DESCENDANTS
OF
WILLIAM MORGAN
AND
SARAH
******************
Compiled and arranged
by
Lewis Caleb Morgan
October 15,
1953
The Value of Family History
An eighth of the blood
flowing in your veins came from your great-grandmother, and possibly a much
larger proportion of your individual traits: your pleasant winning ways, or your
irascible disposition, You cannot escape the fact that your ascendants were
human beings, not merely names which have survived in musty old records. They
lived and breathed, had their joys and pleasures, their trials and tribulations,
their work and play, however different these may have been from yours. however,
you will find that they, obscurely or prominently, took their part in the
affairs of the times and contributed in some way to the development of
civilization. By learning more about them, you’ll be the wiser in knowing
“how we got that way.”
Morgan Genealogy
The story of 200 years of the Morgan family history back to 1756 in Wales in an interesting one. The names of the descendants of William Morgan (Tyllwd) and his wife Sarah, with a record of a partial line of descent, are included in this pamphlet. In the mind of the average person, there is such a universal indifference as to his origin and lack of interest in the history of his own family, beyond the second or third generation, that few people care to trouble themselves to make such an investigation; however, when they are your own people you become deeply interested in the lives of these relatives so far removed from the present.....just ordinary lives, perhaps, but how far out the family ties extend.
A big share of this recorded data deals with the Morgan family emigrating to these United States in the year 1873 from Llanedy Parish, Carmarthenshire, Wales. Immigration to America differed from migration of early people in that it was a movement of families and individuals rather than nation, races, and clans. The character of American immigration was brought about with changing conditions in Europe on one hand and the changing industrial and economic conditions in America on the other.
The overwhelming majority
of the immigrants had come to this country because of greater economic
opportunities which the United States afforded. The earlier immigrants came in
search of a new home in a new country. These people built an agricultural
civilization. Up to 1880, the immigration was not only predominately
Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian, and Germanic stock, it was also primarily
agricultural. These early pioneers endured untold hardships to transform the
wild prairies into the productive and habitable states of today.
In the early seventies, a
Welsh community was started north and northeast of Hiawatha, in Brown County,
Kansas, by just such immigrants. Of direct interest to the Morgan family group,
Mr. and Mrs. David Evans (Laus Creek) came to Kansas some time prior to 1872.
They had a large family of children, one of them being Sarah Evans. This
daughter, Sarah Evans, had married William Bowen in Wales and this couple came
to Brown County, Kansas, in 1872. The nephew of David Evans (Laus Creek), Morgan
Walters, had married Hannah Morgan in Wales. This couple came to Kansas at the
same time in 1872 as William Bowen and his wife. William Lewis Morgan and John
Bowen Morgan (brothers of Hannah Morgan Walters) came with them. The two
children of Mr. and Mrs. Morgan Walters accompanied them: John W. and Sarah.
These two families were
related as follows: Mr. David Evans (Laus Creek) was the uncle of Morgan
Walters, and the Evans children were full cousins of Morgan Walters. Morgan
Walters and Mrs. William Bowen (Sarah Evans) were first cousins. William Bowen
was an uncle to Mrs. Hannah Morgan Walters. Mrs. Hannah Morgan Walters, her
brothers (William, John, David, Rees, Daniel, and Isaac) and her two sisters
(Ann and Sarah) were cousins to the seven Bowen Children: Rhys Gwylm Bowen,
Sarah Ann Bowen (Wise), David Evans Bowen, Isaac Newton Bowen, William Evans
Bowen, John Evans Bowen, and Charles Evans Bowen. Mrs. Sarah Evans Bowen had the
following brothers and sisters: Morgan Evans, John Evans, Jane Evans, (Harris),
Mary Evans (Jenkins), David Evans, Margaret Evans, Ann Evans (Heatley), and
William Evans.
Other cousins to the Evans family, who came to Brown County, were Sarah Ann Evans, John Thomas Evans, and Thomas Evans. Their father, Evan Evans (Erw) in Wales was a brother to David Evans (Laus Creek) and to Sarah Evans (Walters), the paternal grandmother of the children of Morgan Walters and Hannah Morgan Walters.
The two sons (William
Lewis Morgan and John Bowen Morgan) and daughter (Hannah Morgan Walters) had
preceded their parents in 1872; and the following year 1873 were followed by
their parents, Lewis Morgan (Penllwyn) and his wife, Sarah Bowen Morgan, and the
rest of the children. They established their homes on the rolling prairies,
where there were great stretches of rich, virgin soil. Another link in family
relationship was William Bowen and Sarah Bowen (Morgan) as brother and sister.
These connections as shown above are the natural reasons why the Lewis Morgan
family located in Brown County, Kansas.
These people had a definite part in the development of the thriving Welsh settlement established north and northeast of Hiawatha. It may be of interest to the reader to know the names of other early day Welsh families who came to this section: Bowen, Davies, Evans, George, Griffith, Hughes, Jenkins, Jones, John, Morgan, Parry, Phillips, Picton, Richards, Rees, Samuels, Thomas, Walters, and Williams. For their patient courage, steadfast determination, and unconquerable spirit these early pioneers claim our respect and admiration. Their decision to settle here influenced the lives of many of their descendants who have chosen to remain in beautiful Brown County.
This Morgan genealogy begins with the year 1756. We are indebted to Miss Florence Ann Isabel Thomas, Llangennech, Wales, and her half cousin, Mr. Gordon L. Harris, Royal Oak, Maryland, for the data on the generations previous to the Lewis Morgan family, which came to Brown County, Kansas, in 1873. Those interested in the Morgan genealogy find the name of William Morgan (Tyllwyd) 1756-1835. The Welsh name (Tyllwyd) which follows the name indicated the town or community where he lived in Wales. It is the custom in Wales to mention where a person lives when discussing one, because there are so many of the same name. We do not know the date of his marriage, but he married a Sarah _________ (1758-1858) whose maiden name is not known. It is known, however, that they had seven children: William, David, Hannah, Mary, Sarah, Ann, and Rebecca. Rebecca Morgan b. 1803 d. Sept. 10, 1870 married Thomas Thomas (Tyllwyd) b. 1802 d. March 17, 1878, and they had five children: Sarah, Ann, Mary, THOMAS, and David. This son Thomas Thomas (Gwaelogymaes) b. 1832 d. Oct. 5, 1900 married twice, and his second marriage was to a young widow, Ann Rees (Harries) b. Fe. 11, 1831 d. Jan. 31, 1906. One child of her former marriage was to become the father of Gordon L. Harris mentioned above. Therefore she became his grand-mother. The name of Harries was later changed to Harris. This marriage indicates no relationship between the Morgans and the Harries. However, this Thomas Thomas (Gwaelogymaes) and Ann Rees Harries had a son, Thomas Thomas (Caeffair) b. July 14, 1867 d. Aug. 7, 1950 who married Isabella Falconer (Myddynfich) b. 1874 d. Jan. 12, 1904. To this union were born three children: Thomas Morlais Thomas, Robert Falconer Thomas, and Florence Ann Isabel Thomas, th4e lady residing in Wales who has been interested in the relationship between the Morgans and the Thomases.
Going back to the marriage of William Morgan (Tyllwyd) and Sarah: their son, William Morgan (Pantyffynnon) married Sarah Price (Plasnewydd), and their children were Lewis Morgan (Penllwyn) and Rachel. Rachel Morgan married John Parry (Rhos), and they were parents of six children: William, David, Rachel, Mary, John, and Philip Morgan. This Philip Morgan Parry is the head of the Parry family who has lived in Riley County, Kansas, for many years. Some of these descendants still reside there.
The Morgan genealogy follows:
1 William
Morgan (Tyllwyd)
b. 1756
d. 5 Aug 1835 at Tyllwyd,
Carmarthenshire, Wales
m.
1w
Sarah
b. 1758
d. 21 Mar 1858 at Tyllwyd, Carmarthenshire, Wales
1 William
Morgan
b.
d. 1844
2 David Morgan
b.
d.
3 Hannah Morgan
b.
d.
4 Mary Morgan
b.
d.
5 Sarah Morgan
b.
d.
6 Ann Morgan
b.
d.
7 Rebecca Morgan
b. 1803
d. Sep 10, 1870
8 William Morgan
b.
d. 1844
------------
2 William Morgan
(Pantyffynnon) m.
1w Sarah
Price
b.
at Plasnewydd, Carmarthenshire, Wales
d.
father:
mother:
10 Lewis Morgan
(Penllwyn) b. Jan 10, 1819 at Pantyffynnon, Carmarthenshire,
Wales
d. Aug 15, 1891 at Hiawatha, Kansas
11 Rachel
Morgan
b.
at Pantyffynnon, Carmarthenshire, Wales
d.
------------
10 Lewis Morgan
(Penllwyn) m. Jul 11, 1844 at Parish Church,
Llanedy, Carmarthenshire, Wales
10w Sarah
Bowen
b. May 27, 1827 at Penllwyn, Llanedy, Carmarthenshire, Wales
d. Apr 4, 1902 at Hiawatha, Kansas
father: Rees
Bowen b.
d. Dec 11, 1856 at Penllwyn, Llanedy, Carmarthenshire, Wales
mother:
Ann
b. Mar 18, 1794
d. Dec 1860 at Penllwyn, Llanedy, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Rees Bowen and wife Ann were also the parents of the following children:
Mary
Bowen
b. Apr 18, 1831 at Penllwyn, Wales
d. Oct 12, 1839 at Penllwyn, Wales
William
Bowen
b. Apr 2, 1833 at Penllwyn, Wales
d. In Infancy at Penllwyn, Wales
William
Bowen
b. Mar 17, 1835 at Penllwyn, Wales
d. Jun 5, 1915 at Sterling, Nebr.
Ann
Bowen
b. Jan 28, 1939 at Penllwyn, Wales
d. Jul 16, 1843 at Penllwyn, Wales
According to the General Register Office, Somerset House, London, England, all the births of the children of Lewis Morgan and Sarah Bowen (Morgan) were registered in the Registration District, Llanelly, Sub-District of Llannon, County of Carmarthen, Wales, and show the children were born at Penllwyn, Llanedy Parish, in the same county, and that the profession of the father was farmer. The names and birth dates are listed below:
100
William (Lewis) Morgan b.
Sep 26, 1845
Mary Morgan
b. Dec 4, 1846
d. Apr 28, 1849
Anne Morgan
b. Oct 2, 1848
d. Apr 27, 1849
200 Hannah Morgan
b. Feb 5, 1850
300 John (Bowen) Morgan
b. May 8, 1852
Rachel Morgan
b. Dec 23, 1853
d. No data
400 David Morgan
b. Jun 28, 1855
500 Rees (Bowen) Morgan
b. Feb 9, 1857
600 Daniel (Lewis) Morgan b.
Jan 31, 1859
700 Ann Morgan
b. Dec 30, 1860
800 Isaac (Bowen) Morgan
b. Apr 19, 1862
900 Sarah Morgan
b. Mar 8, 1872
The above names in parenthesis were not recorded at the time of birth registration, but in all probability were added by the men when grown. Two used the given name “Lewis”, the name of their father; while three used the name “Bowen”, the maiden surname of their mother. The Morgan and Bowen families lived in the same community of Penllwyn, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The reader will note that the daughter Anne died about 7 months after birth, and that later a daughter Ann was born in 1860. Apparently when a child died in infancy, another child born at a later date was often given the same name.
There were 9 living children who came to U.S.A., 3 of the 12 died in Wales; therefore, there are 9 family groups, but the 3 who died are not given a group number. Each group is given a number for convenience and each individual is given a definite number which assists in setting forth the dates of births, deaths, and marriages.
To see the genealogical tables for each of these 9 children, click below: