HOWELLS (Northern Wales>Canada)

Meaning/Pronunciation: Pronunciation: How-wells. Meaning: Son of Howel.

Origin: Welsh

Variations: Hywel, Hywell, Howel, Howell, Howells—the Welsh were a bit indiscriminate in their spelling.

Relation to me: This is my Mother’s mother’s mother’s maiden name.

Ancestors:
i: Howells, Eliza, 1885 – 1980, Penrhiwceber, Wales; Daniel Jones, 3 daughters, 1 son

ii: Howells, Gabriel, 1849 – 1934, Towyn, Wales; Selina Roberts, 4 daughters, 2 sons

iii: Gabriel, Hywel, 1822 – 1871, Wales?; Catherine Jones, 6 sons, 2 daughters

iv: Howel, Gabriel, 1796 – 1852, Wales?; Gwen Evan, at least 1 son

Looking for:
As you can see, once the line goes back before 1850, the name changes every generation. I believe that the Gabriel/Howells were farmers, as the story goes that my great-great grandfather Gabriel was supposed to be the one to inherit the farm, but decided to become a stonemason instead. I don’t know a lot about the generations before him, so any information there would be most welcome.

ETA 10/21/10: Gwen Evan is a relatively new find, but she will be posed soon, so I thought I'd add her to this tree. She's as of yet unconfirmed, but the son and husband do match, and we have several Evans and Gwens in that line, so think it may be correct.