PART II: Henry IV to Jane Vaughan (2017 update) generations 7-9

[Brad Dubbs]

This part 2 post covers generations 7-9 (for generations 1-6, see part 1).



7. Griffith Nanney (c.1515-c.1573) m. Jane, da. of Humphrey ap Howell ap Jenkin of Ynysmaengwyn

Griffith Nanney was the son of Howel ap David of Nannau. [7.1] Griffith was likely born before 1515, based on his first appearing in the Nannau family manuscripts in 1536. [7.2] As shown by the Nannau pedigrees, Griffith Nanney married Jane daughter of Humphrey of Howell of Ynysmaengwyn. Jane was born sometime after her parents marriage which occurred roughly between say 1505 to 1515 (see above discussion). Their son Hugh was born before 1545, so they may have married sometime between say 1530 and 1544.[7.3] They had at least five children, so Jane may have been living up to ten years or more after the marriage.

Contemporary evidence for Griffith Nanney's marriage to Jane can be found in a poem by William Llyn (who was active from 1534/35-1580). The poem of praise to Griffith Nanney of Nannau also praises his wife Jane and their lineage. In the beginning of the poem, Griffith’s mother Elen “Salbri,” daughter of Robert Salesbury is mentioned, as is his grandfather Dafydd of Nannau. The poet then praises Griffith virtues and his lineage:

Amryw enwog mawr winwydd,
A mawr enw am a ranodd !
A mawr iawn ymro Wynedd,
Am roi i weiniaid Meirionydd!

He of manifold name, he of the great vine—
Great is his name for his gifts!
Very great within the bounds of Gwynedd,
For his gifts to the poor of Merioneth! [7.4]

The poem then praises Jane’s great lineage, noting:

— The virtues of Jane and (“Wmffre i thad”) Humphrey, her father (lines 29-32).
— Her ancestry goes back to Hywel ap Jenkin (“Wyr Hywel ap Siancin”), her grandfather (line 34).
— She is the offspring of Kynaston (“Cinast’n”) Jane’s grandmother was a daughter of Roger Kynaston (line 35).
— Griffith's wife Jane also descends from the blood of Herbert of Godwin (“gwaed Herbart o Godwin”) and is associated with the great (“Iarll Penfro”). Jane's mother was Anne, the daughter of Richard Herbert of Montgomery (d. 1539), from the Herbert line said to be descended from Godwin, the Earl of Cornwall (lines 36-38).

The poem then makes a plea for Jane’s protection (lines 43-44): “Duw o nef, Dewi a Non, / Y sai ’n help i Sian a hwn."

God of Heaven, David and Non, [“St Non" was the mother of St David] / Saints, watch over this Jane. ["help” is to help, aid, or succor] [7.5]

The Dwnn Nannau pedigree signed by Griffith Nanney’s son Hugh Nanney in 1588, is further evidence of the marriage of Griffith Nanney and Jane described in Llyn’s poem. It does not seem too far out of reason to say that the Hugh Nanney, when he signed the pedigree in 1588, would accurately identify his parents. His father Griffith Nanney, had died just about 15 years previously. And he would have likely known the orgins of his mother Jane’s Ynysmaengwyn family who lived at Tywyn within a day’s travel (in the pedigree, signed by Hugh, Jane appears as the daughter of Humphrey ap Howel of Ynysmaengwyn). Another Dwnn pedigree, that for the Ynysmaengwyn family, also shows Griffith’s marriage to Jane. [7.6]

Griffith appears in the Nannau MS from his first appearance in 1536 to his last in 1573. [7.7]

Griffith had a son Hugh Nanney (see next).



7.1 For the pedigree showing Griffith Nanney as son of Howel ap David of Nannau and his mother, Elin, the daughter of Robert Salesbury of Lanrwst, see Bartrum “Bleddyn ap Cynfyn” (51A). The Bartrum pedigree shows Howel ap David and Elin Salesbury had seven children including Griffith. Howel ap David’s first wife Elin died possibly before 1522, because in that year his second wife had a son Richard (if in 1543, Griffith Nanney’s half-brother Richard Nanney, son of the Howel’s second wife, appears as an arbitrator for Griffith in Nannau MS no. 53, he was likely of the age and so born to Howel and before 1522).

The poet Tudur Aled wrote about Howel ap David (he was the first to call him “Huw Nannau”) . According to Aled’s poem, Howel’s father had died early and Howel was left a minor about which the poet says: “If I only have a shoot, an oak grows out of an acorn.” Howel ap David last appears in the Nannau MS in 1540. I have not seen a previous reference to Howel ap David’s will, however the will of a certain “Howell ap David ap Mirike of Llan vagchret [Llanfachreth]” dated 1539 is likely his (see NLW Dol’rhyd Papers, File 2. - Deeds, of the family of Nanney).

Note: The Salesbury’s were patrons of Tudur Aled so Aled would have likely been familiar with Howel ap David’s and his wife Elin Salesbury when wrote a poem for them (Aled may be related to the Salesbury’s — he claimed to be related to Gwenhwyfar, wife of Robert Salusbury of Llanrwst. See the DWB Aled biography: http://yba.llgc.org.uk/en/s-TUDU-ALE-1480.html). A poem to Robert Salesbury (master “Robt Salybri o Lanrwst”), can be found in NLW Peniarth MS no. 110, page 5) a book that was once apparently owned by a certain Hugh Nanney, possibly Robert Salesbury’s grandson, Hugh Nanney (d. 1623). His note “Hugh Nanney is the true honor of this booke” can be found inside. See for catalogue, RMW, vol. 1, pt. 2-3, p. 662.

7.2 Griffith Nanney first appears in 1536 (Nannau MS no. 39), so born before say 1515.

7.3 For the pedigree showing Griffith Nanney’s marriage to Jane, see Bartrum “Bleddyn ap Cynfyn” (51A) and Dwnn, Heraldic Visitations of Wales, vol. 2, p. 227. And also the Nannau pedigree (PACF p. 200) and Ynysmaengwyn pedigree (PACF p. 237). For their marriage probably before 1545, Griffith and Jane’s son Hugh first appears in 1566 (Nannau MS no. 95), so he was likely born before 1545. For their having five children, see the Nannau pedigree (PACF p. 200).

Note: The Bartrum pedigree “Bleddyn ap Cynfyn” (51A) provides sources for Griffith’s marriage and issue, some of which were possibly written either during his life or that of his children. Bartrum provides a key to the abbreviations cited. Source ‘H*’ is Peniarth (Pen) 128, p. 633a called Llfyr Edward ap Roger (d. bef. 1582) with later editions by William Llyn. Source ‘P’ is Pen 134, p. 183 by Gruffyd Hiraethog (d. 1564). Source ’T*’ is Pen. 139, part 2 by William Llyn (1534/35-1580), p 307. Source ’RV’ is Pen. 287, p. 388-89 by Robert Vaughan (c.1600-1667), who married Griffith’s great granddaughter.

7.4 For this specific extract of the praise poem to Griffith Nanney of Nannau (lines 25-28), see Y Cymmrodor, Cymmrodorion Society (1905) vol. 18, p. 139. For the notes to the other lines, see footnote 7.5 next.

Note: Nannau and Ynysmaengwyn families marriage of Griffith Nanney and Jane may have come together possibly due to:
— The earlier connections between their fathers Howel ap David and Humphrey ap Howell (and/or his uncle). In 1510/11, Howel ap David of Nannau (father of the Griffith Nanney) acted as surety for William ap Jenkin ap Iowerth farmer of the mills of Llanvachreth and Llanegryn. William ap Jenkin was Humphrey ap Howell ap Jenkin’s uncle (see Dwnn, vol 2, p 226, note 11, citing Roll of the Minister's account for Merioneth). Afterwards, Howel ap David of Nannau held the same office of farmer of the mill of Llanfachreth — from 1512/3 until the end of his life (1540); see Parry, Nannau thesis, p. 191.
— Both fathers served in the Royal household (but possibly at different times). As noted above, by W.R.B. Robinson, Humphrey ap Howel served in Henry VIII's household in the early 1520s. Howel ap David is said, by Tudur Aled, to have been an esquire to Prince Henry [before 1509] but whether he also served into the 1520s is hard to tell (see E.D. Jones, 'The Family of Nanney,' JMHRS, vol. 2. p. 10).
— The families were distantly related. Humphrey ap Howel’s father Howel had a mother descended from the earlier Nannau line. See PACF (Ynysmaengwyn p. 237 and Nannau, p. 200). Later, in the mid 1550s, Katherine daughter of Humphrey’s uncle William ap Jenkin appears in several Nannau MSS (nos. 55, 62 and 69).


7.5 For the poem of praise to Gruffydd Nanney and his wife Jane see, J.C. Morrice, Editor, Barddoniaeth William Llyn: A’i Eirlyfr Gyda Nodiadau (1908), “Awdl Foliant Gruffydd Nannau" (poem LIV, extract p. 141) mentions Gruffydd Nanney and some of the ancestors of he and his wife Jane. I used the editor’s notes for this poem (page 310) and the University of Wales online dictionary for the names mentioned in the lineage of Gruffydd’s wife Jane. For link, see:
http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$b590430?urlappend=%3Bseq=193

There is another poem (p. 130, poem LI) by William Llyn that is addressed to Humphrey ap Howel’s only son John Wynn of Ysysmaengwyn on his death in 1563 that mentions John’s only sister Jane, [Jane is the wife of Griffith Nanney but only Jane is noted]. The poem lines up well with the Ynysmaengwyn pedigree: poem lines 10-12 note that John Wynn’s father was Humphrey ap Howel of Ynysmaengwyn. Lines 46-48 correctly note John Wynn’s wife as Elizabeth, daughter of Rhys Vaughan of Corsygedol and lines 56-60 correctly note that John Wynn had a sister Sian (Jane) and that he was Jane’s only brother (“i hun brawd”) (see notes on p. 309).
See: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$b590430?urlappend=%3Bseq=182



7.6 For Griffith’s father Hugh’s signing of the Nannau pedigree in 1588, see Dwnn, vol. 2, p. 226-27. For the Ynysmaengwyn pedigree, see Dwnn, vol. 2, p. 231 (there is no indication in this particular addition, that this pedigree was signed).

7.7 Griffith Nanney first appears in 1536 in Nannau MS no. 39 as Gruffud Wyn ap Howel ap David ap Meuric, the Welsh name spelling out Griffith's father Howel and his grandfather David and so on. Griffith Nanney appears more frequently in many MS from the mid 1530s and his last appearance in no. 108 (1573).




8. Hugh Nanney (1545-1623) of Nannau, m. Anne (d. 1627) daughter of Rhys Vaughan of Corsygedol

Hugh first appears in 1566 in the Nannau MS, so he was likely born before 1545. He was the son of the Griffith Nanney who named him as his heir in 1572 and 1573. Several transactions in the Nannau MS appear to link Hugh with his father Griffith and to his grandfather Howel ap David. For example, a lease was assigned by father Griffith Nanney to his son Hugh Nanney which lands were originally leased to Griffith’s father Howel ap David. [8.1]

Hugh married Anne, daughter of Rhys Vaughan of Corsygedol (c. 1523-1580/82), MP and Sheriff for Merioneth. Anne was possibly born around the same time as Hugh. An elegy composed on her death in 1627 says that Anne died in her 82nd year, so she was likely born in c. 1545 (see below). The marriage likely occurred sometime before 1568 when their son Griffith was born. In 1588, when the herald Lewis Dwnn visited Nannau, Hugh Nanney signed his pedigree that shows his marriage to Anne. In the same year, Griffith Vaughan, Anne’s nephew, signed the Corsygedol pedigree, which also showed the marriage. [8.2]

The Nannau family had a history of holding office and Hugh Nanney was no exception. He was justice of the peace in 1584, sheriff of Merioneth in 1586, and in 1617, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for Merioneth by the Earl of Northampton. His many legal battles with rival families in the county, left documents that reveal that he was able to obtain support from men at court and other men who had interests in Wales or the border counties. For example, Hugh was said to have as a patron, Sir James Croft, who in 1570, was made comptroller and privy council member for Queen Elizabeth. Croft formerly was a lieutenant deputy for the council of the Marches in Wales and served as justice of the peace for Hereford and most marcher and Welsh counties from 1573. [8.3]

After his son's death in 1609, he is known as Hugh Nanney, Hen "the elder” and his grandson Hugh, is often referred to as "the younger.” Hugh Nanney Hen "the elder," last appeared in the Nannau MS in 1622 or possibly 1623. He died in1623, when over half a dozen elegies were composed by the poets. The poets noted the offices he had held as justice of the peace and sheriff, and also the opulence with which he had rebuilt Nannau Hall. The poets marveled over the house: its height was like St. Paul’s, "the highest palace under the stars,” the clock tower had 300 stairs, it had parlours, a hall, a long staircase, and glass windows facing Cader Idris. The poet, Huw Machno said the grief when Hugh Nanney died was a hundred times greater than the "lament upon the death of Solon in Athens." [8.4]

Richard Phillip composed an elegy for Hugh’s wife Anne on her death in 1627 at the age of 82. The poem says that Anne and Hugh Nanney had feasted the poets at Nannau for over 60 years and describes how her body was brought to Nannau before being buried in the nearby Nanney church at Llanfachreth. [8.5]

An original carved stone with the arms of Hugh (Nannau, a lion rampant) and wife Anne (Vaughan of Corsygedol, saltire with a crescent) was once in Hugh Nanney Hen's Nannau house wall. The stone is now at Llanfendigaid, Wales, a house now owned by a Nanney descendant (for an image, see: http://yanceyfamilygenealogy.org/nanney_arms.htm). [8.6]

Hugh Nanney and Anne had a son Griffith (see next).



8.1 For Hugh Nanney’s first appearance in 1566 indicating he was born before 1545, see Nannau MS no. 95. Years later, in a1608 petition, Hugh Nanney described himself as “an old man above 60 years…” , which would imply a birth before 1548 (see Nannau MS no. 1178, and Parry, Nannau thesis, p. 275). In the same letter he also says that he and his wife have “… 37 children and children’s children…,” almost exactly the same number of children and grandchildren that appear in the Nannau pedigree (PACF, p. 200).

For Hugh Nanney named as heir to his father Griffith, see Nannau MS no. 106: “Release … to Griffith Nanney and Hugh Nanney his heir, of all his right, title, and interest in his lands in the township of Nanney (26 Sept 1572).” Hugh is also named as heir in no. 914 (1573).

For the Nannau MS that link Hugh Nanney with his father Griffith, see Nannau MS no. 115, dated 1576, where Hugh grants a tenement in Tyddyn y Gors in Llwyngwril to a Rhys Hughs of Maesypandy. Nannau MS no. 61 shows Tyddyn y Gors was owned by Hugh’s father Griffith Nanney in 1549. For the lease, showing the link from Hugh to his father Griffith and to his grandfather Howel ap David, see the catalogue entry for Nannau MS no. 914 which reads:
“Assignment (1 November 1573) of a lease from Griffith Nanney (otherwise called Griffith ap Howel ap David ap Meyrick) to Hugh Nanney his son, of the messuages of Bryn y Llyn and Cwmcedwyn, originally leased (12 May 1500) to Howel ap David [Griffith’s father]…” For this also see B. R. Parry, Nannau thesis, p. 195. Parry, also refers to an undated lease of lands originally granted to Griffith ap Howel ap David [who was last active in c. 1573] which were later, in 1589, granted to his son Hugh Nanney, his wife [Anne] and son [Griffith, who is probably just turning 21] during their lives at an annual rent of 26s 6d (citing Lewis and Davies, 'Records of the Court of Augmentations relating to Wales and Monmouthshire' (1954), p. 429).


8.2 For the pedigree signed by Hugh in 1588 (son of Griffith Nanney), showing he married Anne, daughter of Rhys Vaughan of Corsygedol, see the Nannau pedigree in Dwnn, vol. 2, p. 226-27. Similarly, for the Corsygedol pedigree also showing the marriage, signed by Griffith Vaughan in 1588 (Anne’s nephew), see Dwnn, vol. 2, p. 218-220. See also the Nannau pedigree, PACF, p. 200 and the Corsygedol pedigree (PACF, p. 279). For a biography of Anne’s father, Rhys Vaughan (who did not sign the family pedigree, because he died by c. 1580/82), see: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/vaughan-rhys-i-1523-8082).

For their son Griffith’s birth in 1568, see Nannau pedigree, PACF, p. 200, which shows his son Griffith born on June 11, 1568. However, Foster’s Alumni Oxoniensis (see next generation) says he matriculated at Jesus College 2 July, 1585, aged 16 indicating a birth possibly in 1569. Hugh’s daughter Margaret was probably born several or more years before 1569, the year she would have reached the age of 12 before her marriage to Robert ap Ieuan Lloyd. A bond by Robert to Hugh to observe the terms of the marriage settlement is dated April 25, 1581 (see Nannau MS no. 132).

The family of Hugh Nanney’s wife Anne of Corsygedol are said to have provided a hideout for both Jasper and possibly Henry Tudor (later Henry VII). Gruffyd Vaughan built a house in Barmouth on the water so that Jasper, the “Black eagle” could easily approach. The poet Tudur Penllyn said it was a "house built half in the waves” (see Williams, Renewal and Reformation: Wales C. 1415-1642 (1993), p. 196 and Evans, Wales and the War of the Roses, p. 165).

Anne's brother Richard Vaughan built the earliest part of the surviving house including probably the original fireplace with date 1576, where the motto is inscribed, "Sequere iustitiam et invenias vitam" (translated as "Follow justice and find life”). See Coflein link below for the Corsygedol house (image of original fireplace) and church (see:
http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/28298/details/cors-y-gedol-hall
http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/43872/details/st-dwywes-church-llanddwywellanddwywe-is-y-craig and see also the image from Thomas Pennant’s 1781 edition of Tour of Wales: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cors_y_Gedol_02360.jpg


8.3 For Hugh Nanney as sheriff, justice of the peace, and Deputy Lieutenant, see Parry, JMHRS vol. 5, part 3, p. 198, (citing Nannau MS in no. 153, BM Lansdowne MS 212/737, f. 174, and NLW Peniarth 1393/1134). For James Croft as Hugh’s patron, see Parry, JMHRS, p. 194. For Croft (d. 1590), see: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/croft-sir-james-1518-90. The Nanney’s were, a few years later, to seek the support of the extended Herbert family (and note that James Croft’s mother Catherine was also a Herbert.

8.4 Hugh Nanney Hen "the elder," last appeared in the Nannau MS in no. 291 (1622). Another certain Hugh Nanney does appear several times in 1623, but the terms elder or younger were not used in the catalogue entry for that Nannau MS. The poets though said that Hugh died in 1623, when over half a dozen elegies are written (see the elegy title for the poem written by Richard Phillip, see RMW, Mostyn MS, vol. 1, p. 269 and for Hugh’s opulent house and elegies for him, see Jones, JMHRS, vol. 2, p. 11-13).

The poets praised Hugh Nanney “the elder,” but the records show he had his failings. In 1588, he was accused of “incontinent living” 13 years before with three different named women, but the case was dismissed for lack of evidence. In 1594, he was ordered to do penance by the Bishop of Bangor for adultery (see Parry, JMHRS, vol. 5, part 3. p. 193).

8.5 For Richard Phillip’s elegy for Anne Nanney in 1627, see Jones, JMHRS, vol. 2, p. 11. The poem also says that Anne died at Dolegwyn. Jones provides an extract from an elegy written by Hugh Nanney and Anne’s grandson, Rowland Vaughan of Cargai: “ Hugh and pure Ann with one grave/ in the earth here lying.” Rowland says that Anne died in her sleep. Anne likely appears in a bond of obligation by Agnes [aka Anne] Nanney widow, of Dolegwyn and Lewis Gwyn of the same, and by Edward Nanney [her son] to Hugh Nanney [the younger] of Nannau to accept the arbitrament of Willam Vaughan of Corsygedol …..dated 4 August 1624 (see Nannau MS no. 300).

8.6 For a brief note on the Llanfendigaid stone’s former location at Nannau Hall in 1962, see Vaughan, M., JMHRS, vol. 4, part 2, p. 120, where carved stones at Nannau Hall are noted. The armorial stone’s location now at Llanfendigaid, was confirmed in a 2016 personal email to the current owner, who sent an image and stated that his grandfather brought the stone from Nannau sometime in the 1970s. I recently noticed a possible clue that the carved armorial stone now at Llanfendigaid, was carved by the same mason who carved the figures of Adam and Eve, in a stone still surviving at Nannau Hall. Both carved stones have columns on the edges that appear have very similar designs.

Notes on Nannau Hall:
—My reading of the stones presently at Nannau Hall based on recent images of them (link below) follows. One stone is carved with the names of “hVghE” and “ANNE.” This is likely Hugh Nanney and wife Anne Vaughan of Corsygedol (because the letter ‘A’ in the carved name ANNE has an overlapping letter V on it, likely for Vaughan). Possibly the other stone says "AIIES. II" or “ANES. II” for the later Anne Vaughan of Corsygedol, (likely Vaughan again because it also has a superimposed V over the letter A). She was the wife of Hugh Hen’s grandson, Hugh the younger. Another Nannau stone is carved with the year “1581” and another stone is carved with the arms of Queen Elizabeth, which places the construction of Hugh Hen’s house in her reign. Possibly Hugh Nanney’s patron Croft at Elizabeth’s court and/or Hugh’s success in acquiring former abbey lands in 1575 that were once owned by Elizabeth, might explain the Nanney family home’s display of Elizabeth’s arms. For Nannau stone images, see: http://nannau.com/buildings/old-nannau.html. See also Nannau: http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/28585/details/nannau-dolgellau.
—Nannau Hall was perhaps destroyed by 1662, because it did not show up in the hearth tax records that year (see Vaughan, M., JMHRS, vol. 4, part 2, p. 120). Possibly because of Royalist sympathies, the house of Nannau (which Robert Vaughan said "stood stiffly for the king") and those of their associates Cargai, and Ynysmaengwn were destroyed. Perhaps other Nannau associates like the houses of Rhiwlas and Corsygedol (although those houses appear in the 1662 hearth tax records) also had royalist tendencies. Hugh Hen’s son Griffith married Elin of Rhiwlas and her nephew’s grandson, William Price of Rhiwlas was a royalist officer (see the HOP biography of William Price : http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/price-william-1619-91). Perhaps some of the Vaughans of Corsygedol also had royalist leanings. Hugh Nanney the younger’s wife Anne, had a sister Janet Vaughan, who married the royalist commander Sir John Owen (see DWB biography: http://yba.llgc.org.uk/en/s-OWEN-JOH-1600.html). Vaughan, M., JMHRS, vol. 4, part 2, p. 120, says that Hugh Nanney (d. 1647) the younger’s son Griffith’s portrait is that of a Cavalier soldier and Griffith was said to be intended for membership in the Charles II’s Order of the Royal Oak had he not died in 1655, possibly in exile. His son Hugh married into the royalist Salesbury of Rug family.
—Pointing to the possibility of that Nannau Hall was destroyed during the Civil War, the Nanney widows are living not at Nannau but near Dolgellau at the houses of Doluwcheogrhyd and Dolegwyn during and after the civil war (see footnote 10.9 below where the Nanney widows are present there in 1657-59). A new house at Nannau wasn't rebuilt until c. 1693 (see link above for Moses Griffith sketch). Parts of the tower and foundation from that house are incorporated in the present Nannau Hall built in 1796.

For the arms of Hugh (Nannau, or, a lion rampant azure) wife Anne (Vaughan of Corsygedol, Ermine, on a saltire gu., a crescent or), see Nicholas, Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales, vol. 2, p. 680-81. Note that their children named Rhys and Gwen were names found in Anne’s family (for the November 1592 marriage agreement for Gwen and John Hughes, see NLW Peniarth NA21).



9. Griffith Nanney (c. 1568/69-1609) m. Elin d. of John Wynn ap Cadwaladr of Rhiwlas

Griffith was son and heir of Hugh Nanney. [9.1] A note beside his hame in a pedigree have him born on June 11, 1568, but perhaps, if he is the same man who matriculated at Oxford in 1585, the birth year would be 1569. [9.2] Griffith Nanney, when still a young boy in 1576, was to be betrothed to a daughter of John Vaughan of Llwydiarth. The marriage, however, never took place. [9.3]

Griffith Nanney, before the age of about 19, married Elin, daughter of John “Wyn” ap Cadwaladr of Rhiwlas, MP in 1559, and Sheriff for Merioneth. The original agreement for their marriage was later mentioned in the papers of Griffith’s son Hugh. Hugh, the first son, was said to be born October 22, 1588, so the marriage likely occurred sometime before February 1588. Just a few months later, Griffith's father Hugh signed the July 1588 Nannau pedigree, which shows Griffith’s marriage to Elin of Rhiwlas.

In the same month, Elin's father John Wynn signed the Rhiwlas pedigree also showing the marriage. That the marriage had occurred is confirmed in a source dated 1615, when the names for parents Griffith Nanney (by then deceased) and Elin are found in an agreement for the marriage of their daughter Catherine to Robert Vaughan, “the antiquary.” [9.4]

Elin was born sometime before early 1576 (if at least 12 years old when married in or before 1588). She is listed by Dwnn as the third daughter, so possibly Elin was born by c. 1570, sometime after her older brother, Cadwaladr Price, the first son, who was born c. 1561 (he matriculated at Oxford in 1581 and was MP in 1584). She was living at the time of the October 30, 1615 marriage agreement for her daughter Catherine.

The Nanney’s increased wealth and status had occurred with the purchase of neighboring lands from the mid 15th to mid-16th centuries. Griffith’s father, Hugh Nanney had added to the Nannau estate, partly by acquiring lands from English speculators who had acquired them from nearby Cymer Abbey after the dissolution.

It’s likely that Griffith never occupied the main seat at Nannau Hall because he predeceased his father Hugh. Griffith, however in 1596, built a house nearby at Doluwcheogrhyd, and this was commemorated by a poem, which survived (the poem was still at Nannau Hall in 1958 when the contents of Nannau were auctioned off).

At Doluwcheogrhyd, in 1898, carved stones with the year 1596, the arms of Queen Elizabeth I, and the initials “GN and EN” for Griffith and his wife Elen, were still visible. On another stone was carved “Long live goddess Elizabeth” and on another was carved “The soft air, iron, stones, the volcano, the heavens, All things will pass away, but my words remain.” Today one can still see on the upper chimney, carved stones of a later date, but, except for traces, the Elizabethan inscriptions lower down have largely disappeared. [9.5]

Though Griffith Nanney was never elected to the office of sheriff, he like his father served as a justice of the peace starting in 1599, and continued to manage his portion of the Nanney lands at Doluwcheogrhyd and Garthmaelan. Some of Griffith’s account books, which still survive, show him granting licenses for alehouses in Dolgellau, recording receipts and expenses, and keeping detailed lists of cattle, horses, and sheep.

Griffith was elected MP for Merioneth in 1593. His election is thought to have led to a series of legal disputes with the Owen’s of Llwyn, but at times, the feud between the families led to the destruction of property and, even at one point, to one Lewis Owen of Llwyn challenging Griffith Nanney to a duel. Griffith’s reply still survives and he promised "by the faith of a gentleman" to be there to duel with nothing but a sword and a dagger and that no oath is needed because “words and honor are the grounds on which the points of arms depend.” Griffith set the site for the duel as the beach “directly under the church of Llanddwyy.” We don’t know if the duel ever took place but the site near his mother’s family church might not have been necessarily on neutral ground. [9.6]

Though the Nanney’s were county gentry, holding only local offices, there are signs that they were able to develop connections with men at court or at least appeal to them for help during litigation. Hugh Nanney, as noted above, had a patron in Sir James Croft, Comptroller and member of Elizabeth’s privy council and vice president of the council of Wales and the Marches.

But Croft was no longer alive when the number of Nanney legal cases increased into the early 1600s. The surviving letters and legal documents are usually vague but hint at who the Nanney’s sought for help, especially with the imprisonment of Griffith’s father Hugh for refusing to admit guilt. At that point, Griffith Nanney wrote a letter to a certain “lord Herbert.” This "lord Herbert" could be William, Earl of Pembroke, because in 1608, Griffith’s father Hugh, now out of prison, makes a note to thank several men and to “deal with the Earle of Pembroke” and to “yealde thanks” to the "E of M." Perhaps this is Philip Herbert, brother of the Earl of Pembroke, who was made Earl of Montgomery in 1605. If indeed these are the men that assisted the Nanney’s, they are interesting men, sponsors of poets like Ben Jonson and Shakespeare (who dedicated his first folio to these two Herbert brothers). [9.7]

Other important connections were also made possible when Griffith’s brother Edward Nanney, was apparently attached to someone at court — possibly to Edward Lord Zouch. In the 1590s, Zouch was England’s ambassador to King James of Scotland and was named Lord President of Wales from 1602-15. A position with Zouch would give Edward Nanney access to news regarding the military and diplomatic developments at that time. Edward Nanney’s letter (likely written in 1603) to Griffith Nanney from Chancery Lane passes to Griffith news of a brutal naval battle off the coast of Holland and of visits by the Spanish ambassador bringing “great likelihood of great love betwixt us and Spaine.”

Though we will never know if they did, the Nanney’s may have had the opportunity to come into contact with one or two poets or explorers in London. The Herberts were patrons, and Lord Zouch who sponsored Ben Jonson, gave Edward (if indeed Edward was attached to Zouch) a possible link to the poet. The Nanney’s other friend, Thomas Middleton financed overseas explorers like Sir Francis Drake, and Middleton, along with the above Lord Zouch, and the Earls Pembroke and Montgomery, were all charter members of the Virginia company.

Besides lending them money, Thomas Middleton also tried to help the Nanney's with their lawsuits. Middleton is said in Edward’s letter to Griffith to “make greate search for [the lawsuit against the Nanney's] to rest.” Also trying to lend a hand was another unidentified Herbert “master Herbert.” This Herbert wrote Griffith Nanney that he talked to a Sir Daniel Norton about Hugh’s release from prison while dining at the “mermayd in Bredstreet.” This was a fashionable tavern on Bread Street known to be frequented by gentlemen but also by a literary circle that included the poet Ben Jonson. Though often used freely, this master Herbert stressed the word cousin, so there is a remote possibility is was Sir Edward Herbert, a second cousin to Hugh Nanney who was also a patron to Ben Jonson. [9.8]

Griffith probably died sometime between April 22, 1609, and the administration of probate for his will on July 28, 1609. Poets such as Richard Philip, and Harry Howell wrote elegies praising Griffith on his death. [9.9 ]

Griffith Nanney and wife Elin had a daughter Catherine (see next).



9.1 Griffith appears as Hugh Nanney’s son and heir in several deeds with the first one occurring in Nannau MS no.167, for which the catalogue entry reads: “Indenture (27 Sept 1589) between Hugh Nanney and Griffith, son and heir….” He is also mentioned as son or heir in Nannau MS nos. 169 and 174. Though the catalogue entries don’t describe Griffith as Hugh’s son, he is described as such in two original manuscripts: Nannau no. 915 (November 1596), a grant to Hugh Nanney and Anne Nanney “uxor” [wife] and Griffith Nanney “filio” [son]; and, in Nannau no. 1179 (1607), they are described as “Hugh and son Griffith.”

Also for Griffith as son of Hugh Nanney, note that, in 1588, Hugh signed the pedigree showing Griffith as his son by his wife Anne, daughter of Rhys Vaughan of Corsygedol (see Nannau in Dwnn, vol. 2, p. 226-27). Griffith would’ve been probably 19 or 20 years old in 1588. See also the Nannau pedigree in PACF, p. 200.

9.2 PACF, Nannau, p. 200, shows Griffith born on June 11, 1568 and Foster’s Alumni Oxoniensis (see next generation) says he is of the county of Merioneth and matriculated at Jesus College "2 July, 1585, aged 16” (indicating a birth in 1569). For this, see Nabbes-Nykke', in Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714, ed. Joseph Foster (Oxford, 1891), pp. 1050-1083 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/alumni-oxon/1500-1714/pp1050-1083 [accessed 23 November 2015]. Foster is not certain of Griffith’s identification. He says that “perhaps" he is the Griffith of the Nanney family, who was MP for the county of Merioneth in 1593. Though Foster was not sure, and some uncertainty therefore remains, an Oxford matriculation at the age of 16, in 1585, if a mistake for age 17, would fit rather well with Griffith being of age and first appearing in the Nannau MS in a 1589 indenture (in Nannau MS no.167 discussed above).

9.3 For the marriage agreement for Griffith when he was about eight years old, see Nannau MS no. 117 (1576), described as a bond by John Vaughan of Llwydiarth to Hugh Nanney ……regarding a marriage “to be hereafter solemnised between Griffith son of Hugh Nanney and Jane, daughter of John Vaughan.”

9.4 The original marriage agreement (probably signed by the parents of Elin and Griffith Nanney) was noted on page 2 of Hugh Nanney the younger’s inventory of deeds, etc. This marriage agreement was described in his inventory as “the settlement made upon the marriage of G. Nanney and Elen …” in a blackbox with number six on the back (see Nannau MS no. 1821).

For Griffith's father Hugh Nanney signing the Dwnn Nannau pedigree on July 24, 1588, see Dwnn, vol. 2 p. 227. See also Nannau pedigree, PACF, p 200 and Peniarth 287, p. 389-91, the pedigree by Robert Vaughan who married Griffith’s daughter Catherine.

For Elin's father John Wyn ap Cadwaladr (signing as "John Cadd”) the Rhiwlas pedigree on July 21, 1588, see Dwnn vol. 2 p. 229). John’s uncle Ellis Price probably gave the family a few connections at court. Ellis had as a patron Robert, the Earl of Leicester, who had influence in north Wales and with the queen. John’s grandfather was a chaplain to Henry VIII (see, for his short HOP biography: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/wyn-ap-cadwaladr-john-1589).

Another ancestor of the Price’s of Rhiwlas was Rhys Fawr, who fought for the Tudors at Bosworth, where, it is said, he held the Red Dragon banner and possibly killed Richard III (see DWB, and for possible effigies of Rhys Fawr, see: http: www.wikiwand.com/en/Ysbyty_Ifan). For the Church stone dated 1599, attributed to Cadwaladr Price ap Robert, Griffith Nanney’s wife Elin’s grandfather, see:
http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/43868/details/st-deiniols-churchst-mors-churchst-mor-and-st-deiniols-church-llanfor
For what survives in the current Rhiwlas Hall, see:
http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/28709/details/rhiwlas-hall-bala.

The Herberts were sometimes involved in Merioneth politics. Elin’s brother Cadwaladr Price was “strongly supported” for sheriff of Merioneth by Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, lord president of Wales (see HOP biography: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/price-cadwaladr-1561).

For the names for parents Elin and Griffith Nanney (by then deceased) found in an October 30, 1615 agreement for the marriage of their daughter Catherine to Robert Vaughan, “the antiquary,” see the google groups post where I discuss the agreement in more detail: soc.genealogy.medieval post: https://groups.google.com/d/msg/soc.genealogy.medieval/qa9qw_0zKu8/11BcADr2BgAJ. The reference number for this agreement has not been traced but it apparently came from the University of Bangor in Wales. The agreement is titled: "Draft Articles of Agreement on the marriage of Robert Vaughan the antiquary with Catherine Nanney of Nanney.” The parents of Robert Vaughan of Gwengraig and future bride Catherine Nanney are mentioned as follows: “...Howell Vaughan ap Griffith ap Howell of Gwengraig in the said countie of Merioneth, gentleman, of the one partie and Ellyn Nanney, widow, late the wief of Griffith Nanney, Esquire, deceased of the other…”

The above marriage agreement was possibly a draft but it seems the parties did reach a final agreement, because days later, on November 11, 1615, they signed a bond of obligation, from Howel Vaughan of Gwengraig and his son and heir Robert Vaughan to Elen Nanney (see Nannau MS no. 277).

9.5 For the birth in 1561 of Elin’s brother Cadwallader Price, MP in 1584, based on his matriculation at Oxford at age 20 in May 1581, see: Foster’s Oxford Alumni, pp. 1181-1208 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/alumni-oxon/1500-1714/pp1181-1208 [accessed 18 November 2015]).

See Parry, JMHRS, vol. 5, part 3 for: the accumulation of wealth and lands 1450-1540, p. 186; for Hugh’s abbey land purchases, p. 194-97; for Griffith’s offices and documents, see p. 197-98.

For the 1596 poem for Doluwcheogryd, see the Nannau 1958 Chilcott’s auction item: “Document on vellum, being a bard (poem) to Griffith Nanney for the peaceful enjoyment of Doluwcheogryd, dated 1596” (see, for an image, the fourth line on the right at link [assessed December, 2016]: http://nannau.com/auction/page11.html.

For the carved stones still visible in 1898, note that the following initials and latin inscriptions were “still to be seen on the front of the building” at Doluwcheogryd by Edward Griffith:

"GN [Royal arms of Queen Elizabeth I] EN”

"Vivat Diva Elizabetha"

"Mollis aer ferrum lapides mons ignis Olympus
Omnia Transibunt sed mea verba manent."

"Non Domus Dominum
Sed Dominus Domun"
"1596"

Long live goddess Elizabeth

The soft air, iron, stones, the volcano, the heavens,
All things will pass away, but my words remain.

"The house does not the man
But the man the house"

He goes on to say that as Doluwcheogryd is part of the Nannau estate, then these initials without a doubt must represent Griffith Nanney and Ellen Nanney. See, "Bye Gones” vol. 5, 2nd series (1897-98), p. 292 (link online:
http://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.32044094421328?urlappend=%3Bseq=322). In 1898, the Tudor woodwork, staircase, and furnishings were still in place (see p. 305).

The Coflein National Monument Record for Doluwcheogryd says that on the chimney there are “7 Elizabethan stones inscribed in Latin." These stones are I believe probably those described above with latin and the initials of Griffith Nanney and Ellen Nanney, GN and EN. See for record: http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-5128-dolrhyd-house-a470-n-side-dolgellau#.WEMsJjKZNE6

In a personal email, I enquired about a possible photograph labeled the “Carved wall section,” likely an image of the inscribed stones at Doluwcheogryd (image no. C470037). The National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW) said that they had the photo of the carved stones in the Coflein database, but said that stones appeared to be weathered and that no details could be seen (see for photographs:
http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/archive/6255680/details/504/).

9.6 See Parry, JMHRS, vol. 5, part 3, for Griffith’s offices and account books, p. 197-98 and for Griffith Nanney’s election as MP and the local offices he held, see HOP: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/nanney-griffith-1568-1609.

For Griffith’s letter answering Lewis Owen’s challenge to a duel, see Parry, Nannau thesis, p. 324 and Parry, JMHRS, vol. 5, part 3, p. 203 (starting p. 199 for the ongoing feud).


9.7 For Griffith’s letter to probably William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke “Coppi of letter from Gr: Nan: to my lord Herbert” and father Hugh’s note, to deal with the Earl of Pembroke, see Parry, JMHRS, vol. 5, part 3, p. 204. Griffith’s letter was undated but was likely written between sometime in 1606 and April 1608 when his father Hugh was in prison. For the full transcriptions of this and other letters noted below, see Parry, Nannau thesis, starting p. 301, online: http://yanceyfamilygenealogy.org/BOOK_%28NANNEY%29__HistoryoftheNannauFamily301_349.pdf

When released, Hugh made a note, on May 7, 1608. to thank men, with Welsh connections such as:

— The “E of M," perhaps Philip Herbert, made Earl of Montgomery in 1605. Brother of the above. Privy chamber member in 1603 and from 1605, chamberlain of north Wales (including Merioneth). One of King James’ favorites. Patron of Van Dyck. See: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/member/herbert-sir-philip-1584-1650.

— "Sr. W. H.,” probably Sir William Herbert, knighted 1603 and member, Council of Wales 1603-44. For signs of his affinity to the above William, 3rd Earl of Pembroke and Philip, the Earl of Montgomery, see: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/member/herbert-sir-william-1575-1656.

— "Mr. C." (perhaps Herbert Croft, grandson of James Croft, Hugh’s patron. He was supported by Robert Cecil. From 1601-1607, member of the council of Wales, MP for Hereford in 1593. For details and that he may have attended the subsidy committee with fellow MP Griffith Nanney, see: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/croft-herbert-1565-1629.

The Nanney’s Herbert connections may be due to the Herbert’s normal activities related to their offices in Wales including the Council. But, perhaps it also helped that Hugh Nanney’s grandmother was a Herbert or that Griffith’s wife Elin’s family held previous offices and had patrons at court. As noted above, Elin’s brother Cadwaladr Price was “strongly supported” for sheriff in Merioneth by Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, lord president of Wales.

For the April 7, 1607, letter to Griffith from a certain “master Herbert (?)", see Parry, Nannau thesis, p. 334. He opens by addressing Griffith as cousin, then refers again to cousin [Hugh] Nanney in the letter and then closes with: “to my very very loving cousin Griffith Nanney, Esq." In the letters to Griffith, he says that Sir Daniel Morton [likely Norton] has offered to help by getting Griffith’s father Hugh to talk with Sir Robert Bret (the man holding control over the fine payment) but that Hugh refuses to negotiate. Someone mentions interest (by Herbert?) in a knighthood, but here the letter is badly torn. Since this Herbert uses the word cousin three times, could this be Sir Edward Herbert, patron to Johnson, and a second cousin to Hugh Nanney? (see HOP: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/member/herbert-sir-edward-1582-1648).

For the Mermaid Tavern, see Smyth, A Pleasing Sinne: Drink and Conviviality in Seventeenth-century England, p. 38-41. Ben Johson praised the Mermaid: “But that which most doth take my muse and me / Is a pure cup of rich Canary wine, / Which is the Mermaid’s now but shall be mine…"

Parry (JMHRS, vol. 5, part 3, p. 205), notes that, while in prison, Hugh Nanney also wrote petitions to the King, the Privy Council, the Earls of Salisbury (Cecil) and Dorset), Tanfield and Chancellor Ellesmere who sat on the Council of Wales (see HOP: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/egerton-Thomas-i-1540-1617). Hugh Nanney signed the final compromise in November 1610 when Henry Price, Lewis Gwyn and Edward Edwards secured the reduced fine. Note: Gwyn was father-in-law to Griffith’s son and Edwards was his brother-in-law (see Nannau MS no. 1185). Foster’s Oxford Alumni includes a Henry Price of Merioneth, enrolled 1599, aged 16; barrister, Lincoln’s Inn in 1608, probably who later, along with Hugh Nanney (d. 1647) and Lewis Gwyn collected the lay subsidy in 1627 (see Cambrian Quarterly, vol. 3, p. 458).

Included in the Nanney legal battles, was an accusation that they damaged a rival’s church pew in Dolgellau (but according to the Nanney’s, the rival had attacked their pew two days before on Christmas Day, 1603). The Star Chamber proceeding for this incident, dated 1606, mentions Griffith Nanney, as the son of Hugh: “That one Hugh Nanney of Nanney in the said county of Merioneth esquire and one Griffith Nanney sonne heire apparent of the said Hugh Nanney did….” (see Parry, JMHRS, vol. 5, part 3, p. 202-203, citing STAC 8/225/15).



9.8 For Hugh’s son Edward Nanney, being attached to Edward Lord Zouch (President of Wales from 1602-15), and Edward’s letter date estimated c. 1603, see Parry, JMHRS vol. 5, part 3, p.194 and Parry, Nannau thesis, p. 330 for full letter.

Edward Nanney’s letter of June 12th, (Edward does not put the year on his letter, but 1603 is possibly a good fit) described recent English military and diplomatic developments. Edward, writing from Chancery Lane to brother Griffith Nanney says that the “hollanders had great spoil of the Spaynards uppon sea…” when they tried to provision Archduke Albert (this is very likely the May 26 Battle of the Sluis). Edward also writes that there is news this week of the safe landing of the "chif embacive of Spaine” and of "his Roialle entertayment…” and that "ther is great likelihood of great love betwixt us and Spaine.” Edward signs the letter "To his very loving brother Gr. Nanney, Esq. at Maylan [Maelan]."

For the date of May 26, 1603, for the Battle of Sluis, see the Dutch biography: http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/aa__001biog15_01/aa__001biog15_01_0641.php. The battle two weeks before Edward’s letter is a good fit for Edward Nanney's letter being written in June 12, 1603, instead of June of some other year. Also Edward’s June 12 letter says that things will change when the ambassador of Spain returns implying that the ambassador had to leave the court at one point and had not yet returned. Possibly this is referring to the proclamation just two weeks before, on May 29, which commanded gentlemen to depart the court and city because of the plague.

The letter seems to signal that the king is considering peace with Spain and just over a week later on June 23, King James made a proclamation that effectively reigned in the English privateers taking Spanish ships and this was a first move in securing peace with Spain. See Green, Calendar of State Papers (CSP), p. 11, for May 29, proclamation from Greenwich, commanding gentlemen to depart the court and city on account of the plague, and see CSP, p. 15, for June 23 proclamation, canceling the Queen’s commissions taking Spanish ships as prizes.

For Zouch as an Envoy to King James of Scotland in 1593-4 and Zouch as a patron of Ben Jonson and other poets and a Member of the Council of Virginia 1609, and of New England in 1620, see Cambridge University biography dbase: http://venn.lib.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search-2016.pl?sur=&suro=w&fir=&firo=c&cit=&cito=c&c=all&z=all&tex=ZC570EL&sye=&eye=&col=all&maxcount=50

Zouch was at one time a ward of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, later Elizabeth’s chief minister and later served with his son Robert Cecil (possibly the Cecil's with distant welsh ancestry, might not have been opposed to placing sons of Welsh families at court). For Cecil’s wards, see Nelson, Monstrous Adversary: The Life of Edward de Vere, p. 35. Note that one of Cecil’s wards was Hugh Nanney’s distant cousin, Sir Ralph Grey of Chillingham (descended from the Grey’s of Heton; see Kynaston in previous generation).

For Thomas Middleton and others named in the company of Virginia charter, see: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/va02.asp. Edward Nanney’s letter also mentions that Thomas Middleton is trying to help the Nanney’s in their litigation. The Nanney’s supported Middleton as MP for Merioneth in 1597 (see HOP: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/myddelton-thomas-1556-1631).

For the debt by Griffith Nanney and his brother-in-law Cadwaladr Price to Thomas Middleton, see Nannau MS no. 189 (1594/95). In Nannau MS nos. 239 and 251 (1609), Griffith Nanney is in debt to Thomas Middleton along with members of families that married into the Nanney family, e.g., Griffith Vaughan of Corsygedol, and Griffith Nanney’s brothers in-law Lewis Gwyn, Robert Lloyd of Rhiwgoch, and John Hughes of Maesypandy.

It is interesting that Edward Nanney was enthusiastic about peace with Spain. Did the Nanney’s have catholic sympathies like others in Wales? Hugh Nanney’s former patron James Croft was known to support a pro-Spanish policy. Or was Edward just reflecting the popular consensus at court that peace with Spain under the new King was likely. See for James Croft (d. 1590) including his 1588 diplomatic mission to treat with the Spanish, his HOP biography: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/croft-sir-james-1518-90.

For Griffith’s younger brother Edward’s birth c. 1578, see his Jesus Coll., matric. 12 Nov., 1596, aged 18 in Foster’s Oxford Alumni pp. 1050-1083. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/alumni-oxon/1500-1714/pp1050-1083 [accessed 31 October 2016].



9.9 Griffith’s last appearance in the Nannau MS was on April 22, 1609 (nos. 250, 251). Proof of Griffith’s will is then mentioned in the catalog entry for Nannau MS no. 253: "Letters of administration from the probate court at Bangor to Hugh Nanney [added by the catalogue editor: "the younger"] concerning the procedure incident to the proof of his father's will (28 July, 1609)."

Note that the catalogue entry for MS no. 205 is a possible undated draft will by Griffith Nanney (given the provisional date of 1600 by the Nannau MS editor). His children are not mentioned in the catalogue entry for the draft will (but possibly they are in a lost final version). The editor notes that Griffith’s draft will does refer to his sister Jane, who married Ellis Lloyd and his “brother” [brother-in-law] John Vaughan of Cargai’s 1599 trip to Ireland.

For some of the titles for the poetic elegies for Griffith Nanney after his death are in the Mostyn MS: Richard Philip, “Marwnad [elegy] Griffydd Nanney 1609.” and Harry Howell, “Mar[wnad]: Gr: Nannau ap H. Nannau Hen [no date]” (see RMW, Mostyn MS, vol. 1, p. 269, no. 73).

Note: many of the poems to the Nanney’s such as to Hugh “Hen” (the elder), and his son Griffith, were transcribed c. 1690 by Nannau family poet “John Davies" and then bound in a leather book. This book may have been passed down through the Nanney generations to Col. Hugh Nanney and his daughter Catherine and then to her husband William Vaughan (married c. 1690). The book’s front cover bookplate has the signature of “Wm Vaughan of Corsygedol, Feb: 1737-8.”




Bibliography generations 7-12 (with abbreviations):


Abstracts of Chester County, PA Land Records 1758-1765.

Bartrum, Welsh genealogies, AD 1400-1500 (1983) now online as Cadair - Aberystwyth University Open Access, Bartrum Project at: http://cadair.aber.ac.uk/dspace/handle/2160/4026.

Besse, Sufferings — Bess, A collection of the sufferings Google groups of the people called Quakers (1753).

"Bye Gones” vol. 5, 2nd series (1897-98).

CSP — Calendar of State Papers.

Cat. of Wales MS in Brit. Mus. — Owen, A Catalogue of the Manuscripts Relating to Wales in the British Museum, part 4, in Cymmrodorion Record Series 4 (1922).

Cato, Miles K. W., 'Nannau and Early Portraiture in North Wales', Journal of the Merioneth Historical and Record Society, vol. 11, Part 2, p. 182-186.

Coflein — Coflein online database for the National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW). All Coflein extracts and links or derived from information compiled by RCAHMW and/or Crown copyright.

Dodd, Welsh Migration — Dodd, The Background of the Welsh Quaker Migration to Pennsylvania, JMHRS vol. 3, part 2, p.

Dodd, Studies in Stuart Wales (1952).

DWB — Dictionary of Welsh Biography now online at NLW: http://yba.llgc.org.uk/en/index.html.

Dwnn — Dwnn, Heraldic Visitations of Wales (1846).

Foster’s Oxford Alumni — Foster (ed.), Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714 (1891), online at British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk

Acts Interregnum — Firth and Rait, Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642-1660 (1911) at British History Online: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/acts-ordinances-interregnum.

Glenn, Merion in the Welsh Tract (1896).

Guto’r Glyn project website at: http://www.gutorglyn.net.

Hinshaw, Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy.

Hinshaw, Pennsylvania Quaker Meeting Records (PQMR), Goshen (vol. 4) and Gwynedd (vol. 5) Monthly Meetings.

HOP — History of Parliament now online at: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org

JMHRS — Journal of the Merioneth Historical and Record Society.

Jones, E.D., ‘The Family of Nannau (Nanney) of Nannau’, JMHRS vol. 2: p. 5–15.

Jones, E.D., 'Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt', JMHRS, vol. 1, p. 21-30.

Lewis and Davies, 'Records of the Court of Augmentations relating to Wales and Monmouthshire' (1954).

LLP — Horle and Wokeck (eds.), Lawmaking and Legislators in Pennsylvania: A Biographical Dictionary (1991). See entry by Joseph Foster for Griffith Owen in vol. 1.

McCracken, The Welcome Claimants Proved, Disproved and Doubtful (1970).

Morrice (ed.), Barddoniaeth William Llyn: A'i Eirlyfr Gyda Nodiadau (1908).

Nannau MS — Nannau manuscripts, 1420-1947, Bangor University archives. The November, 1936 catalogue of the Nannau MS by Thomas Richards, D.Litt., (1878-1962) is housed at those archives.
See Nannau MS description at: http://anws.llgc.org.uk/cgi-bin/anw/fulldesc_nofr?inst_id=39&coll_id=10786&expand=

PACF — Griffith, Pedigrees of Anglesey and Carnarvonshire Families (1985).

Parry, B.R., Hugh Nanney, Hen (c. 1546-1623) Squire of Nannau, JMHRS, vol. 5, part 3, p. 185-206.

Parry, Nannau thesis— B. R. Parry, History of the Nannau Family to 1623, M.A. thesis (1958) at: http://yanceyfamilygenealogy.org/nanney_archives.htm

Pennant, Tour of Wales (1781).

PMHB — The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography.

PWP — Papers of William Penn, Dunn and Dunn (eds.) vol. 2 and Wokeck, Wiltenburg, Hirsch and Horle (eds.) vol. 3.

RMW — Evans, Report on Manuscripts in the Welsh language (1898).

Society of Friends, A Collection of memorials concerning divers deceased ministers and others of the people called Quakers …, (1787).

Vaughan, M., Nannau, JMHRS, vol. 4, part 2, p. 119-121; part 3, p. 202-208.

Williams, Renewal and Reformation: Wales c. 1415-1642 (1993).