Words

       Life's navigation is often assisted by labels. Stop/Go, On/Off, Push/Pull, Fire Escape, Sale, and the many other words that affect the selections we make. During my childhood days in the 1950s, a common emotional self-defense was "Sticks and stones may break my bones but, words will never hurt me". This was often not the case, but you could still vacate the scene with your pride intact. Likewise, one word frequently discussed in my Church going clan was the word Lord. Now this word was not to be used in vain, but respectfully used in songs and sermons. You can certainly imagine what impact the use of this word "Lord of both Maelors, Oswestry, and Whittingham" would have on my Spiritual bones. Say what! My ancestors labeled as Lord? Blasphemy! 

      A few family tree branches were broken as my genealogy hunts expanded. How was this word (Lord) being used so many years in the past? There must be some explanation in the fields of time. Here is what was discovered.

      The word lord is derived from the French half and the Old English hlaford, both meaning loaf. Now my frequently used and, frequently abused Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary p. 674 adds "+ weard keeper". What? another word to understand?  Interestingly, HYWEL DDA THE LAW p. 113 writes:

"A mill and a weir and an orchard are called the three precious things of a kindred, and there is no right to share these or to alienate them, but their fruits are shared to those who are entitled to them."

      Wow, a weir (in Welsh Cored) is a fishing place. My old faithful dictionary p.1319 gives:

                               "a fence or enclosure set in a waterway for taking fish"

      Unbelievable, loaves and fish! Sounds like one of those miracles to me. [book of Matthew 14:15-20] Let's see now. A Lord is the one who is responsible for putting food on the table. Hum...Lord of both Maelors, Oswestry, and Whittington gives a new concept to my spiritual bones. There would be lots of food needed here.

      P.S. A well written and very helpful reference titled "THE ROOTS OF LANGUAGE"--"How modern speech evolved from a single, ancient source" U.S. News & World Report, November 5, 1990. The discussion of the Proto-Indo-European root starts page 60 and goes to page 70. Must be from the maternal side for it is titled "The Mother Tongue".

References

      The genealogical notes to Ynyr(JB-1) and Rhiengar(JB-2) are: 

Dwnn, L. (Ed.) Meyrick, S.R., Heraldic Visitations Of Wales and Part of the Marches Between The Years 1586 and 1613, Longman & Co., London, Vol II, p. 307, first published 1846.

Nicholas, T., Annals and Antiquities of The Counties and County Families Of Wales, London, Vol II, p. 354, first published 1872.

Burke, B., The General Armory Of England, Scotland, Ireland And Wales; Comprising A Registry Of Armorial Bearings From The Earliest To The Present Time., Harrison, London, p. 1035, first published 1884.

      The books are discussed in prior post 20th March, 2023 for Dwnn. For Nicholas and Burke see post of 27th February 2023 and 26th March, 2023. This information is given for the harden genealogist out there who want to see for themselves the documentation. Not sure that many of us still remain above ground.

Foundations

       Roots are a foundation to all trees that help them stand against the many winds that blow across their paths. Likewise, ancestors are the roots of the many generations that helped the family trees survive the winds {some might say hurricanes} of time. For my own Jones surname family tree, these roots begin as geographic locations. As discussed in the last post, these roots were described by labels attached to the names of those identified. [Listed as the second generation (JB)] These labels are shown again in a somewhat different light since understanding the geographic locations are paramount to finding and clarifying many of my Jones surname ancestors. 

      Both Maelors are shown outlined in red. Note that the river Dee (colored blue) divides these locations down the middle with the NW side labeled Welsh and, the SE side tagged English. Also, remember in the last post, Offa's dyke runs north to south forming a distinct boarder between the Welsh and the Saxons. Due south the locations of Whittington and Oswestry are shown in relationship to Maelor. Both locations are east of Offa's dyke which would place them under Saxon influence.  How much more complicated can one get? 

      Now for the big, big, picture...drum roll please...

      This figure reminds everyone the real Celtic roots that Ynyr(JB-1) is given his name. Place the first drawing over the second and, the two Celtic tribes that occupied the Maelors, Whittington and Oswestry are the Deceangli (Welsh Maelor) and the Cornovii (English Maelor). What a deal!

A Descriptor

       At the day of birth, the name given to the next male in line of descent, must have been made with some reasons in mind. Ynyr (JB-2) was certainly an old and perhaps special Celtic name. From this point on down the family tree [down from the top], many individuals discovered have a special label attached to the name. For example; George, "the red head"; Pete, "the very short one"; or Charles, "who was born in Iowa", are given to describe a special characteristic or item of interest to distinguish the individual. For our Ynyr (JB-1) it was "Lord of Both Maelors, Oswestry, and Whittington". For his wife named Rhiengar (JB-2), her label was "Heir to Hereford". Now the Welsh laws are yet to be collected and written, but when written (see post of April 4, 2022) the following is given: "If an owner of land has no other heir than a daughter, the daughter will be heir of all the land". (p. 107) Thus Rhiengar (JB-2) must have been the only remaining child of her family. The tag following our Ynyr (JB-1) names several geographic locations which are shown in the following:

      The locations named are shown in relationship to Offa's Dyke. Most of the sites are east of the dyke and must represent the kindred's family origin. Riding the fence between two distinct cultures (Saxon and Welsh) continues to demonstrate itself down the various branches of my Jones family tree. Many descriptors are yet to come.

A Very Old Celtic Name

      In the translator's note by Wm R Cooper to Brut y Bryttaniait [The Chronicle of the Early Britons] he writes, "Welsh texts of any century present the English translator with a problem or two concerning personal and place names..."  He continues, "At the best of times, English readers find Welsh names impossibly difficult to pronounce and the immediate task is always to render the names so that the English reader will not constantly trip over them."

      Man, can you say that again. I've done a lot of tripping in my days of tree climbing. You can judge for yourself from the last post how one name can be written many different ways even when written in Welsh. Anyway, the son of Kadvarch (JA-1) is given such a simple name, Ynyr (JB-1), but it has a long, long story. 

      The earliest listing of this name is around 510 A.D., and Mike Ashley in his book (see post 20th February) on page 124 writes "Honorius is a name recorded as a ruler in Caerwent in southern Gwent, also known in Celtic as Ynyr." Wow, a Celtic name while the folks were still speaking P-Celtic. 

      Now a second listing is found in the very text that begins this post. At the last page of this translation it reads : "And Kadwallader sent Yvor, his son, and Ynyr, his nephew,...". Historically, this Kadwallader was involved with a Saxon named Penda sometime around the battle of Chester 613 A.D. A little further down this page it continues: "And Yvor, son of Kadwallader, and Ynyr his nephew, mustered a mighty army and brought them to the land of Britain where they waged war against the Saxons for twenty-eight years." The reference is Cooper, W.R., The Chronicle of the Early Britons - Brut y Bryttanialt- according to Jesus College MS LXI, an annotated translation, 2008.

      A third reference is found in The Welsh Triads or Trioedd Ynys Prydein. These triads are described as a mixed collection of triadic sayings that recount personages, events, or places in Welsh history. Triad xliii titled "Three Lively Steeds of the Island of Britain" gives the third horse "...and Roan Cloved-Hoof, horse of Iddon son of Ynyr Gwent". This may be a reference to the earliest Ynyr listed above as he was living in southern Gwent. There must have been reasons to remember this Celtic name.

      Anyway, after all this research into this Celtic name, a deep appreciation was realized to this ancestor who was given this name at his birth. A very old Celtic name it is.

Wait a Minute

      Now just you wait a minute. You've got to be kidding. Cad or Gad, forch or farch, varch or vorch you say. What makes you think they are all the same person? Why not four different individuals? C to G, o to a, and f to v, all letters that seem a far distance between each other in my English alphabet. A good question it is for all you family tree climbers. Hum...let's see.

      First, you need to trust your source of information. How correct, accurate, and reliable is the reference. Is there a way to corroborate (make more certain) the names, dates, locations, events, and stories that are recorded. 

      Second, are there more than one source that records the information. A family tree listed in one source should pretty match another. 

      Thirdly, double check that you are copying correctly the given facts. 

      Now in the case of our Gadforch (JA-1), the primary text is perhaps the most famous Welsh genealogical text Heraldic Visitations Of Wales and Part of the March, by Lewys Dwnn. (front page of my copy shown last post). It is stated here that between 1586 and 1613, "Transcribed From The Original Sources" by Dwnn, and that he is listed as "Deputy Herald At Arms." The copy shown last post is edited by Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick, and published 1846 in two volumes. In Vol.I, on page xv, JA-1 is spelled Cadfarch. On page 307 Vol. II, the name is spelled Kadfrach. Here we go, spelled two different ways in this trusted source of Welsh family trees.

      A second reference written by Thomas Nicholas, and first published 1872, is titled Annals and Antiquities of The Counties and County Families of Wales. It has been my favorite and most useful for climbing out the many branches of my Jones family tree. It also has two volumes, and on page 307 (Vol II) JA-1 is spelled Kadfarch. A copy of the cover page follows.

      A third source is The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland And Wales: Comprising A Registry Of Armorial Bearings From The Earliest To The Present. Written by Sir Bernard Burke, and his present time was 1884. On page 1035, JA-1 is spelled Cadforch. This text was one of the first accounts that got me climbing out many branches. The front page of my original copy found in a rare book room, Lexington, KY many years ago follows.

      In each of these sources the agnatic (male descent) matched, except for the spellings. Now wait a minute, how would you spell JA-1?

Top To Bottom

      Starting at the very top of my Jones family tree is JA-1. Remember, capital "J" stands for Jones, capital "A" stands for the first generation from the top, and the number (#) 1 labels the first individual.  Following this system, each individual receives a distinct code which can be utilized to keep all the branches somewhat in order.  So here goes...

      The very first grandfather is Gadforch. What a name to begin the branches. There are various spellings of this name which you will find is often the case going down the many branches. In the Welsh, Cad means war, and this generation was certainly facing many conflicts. He would have lived around the same time as the Viking raids were hitting the north west shores of Wales. War(forch) would certainly be an appropriate title. I have been unable to find a meaning of "forch" (farch, varch, or vorch) but war-something- must be the title.

      It would not be correct to suggest that when doing genealogy one begins at the top of the family tree. The reality is that one begins at the very bottom. You start with yourself, then to your folks, and then to the oldest known in the family. In my case, this story (starting from the bottom) is told from my early age of nine years in this very blog, "The Jones Genealogist". If interested in how things got started you can scroll down using the columns to the right of this screen. Identify the colorful pictures of the "Followers". Then scroll down to "Featured Post", and then to what is titled "Blog Archives". Now from here 2023, you scroll down to year 2010 and click onto a monthly column of posts for that year. Scroll down to the first month shown (July), to a post dated July 7, 2010. It is titled "50 Years of Genealogy"! Wow, if you have gotten to this point you show signs of a real tree climber.

      Anyway, the first document of Cadfarch (spelled differently from above) is found in the classic Welsh genealogical text by Lewys Dwnn p. xv. The inside cover page of my copy follows. Much more will be said regarding the top of my Jones family tree.

      Top to bottom, or bottom to top, tree climbing in any direction, it is.