Carolyn

Thank you for your enquiry but I am afraid I am too busy to be able to take this on. However, I think you should dismiss the research that cannot be directly linked to your known family. There are several reasons why the information you mentioned sounds doubtful to me. Firstly the likelyhood is that your ancestors in the 16th century did not have the name Edwards. The patronymic system was used in Wales well into the 18th century and even into the 19th century in South Wales and probably longer in West, Mid and North Wales. This would probably mean that an ancestor in the 17th or 18th century took his father's forename as a surname eg if he was John ap (son of) Edward ap James he might call himself John Edward(s).  Secondly I am not aware of an Edwards Hall in East Glamorgan though it could have been in West Glamorgan which I have less knowledge of. Thirdly I cannot see why there would be a connection between a Cardiff family and a place (if it exists) in North Wales. It wasn't an easy journey from South to North in those days and someone from the South would have had to have a very compelling reason to go North. Not to say it didn't happen but in my experience it was very unusual. South Wales was much more closely linked to the West of England than to North Wales. Fouthly, as you have already found out, the names of the supposed place in North Wales don't mean anything and probably don't exist. You need to trace your ancestry from your known ancestors.

Bob Sanders

Hi Carolyn,

I only just read your email and I think I may have an answer for you...however, by now you are deep in the British Isles, no doubt.  Should you have access to a computer along the way and read this, I took a look at Francis Edwards (b. 1705) and my best guess is that Udowil is the name of a farm near Bangor.  Long story short, that's how I found my ancestral home near Machynlleth.  What you need is an OS Ranger map that shows, that kind of detail, (farms, etc.) for the Bangor area.  You might also want to go to the county seat and seek their help.  I did that on Anglesey last fall and had incredible luck...and my family's surname is Jones!  I hope you see this in time for it to be of help and I wish you much luck.

Hi Carolyn:

I read your question about the Reycraft family I mentioned.  Yes, indeed they are from the Schull area of County Cork, Ireland and emigrated to Ontario.  In fact I have 2 family lines to tell you about.  The first family settled in Kent County, Ontario, near Chatham (this is south-west Ontario).  The parents were James (1804-1888) and his wife Ellen Gosnell (1805-1847), who had a total of 13 children, some of whom died quite young in Ireland.  The mother Ellen died in Ireland in 1847 before the family came to Canada.  After arriving in Ontario, James married again, to Ann Connell (1828-1899) and they had 4 more children.  James Reycraft, the father, is my 3rd great-grandfather on my mother's side.

I also have Raycraft relatrions on my father's side.  This family also came from Schull, Country Cork and emigrated to Toronto before 1860.  Some of the family stayed in Toronto and some moved to Hamilton (about 40 miles west).

No doubt these two family lines are connected.

It sounds like you have done some research on this family name.

Paul Woodrow