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.

A Genealogy Coding System

      After just a few years into all this genealogy stuff (now 62 years), it became obvious that a coding method would be helpful. Can you imagine how many John Jones there were in my Jones surname family tree? How to keep all these folks separated...generation after generation...and organized in a way to find anyone when it was time to piece together some of the tree branches. Since I am about to begin my own Jones surname family tree, explaining the method developed in the Y-chromosome transmission would be of assistance. Let's begin with the first three generations of my family as shown in the last post of February 27th. Here is that part of the branches as demonstrated.

     Now the first step was to code each generation of the family tree beginning with the founder (first in line as far back as one discovered). Using the English alphabet capital A-Z, each generation could be labeled and placed in chronological order for 26 generations.  Then, the letter "J" was used to label each individual as belonging to the JONES surname. Thus, for the first generation each family member would be identified "JA"...second generation "JB"...third generation "JC"...and on down the line. Next, each member would be given the number (#) as they were being discovered, such that the first grandfather would be coded "JA-1". His wife would be "JA-2" since you would not be here if each "JA-1" did not have a "JA-2"! When grandfather two (maternal side) was identified, he would be coded "JA-3" (wife JA-4) meaning they were in the first generation (A) and the 3rd and 4th individuals to be named. The second generation would be coded "JB", third generation "JC", and on down the line until "JZ" would be the 26th generation. Using the figure drawn above, first in line was Gadforch (JA-1) with wife's name undiscovered (JA-2). Their son was Ynyr (JB-1) with Rhiengar (JB-2). Their son was Tydyr (JC-1) with Anghard (JC-2) as shown. Down the line you can go, in structure and concept, even though each family member might not be identified by name. Give this method a go using your own family tree with what ever your surname. Just begin your coding with the first letter of your line of descent.

Say What

      The post of February 15th showed in vivid color the family tree of my own Jones surname beginnings. "Say What!" you might be thinking, but this post connects this family tree to my own. Here it is using the same color code:

      It connects through the very little known genealogy that Hywel Dda had a daughter named Anghard. She was named after her own great-grandmother. [Top row green lady married to Rhodri Mawr.] The blue, orange, green colors follow each down the family tree to Elen [red colored lady] who brought Dyfed into the picture. Now it was Welsh law that the female joined the kindred of the husband, and she became a legal participate of her new kindred. She was joined to the tribe of Tudor Trevor (JC-1) which has much recorded as a tribe of the Marches. This marriage is listed by Nicholas Vol. I, p.451 and shown below:

      Here in the green marker is listed the daughter of Howel (Hywel) Dda and her marriage to Tudor Trevor. Of course this genealogy has much more to say for my own Jones surname, but this is just the beginning and, there are a lot of branches down the family tree.

Nicholas, T., Annals and Antiquities of The Counties and County Families of Wales, London, 1872.

      In the front page it states "All Compiled By Direct Visitation Of The Counties, And From Reliable And Original Sources".

      Say What!

 

      My two volume set shown above was reprinted by the Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1991.

A Very Helpful Reference

       Reading the last post from a genealogist's point of view, you recognize the difficultly involved putting this family tree together. Going back in history is problem enough, but you had all the relationships to sort through. The following shows the cover of the major resource which has been used many times to help grasp the branches of this topic. It has been especially useful to one separated by a great pond since my branch changed their place of abode in 1649. This reference written by Mike Ashley in 1998, contains a delightful approach to all sorts of traditional and well documented folks. It organizes British kingdoms from the Roman invasion until Elizabeth II. 

       North Britain begins the listings with Coel Hen ("Old King Cole") p. 95. [Bless his merry old soul] Next is Southern Britain (England south of Yorkshire) p, 108, the South-East and South-West p. 113, and then begins my place in the world with Welsh Kingdoms p. 121. The following territories are listed:

                                                               Gwent & Glywysing p. 121

                                                               Ceredigion p. 130

                                                               Demetia & Dyfed p. 134

                                                               Venedotia & Gwynedd p. 139

                                                               Powys & The Marches p. 149

                                                               Gwerthrynion & Buirth p. 156

                                                               Brycheiniog p. 158

                                                               Meirionydd p.160

                                                               Dunoding p 162

                                                               Erging or Northern Gwent p. 162.

   Then come the Picts & Scots pp.164-192. and the Saxon Kingdoms pp. 208--323. There are multiple genealogical tables. The fight for Britain and the uniting the Kingdoms follow pp. 323-708. Can you believe it? A very helpful reference indeed.

 Ashley, M., British Kings & Queens, Barnes & Noble Books, (originally published as The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens, Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1998.

         

                                                                                    

All In The Family

      The years between 800 A.D. to 950 A.D. demonstrated the development of many changes among the tribal groups that had clustered together each having their new languages, legends, and traditions. Recognized districts were formed aided by mutual support among the kindred groups. The map that was shown in a previous post (3rd January 2023) has been colored coded showing the major territories as they became called by those who occupied and maintained control of the land. Take a look.

     Gwynedd (colored blue) was generally considered the most stable and prosperous having the highest point (Snowdonia at 3560 ft.), a protected food supply (Mon), and a special religious history dating from the Druids (Holyhead Mountain).

      Powys is colored orange, and had the longest border facing eastward against all comers. It was basically the front door to the mountains, and lots of folks came knocking.  

      Ceredigion and Ystrad Tywi (called Seisyllwg at first) is colored green. It was protected by mountains from those coming from the east, and the sea gave support on two sides.

      Dyfed is outlined pink and almost surrounded by sea. The Irish had a few things to say along the way.

      All this discussion has been given so that a backdrop and context might be helpful in understanding the importance of my own Y-DNA. It was during this column of time that my family had its roots. The following figure matches the color coding shown above. It was the line of descent and marriages that formed the multiple family trees that seem to have survived.

      In 825 A.D., Merfyn became the ruler of Gwynedd (his line shown in blue).  He married Nest the daughter of the ruler of Powys (colored orange). Then, Rhodri (by line of descent) when his father died in 844 A.D., became chief of Gwynedd. Then, 10 years later his uncle-in-law died in 855 A.D., and by marriage (thru his mother) Rhodri could claim ownership to the lands of Powys. Thus, Rhodri (by line of descent and marriage) became the leader of both districts, Gwynedd in 844 A.D. and Powys in 855 A.D. It was also during this time that Rhodri married Anghard of the line of Seisyllwg (outlined green). Some 16 years later it was his brother-in-law Gwgon that died, and Rhodri became chief of  Seisyllwg. Man, how do you like this family tree? The genealogy virus within wanted to see if this family tree could be sorted. 

      Now Rhodri died in 877 A.D., and his son Cadell, had a son named Hywel, who married Elen of the line of Dyfed. Through this marriage Hywel (the grandson of Rhodri) came to rule Dyfed (colored pink). It was the daughter of this Hywel that married into my direct line of male descent. Wow, my own Jones surname way down the line. But hey, it was all in the family.