Thanks Hilary, I did find it interesting - being a "Bank Johnny" myself I took notice of the Bank reference and wondered. The Genuki article was very interesting to me. Adding background may also help anyone searching the archives at a later date. Regards Lyn -----Original Message----- From: powys-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:powys-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Hilary or Owen Williams Sent: Sunday, 21 October 2007 10:52 PM To: powys@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [POWYS] The Cambrian 15 March 1828 Marriages Hi Lyn and All, A little bit of background info on the first news item. "Messrs Wilkins & Co., Brecon Old Bank, 1778-1890 1758 Walter Wilkins (1741-1828) travelled to India, amassed a large fortune, returned to Wales sometime before 1778 and lived at Maes-llwch, Radnorshire, which was the family home for generations. With his vast wealth he was able to establish a banking partnership which provided opportunities for investment. 1778 Walter Wilkins, his brother Jeffreys Wilkins and possibly two other partners established a bank at Brecon in 1778. The capital was £4,000 and each member of the original partnership invested £1,000. Other members of the family, including John Wilkins I (1713-84), probably invested their money as well. Undoubtedly, the driving force behind the bank was Walter who was the Whig (Liberal) Member of Parliament for Radnorshire from 1796 until his death in 1828. He served under many Prime Ministers including William Pit the Younger who held office between 1783-1801 and 1804-1806. It is said that Walter and Pit had a stormy relationship, which led to Pitt allowing large amounts of Government money to accumulate in Wilkins . . . " from http://www.llanelli-history.i12.com/business.htm For more info on John Parry Wilkins (from the same Wilkins family) and the Swansea Bank, read this Genuki page http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/BankEngland.html Hope this is of interest. Keep up the good work, Lyn. Regards, Hilary