Thomas Jefferson Not Egyptian After All

Two men in Britain have been shown to belong to the same rare haplogroup as Thomas Jefferson.

This discovery of K2 in Britain scotches any suggestion that Jefferson - who was US president between 1801 and 1809 - must have had recent paternal ancestors from the Middle East.

Jefferson's Y chromosome was most similar to that of a man from Egypt. But genetic relationships between different K2s are poorly understood, and this may have little significance.

Instead, say the researchers, their study makes Jefferson's claim to be of Welsh extraction much more plausible. [Link]

An English Name Prevails in Wales

"Jones" is considered a quintessentially Welsh name, but author Rocet Arwel Jones says that it's not Welsh at all.

"If Wales had a surname, it would be Jones," writes Mr Jones in his Welsh-language book.

"And yet it's a surname that starts with a letter that's not even in the Welsh alphabet. Does that make it an English surname?

"It was a surname in England before such a thing as a surname existed in Wales at all."

Jones says that the surname in Wales is an anglicized version of the truly Welsh patronymics "ap John" or "ap Siôn," and appeared only after the English system of using surnames took hold in Wales.

"The first Jones surname appears in Huntingdonshire, in England, in 1279. Looking at the collection of wills in the National Library [of Wales], the first Jones to appear there is Roger Jones from Tregynon who died in 1564." [Link]

He Came Looking For Welsh Rabbit

Susan Sarandon has been researching her family history for the BBC Wales show Coming Home, and has "uncovered tales of poverty, illegitimate children and law-breakers"—including one miscreant in her mother's Guyatt line.

She found that brothers John and Charles Guyatt moved from England to Bridgend to work as general labourers at Tondu Ironworks.

But the move seems to have been prompted by a bit of illegal rabbit poaching for which Charles was committed to a six-month sentence.

"Now we have our Welsh connection to Wales," said Susan. "Now I see - through crime we got to Wales. Excellent!" [Link]

And He's Not Even Welsh

99-year-old Peter Bartrum has been compiling Welsh genealogies since 1929. He's just donated his 26 published volumes, covering the years 300 to 1500 AD, to Aberystwyth University, which will put them online over the next three years.

Mr Bartrum, who is from London and has no family ties with Wales, handed his work over to the university recently.

Prof Gruffydd Aled Williams, head of the Welsh department, said Mr Bartrum's work "was an important source for academics and historians".

"It makes it possible to identify a person's lineage, his period and region with a minimum of effort, work which would otherwise take months of researching original manuscripts," he added.

"In theory, anyone who can trace their ancestry back to the 16th Century should be able to go back much further thanks to Dr Bartrum's work." [Link]

The Name is Welsh Just in Case

Based on the origins of local surnames, the Isle of Barra has been declared the most Scottish place in Scotland, Ripley the most English place in England, and Llangefni the most Welsh place in Wales. Researchers also tallied up foreign names, and discovered a cluster of Dutch names in Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys, Wales.

The town's county councillor, Timothy Van Rees, may have a slightly Dutch sounding surname but insisted he had Welsh roots. In fact he said he couldn't understand this link at all.

He said, "We are a tiny town of 700-800. I can't think of any Dutch people here. I've been a councillor for the town for 25 years and I've never noticed it"

There was a possibility that the preponderance of Dutch names came from Dutch farmers who bought land near Llandovery and Carmarthenshire in the past.

But Mr Van Rees, whose says his own surname is Welsh, admitted it was sometimes mistaken for Dutch.

"My family descends from the Vans of Monmouthshire. Van is a Welsh name. The difference in Dutch is that it's spelt with a small v and in Welsh it is a capital v." [Link]

Let's Wish the Welsh Well

In case you haven't noticed, it's Wales Week in New York—kind of like Mardi Gras with a wind chill advisory.

In New York on March 1, daffodils and red dragons will abound around town, as the Welsh community in New York celebrates St. David and Dylan Thomas, Wales' most famous poet, with weeklong events that include lighting the Empire State Building in red, green and white, the colors of Wales. [Link]

The press release from the Welsh Development Agency goes on to tell us what we'd be missing if not for Wales: principally Catherine Zeta-Jones and Jack-Daniels-induced blackouts.

There's a whole website devoted to Wales Week, with a page devoted to Welsh genealogy. The Wales Tourist Board pitches in a website of its own—Homecoming Wales—with tips on finding your Welsh family, and answers to the question, "What's Happening in Wales?"

What is happening in Wales? A Man Versus Horse Marathon, of course.

I almost wish my ancestors hadn't subjugated the Welsh.

Welsh Place-Name Database Online Today

From BBC News of Aug. 1, 2005:

Welsh place names online database

A computer database of Welsh place names and their historical meanings will be launched at the National Eisteddfod in Bangor on Monday.

The late Professor Melville Richards, of the University of Wales, Bangor, painstakingly logged details on more than 330,000 slips of paper.

The massive paper archive has now been transcribed and made available online.

Prof Richards was professor of Welsh at the university between 1965 until his death in 1973.

His research papers were left to the university, along with a vast quantity of slips relating to place names.

These slips record documentary references to many thousands of farms, fields, hills, streams, islands, and bays in all parts of Wales.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Learn about places like Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwll Llantysiliogogogoch at the Place-Name Research Centre: Archif Melville Richards.

The News We've All Been Waiting For

From the icWales:

Kylie's Welsh roots revealed

Jun 4 2005

David James, South Wales Echo

HOW Welsh is Kylie Minogue?

The question has baffled celebrity spotters ever since the wee Aussie with an Irish surname declared: "My roots will also be in Wales, in a little town called Maesteg."

And today, the Echo can lay the issue to rest.

Thanks to a new website, we have pieced together a family tree highlighting the Welsh blood in the pop princess' veins.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

Finally I'll be able to sleep at night. . .