 1647 in Boston at age 6 days

Generation 3: Margaret Bowen, born about 1628 in Wales, died 13 September 1692 in Roxbury, Massachusetts; married o 24 December 1647 in Roxbury to John Weld.  He was born 28 October 1623 in England, died 20 September 1691 in Roxbury.

Generation 4: Elizabeth Weld m. Samuel Gore

Generation 5: Samuel Gore m. Hannah Draper

Generation 6: Moses Gore m. Desire Burris

Generation 7: Desire Gore m. Thomas Ratchford

Generation 8: Elizabeth Ratchford m. David Lyons

Generation 9: Thomas Ratchford Lyons m. Ann Skinner

Generation 10: Isabella Lyons m. Rev. Ingraham Ebenezer Bill

Generation 11:  Caleb Bill m. Ann Margaret Bollman

Generation 12: Isabella Lyons Bill m. Albert Munroe Wilkinson

Generation 13: Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

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The URL for this post is:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/09/surname-saturday-bowen-of-wales-boston.html
 

Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo