from Edward and Sarah
to grand-daughter Jane
Edward and Sarah
Sarah Rees was 24 years old and six months pregnant when she married 30 year old Edward Thomas in her parish church of Talyllyn on 29th August 1778. Illegitimacy and 'late' marriages were not uncommon at that time and Edward and Sarah would not have been regarded as having seriously transgressed the accepted morality of their day. Edward Thomas was from Trawsfynydd and both he and his new bride were illiterate. They settled in Upper Corris in a small cottage -'bwthyn'- called Rhognant where they were to spend their married life together and where their children were born during the latter part of the eighteenth century.
J Arthur Williams, in his history -'Trem yn Ol' [‘A Backward Glance’] - of the Corris area and Talyllyn parish, records the occupancy of Rhognant by Edward Thomas and Sarah Rees. He puts forward a possible derivation for Rhognant as being from 'Rhwng dwy nant', between two streams. Alternatively, he suggests the word may come from 'Rhochi nant' or 'Rhygnu nant' conveying the sound of the streams rippling over the pebbly river bed. Certainly both explanations are apt descriptions of where the old cottage stood in Upper Corris. The original building is gone and other houses, Glan Nant, now occupy the site. But the name Rhognant still exists in that a 'new' house on the other side of the road, facing the original site, has adopted the name of the old cottage. It is known that the occupiers of the original Rhognant were in business selling rock salt in block form; this was their sole merchandise. It is possible that the salt traders were Edward Thomas and Sarah Rees - although on her death certificate Sarah is described as being the widow of Edward Thomas 'farmer'.
Edward and Sarah had at least six children, four sons and two daughters. There are gaps in the Talyllyn Church records during the period from about 1777 to at least 1792. From time to time insertions have been made in the records, usually accompanied by the disclaimer "The above is a mistake committed by Mr. Morgan, the late Curate of Talyllyn"! It may well be therefore that Edward and Sarah had more than six children and would account for the separation of some years between the recorded baptisms of their children.
The eldest child David Thomas was baptised at Talyllyn Church on 10th November 1778, three months after the marriage of his parents at the same church. Elinor Edward was probably the next child, although her baptism has not been recorded. For 'family tree' purposes - see next page - it is assumed here, based on census information, that this occurred in 1781. Their second son Thomas Edward was baptised at Talyllyn on 27th April 1783. The other three children were Elizabeth Thomas, baptised in December 1786; Rees Thomas, in January 1793; and Edward Thomas, in March 1799.
Edward Sarah
b 1748 b 1754
d 8 Apr 1808 d 17 Dec 1847
m 29 Aug 1778
__________________________________________|________________________________________
| | | | | |
David Elinor Thomas Elizabeth Rees Edward
THOMAS EDWARD EDWARD THOMAS THOMAS THOMAS
bp 10 Nov 1778 bp 1781 bp 27 Apr 1783 bp 3 Dec 1786 bp 20 Jan 1793 bp 25 Mar 1799
d 28 Aug 1855 d ? d 2 May 1851 d ? d 21 Oct 1870 d 6 Nov 1821
The surnames of the children of Edward Thomas and Sarah Rees are interesting historically. At that time in Wales a son or daughter might be given the christian name of the father as his/her surname; that is, the tradition of patronymic surnames still prevailed. Thus two of their children were named Thomas Edward and Elinor Edward, not Thomas Thomas/Elinor Thomas. However, the custom of patronymics was coming to an end and the surname of their subsequent three children is that of their father - Thomas. But what of the eldest son David Thomas? This is an example of the Welsh tradition of the eldest son's surname being the grandfather's, and not the father's, christian name. The christian name of Edward Thomas's father must therefore have been Thomas. (Edward Thomas’s wife, who was always known as Sarah Rees and not Sarah Thomas, exemplifies the other Welsh tradition of very often referring to a married woman by her maiden name).
David Thomas was to have much influence on the lives of many members of the family - it is convenient here to relate these interactions as they occur chronologically and in their proper context.
Elinor Edward was to marry a Richard Roberts in November 1813, one of the witnesses to the marriage being her brother David Thomas. At the time Richard Roberts was a labourer but, having tried farming, later became a weaver at Tyddyn y Fuches and later still at Penygroes in Upper Corris. They had at least eight children. Incidentally, the J Arthur Williams referred to in the second paragraph was born and brought up in Penygroes (Head of the Cross). He is dismissive of the subsequent owner: "a Scottish doctor who, when he changed the name of the old house to Pen-y-Cwm (Head of the Valley), probably did not know that there used to be a crossroad nearby."
Thomas Edward, a labourer, married Gwen from Llanfihangel y Pennant. At various times they lived at Maesygorwyr, Penstaer and finally Dafarn-newydd, all in or near to Corris. Thomas and Gwen are known to have had four sons, who were given the surname Thomas not Edward, but all four were destined to die relatively young. David, their first-born baptised August 1812, died in 1839. Rees died in infancy. A subsequent son, also called Rees, died in the summer of 1843 aged 24. Tragically, he fell to his death whilst returning home across the mountains from Waun Llefenni where he had been courting. The spot where he fell is known as Tap Rhys Edward. 'Tapig' is an old Welsh word for ledge and may have been shortened here to 'Tap' through usage. Thomas and Gwen's youngest son William died in December 1827 when he was six years old.
Elizabeth Thomas, the second daughter of Edward Thomas and Sarah Rees, was baptised on
3rd December 1786. In 1817, at the age of thirty, she married William Charles at Talyllyn Church. Like her parents, Elizabeth could not write. Evidence of the increasing spread of literacy however is that her husband and the two witnesses to the marriage, her eldest brother David and younger brother Rees, were able to sign the marriage entry.
The main interest here is with Rees Thomas and his daughter Jane but mention should also be made of Edward and Sarah's youngest child, a son. He was baptised in March 1799 and named Edward Thomas after his father. He died at Hafotty, Corris, in November 1821 aged only 22 and is buried in Talyllyn churchyard.
Sarah's husband Edward Thomas died at Rhognant on 8th April 1808 aged sixty. Sarah Rees was to survive her husband by forty years. At the beginning of the 19th century, and therefore probably soon after the death of Edward Thomas, Sarah Rees moved from Rhognant to the Old Factory - still in Upper Corris and opposite Dafarnewydd. It has been recorded that for a time she worshipped at Castell "but she was too much of a Wesleyan to stay long and soon afterwards she began to attend Capel Bach", which was very near the Old Factory. A child of Rees Thomas was born at the Old Factory in 1826 but as he had moved elsewhere by the following year it may well be that Rees Thomas and his wife had stayed with Sarah while they looked for a home of their own. The Old Factory was demolished in recent years.
By 1841 Sarah Rees was living with her eldest son David Thomas at Tynyberth, a small farmhouse in Upper Corris approximately halfway between Penygroes and the Old Factory. (A John Edward, wife Ann and children were living in the Old Factory at this time. John Edward may be another son of Edward Thomas but, without additional data, this is no more than speculation). Tynyberth is still in existence and, judging by its appearance, has been little changed over the years other than for a rendering of pebbledash on the external walls.
‘Ty’ is Welsh for ‘house’ and ‘perth’ for ‘grove’ or ‘bush’. Tynyberth – the house in the grove - is attractive and stands in pleasant grounds. It has fine views across the valley. The 'front' door opens directly onto the lounge; the remaining downstairs rooms consist of what would now be called the dining room, kitchen and larder although these words belie their rather primitive state. The stairs are in the lounge and lead to what were once three bedrooms, one of which is now a simple bathroom. All the upstairs door openings are very low by today's standards.
The national census held on 7th June 1841 was the first to record the names and other information of individuals. On that day Sarah was aged 89 and her bachelor son David was 63. With them at Tynyberth was thirteen year old David Roberts from Penygroes, Sarah's grandson and the son of Elinor Edward and Richard Roberts. He helped to run the 84 acre farm. Also there at Tynyberth was sixteen year old Sarah Thomas, Sarah's grand-daughter and daughter of Rees Thomas. On the census return she is described as 'domestic servant' and that she was not born in the county of Merionethshire - see next page.
On 17th December 1847, at Tyddyn-y-Carth in Talyllyn, Sarah Rees died aged 93 of "old age and debility". Her youngest surviving son Rees Thomas was with her when she died. On the death certificate she is described as the widow of Edward Thomas, farmer. Sarah Rees and Edward Thomas are buried in Talyllyn churchyard.
The grave inscription reads:
‘Here lieth the body of Edward Thomas late of Rhognant who departed this life
the 8th Day of April 1808 in the 60th year of his Age’
‘Also lieth the Remains of Sarah wife of Edw’d Thomas who departed this life
the 17th of Dec’r 1847 in the 93rd year of her Age’
By the time of the 30th March 1851 census, his youngest brother Hugh had replaced David Roberts at Tynyberth. But Sarah Thomas was still there and her youngest sister, sixteen year old Jane, was visiting from Talyllyn. More information was required to be recorded for the 1851 census and Sarah Thomas's birthplace is identified as being Stockport – see below. By 1851 Sarah Thomas was 26 years old. She had therefore been at Tynyberth from childhood to maturity, caring for Sarah Rees during her last years and David Thomas himself was well over seventy by 1851.
Sometime after the 1851 census David Thomas retired from the Tynyberth farm to live in Fron Yw in Dolgellau, where he died on 28th August 1855. Hugh Roberts, who helped him on the farm during the last years, died a year before him on 2nd July 1854.
Edward Thomas and Sarah Rees, Thomas Edward and his wife Gwen, David Thomas and his youngest brother Edward, and the 23 year old Hugh Roberts are all buried in Talyllyn churchyard, in four graves close by each other.
Fron Yw, Dolgellau, was destined to be the last home also of David's brother Rees, wife Elizabeth and their daughter Mary. Sarah Thomas, Rees's eldest daughter, had in the meantime married Evan Roberts, a Presbyterian minister, and they too were to be involved with Fron Yw.
Rees was baptised Rhys Thomas on 20th January 1793 at Talyllyn church, the second youngest child of Edward Thomas and Sarah Rees. He was presumably named after his mother's family
- Sarah may have been given her father's christian name as her surname - and he used the anglicised form 'Rees' throughout his adult life. The spelling of christian names and surnames in the church records was often at the whim of the incumbent and it is likely that the spelling of 'Rhys' was not the choice of his parents. As they were illiterate they were not in a position to challenge the entry! In any event, as he regarded himself as Rees Thomas, his preference supersedes that of the church. The names 'Rees' and 'Thomas' have therefore been in the family for certainly two hundred and thirty years and probably for considerably longer.
Rees Thomas was a tailor and his wife Elizabeth Lewis had been born at Machynlleth in 1797. They had seven children, six daughters and one son. The first child was their daughter Sarah who was born in Stockport in 1824 and baptised at the Independent Church in Churchgate, Stockport, on Christmas Day, 25th December 1824. This, of course, prompts many intriguing questions: what was Rees and Elizabeth doing in Stockport, how did they get there and when, where did they live, when did they return to Upper Corris with their daughter Sarah …?
bp 20 Jan 1793 b 1797
d 22 Oct 1870 d 20 Dec 1857
m ?
________________________________________|__________________________________
| | | | | | |
Sarah Elizabeth Eleanor Edward Catherine Mary Jane
THOMAS THOMAS THOMAS THOMAS THOMAS THOMAS THOMAS
bp 25 Dec bp 4 Mar bp 17 Jun bp 7 Nov bp 31 Jan bp 6 May bp 9 Feb
1824 1826 1827 1828 1830 1832 1835
d ? d ? d ? d 11 Nov d ? d 23 Aug d 21 Sep 1828 1834 1911
Their next eldest child, named Elizabeth after her mother, was born at the Old Factory in Upper Corris and baptised at Talyllyn Church on 4th March 1826. The daughter of Rees's sister Elinor was baptised on the same day and she also was named Elizabeth.
By the time of the birth of Rees and Elizabeth's third child Eleanor in June 1827 the family lived at Maesygorwyr, which lies behind Tynyberth towards Llyn Eiddaw - the source of drinking water for Corris and Pennal. Rees and Elizabeth Thomas were to live at Maesygorwyr for some years and all their other children were born there: Edward, baptised November 1828; Catherine, January 1830; Mary, May 1832; and Jane, February 1834. Their only son Edward died in infancy.
Very soon after the birth of his youngest daughter Jane, Rees Thomas was appointed Clerk of Talyllyn Parish in May 1835. In subsequent records he is described as "Tailor/Taylor and Parish Clerk". It is not known whether it was at the time of his appointment or later that the family moved to a house abutting Talyllyn churchyard; but it seems reasonable to suppose that it was in 1835 that the Thomas family left Maesygorwyr. Certainly in 1841 the family lived in Tan'r Ewan (Under the Yew), later known as Tyriwen, one of two houses that backed onto the churchyard at Talyllyn. Jenny Jones, whose romantic, adventurous and ultimately sad life is given in the Talyllyn Church pamphlet and whose grave is marked by a fine if mysterious edifice, also lived for a time at Tan'r Ewan with her then husband David Griffiths. Having survived the Battle of Waterloo David Griffiths was tragically killed in the slate quarry in 1837. There is now no trace of the pair of houses that were known as Tan'r Ewan.
In 1841 all the children except Sarah and Elizabeth were still living with their parents at Tan'r Ewan. Sarah was in Tynyberth and Elizabeth, now fifteen, was likely to be working as a domestic servant elsewhere. There is an 1841 record of an Elizabeth Thomas aged fifteen being employed by Hugh Jones, a farmer at Tycroes in Llanfihangel Y Pennant. In addition to the same name and age, other circumstantial support for thinking this is our Elizabeth Thomas is that Rees's Elizabeth gave birth to an illegitimate daughter, baptised Margaret Jones in October 1846. Hugh Jones the farmer had an eligible agricultural labourer five years older than Elizabeth who was also named Hugh Jones. Sadly Margaret Jones died in January 1848.
By 1851 the children had dispersed. On the day of the 1851 census, 30th March, Rees and Elizabeth Thomas were on their own at Tan'r Ewan; Jane, although still living with her parents, was visiting her uncle David Thomas at Tynyberth in Upper Corris. It may well be that Jane was combining family duties with her courtship by Evan Pugh!
Evan and Jane
Unfortunately not much firm information is known at this stage of Evan Pugh's background. According to the 1881 census he was born in Llanfachreth near Dolgellau in 1826 but other census entries give his place of birth as Dolgellau. The former is probably correct. His father's name was Richard, a labourer. Evan was living in Corris at Craigyfachddu at the time of his marriage to Jane Thomas in 1853.
Craigyfachddu (Dark Rock) stands high above Corris but cannot be seen from the road as it is engulfed by tall trees. It consisted of six houses, four facing north and the other two facing south. They are very near 'Ty'r Injan', (the Engine House), of the old Cwmodyn Slate Quarry. The two southerly facing houses were generally occupied by officials of the quarry and it is therefore probable that Evan Pugh lived in one of the other four houses. The houses still stand, although long empty and gutted. The slate walls and slate roofs are in good condition; one can easily identify the various rooms and where the stairs leading to the bedrooms were positioned. It is even possible to see the patterns of the wallpaper, preserved by absorption onto the plaster, recording the artistic taste - or otherwise - of the last occupants.
Evan Pugh was 26 years old and Jane 20 at the time of their marriage in Talyllyn Church on
6th August 1853. Evan's occupation on the marriage certificate is given as "Miner", presumably at Cwmodyn Quarry. His father Richard is described as "Labourer" and "Rhys" Thomas as "Parish Clerk". No occupation is ascribed to Jane - she was still living at home at Tan'r Ewan. One of the witnesses was a Morris Pugh, the other Hugh Williams. Morris Pugh was probably Evan's brother or possibly his cousin. The Hugh Williams will be referred to again later.
Evan and Jane were to have eight children, three sons and five daughters. Their first three children - Hugh 1854, Mary Ann 1855 and Elizabeth 1857 - were born at Tynyberth. There is some confusion regarding whether this is David Thomas's Tynyberth or refers to houses that had by now been built in Upper Corris not far from the old Tynyberth farmhouse but on the other side of the road. The doubt arises because David Thomas died in August 1855 at Fron Yw in Dolgellau (also ‘Fron Yew’ and ‘Bronyw’) and, as stated previously, had therefore moved from Tynyberth to Fron Yw sometime between 1851 and 1855. This may have occurred in 1853, enabling his niece Jane and her new husband Evan Pugh to live at Tynyberth.
Fron Yw, David Thomas's last home, is a small terrace house in Meyrick Square (Y Domen Fawr) at the bottom end of South Street (Maes Y Pandy). South Street is a steep rise from Meyrick Square up to Bryn Mawr, the house that at one time was the focus of the Society of Friends (the Quakers) movement in Dolgellau and after which the Bryn Mawr College for women in Pennsylvania U.S. takes its name.
Following David's death in 1855 aged 76, Jane’s parents Rees Thomas and Elizabeth moved from Tan'r Ewan in Talyllyn to Fron Yw. It was there, on 20th December 1857, that Elizabeth died aged 60. She was buried at Talyllyn on the Christmas Eve. Rees Thomas continued to live in Fron Yw with two of his unmarried daughters Catherine and Mary. In censuses, Catherine is described as a housekeeper and Mary variously as housekeeper and cook. So it would appear that Rees Thomas was well looked after in the evening of his life.
Evan PUGH Jane THOMAS
b ~ 1826 bp 9 Feb 1835
d 22 Oct 1885 d 21 Sep 1911
m 6 Aug 1853
_________________________________________________|_______________________________________________
| | | | | | | |
Hugh Mary Elizabeth Jane Rees Evan Sarah Margaret
Ann Morris Catherine Ellin
PUGH PUGH PUGH PUGH PUGH PUGH PUGH PUGH
bp 14 Mar bp 7 Oct b 12 May b b 3 Jan bp 12 Jul b 24 May b 28 Feb 1854 1855 1857 1860 1861 1863 1865 1869
d ? d ? d 25 Nov 1932 d ? d 1 Dec 1932 d 20 Oct 1934 d ~1944 d ?
{It should be noted that, although here the surname PUGH has been used throughout, the predominant spelling on censuses, birth certificates and some graves is PUGHE. }
Meanwhile, Evan and Jane had two more children - Jane and a second son Rees - and were living in Hillsboro', which is a row of houses in Upper Corris not far from Tynyberth and named after the builder Mr. Hills. Hugh Williams, one of the witnesses to the marriage of Evan and Jane, also lived at Hillsboro' at the time of his early death aged 35 in January 1857. His grave in Talyllyn shares the same plot as Rees Thomas, his wife Elizabeth and their daughter Mary. It may also be that Hugh, Evan and Jane's first-born, was named after this Hugh Williams. Hence it would appear that there was a very close connection between Hugh Williams and the Thomas family.
The choice of Rees as the name for Evan and Jane's second son, their fifth child, is also of some interest. Rees was born on 3rd January 1861 but according to the 1861 census in early April, when they were still at Hillsboro' in Corris, Evan and Jane's children were recorded as Hugh, Mary Ann, Elizabeth, Jane and "Evan" aged 2 months . However, on the 29th May 1861 at Dolgellau "Evan" was baptised "Rhys Pugh"! Evan and Jane must have changed their minds between April and May and had decided to name their second son after Jane's father, Rees Thomas. Like his grandfather, Rees Pugh was baptised - and indeed in his case buried - as Rhys but was usually referred to as Rees during his lifetime. By the time of Rees's baptism it would appear that Evan and Jane were living in Dolgellau, possibly in Pandyrodyn. Two years later in July 1863 they had another son baptised at Dolgellau, Evan Morris Pugh. Presumably because of their concern regarding the 'false' declaration for the 1861 Census neither Rees nor Evan's birth was officially registered. Evan and Jane's seventh child was born in May 1865 at Pandyrodyn, Dolgellau, and named Sarah Catherine.
On the 26th October 1870 Rees Thomas died at Fron Yw aged 77. In his will he left the freehold property to his daughters, Catherine and Mary, during their lifetime and then to his grandson Rees Pugh. He also stipulated that should one of the daughters get married then the one remaining single could continue to live at Fron Yw if she so wished for an annual payment to her sister of £3. He left his Cambrian Railway share to Rees Pugh. The executor of the will was Rees Thomas's son-in-law Evan Roberts, the husband of Sarah Thomas. He was a Welsh Presbyterian minister and at the time they lived in 10 Western Road in Handsworth near Birmingham.
It is not known what happened to Catherine but Rees Thomas's daughter Mary was still at Fron Yw in 1881. The census also lists 23 year old dressmaker Eliza Jones, described as ‘boarder’. The unmarried Mary’s age is recorded as 46 and occupation ‘formerly cook’. It was at Fron Yw that Mary died on 23 August 1884 aged 50. She died intestate and the Letters of Administration for £147 were granted to her sister Sarah who by then lived in Iban House, Llanbeblig Road, Caernarfon. The husband Rev. Evan Roberts is reputed within the family to have 'fiddled the books' regarding Fron Yw! As mentioned previously Rees and Elizabeth Thomas, their daughter Mary and Hugh Williams are buried near each other at Talyllyn.
Some time between the birth of their daughter Sarah Catherine in 1865 and the census year 1871, Evan and Jane moved to Cwm y Glo near Llanrug, six miles from Caernarfon. It must have been a difficult decision to leave that part of Merioneth where both had been born and brought up; as it turned out they were soon back in Dolgellau. However, their eighth and last child Margaret Ellin was born at Cwm y Glo in 1869. Their venture north does not appear to have been a success: by 1871 the family had returned to Dolgellau, to Pandyisaf. This is a most attractive house on the banks of the River Wnion and is just downstream of the lower end of the Torrent Walk at Dolgellau. At present it is the home of the owner of the nearby holiday caravan site.
By the 1881 census they had moved back to Hillsborough, Upper Corris. Except for daughters Jane and Mary Ann, all the children were at Hillsborough on the census day, together with Elizabeth’s eight month old illegitimate son Sulfanws. It is not known where Jane was that day but 24 year old Mary Ann was staying with William Pugh and his sister Margaret in Hammersmith, London, preparing for the birth of her illegitimate child. Twenty-five year old William’s occupation is given as ‘dairyman’ and both he and his 19 year old sister Margaret were born in Tynycornel, which is near Pandyisaf, Dolgellau, where Evan and Jane lived in 1871. The 1871 census for Tynycornel lists Rees Pugh and wife Margaret living with their children William, 15, Margaret, 9, and Ellinor, 6. Is Rees the brother of Evan???
[Mary Ann gave birth to a son whom she named William, presumably after the above William Pugh. It is worth mentioning perhaps that three years later Mary Ann had a second illegitimate son John Evans Pugh. Tragically, he died in 1907 aged 23 due to a coalmine accident in Treorchy, South Wales. He was brought home to be buried in his grandfather Evan Pugh’s grave in Talyllyn churchyard. The 1901 census records Sulfanws and William as also being coalminers, staying in a boarding house in Cwmpark, Rhondda. It is probable that by 1907 John Evans Pugh had joined them to work in the coal industry of South Wales. Mary Ann did marry and had a daughter Susanah Jane.]
Not long after 1881 the Pugh family moved yet again, this time to Peniarth Arms in Llanfihangel y Pennant. Peniarth Arms was a small inn serving the village and environs of Llanfihangel y Pennant. It also provided accommodation; a frequent and illustrious guest at the Peniarth Arms was Lord Roberts who had won the Victoria Cross at the Siege of Delhi during the Indian Mutiny and was largely responsible for the eventual defeat of the Boers in the South African War.
There is a handed-down story in the family that, whilst at Peniarth Arms, Jane inherited and sold a house at Pandyrodyn, Dolgellau. She walked to Dolgellau to collect 200 gold sovereigns and then set out on the mountainous eight miles or so back to Llanfihangel y Pennant. (This was the same route as followed by Mary Jones on her trek to Bala in search of a Bible from Rev. Thomas Charles). Jane passed Llyn Gwernan and arrived at Dyffrydan. As she began to climb into the loneliness of Cader Idris Jane was uneasy about the remaining journey ahead, conscious of the heaviness of the sovereigns she was carrying, the approach of dusk and the threat of the gathering mist. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a large white dog appeared at her side - Jane immediately felt strangely secure and protected. Together they ascended the heights of Cader Idris, climbing to the 1840 foot saddle between Tyrau Mawr and Pen y Gader. By the time they had traversed the saddle and reached the remote Hafotty, daylight was fading noticeably. Jane, with the dog always keeping close by, hurried as best she could down the treacherously steep slopes from Hafotty to Gwastadfryn. Soon Jane was able to see through the mist the small church of Llanfihangel y Pennant and, opposite, the paraffin-lamp glow of the Peniarth Arms. The white dog paused, looked for a moment at Jane, then veered away from her side and vanished into the mist.
It was at Peniarth Arms that Evan Pugh died on 22nd October 1885. The cause of death was put as tuberculosis but was more likely to have been pneumoconiosis from his years in the slate quarry, a condition not formally recognised at that time. He was aged 58. Incidentally, in the death certificate of his daughter Elizabeth in 1932 she is recorded as being the ‘Daughter of Evan Pugh (deceased) Slate Quarry Manager’.
There are two inscriptions on Evan’s grave at Talyllyn:
‘ Ni ddychwel mwy i'w dy: a'i le nid edwyn ef mwy.’
(He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more. Job VII, 10)
The other is an 'englyn' by the poet Berw and is included in his book of collected poems published in 1886, a year after Evan Pugh's death:
‘Evan Pugh, heb ofni poen, - neu ddu siom,
Heddyw sydd mewn gorhoen;
Mawl a rydd, yn Nheml yr Oen,
I'w Hedd - Aberth yn ddiboen.’
With my apologies to Berw, a translation is diffidently offered:
‘Evan Pugh, without fear of pain - nor blighted hope
Today is in exultation;
Praises he gives, in the Temple of the Lamb,
For his Peace - Sacrifice free from pain.’
Jane continued to live in Peniarth Arms for another nineteen years. The more colloquial name for the Peniarth Arms was 'Tafarn Llan' and Jane was known to her grandchildren as "Mam Llan".
In 1904 she moved with her children Elizabeth, Jane and Evan Morris to the then new house Brohyfryd, a superb location on the southern bank of the Mawddach estuary in Mawddach Crescent, Arthog. (It is nice to know that Peniarth Arms is still in the 'family' as a holiday home of the descendants of Evan and Jane's daughter Sarah Catherine).
Jane, the wife of Evan Pugh and the daughter of Rees Thomas, the son of Edward Thomas and Sarah Rees, died of pneumonia at Brohyfryd aged 76 on the 21st September 1911. She is buried with Evan Pugh at Talyllyn and in close proximity to her parents and grandparents. Her grave inscription reads:
‘Twr cadarn yw enw yr Arglwydd: atto y rhed y cyfiawn,
ac y mae yn ddiogel.’
(The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous
runneth into it, and is safe. Proverbs XVIII, 10)
--------------
Appendix
Banns of Marriage between “Edward Thomas of The Parish of Trawsfynydd in the County of Merioneth and Sarah Rees of the Parish of Talyllyn in the said County were published in ye Parish Church of Talyllyn on Sunday ye 9th. 16th. 23rd August the s’d Ed. Thms” of “the” Parish “of Trawsfynydd Batchelor” and “Sarah Rees” of “the” Parish “of Talyllyn Spinster” were Married in this “Church” by “Banns” this “ 29th” Day of “August” in the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and “Seventy Eight” by me “Jenk: Hughes Clark”
This Marriage was solemnized between Us “The Mark w of Ed. Thomas, The Mark x of Sarah Rees”
In the Presence of “Robert Pugh Humphrey Johns”