Richard and Gwenllian took over at Brynchwith from Gwenllian's brother Llewellyn Rees
(#1659), who had farmed there for about ten years. Llewellyn was the
great great great grandfather of Australian fellow-researcher Pip Daybell who has provided input on this family.At
Brynchwith, between October 1827 and October 1833, three more Davies
boys were born to Richard and Gwenllian - George (#151), Rees (#152),
and David (#153) - baptised at St.Tyfodwg's, Llandyfodwg, on 16th November 1827, 18th April 1831, and 14th
November 1833, respectively. For a tragically short period of less than
three years, it seemed as though the Davies younger generation was not
destined to be all-male; Gwenllian also gave birth to a daughter, Anne
(#543), baptised at St. Tyfodwg's on 16th November 1829. We
have not yet discovered the cause of her death in infancy; we know only
that she died at Maendy, a farm adjoining her parents' land in
Llandyfodwg, on 7th August 1832. She was buried two days
later at St. John the Baptist, Ystradyfodwg in her mother's family
plot, next to her grandmother, Gwenllian Rees (#107).
At
some time between 1835 and 1840, Richard and Gwenllian made the
decision to move again, this time further down the Ogmore to the lands
around its estuary. More research is required to understand why and
exactly when they moved and to fill some gaps here; meanwhile, we know
that by the time of the 1841 Census (6th June 1841), they
were established on a 194-acre farm called Candleston in the parish of
Merthyr Mawr. We also know that this was to be Richard's last move - he
died less than ten years later. It would appear that the low-lying
coastal land around Candleston Farm was still, at that time, referred
to by the name of the ancient village, long-since lost beneath the
sands of Merthyr Mawr Warren - Tregunllo (or Dreganwllau), for the
inscription in Welsh on Richard's grave in St.Teilo's churchyard,
refers to him as "...RICHARD DAVIES o Dreganwyllau...". Similarly the
announcement of his death in the local newspaper read:"Oct.
4, Mr. Richard Davies, of Tregunllo, near Merthyrmawr, in this county,
much respected, leaving a widow and a large family and relatives to
deplore his loss"
That large family - Richard's wife
and six sons - were still at Candleston at the time of the 1851 census,
but by 1866 all the sons except George had married and moved to farms
of their own. In the next pages we shall follow their progress. So from
here on, this section will devote itself to the descendants of Richard
Davies and Gwenllian Rees. Those who would prefer to follow the lives
of Richard's brothers and sisters in the Rhondda should take this link to the Rhondda Davieses.