Location, location, location...

Names can be difficult at times, especially those Welsh names to those of us on this side of the great pond. (USA)  Many times, these names were given as locations to certain family members.  An example is Howel of Ruth, Rys of Leeswood, and Peter of Bersham.  Add names like Llweeni, Hawarden, Selattyn, Hanmer, Ellesmere, Wem, and Llanfair Dyffan Clwyd.  Where and how are these connected?  Brick walls, brick walls, and more brick walls.  Finding the location of each place with the family member, would help answer many questions.  Such is the drawing given below.

Drawn to scale, the various locations that had been thought to be spread all over the globe, were actually all within a very short distance to one another.  All these folks were almost within spiting distance to one another, as my Welsh family proved to be.  As different folks spread about my pages of research, the ones from the same "location" would more likely be related.  Location, location, location as they say in some fields, but it can also help in getting around some of those brick walls.

Early Landmarks

Time travel has its difficulties.  Names, places, locations, streams, creeks, and all sorts of geography can change.  This often generates a great deal of confusion when reading wills, deeds, surveys, land grants, and historic records from the time period that you are traveling...or wish to travel.  Finding early maps that give this information can be very helpful in breaking down some of those brick walls.

The following is an example of an early map of Kentucky.  It was published 1784 and presents the major landmarks, settlements, roads, and waterways into this "dark and bloody ground".

The picture is focused around my own area of interest. [Written a book on Walker Daniel and the naming of Danville, KY]  Here the path of the "Wilderness Road" is given as it approaches the geographical center.  Kentucky's first Constitution was framed and adopted here.

Col. Shelby's station is clearly shown on the map. [Issac Shelby was the first governor of Kentucky.]
I can go to his cemetery today and see this geographic location.  It is essentially a landmark in time.  I know that standing here, I am located in time upon this map.   I  have a physical location from which to work.  A present landmark found on a map more than 200 years old!  Which way to one of my brick walls?  I have a place to start...an early landmark.

The Lay of The Land

Brick walls can come at you from all directions. They often sit there and smile while you get more and more discouraged wondering if you will ever get around them. Over the years, I have found that getting a "lay of the land" will often help one understand many of the dimensions of these brick walls. Knowing the historical and geographical factors that interplay with your tree climbing will frequently assist to "wipe that smile off their face"!

The drawing to the right is an example of such an attempt. My brick wall was in the geographic area of North Wales. A bunch of JONES were hidden in these mountains. How was I to sort them? I decided to try and understand the lay of the land. [called topography]

Since the earliest days, water [after oxygen] was the most important resource for survival. Streams, creeks, and rivers were the lifeline and highway to much of the human settlements. How these creeks and streams flowed determined much in the way of survival. Today, it is difficult to find maps that will show just the rivers. [especially in genealogy] Draw your own, I thought!

The most important item is a good starting map. Finding one that has the origin of your family tree is necessary. For me this was Touring Guide To Britain, published by The Reader's Digest Association, NY, 1992. Tracing paper was the next most important item. Removing all names, cites, locations, etc., etc., by just tracing the rivers, streams, and those items which might be of importance. [For me it was the iron age hill forts!] You then make a hard copy of the finished product so that you can write upon the finished product.

The tracing above shows the two main "head waters" of my family tree. The Dee and the Severn are shown, the Dee in blue. It is here that they almost touch giving a geographic location where one can reach both within 5 miles! Here, my JONES family had its roots many generations back. A strategic starting point it is. Dip in the Dee and you come out at Chester. (North) Dip in the Severn and you come out Gloucester. (South) It certainly would be a good location to start your day.

BWP (37): Connecting the Dots

There are times when the tree branches get pretty thick. All those names, locations, histories, dates, etc., etc...how do you connect all those dots? This is very common in Welsh genealogy when the family is recorded in various towns with very unusual names. How are they all connected?

It was not until I connected a number town locations that it became evident that the family was really from the same area of Wales! The map to the right shows a drawing of many of the towns and locations that my JONES family resided. The names were taken from records, wills, deeds, etc., and their geographic locations identified. They fell along Wat's Dyke which had been the border between Wales and the Marches since 700 AD. The family located in a geographic area that represented the tribal group from which my JONES surname originated. An explanation that helped connect the dots!