James Family Archives

 

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Eleven Generations of Ancient James Family Paternal Ancestors Found in Archaeologia Cambrensis, the Journal of the Cambrian Archaeological Association, Volume VIII, Fourth Series, London, 1877

 

On page 22 of Volume 8 of Archaeologia Cambrensis continues an essay by J.Y.W. Lloyd entitled, "History of the Lordship of Maelor Gymraeg or Bromfield." On page 32 of this essay is the genealogy of the lordship over "Plas Einion" in the Parish of "Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd" which is a village and community in Denbighshire, Wales, situated in the "Vale of Clwyd" about one mile south of the town of Ruthin.

 

Here we are informed that the lordship over "Plas Einion" descended from "Edwyn ap Goronwy," Prince of Tegeingl, a region today known as northern Flintshire, Wales. The lordship over Plas Einion was handed down to his son "Owain." From Owain the lordship over Plas Einion passed on to Owain's son "Rhirid;" to Rhirid's son "Llywarch;" to Llywarch's son "Howel;" to Howel's son "Rhirid;" to Rhirid's son "Madog;" and then to Madog's son "David."

 

On Page 33 we are informed that the lordship over Plas Einion was then passed from David to his son "David Dinllais" who married the daughter of “Bleddyn Llwyd.” David Dinllais then passed the lordship over Plas Einion to his son "Gruffydd" who married “Catherine,” the daughter of “Ieuaf ab Hwfa ab Madog yr Athro” of Plas Madog in Bodylltyn, in the manor of Rhiwabon. We are then shown that the lordship of Plas Einion was passed on from Gruffydd to his son "Ieuan yr Athro Hen" who then passed the lordship over Plas Einion to his son "Einion" of Plas Einion.

 

Now "Ieuan yr Athro Hen," also spelled and identified as "Jevan Athro," and translated into the English language as "John the Great Teacher" is of particular interest to our family because this Lord of Plas Einion is also identified as the great grandfather of "James ap David," the progenitor of our James family as identified in the Last Will and Testament of "David ap Rees ap Jevan Athro" within “Radnorshire Wills” abstracted by E.J.L. Cole and published in Radnorshire Society Transactions, Volume 53 in 1983 on pages 70-71.

 

In his last will and testament, David ap Rees ap Jevan Athro is reported to be living in the Parish of "Llandegley," approximately 80 miles south of Plas Einion in the County of "Radnorshire" as it was more formally known. This tells us that the lordship of Plas Einion did not pass down from Ieuan or "Jevan" to his son Rees, rather to Einion who was likely the eldest son of Jevan, which further means that Rees was probably a younger brother. These records also show us that within the two generations separating Ieuan yr Athro Hen, Lord of Plas Einion from his grandson David ap Rees, our particular family migrated further south from Denbighshire (then Flintshire), Wales to Radnorshire, Wales where the family began occupying lands referred to as the "Soith" (or South) in the hills above Llandegley Parish.

 

Furthermore, according to the “The Deeds From the Practice of Messrs. Green and Nixson (Presteigne and Knighton),” identified as R/D/GNX within the Powys Welsh Archives Collection, the man known as "James ap David" oft the Parish Llandegley, was the father of two men, "David James" and "Thomas James," both of Llandegley and Glascwm parishes in Radnorshire, and, the grandfather of the "David James," son of Thomas James born circa 1660, who married Margaret Jane Mortimer and migrated to Pennsylvania with Sir William Penn in 1682. Thus, thanks to the seminal resource entitled “Archaeologia Camrensis,” we can document our James family's patrilineal line an additional eleven generations beyond our James family ancestor, David James (c1660-1739), all the way back to Prince Edwyn ap Goronwy of the Welsh Principality of Tegeingl, in the former Kingdom of Gwynedd.

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Updated: March 3, 2026