Tag: Genealogy
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Voices from the Uplands, why I wrote it, and why it matters now
Voices from the Uplands: The Davies Family and the Soul of Rural Wales is, in the simplest sense, a book about my own ancestors, the Davies family of Caeadda, Llanwrin. But I did not write it to produce another neatly ordered pedigree, nor to add one more family tree to the growing pile of genealogical summaries…
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My Political Heritage, Wales in My Blood, and the Quiet Lessons of Ancestry
Most people assume political identity is something you acquire, a set of opinions shaped by the news cycle, social media, and the dominant arguments of the moment. In Wales, that assumption rarely survives contact with the deeper story. Because Welsh political culture is not merely contemporary. It is historical. It is inherited. It is shaped…
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David Jenkins (1850–1891), A Quiet Life Broken by Misfortune
In the upland districts of Montgomeryshire and southern Meirionnydd, the late nineteenth century was an age that demanded toughness and restraint. Men worked long hours in all seasons, living by the hard arithmetic of livestock, rent, weather, and market prices, and measured as much by reputation as by income. Within that world, David Jenkins, eldest…
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Hugh Wynn Wilding Jones (1896–1918)
Education, Inheritance, and the Long Road to Dojran The life of Hugh Wynn Wilding Jones sits at the intersection of Edwardian inheritance, elite education, and the totalising demands of the First World War. His story is not merely that of a young officer killed in action, but of a man whose life trajectory, intellectual formation,…
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George Roberts Shorto (1836–1905)
Soldier, Civic Servant, and Architect of Municipal Exeter George Roberts Shorto occupies a distinctive place in the civic history of Exeter. Soldier, volunteer officer, solicitor, and long-serving Town Clerk, his life charts the emergence of the Victorian professional administrator, shaped by discipline, duty, and an unyielding belief in public service. Early Life and Formation Born…
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Off the Rails: Why This Book Matters
Off the Rails: The Story of Crewe Steam Train Driver Alfred Jenkins began not as a publishing project but as an act of recovery, an attempt to give structure and permanence to a life that had been lived with discipline, endurance, and quiet dignity, and then almost lost to time. Alfred Jenkins (1882–1956) was my…
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“My Relations Are Part of a Rich Tapestry of Welsh Heritage” — My Feature in Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine
I’m delighted to share that my family history research has been featured in the latest issue of Who Do You Think You Are? magazine. The article, written by Claire Vaughan, explores my decades-long journey tracing my Welsh roots — from hill farmers and Calvinist ministers to a musical icon and a self-taught solicitor — all…
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William Halse Gatty Jones (1825 – 1897): From Gold-Rush Melbourne to the Hills of Merioneth
My first cousin four times removed, William Halse Gatty Jones, lived a life that stretched across two hemispheres and mirrored the restless energy of the nineteenth century. Born in London on 8 March 1825, he began as a City solicitor, made his fortune amid the Australian gold rush, and returned to Wales to become a…
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John Davies of Erglodd (1821–1887): “Apostol y Plant” and the Quiet Power of Faithful Service
In the upland heart of north Cardiganshire, where the hills of Taliesin and Talybont cradle the Dyfi valley, the life of John Davies of Erglodd stands as a shining example of rural Welsh piety, service, and enduring influence. Known in his lifetime as “Apostol y Plant” – the Children’s Apostle – he was celebrated for…
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Tea and Waterfalls: John and Jane Waters of the Llyfnant Valley
In the remote folds of the Llyfnant Valley in north-west Montgomeryshire—where waterfalls crash through ancient woodland and time seems to move at the pace of a farm horse—a remarkable couple forged a life of quiet industry, community service, and understated innovation. Jane and John Waters, my grandmother’s aunt and uncle, were not landed gentry or…
