Researching in Wales

[Sue Mackay]

For the beginner embarking on researching their family in Wales, there is effectively no difference between researching in Wales and researching in England.

Birth, marriage and death certificates are obtained in exactly the same way; first you need to consult the GRO index on a site such as FreeBMD, then you order the certificates here. The only difference is that in Wales, where so many people share the same names, it is even more important not to cut corners, and to obtain the actual certificates to ensure that you have the correct family.

Note that census returns for Wales on Ancestry are listed and indexed separately to those in England.

When searching all sites on the Internet, especially sites such as Ancestry which use OCR software, be aware that the potential for mis-transcription of surnames and place names is extremely high, and even where the transcription is accurate the parish clerk or census enumerator may not have been a Welsh speaker and would therefore have been likely to make errors with Welsh names. Searchers should therefore be prepared to use wildcards and lateral thinking in their searches. Also all notions of the ‘correct’ spelling of the family name should be treated with caution; for example, common names such as Davies should also be searched as Davis.

[Sue Mackay]

Theses are the traditional counties of Wales with their Chapman Codes. You will find a forum for each of them (except Anglesey) here on B-G, where you can post specific queries, and you will find useful pages of information about each county on the GENUKI site. The Welsh name for the county is listed on the right.

Anglesey AGY GENUKI page Ynys Môn

Brecknockshire (Breconshire) BRE GENUKI page Brycheiniog

Caernarvonshire CAE GENUKI page Caernarfon

Cardiganshire (Ceredigion) CGN GENUKI page Aberteifi

Carmarthenshire CMN GENUKI page Caerfyrddin

Denbighshire DEN GENUKI page Dinbych

Flintshire FLN GENUKI page Fflint

Glamorgan GLA GENUKI page Morgannwg

Merionethshire MER GENUKI page Meirionnydd

Monmouthshire MON GENUKI page Mynwy

Montgomeryshire MGY GENUKI page Trefaldwyn

Pembrokeshire PEM GENUKI page Penfro

Radnorshire RAD GENUKI page Maesyfed

In 1974 there was a local government re-organisation in Wales. In South Wales Glamorgan remained (though it was sub divided into South, Mid and West Glamorgan) and Monmouthshire took on the old Welsh name of Gwent. In West Wales the counties of Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire merged to become Dyfed. In Mid Wales Brecknockshire, Radnorshire and Montgomeryshire merged to become Powys. In North Wales Anglesey, Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire merged to become Gwynedd, and Flintshire and Denbighshire merged to become Clwyd.

In 1996 local government was again re-organised and Wales was divided into much smaller unitary authorities, but for the purposes of family history research the older county names tend to be used.

Family History Societies in Wales largely follow the 1974 county groupings, reflecting when they were founded, although some newer groups have recently been formed. Most are listed on the website of the Association of Family History Societies in Wales and those with links below use Parish Chest to sell publications and/or membership. Membership of these societies is of great benefit to those with ancestors from the area.

Clwyd Family History Society

Dyfed Family History Society

Glamorgan Family History Society

Gwent Family History Society

Gwynedd Family History Society

Powys Family History Society

Cardiganshire Family History Society

Montgomeryshire Genealogical Society

Carmarthenshire Family History Society

Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Society

[Sue Mackay]

So why is it that there are so few surnames in Wales and everyone seems to be called Jones, Thomas, Williams or Davies?

The answer is that surnames developed relatively recently in Wales, and that once you get back past the 19th century a patronymic system was in use. Thus if a man called Rhys had a son called Evan, then the son would be known as Evan ap Rhys, or Evan son of Rhys. As surnames developed then 'ap Rhys' would gradually become Price.

A very good article on patronymics and the origin of surnames in Wales can be read here

[Sue Mackay]

It is useful to know certain basic Welsh words in order to interpret Welsh place names, such as

Aber = river mouth, estuary or confluence of two rivers
Bryn = hill
Llan = church, parish (words beginning Llanfair mean St.Mary's Church)
Pont = bridge
Tre(f) = town, hamlet
Ystrad = valley

This Glossary gives the meaning of nearly all Welsh place names and notes on their origins.

[Sue Mackay]

The main record repository is the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth and it is worth making a search of their catalogue.

County Record Offices will have parish registers, estate records, directories, maps and other documents relating to their area. They also usually hold GRO indexes to births, marriages and deaths as well as census returns and free on-line access to many genealogical records.

For those unable to visit the area in person, there is a wide variety of parish record transcripts, census returns, monumental inscriptions, directories and maps available from Parish Chest.

[Sue Mackay]

Many older tombstones in Wales are written in Welsh. The following may help to extract the relevant genealogical information quickly.

Er cof am = in memory of
Bu farw = died
Ionawr = January
Chwefror = February
Mawrth = March
Ebrill = April
Mai = May
Mehefin =June
Gorffenaf = July
Awst = August
Medi = September
Hydref = October
Tachwedd = November
Rhagfyr = December
Blwyddyn = year
Mis = month
Oed = age
Mab = son
Merch = daughter
Tad = father
Gwr = husband
Gwraig = wife
Priod = spouse
Nai = nephew
Nith = niece
Plentyn = child
Plant = children
O = from
Plwyf = parish
Sir = county
Lle = place
Hefyd = also

A more complete list can be found here

[Sue Mackay]

Be aware that non conformity was very prevalent in Wales and most communities had numerous chapels as well as the parish church. From the 18th century onwards there was a growth in Baptist and Independent Chapels, especially in South Wales

See this guide to tracing non conformist ancestors. (You may need to scroll down and click on #6) Many family history societies in Wales have also transcribed registers and monumental inscriptions from non conformist chapels.

[Sue Mackay]

I have been working on this behind the scenes for the last couple of days, so this is really just a post to bump it to the top of New Posts. It will remain as a closed sticky so that it does not attract research threads, but if anyone spots anything in the Welsh that is incorrect (I am a Welsh learner, not a native Welsh speaker) then contact me by Private Message.