The Jones Family
So I have two Jones lines in my family tree. The first is my
maternal grandmother's father's line. The second is his wife's father's
mother's line. The latter is the one I will be writing about today.
This line came to me from a paper written up by my grandmother's
youngest maternal uncle, written about his father's family. However, there is a
problem in the way it was transcribed into family tree format that leaves me in
some doubt as to this line.
Catherine Jones was born in northern Wales to the son of a
preacher, Lewis Edwart. However, at the moment, we have her father listed as
Evan Lewis. I have no doubt that Evan was her grandfather's son, but I am in
doubt that he was Catherine's father, given naming practices in Wales. By their
naming practice, her surname would either have been Lewis like him, or Evan or
Evans for his first name. The fact that her surname has always been listed as
Jones leads me to believe her father's name was John, or that his surname was
Jones. So either her father was John Lewis, or her mother was a Lewis, or she
was possibly adopted (this is the least-likely scenario in my mind, but for
now, it's still a possibility. I'm sure there are facts here that I am missing,
but as this is Welsh, I will need to buy a subscription to the UK BMD database
before I will be able to sort it out. I do wish I could talk to my Uncle Ted to
find out where his information came from, because I'm sure that would have
given a great deal of insight, but he's long dead, having died the year after
his sister, my great-grandmother died. I'm not even sure if I ever met him.
According to the paper written by my great-great uncle, his
great-great grandfather was a Quaker minister shortly before the Quaker exodus
to America. My branch (And Lewis) did not leave with the others, though I believe
it is possible one or more of his children might have gone with them. Beyond my
Jewish ancestry, this was the first religious group I'd come across with such a
powerful story. I've since learned that one branch of my Welsh family (likely
the Gabriels, Catherine's husband's family) were Huguenots. All of these
stories fascinate me, of course, and I'd love to learn more. I think we often forget
that there were Christian groups kicked out of European nations for believing
in something other than Catholicism.
In any event, I would love to figure out the reason for Catherine's
surname, and to learn more about her connection to Lewis Edwart. If anyone out
there knows more about him or his family, I'd love to talk to you about them.
My Jones Line as I currently know it for anyone out there
who's interested:
* Lewis Edwart was born before 1773 or so. I have no
information on his wife or his children beyond the one I currently have. He
died in 1815 in Northern Wales after taking a fall, quite a distance from his
own home.
* His son was Lewis Edwart, born 1788 in Northern Wales,
died in 1864 in Southern Wales. As I said above, I currently have him listed as
Catherine's father, but I don't believe that to be accurate. Likely her father
was his brother, or his sister her mother.
* I have two in the next generation:
+ Catherine Jones was born 1825 in Northern Wales. She married
Howel (or Howell) Gabriel, and they had eight children. She died in 1912 in
Northern Wales.
+ Lewis Jones was born in 1812, and died in 1854, also in
Northern Wales. I have nothing else about him.
* Catherine and Howel's children were:
+ Gabriel Howells, born 1849 in North Wales. Married Selina
Roberts in 1874, and had eight children with her. They emigrated to Canada
shortly after their last child's birth, settling with his brother on his farm
in Saskatchewan, then moving to Winnipeg. After their children began to grow,
most migrated to the west coast, settling in and around Vancouver, BC. Gabriel and Selina followed shortly after,
and lived there until their deaths. Gabriel died in 1934. The rest of the
Howells family lineage can be found in the Gabriel/Howells surname post.
+ Howel Gabriel was born sometime after 1852 but probably
before 1854. I have a few possibilities of wife for him, and a daughter. The
first possible wife was Lillian, but I do not know a surname, or if they had
children, if this is my Howel (the Howel/Gabriel line reused the names in their
family, so there were cousins with similar ages which makes it difficult to
find the correct ones when I find records.). His second possible wife is
Margaret Owen, with whom he had a daughter, Gwen. I know nothing else about
this line.
+ Catherine Gabriel was born sometime between 1854 and 1855.
She went to work for a family in England, and died there at the age of sixteen.
+ Evan Gabriel was born about 1855. I have nothing else
about him.
+ Edward was born about 1857. He left Wales for a time, but
returned to take care of their mother, Gabriel and Howel having moved on to
find their own farms. He married Catherine Thomas, but I have no more about
this branch of their family. I do know that his descendants were still living
on the family farm in the seventies or eighties when my aunt and her parents
went to visit, but I do not know names, or if they are still there.
+ Lewis Gabriel was born in 1859. He left Wales with his
brother Edward, but never returned home. When Gabriel and his family moved to
Canada, it was Lewis's farm the family settled on for a time. He had married
Sarah sometime before 1883, and they had three children. With Gabriel and
Selina's six remaining children, that made for quite a large household, and when
Gabriel decided that he was not cut out for farming, they left to move to
Winnipeg. Their three children were Winnifred, Howel, and Celt, though I have
few details of their lives after the Howells left their farm. I do know that
Lewis outlived his wife, and that their daughter married, but I know little
else beyond that.
+ Hugh Gabriel was born about 1864. He married Catherine
Norris, and they had four children together, of whom we have several pictures:
Mary Catherine, Hugh, Drwynen, and Celt. I know little about this branch aside
from what I have pieced together through the photos, so the information is spotty
at best. I am not sure when Hugh or any of his children died, and I have only
one marriage recorded for this branch—Celt's to a Joan. I would love more information
on this branch if anyone out there knows more.
+ Gwen Gabriel was born about 1870 and married Grifith
Roberts. They had two children, a son and a daughter, but I know no more about
this branch.
What I don't know (Why is it the more you know, the more you
know you don't know?):
* I would like to know more in general about Lewis Edwart,
and his life, and his children and wife, and why he did not end up in America
with the rest of the Quakers.
* I would love to know for certain who Catherine's family
were, both parents and siblings, aside from the one I am certain of.
* I would love to know about all of Catherine's children and
grandchildren, and would love to connect with anyone out there related to or
descended from her. In particular, I'd love to know more about Edward, Lewis
and Hugh, and what happened to their families, and if there are any descendants
out there.
More on this line:
* Gabriel
Howells (the paper mentioned above)
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