James Edwards MFMMFF

[Morf]

Name - James Edwards

Date and place of birth - Abt 1777. Coed Eithen Farm, Blaenavon, Monmouthshire, Wales

Names of parents - Don't know

Date and place of baptism - Don't know

Details of each of his or her marriages - Don't know

Occupation(s) - Farmer

Addresses where they lived - Coed Eithen Farm

Date, place and cause of death - Don't know

Date and place of burial - Don't know

Details of will / administration of their estate -

Memorial inscription -

Link to son - http://www.genealogistsforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=9555&highlight=james+edwards

[kiterunner]

How do you know where he was born, please, Morf?

[kiterunner]

Hmmm, also, how do you know his name, please?

[kiterunner]

I thought that FMP had images for all the Welsh PR's now, but searching for baptisms of people with surname Edward(s) in Monmouthshire, place Llanover, year 1800+- 10 years, I get quite a lot of matches (none called James) but they are all transcripts only, no images, transcribed by Gwent FHS. Church name is given as St Batholomew (sic). So have they not got the Llanover images?

[Shona]

From www.visitblaenavon.co.uk

'Many of the area’s farms had been standing for centuries and this gives us some clue into how long a community had been in existence in Blaenavon. Ty Godwith farm, for example, situated to the rear of modern day Charles Street, can be dated to the sixteenth century. A number other farms including Dan y Capel, Capel Newydd Farm, Elgam and Ty Fry were built in at least the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries. Farms in Blaenavon tended to be passed down from generation to generation. New Road Farm, also known as Ffermdy Wil Rhios was in the possession of the Jones family from the early seventeenth century and Coed Eithen Farm, according to local legend, had been farmed by members of the Edwards family from the twelfth century.'

I also found the following posted on RootsWed:

A Brief History of Blaenavon, by Lewis Browning, 1906, p.16: "Coed Eithin. -
This farm stands to the north-east of Avon Lwyd. It is remarkable that it
should have been held by the same family, from generation to generation, for
800 years. James Edwards is the young squire's name, and was also the name
of his father and grandfather, but the latter was better known as
Shams-y-Coed, and so were some of his ancestors, according to certain old
writings. The family is held in high respect in the neighbourhood."

A History of Monmouthshire Vol.1 part 2: the Hundred of Abergavenny, by Sir
Joseph Bradney, 1906/07, p.399: "There are also two ancient freehold estates
still belonging to the representatives of families who have from time
immemorial resided on them. Coed-eithin (the gorse wood), generally called Y
Coed, situated on the north side of the Afon-lwyd half a mile below the
town, belongs to Mr. James Edwards, who resides there, as have his ancestors
for many generations. It is an ancient dwelling, and on much of the land
stands the town."

The Blaenavon Story, by E.J. Davies, 1974, p.80: "James Edwards, Coed
Eithen's last resident, was known as Shams or Shams-y-coed. After his death
the property decayed. It was recently demolished..... Coed Eithen Farm, the
oldest in the district, was not demolished until the middle of the 20th
century. For well nigh a thousand years, from Norman Times, it was farmed by
a family called Edwards. Some of the title deeds, written on a sheep skin,
still survive. For centuries the Edwards Estate included most of the arable
land in Blaenavon."

Many of the area’s farms had been standing for centuries and this gives us some clue into how long a community had been in existence in Blaenavon. Ty Godwith farm, for example, situated to the rear of modern day Charles Street, can be dated to the sixteenth century. A number other farms including Dan y Capel, Capel Newydd Farm, Elgam and Ty Fry were built in at least the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries. Farms in Blaenavon tended to be passed down from generation to generation. New Road Farm, also known as Ffermdy Wil Rhios was in the possession of the Jones family from the early seventeenth century and Coed Eithen Farm, according to local legend, had been farmed by members of the Edwards family from the twelfth century.

[Morf]

Thanks for that Shona.
I have copies of all the above, so this is how I now the name James was passed through a few generations and also how I know where he was born.
I've found it difficult to find any records of the families births.
I've found a few of their deaths and marriages on the Blaenavon PR's, but not births.

[Shona]

Just a thought. I'm no expert on Welsh, but could the births be registered under a Welsh name? My Scottish family register births using Gaelic names (eg, Oloynichan or McIlstckair), but in later records the English version of the name is used - Lang and Stalker.

[Morf]

No Shona, the names would still be the same in welsh.