Richard Lewis of Llangatock Crickhowell, Gent., in Breconshire, left a will dated 15 March 1627, proved 18 Apr 1628, provides clues which would hopefully identifying John Lewis, the Emigrant. From the will it is evident that this Richard Lewis had at least three sons. One son had apparently died before his father, as he is not directly named, but evident from some names of Richard's grandchildren:[2]
i. Lewis, presumed to have died bef 15 Mar 1627; appears to have at least some of the following children, as named in Richard's will: Thomas Lewis, Maudelen Lewis, Marie Lewis, Doritie Lewis, Elizabeth Lewis, daughter (sic) and “To grandchild John Lewis - 4 sheep, 4 lambs, and a filly”.
ii. Edward Prichard [patronymic for "ap Richard", meaning, son of Richard]
iii. Thomas Prichard [patronymic for "ap Richard"; meaning, son of Richard]
There appears to have been yet another son, presumably the eldest mentioned by Theophilus Jones in his "History" as William Lewis, presumed deceased before his father, from the mention of his "presumed" son, Richard, a young grandson, whose guardian is his Uncle Edward Prichard, also named as Exector of the will.
Of William it is later discovered that he is probably the William Lewis who held a degree of LLB (Doctor of Law) and is likely the student found at Oxford in 1596, placing his birth say about 1563. Further that Elizabeth Lewis mentioned as "daughter" in the above will was no doubt William's wife. From "The Llyfr Baglan" it is learned that one of the family of Morgan of Machen had a daughter, Elizabeth, who married William Lewis of Abergavenny. It appears Elizabeth was the daughter of Thomas Morgan, esq. of Tretegire and Elizabeth, daughter of Roger Bodenham, esq. of Rothoros. Her brother was Sir William Morgan of Tredeger, Knight. This is further strengthened by teh fact that Richard Lewis, Junior in his will of 1674 calls William Morgan "cousin german" (cousin of the blood).
Research Notes
Chapter 5: Richard Lewis (grandfather of John the Emigrant)
Richard Lewis born before 1537 in the area of Llangattock Crickhowell. He was a gentleman who lived his life in that same area. His will was written March 15, 1627 and proved April 18, 1628, so he died between those dates.
Richard Lewis : Family Notes:
His parents were Lewis ap Thomas who married Maud, daughter of Thomas Lewis John ap Gwilym, Lord of Turbeville and Cotys??? Ref. Maude's family owned the Castle of Crickhowell in the market town of Crickhowell. This castle was in ruin during Maude's life, so although her family owned it they were not living there.[citation needed]
The third quartering in the coat-of-arms of emigrant John Lewis was 'Argent Three Chevronels Gules'. This was the coat of the de Turberville family of Crickhowell, and came to our emigrant John Lewis through his great-grandmother Maude de Turbeville.[citation needed]
Crickhowell is a market town, where farmers from the surrounding countryside would come to sell their produce and goods on market day. It is on the River Usk, between the towns of Brecon thirteen miles to the North and Abergavenny six miles to the South. It is in the present-day Brecon Beacons National Park.[citation needed]
Richard's oldest son William was educated at Oxford and became a lawyer in London. He is named as attorney in several family land transactions. William died before Richard's will was testated, and his wife <name> and children <names> are among those named in Richard's will.[citation needed]
Another son was given the name Lewis (our emigrant ancestor's father), so he was called Lewis ap Richard under the Patronymic naming system used in Wales at that time. Lewis ap Richard had also died by the time Richard's will was testated, and Lewis's son John Lewis, our emigrant ancestor, was named in the will.[citation needed]
Two younger sons of Richard were Edward and Thomas who both died in 1635.[citation needed]
Sources
↑ 1.01.1 Mark Lewis, Lewis at Home (Chapter 5). Source citation for WikiTree profile Lewis-4646 created through the import of Reinhardt20Sep11.ged on Sep 21, 2011 by Deborah Reinhardt. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Deborah and others.
↑Google book: Grace McLean Moses, The Welsh Lineage of John Lewis (1592-1657), Emigrant to Gloucester, Virginia (pp 9-10)
note - Jones' book was mentioned in the narrative above, but if the narrative is from A History of the County of Brecknock, I do not know which volume or what page it might be from
Theophilus Jones, A History of the County of Brecknock (1898)
Vol 1-2 (p 469 mentions Richard Lewis, whose daughter Mary married James Morgan, son of Walter Morgan
note - Date for when "John Lewis, the Emigrant" came to America is not given. If he was named in the 1626 will, none of the names below are contemporary to him, but may be a help to figure out where to look for him (names, dates, places are from "Lewisiana, Or, The Lewis Letter," Volumes 16-17, in a "List of the Books of the Lewises", p 161):
"Frederick [Lewis], 1760, Wales to Mass."
"Morgan [Lewis], 1682, Penn."
"Thomas [Lewis], 1701, Wales to Pa."
"John [Lewis], 1730, Wales to Va."
"James [Lewis], 1710, Wales to Penn."
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Lewis-4646 and Lewis-763 appear to represent the same person because: Duplicate profiles for the parents are in proposed merges. When completing the merge, please approve/complete those merges too. Thanks!
"John Lewis received his inheritance from his grandfather, Richard Lewis. Richard's oldest son, William, was disinterested in the family holdings as he had become a lawyer after attending Oxford and moved to London. Richard's second son was Lewis Prichard, who had died by the time his will was testated, leaving John, Lewis' oldest son as the heir of the Lewis estate.... raised by his uncle Edward after his father's death."
update: I double-checked the naming conventions: "If the name was adopted AFTER birth, use the appropriate Welsh name in the LNAB and the European or British name in the CLN." (from Cymru project page. So... his son Lewis is ap Richard (LNAB) Prichard (CLN)
Seems this Richard's son Richard took (or kept) Lewis as a surname. This Richard's son Lewis ... Prichard or ap Richard & even a colloquial spelling of Richards seems to have been used. Given the burial record, I'm leaning toward Prichard for son Lewis's LNAB. If no objections, I'll "make it so."
Lewis-4646 and Lewis-763 appear to represent the same person because: reviewing text, attached profiles, and source "Moses" - these profiles are for the same Richard Lewis and should be merged. Thanks!
Lewis & Richard, sons of Richard m Nest
"John Lewis received his inheritance from his grandfather, Richard Lewis. Richard's oldest son, William, was disinterested in the family holdings as he had become a lawyer after attending Oxford and moved to London. Richard's second son was Lewis Prichard, who had died by the time his will was testated, leaving John, Lewis' oldest son as the heir of the Lewis estate.... raised by his uncle Edward after his father's death."
Seems this Richard's son Richard took (or kept) Lewis as a surname. This Richard's son Lewis ... Prichard or ap Richard & even a colloquial spelling of Richards seems to have been used. Given the burial record, I'm leaning toward Prichard for son Lewis's LNAB. If no objections, I'll "make it so."
Dad (and mom) will be attached once merge with Lewis-4646 is completed.