The will of William Price Tynllwyn Myddfai

(A précis of the will is given here, noting the important points.) The will itself can be seen online at the National Library of Wales web site - here

William Price of Twynyllwyn (sic) in the parish of Mothvey 1 July 1799

It begins

"This is the last will and testament of me William Price of the parish of Mothvey in the county of Carmarthen, farmer."

"I give and devise all that my messuage or dwelling place and garden situate in the town of Llandovery in the county of Carmarthen unto my son Reverend John Price, Clerk, his heirs and assigns forever."

[This section on property is very general and it is possible that William had already conveyed some Llandovery property to his sons before his death.]

To his children, the Rev. John Price, Clerk; David Price; Morgan Price and Jane the wife of Rees John the sum of £5 each. To his son in law, Evan Morgan [husband of Elizabeth] he also bequeaths £5.

To his grandson John, the son of Evan Morgan “who now lives with me", the sum of £15.

These monetary legacies (totalling £35) he wills to be paid twelve months after His wife Magdalen's death if money he has on mortgage of Evan Morgan's estate is then due and payable. If not then it should be paid as soon as the amount is due and payment made, together with interest at the rate of 4.5% chargeable on the mortgaged amount dated from the time of her death.

To his beloved wife Magdalen he leaves £10 and an annuity of £10 to be paid quarterly by his executor. He also leaves her all the goods and furniture that he received from her at their marriage. He also gives her one cow of her choosing from his stock, one teal of wheat, one teal of pilcorn, all the wool in the house at the time of his decease and five cheeses of her choice. He also gives her the use of the parlour at Twynyllwyn (sic) and the garden called the Upper Garden for her enjoyment for the rest of her life or until the lease on Tynllwyn runs out for an annual rent of sixteen shillings. He also gives her the keep of a cow during the summer months with his son John's cattle and room to keep the cow during winter for an annual rent of one guinea.

He leaves the sum of £60 to his sons David and John with the instruction that they or their executors or administrators are to pay the interest on this sum directly to his daughter Elizabeth annually for the rest of her life and after her decease the sum is to be divided equally among her children. The terms are "for the term of her natural life to be taken by her and received for her own sole and separate use without being in any wise liable to the control, debts or engagements of her said husband and her receipt notwithstanding her coverture to be the only sufficient discharge or aquittance for the same" [See my comments below]

He then bequeaths the sum of £5 to each of his grandchildren then living -

• 4 children of John


• 11 children of David


• 9 children of Morgan


• 4 children of his late son William


• 9 children of his daughter Jane


• 3 children of his daughter Elizabeth 

Then follow some individual bequests of particular items all of which are to be delivered to the individuals concerned on his decease.

• To his son Morgan his clock and case.


• To his grandson William, son of Morgan, one cupboard bedstead.


• To his grandson William, the son of David, his large iron pot.


• To his grandson John, son of John, "the cupboard that stands in the kitchen in the house I now live in."

All the residue of his estate and personal possessions he leaves to his son John, who he names as his sole executor.

There is a legal clause clarifying the entitlement of Magdalen to the annuity and the rights she had as a wife to William's estate).

The will is witnessed by William Bowen of Cwmydw and William Morgan of Bailyglace [sic] also by William writer to Mr E Jones, Llandovery [Edward Jones, the Llandovery solicitor.]

The will was dated 1 Jul 1799. William died later that month and was buried on 24 Jul 1799 at Myddfai Parish Church.

His son John proved his will on 16 Dec 1799 and its estimated value at probate was £450.

Notes.

There are two copies of the will at the National Library of Wales. The one held in the wills archive (SD 1799/209) is by far the clearer. The one in the DTM Jones collection (2884) is probably a draft or copy and is in a smaller hand and slightly more difficult to read. The DTM Jones copy is accompanied by three bonds and a draft (2885 – 2888). The bonds were drawn up in order to indemnify the Rev. John Price for any further claim upon him as executor of his father William Price’s will, having paid in full to David Price Glasallt Fawr, farmer (2885-6), Morgan Price, farmer (2887) and Rees John of Llanthoysant (2888) the bequests intended for their children – the responsibility for passing on the bequests to the children at age 21 thus was passed on to them or their executors. It is unclear whether the bonds were executed – none of them appear to be signed. The Rees John bond has only been started and consists of the opening paragraph only so it seems that in the event the bonds were never executed.

The will gives us a very solid starting point from which to start researching the family history since it names all of William and Margaret's children and also the numbers of grandchildren in each family at 1799 and the names of a few of them.

It would appear that William had concerns for the welfare of his younger daughter Elizabeth since he makes special provision for her through two of his sons, John and David, making it very clear that the money is to be paid to her directly irrespective of the financial state of her husband Evan Morgan. We note that Evan Morgan had borrowed money from his father in law in the form of a mortgage on his estate and that the debt was still outstanding. It seems likely that this Evan Morgan only survived William by less than a year being buried at MPC 21 Jun 1800. Elizabeth was 38 in 1799 and possibly not in good health because she died less than three years later and was buried at MPC on 21 May 1802 - see family reconstruction for Evan Morgan.

Morgan Price, farmer of Nantygweision and Drainllwynddu (also better known as Trawsllwynddu) survived his father by less than six years being buried at MPC 1 Mar 1805 just short of his 52nd birthday. It is through Morgan that my mother’s family line descends.

John Price, who was curate of Myddfai in 1799 at the time of his father’s death, became vicar in 1801. He died and was buried 24 Nov. 1819 MPC aged 70.

David Price, farmer of Glasallt Fawr and Llwynifanfeddyg died and was buried 29 Nov 1837 at MPC aged 83.

John, probably the eldest son of Rev. John Price died and was buried 24 Feb 1804. His baptism is not recorded at Myddfai and it may be that he was born prior to his father moving to and becoming curate of Mothvey in 1785 in which case he would be about the age of 20.

William, eldest son of Morgan Price was 19 at the time of his grandfather's death.

William, David Price's eldest son was 21 and was married 5 days after his grandfather's funeral.

William Morgan, Bailyglas – one of the witnesses to the will was in fact related to William by marriage. His sister Elizabeth had married William Tynllwyn's son William ("my late son") who had died in 1797.