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The James Page

Contents: Ancestors of Rachel James, Welsh Origins, Emigration to America

Related Families: Gwyn, Nicholas, Querence

RachelJames.JPG (25370 bytes) Rachel James at age 65; taken in Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory.

Click on the image to see a larger version.

Ancestors of Rachel James

This table is a summary of the ancestors of Rachel James, who was born in Fulton County Illinois on 8 August 1840, served in the Civil War, and died in Dodge County Nebraska on 11 March 1920.

David James
Wales ~1796-?
 

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Rachel James 1834-1908
Wales, Ohio, Neb, Oklahoma
Elizabeth Gwyn or Querence
Wales ~1793-?
 

Welsh Origins

Rachel James' mother Elizabeth was born in Wales as either a Gwyn (or Gwion or Gwinn, or a similar spelling) or a Querence (an unusual name that appears only in one hand-drawn family tree).  Elizabeth married a Mr. Nicholas, and there were two Nicholas children, James (1821-?) and Mary (1823-?). She later married David James and had children Benjamin (1833-?), Rachel (1834-1908), Daniel (1836-?), and Margaret (1838-?). They raised the Nicholas and James children in Treleach a'r Betwys, a parish in northwest Carmarthenshire.

Emigration to America

Rachel married Caleb Rees in Merther Tydfyl in 1857, and a few days later they set off for America in the Ship Circassian. For more on the voyage, Rachel's life with Caleb, and their children, see the Rees page.

Later Life

After Caleb's death in 1865, Rachel married Morris Griffith (or Griffiths). They lived for a time in Southern Nebraska, and then in Oklahoma. Rachel died 18 July 1908 in Guthrie, Oklahoma.