The Family of Morgan Price Nantygweision

Morgan Price was William Price Tynllwyn's second son. He is recorded as a freeholder and gent. in the parish records and he and his wife Gwenllian farmed Nantygweision.

The Usk Reservoir from the South shore

Nantygweision (meaning "servants' brook") was one of the eight or nine small farms to the South East of Myddfai Parish in an area generally known as Dolhowell. DOL HYWEL: an area which corresponds closely to the area of land now covered by the waters of the Usk Reservoir and its immediate environs. This being part of the grange belonging to Talley Abbey. Signifies the riverside meadow of Hywel. (David B. James Myddfai, Its Land and People.)

"During the historic period much of the area was operated as a grange, Dôl Hywel, which had been granted to Talley Abbey by 1324 (Ludlow 1998). The grange chapel, dedicated to St David, was also a chapel-of-ease to Myddfai parish (ibid.), but its site appears to lie beneath the Usk Reservoir. It was an upland grange, probably operated by tenant farmers primarily concerned with the mountain pasturing of animals, and appears to have been largely unenclosed during the historic period, as it still is today. The earliest historic maps depict it as open moorland with few settlements." (Cambrian Archeology)

Usk Reservoir. Trawsllwynddu would have stood on the other shore. Nantygweision would have been under the reservoir.

The farms were separated from the remainder of Myddfai parish by Mynydd Myddfai (Myddfai Mountain) more commonly known as Mynydd Bach (little mountain). Nantygweision was flanked by Tircyd (meaning "adjoining land") to the West and Trawsllwynddu (meaning "across the black grove") close by. All three farms formed part of the Cilgwyn estate at that time. Trawsllwynddu appears to be a later name as it is referred to as Drainllwynddu (possibly meaning "blackthorn grove"?) in Morgan Price's will of 1804.

Looking carefully at a map of the area of 1891, the positions of the farms can be accurately pinpointed. In fact both Tircyd and Trawsllwynddu farmhouses were situated just above the present waterline on the Northern shore of the Usk reservoir. Nantygweision by this time looks comparatively small and its location today seems to be beneath the reservoir not far from the estimated location of Trawsllwynddu. In fact it's significant that after 1841 Nantygweision is not mentioned in the censuses. I would hazard a guess that the land of the two small farms were merged and Nantygweision ceased to be inhabited after Gwenllian's time - she was living there aged 90 in 1841 and died in 1844.

It is also worth noting that Dolhowell forms a rather isolated part of Myddfai parish and is bounded to the East by the area of Traianglas in the parish of Llywel which is in Breconshire. In fact Aberhenwen Fach (Myddfai) which is to the East of Trawsllwynddu is divided from Aberhenwen Fawr (Traianglas) by the Henwen brook which flows down from Mynydd Bach into the Usk river. From a modern geographic viewpoint it is rather surprising that this area did not form part of Trainglas, but then this also forms part of the county boundary. It is not therefore that surprising that in lots of ways the families in this area grew away from the established church at Myddfai and joined the Independent cause at the newly established Saron chapel at Cwmwysg. This is illustrated by the fact that Morgan was buried at Myddfai PC in 1804 and Gwenllian was buried at Saron. These factors also account for the marriage of some of Morgan and Gwen's children with Llywel partners. 

The Family of Morgan Price Nantygweision, Myddfai

Morgan PRICE Nantygweision (1753 - 1805) bp. 29 Apr 1753 MPC bd. 1 Mar 1805 Myddfai PC = Gwenllian Davies (1749 - 1844) Married 8 Nov 1777 at Llywel PC, bd. Saron Independent Chapel, Cwmwysg (MI 1)

Children

(According to Wm. Price Tynllwyn's will, Morgan had 9 children in 1799).

Margaret PRICE (1778 - ) bp. 11 Sep 1778 Myddfai PC = Rees WILLIAMS (1762 - 1846) d. 14 Apr 1846 aged 84 (MI A30 Defynock Parish Church). Rees and Margaret were married 7 Nov 1806 Myddfai PC (Wit: W Price, Rees Davies and Lewis Lewis). 1841 census Cwrtfoesydd, Cray, Rees (Tiler) aged 75, Margaret aged 60

• Children (per census) - Elizabeth (bca 1816), Rees (bca 1821), Lewis (bca 1826)

William PRICE, Trawsllwynddu / Trichwmwl, farmer, (1780 - 1823) bp. 22 Jun 1780 Myddfai PC bd. 3 Mar 1823 (aged 44) Myddfai PC = Elinor JONES Llywel (1780 - 1860) bp. Llywel d/o Morgan John and Gwenllian 30 Apr 1780. Married Llywel PC 8 Jul 1803 bd. 9 Oct 1860 Myddfai PC. It appears that, based on the fact that the baptisms of his children took place while he was at Trawsllwynddu (PR entries) William and Eleanor lived at Trawsllwynddu until approx. 1817 when he moved to Trichwmwl and his brother David took over at Trawsllwynddu.  (Eleanor continued to live at Trichwmwl after William's death (1841 and 1851 census) died at Black Cock Myddfai, home of her daughter Anne). More details of William and Elinor are given in a separate post.

John PRICE, Tircyd (1782 - 1854), farmer, bp. 24 Jun 1782 bd. 18 Oct 1854 (73) Saron Ind. Cwmwysg (MI 2) = Mary PRICE (ca. 1773 - 1808) bd. 23 Mar 1841 (67) Saron Ind. Cwmwysg (MI 2). Married 9 Dec 1808 MPC. This family line will be expanded in a future post.

David PRICE, Trawsllwynddu (1785 - 1861), farmer bp. 18 Nov 1785 MPC bd. 4 Aug 1861 (77) Saron Ind. Cwmwysg (MI 16) = Anne REES (1786 - 1836) bd. 13 Nov 1837 (47) Saron Ind. Cwmwysg. Married 20 Nov 1818 MPC. This family line will be expanded in a future post.

Morgan PRICE* (1788 - before 1834) bp. 12 May 1788 MPC = Anne ? Morgan was living in 1804 at the time of his father's death but had died when his mother Gwenllian made her will on 23 Aug 1834 - the will mentions his widow Anne. There are two children (Mary 1827 and Elizabeth 1829 baptised to Morgan and Anne Price, Pwll Uchaf at Saron, Cwmwysg) but no record of Morgan's death has been found.

Elizabeth (1790 - 1804) bp. 23 Jun 1799 MPC Almost certainly Elizabeth Price Dolhowell bd. 4 Jan 1804 (Myddfai PR). She is not mentioned in Morgan's will dated 2 Jun 1804 but her sisters are.

Mary PRICE (1793 - 1871) bp. 8 Aug 1793 MPC  bd. 29 Apr 1871 (88) Saron Ind. Cwmwysg (MI 44) = Thomas THOMAS (1788 - 1862), Llywel bp. Sep 1788 Llywel s/o John Thomas. Married 15 Nov 1811 MPC. Lived at Gwernwyddog, Llywel (just to the East of Trawsllwynddu in Traianglas). This family line will be expanded in a future post.

Joseph PRICE (1797 - 1861) bp. 26 May 1797 MPC d. 25 Dec 1861 bd. Saron Ind. Cwmwysg (MI 1). Lived at Nantygweision with his mother until her death then with his brother David at Trawsllwynddu. Gwenllian's will makes it clear that he was in some way mentally impaired or backward and special provision was made in it for his maintenance (he having received no share of his father Morgan's estate). It is possible that he married (there is a marriage for Joseph PRICE= Margaret PHILIP17 Feb 1824 MPC and there is no other Joseph Price known in the parish records of the time). Gwenllian his mother entrusted Joseph to David's care after her death and from the census information it appears that he lived there until his death when he was buried with his mother at Saron, Cwmwysg.

Daniel PRICE (1799 - ) bp. 3 Mar 1799 MPC. = Margaret THOMAS (d/o David & Mgt. Thomas bp. 31 Aug 1794 MPC). Married 2 Feb 1821 MPC (witnesses William Price and Wm. Thomas) d. 14 May 1839 aged 45 MI 7 Saron, Cwmwysg.

Children - fom the Saron baptismal Register

• Gwen b. 6 Apr 1822, bp. 20 Apr 1822 Cefnarthen Independent d. 1 Sep 1824 MI 7 Saron 
• Sarah b. 16 Aug 1824 bp. 25 Aug 1824 Bwllfa, Traianglas  
• Gwenllian b. 19 Aug 1826 bp. 26 Aug 1826 Bwllfa, Traianglas 
• Margaret b. 3 Aug 1828 bp. 17 Aug 1828
•            Daniel bp. 23 Nov 1830 Clos Traianglas  
• Shadrach b. 14 Dec bp. 18 Dec 1832 Clos Traianglas d. 5 Dec 1833 MI 7 Saron 
• William b. 30 Oct 1834 bp. 22 Nov 1834 Clos Traianglas

 Census Information

1841 Nantygweision

Gwen Price, 90, farmer, N

Joseph Price, 40, Y

Gwen Price, 20, F.S., Y

General Notes 

Morgan and Gwenllian's son John settled at Tircyd. David eventually settled at Trawsllwynddu taking over from William who, after initially living at there, finally settled at Trichwmwl which is directly on the opposite (north) side of Mynydd Bach. Nantygweision, Trawsllwynddu and Tircyd originally formed part of the Cilgwyn Estate. Trichwmwl was owned by Edward Jones of Velindre, he Llandovery solicitor.

Nantygweision, Tircyd and Trawsllwynddu all disappeared under the water when the Usk Reservoir was completed in 1955. Due to their geographical location it is easy to understand how the families living on these farms would have grown as many ties with Llywel parish to the North East of them as well as with the home parish of Myddfai from which they were separated by the physical barrier of Mynydd Bach.

*Morgan and Gwenllian's son Morgan is something of a mystery. He was alive at the time of his father Morgan's death in 1804 (he would have been 16) but had died before 1844 when Gwenllian's will was written. In that will she bequeathed a sum to his widow Anne which might imply that he had died not long before. No burial or MI has been found for Morgan. However the baptisms recorded at Saron and the nearness of Pwll Uchaf to Nantygweision and Trawsllwynddu seem to be a good indication that he an Anne lived there for a time. (One marriage which might fit would be Morgan Price = Anne Jones at Llanfairarybryn PC 31 Dec 1825 - he would have been 37. However this is highly speculative and the entry seems to indicate that both parties were of Llanfairarybryn parish. The witnesses were David Morgan and Morgan Jones.)