Dear Cuz's, I have placed an e-mail to the Ruthin Common Goal asking if there is any part that still exists that would have been there when Dr. Thomas Wynne was imprisoned. I will await the response from them. Here is the source: "From Ysgeifiog to Pennsylvania; The Rise of Thomas Wynne, Quaker Barber-Surgeon" By Professor Geraint H. Jenkins, BA, PhD, DLitt, FBA, Director of the Centre, University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies. "Thomas Wynne was one of those, according to the testimony of John Humphreys, who chose 'to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season'.23 He seems to have involved himself in the first place with Denbighshire Quakers in his wife's home-town. Wrexham had earned itself a reputation among royalists as 'the most factious town in Wales'.24 There, vigorous Quaker proselytes like the draper, Brian Sixsmith, were declaring the Word of the Lord openly and distributing what Denbighshire magistrates judged to be 'seditious and offensive books'.25 On 1 December 1661, Thomas Wynne, Brian Sixsmith, Nathaniel Buttall (Wynne's brother-in-law), William Lewis, a corvisor, John ap Edward, a butcher, and several others were dragged from their meeting-house by soldiers and charged with unlawful assembly. They were taken with a mittimus from constable to constable and were eventually thrust into the common gaol at Ruthin.26 Wynne may have remained there for six years.27 If so, it was a singularly uncomfortable and distressing experience. Prisons were damp, ill-ventilated and insanitary places. Captives were forced to spend night and day in filth and excrement. In 1661, some Merionethshire Quakers were locked away in 'a nasty close Hole' normally used to keep hogs.28 The stench was often so overpowering that prisoners lost their appetite for the meagre rations which were offered to them. Some Friends died in prison. Others recovered their freedom but were never the same again. But many, too, lived to fight another day, knowing, as Richard Davies declared, that the Lord had promised to be with His people 'in all their troubles and exercises'.29 During Wynne's imprisonment, Quakers began recruiting followers in Flintshire. During his famous tour of Wales in 1657, George Fox had' sounded ye day of ye Lord' through the towns of Flintshire,30 and, in a letter to Fox on 11 June 1663, Thomas Holme mentioned having held a meeting in the county during his journeys in North Wales.31 In 1665, John Baddely, John Newton and twelve other Quakers were thrust into the county gaol at Ruthin 'for meeting to worship God and for not swearing'.32 By the 1670s, however, the twin cornerstones of the Quaker movement in Flintshire were Thomas Wynne's home at Bron Fadog and Richard ap Thomas's home in the parish of Whitford. These two Quaker gentlemen took on the responsibility of building up membership, organizing meetings and burial places 'for ye people of God'.33 " Please note he was not in there for 6 years because he had two kids in Caerwys during that time. Hugs Cuz Becky ttg-inc@comcast.net http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ttg13/ "Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance !" ----- Original Message ----- From: "Linda Shabo" <ljshabo@bellsouth.net> To: <WYNNE-GENEALOGY-SOCIETY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, April 20, 2006 10:28 AM Subject: [WGS] [Fwd: Oops? Wrong goal or jail] > > > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: Oops? Wrong goal or jail > Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 10:27:52 -0500 > From: Linda Shabo <ljshabo@bellsouth.net> > To: The Thill Group, Inc. <ttg-inc@comcast.net> > > > > http://www.ruthincastle.co.uk/mediaeval-banquets/index.html > http://www.ruthincastle.co.uk/index.htm > > Ruthin Gaol was built in 1775 and has recently been redeveloped and > restored as a visitor attraction and as a home for the County Archives at > a cost of over £1 million It looks like they did not preserve prison > where Thomas Wynne was imprisoned. > http://www.ruthincastle.co.uk/location-attractions/index.html > > > I have egg on my face. The goal was not built until long after Thomas > Wynne died (1692 versus 1775). Copied info. is from last link. > > Maybe we should consider substituting, if possible, the castle which is > associated with our direct ancestor .Edward Langford, Constable of Ruthin > > Castle (source of our line which goes back to Charlemagne); he died in > 1466. > > Paying for a banquet in the castle would be a bit pricey, but we should > be able to maybe see the castle? > > What do you think? > > Becky, you are super and doing a super job. > > Hugs, > Linda > > > ============================== > Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the > areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. > Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx >