Tracing Your Welsh Ancestors

Tracing Your Welsh Ancestors By Darris G. Williams, AG

The International Genealogical Index for Wales
Pre 1813 extractions are based on the assumption
that everyone used patronymics.
Post 1812 extractions are based on the
assumption that no one used patronymics.
A small percentage of church and chapel records
have been extracted.

Analysis of Extracted Welsh Records
180 church & chapel records have been extracted for Glamorganshire
29% of the extraction for Glamorgan was of Nonconformist records (53 of 180)
37% of the registers (66 of 180) extracted for Glamorgan have at least some records in the pre-1813 time period

There are about 1,200 parish churches in Wales
There were about 5,500 nonconformist chapels in Wales
There should be about 6,700 registers of church/chapel records for Wales
About 1,408 registers have been extracted for Wales (based on findings for Glamorgan)

The records extracted may often represent a small
portion of the available records.
Christenings for Llan-giwg were extracted for the
years 1813-1866 (53 years)
The Bishop’s transcripts run, with some gaps, from
1672-1866 (194 years)

Conclusion
Less than 21% of the church and chapel records
for Wales have been extracted for the IGI

The International Genealogical Index for Wales
Strategies for success
Search by given name for christenings before 1813
Search by surname for christenings after 1812
Use the IGI as a starting point but never expect it to
represent a high percentage of the population
Always examine the original record

Names
Common names
In order to clearly identify which John Jones was
being referred to, the Welsh often included
another descriptive term such as the farm name
where the family lived or a nickname

Patronymics
No surnames; given names only
Evan Thomas Prees is actually Evan the son of
Thomas the son of Rees
Matilda verch David Thomas is the daughter of
David who was the son of Thomas

Patronymics
Mab means “son of’ and is often shortened to Ab or Ap.
Ferch means “daughter of’ and may be seen as verch,
vch, vz, or ach
Records may show a name such as William Gruffudd
Bowen which may actually be William map Gruffudd
mab Owen
The typical pattern was not always followed

Naming Pattern
First son named after the paternal grandfather
Second son named after the maternal grandfather
First daughter named after the maternal
grandmother
Second daughter named after the paternal
grandmother

Strategies for Success
If you can not find the marriage or christening
record assume that patronymics were used and
do the search again
If William Griffith can not be found look for
William, the son of Griffith _______

Language
Differences in the English and Welsh alphabets should be noted.
The letters j, k, q, v, and z are not used in the Welsh alphabet. English scribes recorded information about your Welsh ancestors
The Welsh alphabet has additional letters that appear as double letters: ch, dd, ff, 11, ng, ph, rh
Mutations. The first letter in a word often changes or disappears. This is called mutation. Mutated words are not found in most Welsh dictionaries

Place-names
Many Welsh place-names found in genealogies and histories are spelled in a variety of ways. The Family History Library Catalog uses Welsh Administrative and Territorial Units as the standard for how a place-name should be spelled

Place-names
Unfortunately this is not a comprehensive list of Welsh place-names. There is no such thing as a comprehensive gazetteer for Wales. An excellent online list is The National Gazetteer of Wales which can be found at: http:// homepage.ntlworld.com/geogdata/ngw/home.htm

Place-name Help
The six inch to one mile scale Ordnance Survey maps will enable you to locate many place-names not found in a gazetteer. http://www.old-maps.co.uk /

Records in Welsh
LDS Branch Records
Monumental Inscriptions
Periodicals
Histories

Language Helps
The computer program “CysGair” is a Welsh language dictionary that will help find definitions, even with many mutated words and conjugated verbs.
http:// www.bangor.ac.uk/ar/cb/meddalwedd_cysgair.php
Cymdeithas Madog, The Welsh Studies Institute in North America is dedicated to helping you learn and enjoy the Welsh language.
http:// www.madog.org /

Nonconformists

Nonconformity
Nonconformity had the greatest influence on the spiritual and social life of Wales
By the mid nineteenth century 80% of the population were nonconformists
Before 1689 and the Toleration Act nonconformity was illegal so few records were kept
The church was unable to cater to the spiritual needs and growth of the population
Nonconformity offered religion in the Welsh language

Growth of Nonconformity 2927 993 171 105 110 Chapels 1861 1816 1775 1742 1716 Year

Nonconformity
High incidence of nonconformity
Many records have not been deposited. About 5,500
chapels existed in Wales but less than thirty per cent
of the registers have been deposited at a record office
The records may still be with the chapel

Nonconformity
No record made
Records may have been lost
Families may have traveled a considerable
distance to worship

Nonconformity
Types of chapel records
Birth/baptismal register
Marriage register
Burial register
Membership lists
Accounts
Minute books

Nonconformity
More chapel records
Transfer registers
Pew rent books
Sunday school records
Lists of society members, Band of Hope & Temperance League
Monumental inscriptions

Nonconformity
More chapel records
Chapel histories
Personal accounts of the chapel’s early history

Identify the chapels in the area where your ancestors lived using the 1851
religious census and the six inch to one mile scale Ordnance Survey maps
http://www.old-maps.co.uk /
Utilize chapel records other than the registers of birth, marriage, and
death/burial
Request a search in Capeli Cymru for other chapel records when registers
of birth marriage and death/burial are not available. National Library of Wales
enquiries: [email_address]

Search the National Burial Index compact disc. This database
includes 265 thousand entries for Wales (Glamorganshire,
Cardiganshire, Radnorshire, Monmouthshire, and
Montgomeryshire only)
Search for burials at the parish church. Nonconformist chapels
seldom had their own burial ground before 1800
Search monumental inscriptions.

Search records within a fifteen mile radius of where your
ancestors lived.
Examine chapel and local histories.
Search the Historical Manuscripts Commission National Register
of Archives web site for information on recently deposited
records. Do a “Place Name”search
http:// www.nra.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra /
Utilize histories about the chapel, area, and denomination.

Tracing Your Welsh Ancestors

by Darris Williams on Mar 19, 2008

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