Sources

000 A Williams Family Bible

This Bible, published 1881, with colour plates, has the written inscription 'Jennet Catherine Williams - The Gift of her friend James Parsons'. It includes the following handwritten details of family events:

  • Mary Lewis daughter of William & Ann Lewis married to Thos. J Jones the son of Edmund G. & Mary Ann Jones
  • William Edmund James Jones born Ty Wick Green, April 22 1903
  • Jennet Catherine Williams, born Cae Caradog Farm, Wick April 12th, 1912. Married to William Jenkin Rees at Wick St James Church by Rev. G E Kibblewhite, June 10th 1935
  • Christopher Williams born at Cae Caradog Farm, Wick January 1st 1914
  • Mona Margaret Williams born at Cae Caradog Farm, Wick April 16th 1917
  • Mary Eleanor Williams born at Cae Caradog Farm, Wick Dec. 28th 1919. Married to Arthur R J Board at St James Church Wick by Rev. G E Kibblewhite
  • Eva Doris Ann Williams born at Cae Caradog Farm, Wick March 2nd 1921
  • Philemon Basset Williams born at Cae Caradog Farm July 11th 1924
  • Marion Catherine Rees born at "Iona", Bynteg Gdns Bridgend June 25th 1937

001 Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Website: https://biography.wales. Specifically:

  • Rev. Christopher Bassett (1752-1784)(Junior - the methodist preacher and son of Christopher and Alice Bassett of St Athan)
  • Robert Holland (1556-1622)
  • Holland families

002  Wills - including: 

  • Philemon Williams 1856 (NLW)
  • Philemon Williams 1750 (NLW)
  • Margaret Williams 1824 (NLW)
  • Christopher Bassett 1809 (NLW)
  • John Holland 1754 (NLW)
  • Elizabeth Holland 1751 (NLW)
  • Thomas Andrews 1711 (NLW)
  • Rise Holland 1749 (NLW)
  • Thomas Wall 1806 (Bristol Archives)

003  Birth, baptism, death, census and marriage records - Glamorgan Family History Society (GFHS) and also from online sources eg FamilySearch.org, findmypast.co.uk or ancestry.co.uk.

004   Memorial Descriptions - Glamorgan Family History Society. Including:

  • Bassett's at St Tathan churchyard, St Athan. 

005 Marriage Licenses/ Bonds

Between 1700 - 1823, while most couples married through 'banns' (where their names were called on 3 successive Sundays) an alternative was to marry by license. Marriage by license was for those who were in a hurry and/or for those could afford the cost (from 5 shillings to a couple of pounds, so this was a symbol of social status). It was also for those who attended non-conformist churches - prior to such churches being officially able to hold their own weddings (from 1837). The marriage license had an associated marriage bond where the couple allege there are no impediments to the marriage and a penalty is set, deliberately high, to deter irregular marriages. The penalty is not paid unless the terms of the bond are breached. If either of the parties are under 21, then parental permission was required. Examples:

  • 1804 Philemon Williams to Ann Smith, both of St Brides Major. Marriage Bond with penalty to pay Lord Bishop of Landaff £200. NLW
  • Williams, Philemon, wid., St Brides Major, Glamorgan to Thomas, Mary, Sp. Ewenny. Glamorgan 1814. NLW
  • Williams, Bassett, bach. St Brides Major, Glamorgan to Lougher, Mary, sp., Monknash, Glamorgan 1810. NLW
  • 1784 William Thomas of Ewenny to Mary Hopkin of St Brides Major. Marriage Bond with penalty to pay Lord Bishop of Landaff £200. NLW

Marriage Settlement/ Indenture for Thomas Jenkin and Ann William of Pembrokeshire, 1807. In this settlement, Thomas Jenkin gives all his household goods, furniture in his dwelling house to Henry William and Thomas Jenkin, for a consideration of 5 shillings. Similarly his wife to be, Ann William gives all her goods, chattels and livestock to the same Henry William and Thomas Jenkin for a consideration of 5 shillings.  A likely explanation for this (a kind of early pre-nup agreement) is that:

  • Up to 1870, the law held that everything belonging to the woman passed to her husband on their marriage. 
  • However a widow had a right to a third of her late husbands property (her "Dower' rights). A way round a wife's dower rights is to pass the legal title of properties and goods to a 'dower trustee' such that on the man's death everything was held by the trustee/s.
  • In this case, Thomas Jenkin had a son, William Jenkin, from a previous marriage. Therefore this settlement may allow for him to inherit.  

Note no marriage bonds found in Bristol for:

  • 1776, William/ Bassett
  • 1745, Bassett/ Holland

006  Birth, Death and Wedding certificates, including:

  • 1911 Wedding of Noah Williams and Sarah Lewis, St Johns Church, Cardiff.
  • 1837 Death of Christopher Basset Williams
  • 1862 at Wick St James church - Baptism of Jennet  Williams to Philemon (farmer) and Anne. Address "Cae Coedcae, Wick".

007 Glamorgan Archives. Glamorgan Quarter Session Rolls.

008 The Correspondence of Iolo Morganwg, edited by Geraint H. Jenkins, Ffion Mair Jones and David Ceri Jones (3 volumes, University of Wales Press, 2007).

009 Llandaff Probate Records 1568-1857. NLW.

010 Anno Regni fecundo Georgii III. Published 1761, London by Parliament. Commissioners for .. a Land tax for 1762. Under Glamorgan it lists:

  • William Bassett & Christopher Bassett
  • Edward Walters of Pitcot
  • William Bassett of Lanelay
  • Robert Jones of Fonmon

011 Antiquae Lingae Britannicae Thesaurus: Being a British or Welsh-English Dictionary by Thomas Richards (Curate of Coychurch), 1753.  With a Preface by his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and including a brief introduction to the welsh or ancient British language. It includes a list of subscribers which includes:

  • Rev. William Williams, Curate of St Mary Redcliff, Bristol

012 Old maps of Glamorgan reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland. Website is https://maps.nls.uk/. Pitcot map is Glamorgan map XLIV surveyed 1877, 6in to mile.

013 Ogmore Manor - Court Rolls and Surrenders.  The proceedings of the Ogmore Manor Courts and associated court rolls are found at NLW and NA eg:

  • 1732-1740 DL 30/603/1
  • 1793-1812 Court Rolls DL 30/603/2 NA
  • 1773-1811 184 original and draft surrenders etc in Man. Ogmore ref: 117 NLW
  • 1747-1800 NLW Surrenders and Admissions 
  • 1790 - 1890 NLW Surrenders and Admissions

These are essentially minutes of meeting held on behalf of the Lord of the Manor and document the changes made to copyhold land (a form of customary land ownership) held by tenants within the Manor - the Lord of the Manor remaining the legal owner of the manor land. In return for being given land, a copyhold tenant was required to carry out specific manorial duties or services.  The privileges granted to each tenant, and the exact services he was to render to the Lord of the Manor, were described in the roll or book kept by the steward, who gave a copy of the relevant entry to the tenant. Consequently, these tenants were afterwards called copyholders.  Each manor custom laid out rights to use various resources of the land such as wood and pasture, and numbers of animals allowed on the common. During their life the tenant could sometimes 'sell' the holding to another person by formally surrendering it to the lord of the manor on the condition that the lord regrant it to the 'buyer'. This three-party transaction was recorded in the manorial roll and formed the new 'copyhold' for the purchaser. Note copyhold land did not often appear in a will as inheritance was already pre-determined by custom.(Wikipedia - on copyhold).

101 Dunraven Estate Records – Deeds, Wills, Receipts, etc relating to Cae Caradoc, the property of the family of Philemon Williams. Held at NLW.

102 House of Commons. Accounts and Papers. Eighteen Volumes related to Assessed Taxes, Poor etc Sessions. Session 6 Dec. 1831 - 16 Aug 1832, Vol. XLIV provides details of Coroner payments made to Philemon Williams under County of Glamorgan.

103 

104 1840 Apportionment of the Rent Charges in Lieu of Tithes in the Parish of St Brides Major with the chapelry of Wick annexed in the County of Glamorgan. By John Johnes, assistant tithe commissioner, 1840. NLW. Note: Rent charges to be paid to Christopher Rice Maunsell Talbot and the vicar of St Brides Major.

105 Glamorgan Archives. Merthyr Mawr Estate records - St Brides Major and Wick - DN/485, 486, 483, 484. Prenuptual and Bond arrangements of 1787 relating to marriage of Robert Davies of Old Castle upon Alun and Margaret Davies - in which Edward Williams is a trustee and specifically acknowledged as being 'of Pitcot'. Edward would be around 40 years old at this point.

201  Roger L. Brown 1989. "Christopher Bassett and the Living of Cardiff". Morgannwg transactions of the Glamorgan Local History Society Vol. 33 p.39. A bibliography of Rev Christopher Bassett (junior) - cleric.

202  Website "www.bassetbranches.org" provides detailed family tree information on the Bassett families of Glamorgan - including the Bassett families of Beaupre, Llanelay and Miscin. However there is no information or link yet shown between them and the Christopher and William Bassett of Penmark/ St Athan who are named in this family tree!

203  Book "Researches, genealogical, chronological and heraldic, respecting the family of Bassett" by Rev. Christopher Bassett, Perpetual curate of Monknash, Glamorganshire. 1845.

204  Sale of Land in St Athan 1816. Glamorgan Archives - Cardiff Ref: DSA/125/15/1 

205 Glamorgan Farmhouses and Cottages. The Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales. Vol. 4, part 2 Farmhouses and Cottages. London HMSO. 1988.

206  Old Cowbridge, borough, church and school. By L.J. Hopkin-James 1922.

207  Land Tax Assessments, Dinas Powis Hundred, Annual Returns 1784-1788. Glamorgan Archives ref:  Q/D/LTA/DP/1

208 Glamorgan Archives Ref: DSA/125/20/23 Deeds from Owen Williams St Athan Estate. Specifically 1782 leases listed.

209  Deed Feb 1802, Glamorgan Archives ref: DTRE/186

210  "The Life of the Rev. Thomas Charles, BA of Bala" by DE Jenkins 1908.

211  Glamorgan Archives. Fonman Castle Estate, Records. Ref: DF.

212 Letter of attorney from Robert Jones of Fonmon dated 1786 - Tredegar estate records. Ref 52/155 NLW.

213 Records of the Town Clerk, Bristol Archives re: brewing of beer: Thomas Wall. Ref: TC/Adm/Box/45/16.

214 Letters from Christopher Bassett (Bristol), part of Trevecka letters, Calvanistic methodist archive, held at NLW.

- Letter to Howell Harris (Trevecka), 1747. Howell Harris had been one of the leaders of the Methodist movement within the Anglican church but had moved to Trevecka in South Powys to establish a spiritual commune in line with welsh methodist thinking.

- Letter to James Relly (Tabernacle London), 1746. James Relly was a Welsh methodist thinker and the Tabernacle was the HQ of the methodist movement in London. At this time the methodist movement was being split into factions, the key division was between the Wesleyan methodists and the Welsh Methodists. Though James Relly did not support the Wesleyans, he was supportive of Universalism, and one of his converts, John Murray, founded the Universalist church in America. The letter from Christopher Bassett reads "to Bro in ye Lord. I methink, I do, you stand in a very dangerous place. Highly favoured of God and greatly beloved of ye brethren, Satan doubters will not be wanting to puff you up and make you think of your self above what you ought to - experience causes me thus to write, and love caused me to be so plain believing you will overlook my boldness. .. Be pleased to give my tender love to brother Ingram, brother Palmer and sister Palmer, Brother Alfoard and sister Page ... My wife joins with me to give her love to you. From your ever loving brother C Bassett."

301 "West Wales to Aberthaw and Beyond - A Vale of Glamorgan Family (Part 1)". GFHS Journal No. 112 (Dec. 2013), p7-9.

302 Deeds associated with Llewellin and Traherne families 1709-1947. Glamorgan Archives ref DX197/1/8. Specific deed dated 1709/1710 - deed of covenant .. for £118.

303 Castlefacts for Marsh House, East Aberthaw - taken from Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust HER.

304 Website: hollandfamilyhistory.co.uk.

305 "The Hollands of Lancashire", by Bernard Holland published 1917. http://archive.org/details/lancashirehollands00holl/

306 Court of Great Sessions concord concerning dwelling and 30 acres in Penmark. Mansel-franklen collection of glamorgan historical papers 2 - ref 97. NLW.

307 Correspondence around purchase of properties of Robert Oliver Jones c.1850. Cardiff Library collection ref: CL/RJ/E/74.

308 Hollands of Conway pedigree compiled by Sir Thomas Erskine Holland KC - Archaeologia Cambrensis, Series 3, Vol. 12.

309 A Contribution to the Commercial History of Glamorgan, 1666-1735 by M I Williams, National Library of Wales Journal, Summer 1956 Vol. IX/3 pp334-353. Ship and Cargo details themselves have been taken from the Iola Williams collection at the NLW [ref: 008].

 

Abbreviations:

  • NLW – National Library of Wales Archive - Aberystwyth
  • GA - Glamorgan Archives, Cardiff
  • GFHS - Glamorgan Family History Society
  • WGA – West Glamorgan Archives, Swansea.
  • NLS – National Library of Scotland – good for old maps.
  • NA – National Archives, Kew, London
  • FamilySearch is familysearch.org, the website of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints – which provides genealogical information. Their website allows users to add family tree associations (though many are incorrect).

 

This article was updated on June 22, 2024