We have seen (Other Families - Bloodline) that we have direct ancestors named Llewellyn. Gwenllian Llewellyn,
of the Llangewydd Court, Laleston, Llewellyn family, was our great
great great grandmother. I have not yet succeeded in tracing the
origins of this family, nor determined whether they were, as seems
likely, connected to the Llewellyns of Cwrt Colman (adjoining
Llangewydd land) and Baglan Hall.
The latter family
were descended from Hopcyn(Hopkin) Llewellyn of Brombil, who, in turn,
was the son of Llewellyn Evan of Ystradyfodwg, whose origins are not
clear but was probably a descendant of the Llewellyns who were one of
the Gloran families of the upper Rhondda. Llewellyn Evan married
Eleanor Davies, daughter of Evan Davies of Pentre, in Ystradyfodwg
parish, who I believe may be connected to our Rhondda Davies family,
but have not yet been able to prove this. Hopkin Llewellyn
arrived in Brombil (Margam) as Bailiff of the Margam Abbey Estate,
at the start of several generations of tenure of this position by the
Llewellyn family, and later became Deputy Sherriff of the County.
A descendant of
Hopkin Llewellyn, Griffith Llewellyn, married Catherine Jones of
Baglan, who had inherited Baglan Hall, and thereby became the first
Llewellyn of Baglan Hall. Catherine Jones, daughter of Thomas Jones and
Catherine John, was related to our great great great great grandmother
Elizabeth John.
Another
Llewellyn family, quite possibly connected with the above, and
certainly Glorans, were the Llewellyns of Ty Draw, in Cwm Selsig, in
the parish of Ystradyfodwg. According to Glyn Davies of Chatham, who has performed a good deal of research into the Llewellyns, this family had ".....
reared sheep on the heights at the rear of the house (Ty Draw) for many
generations, and .... can trace their descent from the famous bard and
non-conformist preacher, Thomas Llewelyn of Cluneithinog, Rhigos, who
lived about the close of the sixteenth century". By 1841, the head
of household at Ty Draw was 55-year old Howell Llewellyn, who with wife
Mary produced twelve children between 1809 and 1827. The eldest of
these children, named Ann Llewellyn married Thomas Davies, son of William Davies of Cwmsaerbren, our great great grandfather's brother.
