In May of 2023 Phyllis and I decided to take a trip to England, Wales and the south of Scotland – something both of us have probably always wanted to do because of our assumed heritage. This caused me to be a bit interested in some of my Welsh heritage so I joined Ancestry.ca and did some research. I always thought my ancestors may have come from the coal mining background. That was no way near true. Turns out they were mainly in the agriculture industry working as labour for various farmers. All the way back to my great great grandfather I could see they started at an early age (probably 13 or 14) working on farms around Radnorshire in Wales, and Herefordshire in England. Those two area border the Wye River – Wales on one side, England on the other. In one instance my great great grandfather was working for a farmer who farmed the land for Captain Walter de Winton who resided in the Maesllwch Castle.
My goal on our trip was to visit some of the areas where my ancestors lived, worked and died, as well as Phyllis’ ancestors. We achieved that goal and have included some of the their story with pictures on the next 2 pages.
A quick overview of how everyone fits in to this particular timeline:
- I assume, pretty confident, that James Gwillim (1796-?) and Sarah (?-?) are great x 3 grandparents.
- They had a son Thomas Gwillim (1834-1920) who married Catherine (1836-??) making them my great x 2 grandparents.
- Their son Thomas Gwillim (1858-1909) married Mary Jane Thomas (1865-1938) to become my great grandparents.
- Their son John “Jack” Gwilliam (1898-1985) married Beatrice Carr (1900 – 1973) who are my grandparents.
- Their son Frederick John Gwilliam (1927-1995) married Shirley Fox (1932-2020) who are my parents.
- The next line is me and my siblings!!
Thomas Gwilliam aka “Gwillim” who came to Canada from Wales (# 3 above)
Thomas was born “Thomas Gwillim” about 1858 in Clifford, Hereford, England (where his mom and dad happened to be at the time). He and his second wife, Mary Jane Thomas, came to Canada in 1888/89. They farmed around Grenfell, Saskatchewan. He died October 3, 1909 and is buried in Grenfell, Saskatchewan. She died November 30, 1938 and is also buried in Grenfell.
His parents were Thomas and Catherine Gwillim from Clyro/Hay area in Wales. Thomas senior may have died in Hay in 1920 at age of 86 (records are not great). Thomas senior’s parents may be James and Sarah Gwillim as a Thomas was baptized in Clyro May 4, 1834 which tends to fit the timeline and location for Thomas. I didn’t find much on Mary Jane Thomas.
Our Thomas first married Rebecca Jones in Llanddew, Wales
Rebecca Jones was Thomas’ first wife. She was born about 1855 on Moity Farm near Lowes, Wales (Google maps 52°04’20.8″N 3°11’26.3″W). She was buried January 23, 1888 in the Parish of Talachddu, Wales. At the time of their marriage in 1876 they were living at Llanddew Court in the village of Llanddew (sometimes spelled Llanthew or Llandden). This is a link to their marriage record. This is a link to Rebecca’s burial record.
They had 4 children while living at Necknant (a cottage on Oakland Farm near Llanddew):
- William Gwillim born October 1877 at Necknant. He was baptized October 28, 1877 in Llanddew, Wales. William remained in Wales. Link to baptism record.
- Thomas Gwillim born November 1879 at Necknant. He was baptized January 4, 1880 at Talachddu, Wales. Thomas remained in Wales. Link to his baptism record.
- Anne Gwillim born February 1883 at Necknant. She was baptized March 4, 1883 at Talachddu, Wales. Anne came to Canada with her dad and step mom Mary Jane. Anne went on to marry John Elliot in Grenfell, Saskatchewan. Link to her baptism record.
- Catherine Gwillim born May 1885 at Necknant. She was baptized June 14, 1885 at Talachddu, Wales. She died in 1887 at 27 months of age. She was buried May 23, 1877 in the Parish of Talachddu, Wales. Link to her baptism record. Link to burial record.
Family records in Grenfell did not include Catherine. Although Thomas and Rebecca were married in Llanddew, the later 3 of their children were baptised in Talachddu. The distance from Necknant to either Llanddew or Talachddu is about the same. Talachddu Church records indicate Rebecca and Catherine were also buried in the Parish of Talachddu but maybe not at the church as there are no markers in the church cemetery. They do not appear on any cemetery search registries that I could find.
Thomas’ second marriage to Mary Jane Thomas
Mary Jane Thomas was Born October 3, 1865 in Brecon, Wales (according to the newspaper obituary). She died November 30, 1938, buried in Grenfell, Saskatchewan.
That newspaper obituary, and some family records, indicate they were married November 6, 1886 but that year doesn’t work well with first wife Rebecca’s burial records of January 1888. Welsh civil records show a Thomas Gwillim and Mary Thomas being married in fall of 1888. I was not able to access an accurate marriage record, however that seems to make better sense timing wise so probably November 6, 1888. It would appear after their marriage that they headed to Canada.
Children of Thomas & Mary Jane Gwilliam:
- Rosemary Gwilliam – born June 9, 1889 at Grenfell, SK, died February 27, 1984
- Gertrude Gwilliam – born May 14, 1891 at Grenfell, SK
- Laura Gwilliam – born June 29, 1892 at Grenfell, SK, died May 21, 1983
- Mary Ellen Gwilliam – born April 20, 1894 at Grenfell, SK, died September 6, 1984
- James Edward Gwilliam – born June 13, 1895 at Grenfell, SK, died March 12, 1959
- Benjamin John Thomas Gwilliam – born September 14, 1894 at Grenfell, SK (died at age 10 October 10, 1904)
- John “Jack” Gwilliam – born August 12, 1898 at Grenfell, SK, died October 9, 1985. John married Beatrice Carr (born Bena Carr Jan 5, 1900). Bena’s parents were George Carr and Sarah Annie Brown living near Ellisboro early 1900s. Beatrice and John had 3 children:
- Gordon Gwilliam – born December 25, 1922, died August 3, 1993
- Frederick Gwilliam – born May 10, 1927, died July 14, 1995 – my dad
- Jean Gwilliam – born August 7, 1930, died
- Thomas Valentine Gwilliam – born September 14, 1899 at Grenfell, SK
- Oliver Gwilliam – born September 24, 1900 at Grenfell, SK
- Richard “Dick” Gwilliam – born July 24, 1901 at Grenfell, SK, died November 18, 1997
- Margaret Gwilliam – born August 26, 1902 at Grenfell, SK, died 1994
- Ivan Douglas Gwilliam – born July 11, 1905 at Grenfell, SK, died August 15, 1905
- Elizabeth Gwilliam – born June 2, 1907 Grenfell, SK, died May 10, 1925
- Sadie Gwilliam – born march 31, 1909 at Grenfell, SK8
Clifford – is where Thomas Gwilliam (Gwillim) was born. It is a small village on the edge of the border in England. It sits on the west side of the river Wye. Thomas’ dad was born in Clyro, Wales which is just across the river Wye in Wales. Mary Jane Thomas was born in Brecon, which is just south of Llanddew. Click on the picture to see a larger image.
To give you some perspective on location below is the named location “Necknant” which no longer exists on maps. On some documents it was labeled as “Lycnant” I assume due to misspelled Welsh pronounciation.
This is a view of the locations as seen on Google maps. Click on the image to see a larger version.
This is the modern day village of Talachddu as seen via Google street view. Click on the image to see a larger version. The church is on the right side.
We journeyed to Wales in May 2023. Here is a snapshot of Necknant as it looked that day.
Also on the journey to Wales we checked out the Llanddew Church. Here is a snapshot.
And finally on that journey we checked out the Talachddu Church.
Thomas and Mary Jane came to Canada in 1888/89 (2 Canada census had 2 different years so I suspect they left Wales in 1888 and arrived in Canada 1889). They settled in the Grenfell, Saskatchewan area. This clip to the right was copied from the Grenfell History book called “Grit and Growth” from 1967.
They settled on Township 16, 17 in ranges 7 & 8, West of the 2nd Meridian.
The GWILLIAM name? In Wales they went by Gwillim. On several Canadian censuses (1901 census & 1916 census, Thomas gone) it came out as Gwylliam. On a 1906 census it appears as Gwilliam. Not sure why the variety but it was probably always pronounced the same. Of note, Thomas could not read or write, whereas Mary Jane could. Maybe that had something to do with name variation. On the 1926 census Mary is now living in the town of Grenfell.
