Olwen, Thank you. That is so interesting. I think it is great that we can share our knowledge on this site. It really helps. Though I am not even close to getting my line over the Atlantic yet. Cathy California -----Original Message----- From: olwen barnes [mailto:olwen2@bigpond.com] Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2004 6:05 AM To: GRIFFITH-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [GRIFFITH] Griffith/s Hi everyone I live in Sydney, Australia, born in England with a Welsh father and my maiden name is Griffiths! I've been reading with interest the various messages going back and forth on the subject of this surname. Just like to let you know that Welsh surnames only came about in about the late 1700's. Before then they used the patronymic system of naming ie John son of William son of Griffith son of David etc etc etc. In your research you will probably see this written as John ab or ap William ap Griffith ap David - ap meaning son of. With women it is ferch or verch meaning daughter of. The last prince of Wales who died (was killed by soldiers of Edward) in 1284 was Llewellyn (modern spelling) ap Griffith (modern spelling). There hasn't been a Welsh Prince since that time. This naming system of course presents some difficulties as surnames were introduced. So you might have David ap Rhys who may become David Price or Preece. My father was born in the Rhondda Valley in Tonypandy in Glamorganshire South Wales. He left Wales and went to England and one of his uncles left Wales in the late 1800's and went to America. So you can see that from just my family alone there were moves outside of Wales. Look forward to reading your emails re your research. Regards Olwen Barnes nee Griffiths ==== GRIFFITH Mailing List ==== Get more from your posts, include who, what, when where... Please remember to change the subject line, when the subject changes. ============================== Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237

Good morning Cathy It's Sunday here in Sydney. Glad I was of some help. Keep up the good work! Just to give you some encouragement in your efforts. I have been researching my various lines since 1980. The Griffiths line lay dormant for many years because my father died when I was 12 and the information we had of his past family life was very meagre to say the least. When St.Catherine's House Index of births deaths and marriages for England and Wales was freely available to look at in Australia I finally found details to enable me to apply for my father's birth cert and from that found the names of his parents. When I went to Wales in 1994 I managed to obtain their marriage cert and there again came to a halt and this presented many questions for which I couldn't find answers. 2 years ago I put what little information I had on the net and imagine my surprise when someone contacted me from Wales and said she thought we shared the same great grandfather! Many emails later this was confirmed and on another visit to Wales I met my contact who turned out to be my 2nd cousin and also my 1st cousin who still lives in the family house in Clydach Vale in the Rhondda Valley. You can imagine how excited I was. Also from this I was given much information and a large family line and may cousins some of whom are in America. From being 'cousinless' all of my life, I now have many. So you can see how technology has made it much easier to share information. I hope you find what you're looking for. Regards Olwen ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lampshire, Cathy" <clampshire@Exchange.FULLERTON.EDU> To: <GRIFFITH-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2004 7:59 AM Subject: RE: [GRIFFITH] Griffith/s > Olwen, > Thank you. That is so interesting. > I think it is great that we can share our knowledge on this site. It really helps. > Though I am not even close to getting my line over the Atlantic yet. > > Cathy > California > > > -----Original Message----- > From: olwen barnes [mailto:olwen2@bigpond.com] > Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2004 6:05 AM > To: GRIFFITH-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [GRIFFITH] Griffith/s > > > Hi everyone > > I live in Sydney, Australia, born in England with a Welsh father and my maiden name is Griffiths! > > I've been reading with interest the various messages going back and forth on the subject of this surname. > > Just like to let you know that Welsh surnames only came about in about the late 1700's. Before then they used the patronymic system of naming ie John son of William son of Griffith son of David etc etc etc. In your research you will probably see this written as John ab or ap William ap Griffith ap David - ap meaning son of. With women it is ferch or verch meaning daughter of. The last prince of Wales who died (was killed by soldiers of Edward) in 1284 was Llewellyn (modern spelling) ap Griffith (modern spelling). There hasn't been a Welsh Prince since that time. > > This naming system of course presents some difficulties as surnames were introduced. So you might have David ap Rhys who may become David Price or Preece. > > My father was born in the Rhondda Valley in Tonypandy in Glamorganshire South Wales. He left Wales and went to England and one of his uncles left Wales in the late 1800's and went to America. So you can see that from just my family alone there were moves outside of Wales. > > Look forward to reading your emails re your research. > > Regards > Olwen Barnes nee Griffiths > > > ==== GRIFFITH Mailing List ==== > Get more from your posts, include who, what, when where... > > Please remember to change the subject line, when the subject changes. > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > > > > ==== GRIFFITH Mailing List ==== > Get more from your posts, include who, what, when where... > > Please remember to change the subject line, when the subject changes. > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 >