T. Forey Marston <[email protected]> wrote: does anyone know the extent of the Breconshire ownership by Rees Williams of Aberpergwm who was Sheriff in the early 1800s (1808 to 1812), I can not sought it out? =============== Dear Forey, The information from the Aberpergwm Estate papers to which I referred in my e-mail of 26 August, included the statement that "The estate consisted in the main of a large area in the parish of Cadoxton-juxta-Neath, principally in the hamlets of Neath Higher and Neath Middle, in the manor of Neath Ultra and Cilybebyll, and **adjacent areas in Brecknockshire**." You therefore need to familiarise yourself with the geography of those parts of Breconshire which share a border with Glamorgan and are close to the parishes of Cilybebyll and Cadoxton-juxta-Neath, and related hamlets in Glamorgan. The Aberpergwm Estate papers held by West Glamorgan Archives in Swansea are described on its website at: http://www.swansea.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=29458 The estate papers make reference to the Breconshire parishes of Ystradgynlais and Penderyn, both of which border on Glamorgan. We already know that the Williams owned the land at Gwaun-clawdd (in Ystradgynlais parish), and the Estate papers also refer to the Cilhepste Estate (in Penderyn Parish). You would really need to make a thorough study of the estate papers in order to sort out the extent and location of the lands owned by the Williams family of Aberpergwm in the early years of the 19th century. A little later in the 19th century, detailed 'tithe maps' were drawn up, showing land ownership for tax purposes. Breconshire tithe maps are held by public libraries in the county, by the Powys County Archives (Llandrindod Wells), and by the National Library of Wales (Aberystwyth). Tithe maps are not generally accessible on-line. Even later in the 19th century (in 1873) a survey of land ownership was produced for Parliament, commonly known as the "Returns of Owners of Land 1873". The returns are presented in the form of tables whose headings are as follows: Name of Owner Address of Owner Extent of Lands (in acres) Gross Estimated Rental The returns for the counties of Pembrokshire, Carmarthenshire, Breconshire, and Glamorgan have been digitised and published on CD by 'The Archive CD Books Project', whose US website is at http://www.archivecdbooksusa.com/ Kind regards, John -------------------- John Ball, Brecon, Mid-Wales, UK E-mail: [email protected] John's Homepage: http://www.jlb2005.plus.com/ Images of Wales: http://www.jlb2005.plus.com/walespic/ Welsh Family History Archive: http://www.jlb2005.plus.com/wales/ GENUKI Breconshire Maintainer: http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/BRE/ Brecknock FH Group Webmaster: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wlsbfhs/ Joint Administrator - Powys (& BRE/MGY/RAD) RootsWeb mailing lists