William Price Tynllwyn Summary and Family

The evidence points to the fact that Willam Price Tynllwyn was a man of some substance. How he came by his property is not known but it is likely that he inherited at least some of it. He calls himself a farmer in his will and presumably this was his chosen vocation. He was able to rent the largest farm in the Upper division of Myddfai parish. He was in a position to send his eldest son John to schooling and then to Oxford University. William of Mothvey his son who predeceased him was a farmer and although he died intestate he left a considerable estate which was proved by his widow.

William Price Tynllwyn lent money to his son in law Evan Morgan in the form of a mortgage. His son David Price Glasallt became a well known and respected member of the local community and although his son Morgan farmed in the remotest part of the parish he was a property owner and freeholder and left a will.

It is frustrating that so little can be discovered of William's origins. If, as Arber-Cooke suggests, he was related to Thomas Price, the Llandovery mercer whose children appear in the Myddfai Parish Records as suddenly and around the same period as Willam's children, then there might be some possibility of discovering more at some point - although to date I have drawn a blank. Details of the said Thomas Price will be provided in a later post.

The only other bit of information to add is from oral sources. The late David Rees Powell of Pwllycalch Myddfai wrote in the foreword of a book of poetry the following -

"My mother was one of six children of David and Mary Price Gorllwynfach, they were from the family of Price Tynewydd who were descended before that from Glasallt and Llwynifanfeddyg.' He goes on to say that his mother always told them that her roots lay with the drover's from Shrewsbury who had settled in the area". (Hanner Canrif o'r

Digri a'r Difri o fro Meddygon Myddfai' David Rees Powell 2000)

If this oral tradition is true then it explains why there is so little information about Wiliam Price's origins in the Llandovery / Myddfai area and maybe even why he and Thomas Price 'suddenly appear' in the Myddfai area in the mid 18th century.

So it remains to provide the details that are available for the immediate family each member of which will have a later post devoted to them.

The Family of William Price Tynllwyn Gent.

William PRICE Tynllwyn born ca 1720?. He made his will 1 July 1799, died later that month and was buried at Myddfai Parish Church on 24 July 1799

1. He married his first wife Margaret ? ca 1745. She died 1777 and was buried 17 Apr 1777 at Myddfai PC.
2. He married Magdalen REES (? - 1804) on 25 Nov 1779 at Myddfai PC Magdalen was buried. 16 Jan 1804 Myddfai PC Children by his first marriage -

Rev. John  PRICE B.A. (1749 - 1819) (bp. 12 Nov 1749 Myddfai PC died  24 Nov 1819) married

1. Elizabeth ?? (ca. 1755 - 1795) (bd. 9 Dec 1795 (aged 40) Myddfai PC). Marriage date and place unknown.
2. Frances JOSEPH (m. 25 Sep 1804 at Llanwrtyd)

Jane PRICE (1750 - ?) bp. 24 Nov 1750 Myddfai PC married Rees JOHN of Llanthoysant (Llanddeusant)

Morgan PRICE (1753 - 1805) bp. 29 Apr 1753 Myddfai PC, bd. 1 Mar 1805 Myddfai PC  married Gwenllian DAVIES (ca 1749 - 1844) bd. Saron, Cwmwysg (MI 1). Married at Llywel PC 8 Nov 1777. Morgan farmed Nantygweision and noted as a freeholder and gent. in Myddfai PR

David PRICE (1754 - 1837) bp. 26 Oct 1755 MPC bd. 29 Nov 1837 Myddfai PC married Mary ?? (ca. 1757 - 1833) married ca 1780. Farmed Glasallt Fawr and probably Llwynifanfeddyg and noted as a freeholder in Myddfai PR.

William PRICE (1758 - 1797) bp. 29 Jan 1758 Myddfai PC bd. 27 May 1797 Myddfai PC Noted as a farmer and freeholder in Myddfai PR but not known where he farmed. William predeceased his father, dying intestate in 1797. William married Elizabeth WILLIAM (1758 - ??) (possibly d/o Wm. Richard and Gwenllian bp. 18 Jun 1758 Myddfai PC). Married at Myddfai PC 12 Sep 1783.

Elizabeth PRICE (1761 - 1802) bp. 15 Mar 1761 Myddfai PC bd. 21 May 1802 married Evan MORGAN (? - 1800). Married 10 Jun 1783 at Myddfai PC

And now we must follow the direct line through Morgan Price Nantygweision leaving the other Price lines for a future blog.


Note on MI's (Memorial Inscriptions) - Where numbers are given they reference the inscription in the relevant church or chapel in the excellent series of surveys produced by Mr. Gareth Jones of Brewood, Staffordshire to whom I am indebted for much help in my research. He has produced these detailed surveys for the churches and chapels of Myddfai, Llywel, and Devynock among others.

Note on Parish Records. These exist in two forms, A register of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials for each Parish Church and an annual summary known as the Bishop's Transcripts which were 'returns' from each parish transcribed from the Parsh Register. There are gaps in the records and they are often illegible. Some chapels (Cefnarthen is a good example) also kept records of baptisms etc. although again these can be quite patchy and discontinuous. Copies of parish records on film can be seen at County Record offices and the BT's are available at The National Library of Wales and at various LDS Family History Centres.

Prospect House

Prospect House.

Prospect House Llandovery now a branch of Lloyds Bank.

A-C "The deeds of Prospect House, which recite the history of the property since 1788, describe it as "formerly known as Castell yr Esgob or Bishop's Castle but now known as Prospect House".... " The earliest documents among the existing deeds of the house are two indentures of Lease and Release dated the 22nd and 23rd Nov 1788 made between William Price and John Evans, vendor and purchaser of the house.....[This establishes the fact that a William Price owned Prospect House in 1788.]

An indenture of the 31^st March 1789, between John Evans and Elizabeth his wife of the one part and Morgan Davies, gentleman, of the other part shows the new owner and his wife mortgaging the property, presumably in order to complete the purchase. Other documents refer to this transaction. One is the chirography of a fine levied between Morgan Davies, plaintiff, and John and Elizabeth Evans, deforceants, on 30^th March 1795. [This effectively conveyed the property to Morgan Davies who presumably had provided the mortgage – see footnote regarding this legal device]

Another (document) is an indenture dated the 3^rd October 1795 between John and Elizabeth Evans of the one part and Morgan Davies of the other part.

Finally there are indentures of Lease and Release made 6th and 7th July 1796 between 1) William Price and his wife Maudlin or Maud 2) Morgan Davies 3) John Evans 4) Thomas Bishop and 5) John Rees Bishop. By this transaction all the parties to the earlier documents united to transfer the ownership of the property to Thomas Bishop...On 29th June 1797 there is the chirography of a fine levied at Great Sessions, Carmarthen between Thomas Bishop, plaintiff, and William and Maudlin Price, deforceants."

This appears to be a complex series of events and the following is an attempt at simplifying them.

William Price sold the property in Nov 1788.

March 1789. In order to complete the transaction John and Elizabeth Evans obtain a mortgage from Morgan Davies.

1795. The terms of the chirograph are unknown. It obviously authenticates some agreement between the mortgagee Morgan Davies and borrowers John and Elizabeth Evans. The usual use of this legal device was to authenticate title to the property.

1796 At some point John and Elizabeth Evans are either forced to default on the mortgage or they want to sell the house and repay it. All parties, William and Maudlin Price (William the original owner), Morgan Davies (mortgagee), John and Elizabeth Evans (the occupiers and borrowers) and two Llandovery solicitors, Thomas Bishop (purchaser) and his son John Rees Bishop unite to transfer the title of the property to Thomas Bishop.

By the legal transaction of a levied fine Thomas Bishop establishes his title to the property.

The fact that 1796 and 1797 documents mention Maud / Maudlin as William’s wife makes it highly likely that the original owner was William Price Tynllwyn who would have sold the property prior to his marriage to Magdalen Rees in 1789. It's worth noting that this house was a considerable property with its own grounds in the High St. which were eventually built upon. A-C tells us that "In 1810 he house was rated on survey at £2 a year, more than five times the value placed on Butter Hall and Penygawse. Prospect House must have been a building of considerable size" [Both Butter Hall and Penygawse are considerable properties.]

Some notes for anyone interested in the legalese (!) -

A chirograph was a means of authenticating a legal agreement – having its roots in medieval times. The agreement was written twice (sometimes 3 or 4 times) on a single piece of vellum and between the copies was written the word ‘cirographum’. The vellum was then cut through the centre of the word and each party to the agreement kept a section which could then be produced together with the other part(s) to authenticate the transaction in case of dispute.

The legalese “a fine levied ….etc.” refers to a legal method of conveying a property from one person to another where there may be no direct proof of title. The overall intention is that Thomas Bishop, a Llandovery lawyer ends up with a chirograph which authenticates him as the legal owner. Thomas Bishop as plaintiff brings a fictitious case against William and Maudlin claiming that they (the deforceants) are wrongly in possession of his house. The court find in favour of the plaintiff and his ownership of the property is authenticated in legal terms and Thomas Bishop goes away with the chirograph which authenticates his title to the property. This legal device was also used in the transaction mentioned earlier between Morgan Davies and John and Elizabeth Evans.

The Star (The Old Star) - now No. 20. Star House.

The Star was built on the frontage of the Prospect House garden (see previous paragraph). A-C comments "It was the second in a line of six public houses standing side by side. Unlike the other houses built on the frontage of the Prospect House garden it did not belong to the Lloyd Harries family. Rate books from 1836 to 1866 name the owner as William Price. It is not known whether he was related to the William Price who sold Prospect House in 1788. According to the rating valuation, the owner in 1892 - 1893 was Edward Price. The rate book of 1899 names the owner as Anne Rees."

Was this the Star that is mentioned in the will of John Price Tircyd in 1854?

Stone Street The Half Moon

Heol Cerrig (Stone Street).
 

"The Price properties had evidently constituted a single block, the sites of the present Nos. 30 - 52. One moiety [share], now represented by Nos. 30 - 36, descended to William Price of Tynyllwyn........ The other, where Nos. 38 - 52 now stand......" Arber-Cooke


 Stone Street today. No. 30 (green) was the Half Moon
with 32 The Plough next door.

In the last post I noted that A-C does not cite any evidence for the above statement but on the basis of the quality of the rest of his work I find it hard to believe that somewhere such evidence does not exist.  In the following descriptions quoted from A-C it should be remembered that Stone St. has even numbers on one side and odd on the other and that around 1800 many of the properties seen today did not exist.

The Half Moon No.30 Stone Street

The small round window in the gable originally contained a board with a crescent moon when it was a public house.

“The history of The Half Moon is told in the deeds of the house. At the end of the 18th century the owner was William Price of Tynllwyn in the parish of Myddfai, gentleman, who bequeathed the house, with other property, between two of his sons - the eldest, the Rev. John Price of Tynllwyn, and a younger, William Price of Mothvey. The latter died, leaving a son, William Price of Pentreoyn [Pentwyn], Myddfai, gentleman. On the 28th May 1818, the Rev. John Price conveyed the premises to his nephew, William Price of Pentreoyn, by Lease of Possession and, on the following day, by Release and Confirmation,

William Price (Pentreoyn) remained the owner until his death in 1859. By will dated 19 Feb 1859 in which he is described as William Price of Porthyrhyd, Mothvey, farmer, he divided his property between his five sons: Morgan Price of Porthyrhyd, Cilycwm, farmer, his sole executor; John Price, Middlesboro' on Tees, Yorkshire, railman, Daniel Price, 3, King St. Bloomsbury, Middlesex, carpenter; David Price, 21, King St. Bloomsbury, draper; and Rees Price of Myddfai, farmer. By indenture dated 10th August 1860 the four younger brothers released The Half Moon to Morgan Price, then described as of Vanfach, Myddfai, farmer. On the 8th January 1865 Morgan Price sold The Half Moon to Rowland Williams of Cefnllan, Llanfairarybryn for £300., the purchaser to retain £30 to satisfy legacies of the late William Price not discharged.” (A-C Vol.2 p222]

It may well be that A-C had access to an earlier will of William Price Tynllwyn because as can be seen from his final will, his younger son William predeceased him by 2 years. Ultimately William Price left his Llandovery property to his eldest son John. I can only assume that A-C had access to the deeds of the Half Moon when he tells us that John Price conveyed the property to his nephew, William Pentwyn, the son of William of Mothvey, in 1818 just over a year before John died.

The description of William Price of Porthyrhyd could be confusing (since there was a Portyrhyd in Myddfai).  However it is simply the case that William Price Pentwyn ended his days with his son Morgan Price who was indeed living in the village of Porthyrhyd, Cilycwm at the time of his father's death. Pentwyn continued to be farmed by William Price Pentwyn's youngest son Rees Price.

An Inheritance in Llandovery.

One of the intriguing aspects of William Price Tyllwyn's will is the revelation that he owned property in Llandovery. This is almost certainly what qualified him as a freeholder and the style Gent. and hence to have the right to vote.

A detailed history of many of the properties in Llandovery town was written and published by the Llandovery Civic Trust as “Pages from the history of Llandovery” by Alfred Theodore Arber-Cooke in two volumes (1975 and reprint 1994). Arber-Cooke was the town clerk of Llandovery and had access to many historical records. This source, particularly Vol. 2, proved invaluable in many respects. The Appendix Notes of Vol. 2 actually contains a pedigree for William Price (although not correct in every detail). Mr. Arber-Cooke's detailed descriptions and histories of several Llandovery properties were particularly revealing. In the following paragraphs and subsequent posts I have quoted from Vol.2

Arber-Cooke's Pedigree of William Price

In his notes with reference to the Half Moon in Stone St., A-C writes “A pedigree of this branch of the Price family is printed here. It does not show how David Price of Glasallt was related to this family - he may have been another son of William Price of Tynyllwyn but was not baptised at Myddfai with the rest of William's children.”  (PFHL Vol2 p. 451)

(In fact A-C is correct that David Price of Glasallt does not appear in the parish register. For some reason the register page for 1755 has been (literally) cut short and the last baptismal entry is for 12 Oct 1755. However the Myddfai Bishop's Transcript for 1855 has the entry for 26 Oct 1755 - David son of William Price and Margaret. The fact that David was indeed one of William's sons is also confirmed by William's will and by a draft bond drawn up by his brother John which also identifies him as David Price of Glasallt Fawr. It is further confirmed by another son - Morgan Price's will of 1804 which mentions his brother David.)

A-C continues, “Neither does it show the link between this branch and that once headed by Thomas Price of Llandovery, mercer (d. 1796) who held another group of Stone Street properties. The Price properties had evidently constituted a single block, the sites of the present Nos. 30 - 52. One moiety [share], now represented by Nos. 30 - 36, descended to William Price of Tynyllwyn. The other, where Nos. 38 - 52 now stand, came into the possession of John Rolley of Nantymwyn, probably when he married Rachel, daughter of Thomas Price, in 1779. This moiety is later found in the hands of one of Rachel's nephews, Samuel Price, Postmaster. Rachel and several other children of Thomas Price was baptised at Myddfai.”  This is an intriguing speculation based on information which I have not been able to trace. A-C gives no details of the source of his information regarding the legacies of the Stone Street properties and in spite of some research no will has been found. There may be some clues in the deeds of the relevant properties but access to this sort of information is difficult if not impossible. More information regarding Thomas Price, mercer, John Rollwy etc. will be provided in a later post.

 

The Pedigree

The pedigree provided for William Price Tynyllwyn is incomplete (it was almost certainly not intended to be complete) but it is also understandably inaccurate. Apart from the omission of David, the children are all shown. However, William Price Tynllwyn's son William (identified by A-C as William Price of Mothvey b. 1758 and hereafter identified by the same title for the sake of clarity) is shown as married to Magdalen who, in fact was his father's second wife. William of Mothvey was actually married to Elizabeth William at MPC in 1783 but died comparatively young in 1797 thus predeceasing his father. A-C correctly identifies William Price of Pentreoyn (Pentwyn) as the son of William Price of Mothvey.

Jane, the eldest daughter of William Tynllwyn (bp. 1750) is assumed by A-C to have married Benjamin Davies 3 May 1771 - this being the only marriage recorded for a Jane Price at Myddfai and she would have been of an appropriate age. However, at the time of William's will she was married to Rees John of Llanthoysant and at this time she had nine children. Some further research is required to clear this matter up but it is made difficult by the fact that most of the Llanddeusant Parish Records do not survive apart from the Bishop’s Transcripts.

Leaving aside the pedigree, A-C has painstakingly researched much of the history of individual properties in Llandovery and some relevant extracts are reproduced in the next post.

Notes: Mothvey is an old form of Myddfai. Llanthoysant is an old form of Llanddeusant (Church of Two Saints) a parish bordering Myddfai to the North West

Some Welsh meanings - Tynyllwyn = House in the Grove. Pentwyn - top of the mound.

William Price's Family and My Family Line



Tynllwyn with Mynydd Myddfai (aka Mynydd Bach) in background.

Before diving into more detail about William Price Tynllwyn it would be helpful to describe his immediate family and then also to outline my family line from Wiliam Price in order to make subsequent family posts easier to follow.
William was married twice but all of his children were born during his marriage to his first wife, Margaret who died in 1777. Two years later in 1799 William married Magdalene Rees (aka Maud or Maudlin) who survived him by some 5 years.
William and Margaret's children were:

• Rev. John Price B.A. baptised 1749 - curate then vicar of Myddfai.
• Jane Price baptised 1750 married to Rees John of Llanddeusant.
• Morgan Price Nantygweision and Trawsllwynddu baptised 1753 farmer and freeholder.
• David Price Glasallt Fawr baptised 1755 farmer and freeholder.
• William Price of Myddfai baptised 1758 predeceased his father in 1797.
• Elizabeth Price baptised 1759 married to Evan Morgan of Myddfai

More details for each of the above and their children will be given in future posts devoted to each of William's children and their descendants.

My Family Line

My family line descends from William's second son Morgan Price. These are the families that I will describe first.

Morgan Price of Nantygweision (1753 - 1805) through his son
William Price (1780 - 1823) of Trawsllwynddu and Trichwmmwl, through his son
Morgan Price (1819 - 1863) and his son
David Price Pantyffordd (1848 - 1916) and his daughter
Anne Price, Pantyffordd (1887 - 1969) married David Jones, Tyleglas and their daughter
Elizabeth Jones (1915 - 1994) (my mother)

But before we descend too quickly it is worthwhile learning what we can of this interesting character, William Price Tynllwyn because we are fortunate enough to have not only a detailed will but also much intriguing information from other sources.

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.

William Price Tynllwyn Myddfai Gent.

William Price Tynllwyn, Myddfai, Gent. is the earliest member of the Price family that can be identified with confidence. Although there are many details of his life that are still obscure, there is enough detail about him to make him much more than a mere name on a register. Importantly, he left a detailed will which names all his children surviving in 1799 and also gives the numbers of grandchildren in each of his offspring's families. This will is the basis for all the family reconstructions that follow and it is a key source not only for actual data but also for a flavour of rural life at that time. (The will can be seen at the National Library of Wales together with a copy of the will and three bonds that accompany it in the DTM Jones Collection - also at the NLW). See this post for details of the will.

There is no detail about where and when he was born, although there is circumstantial evidence to suggest that he was from the Llandovery area. The name Price of course comes from the Welsh form “ap Rees/Rhys” (son of Rees) and since the patronymic naming system was common at this time he could have been named William ap Rees ** (where ** could be any other name). Other clues might lie in the naming of his children since it was traditional at this time to name children after paternal grandparents and then maternal grandparents. William's first boys were John and Morgan and the girls were Jane and Elizabeth (names which continued to be common in further generations of the family). 

William married twice. No positive record of his first marriage to Margaret has yet been found unless it be that recorded at Llandingat (the main parish church of Llandovery) on 8 Sep 1744 "(P)rees William and Margaret Thomas were married by banns". The only positive thing we can say is that the marriage must have taken place around 1747 or earlier (the date when his first son John was baptised at St. Michael's, the Myddfai Parish Church). The Parish Register records the baptisms of the remaining children - Jane (1750), Morgan (1753), David (1755), William (1758) and Elizabeth (1761).

His date of birth is also a mystery. The Myddfai parish baptismal records in the early part of the 18^th century are difficult to read but even a close examination has yield no clue. Surprisingly he has no memorial at St. Michael’s church Myddfai (if there was one it hasn’t survived). We have no age given in the Parish Records at the time of his death on 24 July 1799. If we assume that he was about 20 at the date of his marriage to Margaret then he would have been born around 1725 which would make him around 75 at the time of his death.

Margaret, William’s first wife and mother of all his children died in 1777 and in 1779 William married a second time by license at Myddfai Parish Church (MPC). His second wife's name was Magdalen Rees. She appears to have been a native of Myddfai and a possible candidate from the Parish Records is "Magdalen d/o Rees Thomas Lewis and Elizabeth bp. 29 Jan 1733" at MPC. This would make her 46 at the time of her marriage and about 71 at the time of her death in 1804.

William is styled Gent. in the parish records and also ‘freeholder’. This meant that he owned some freehold property and was entitled to vote in county elections. This together with the fact that he was literate and was able to send his eldest son to be educated at Oxford implies that he was a man of some substance and this is confirmed by further evidence including his will.

In order to distinguish him from later Prices of the same name I have called him William Price Tynllwyn, where he lived for at least the latter part of his life. In fact he did not own Tynllwyn farm - the 1779 Land Tax Assessment shows that the owner was a Mrs Owens and the occupier was William Price - so he obviously leased the farm and this is also confirmed in his will. However it is worth noting that the tax assessed (£1-7s-0d) indicates that Tynllwyn was a considerable property, this being the highest amount levied in the Myddfai Upper Division. William’s leasehold of Tynllwyn is confirmed by his will which bequeathed the remainder of the lease of Tynllwyn to his son Rev. John Price who lived there until his death in 1819. In turn the lease succeeded for a short time to his son Edward until presumably it expired.

William’s will, which was executed following his death in 1799, was valued at £450 - a considerable sum for the time (£15k - £20k in today’s terms). It is also possible that he had conveyed some of his property and wealth to his surviving sons before his death. The will is a valuable resource for much that follows and so the next post describes it in detail.