Archive:Merion in the Welsh tract
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T. A. Glenn, Merion in the Welsh tract. With sketches of the townships of Haverford and Radnor. Historical and genealogical collections concerning the Welsh barony in the province of Pennsylvania, settled by the Cymric Quakers in 1682 (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Pub. Co. (1970)
Partially available at Google Books.
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The grantees under the John Bevan Patent were:
Charles Bevan, of Treverigg, Glamorganshire, his brother, Edward Richard, of Treverigg, Glamorganshire, tailor, Katherine Prichard, of Techla, Llantresaint, Glamorganshire, spinster, Elizabeth Prichard, of same place, Mathew and David Jones, and Ralph Lewis.*
Edward Richard died without issue, and his land descended to his brother, Lewis Richard, who by deed resold to John Bevan. Katherine and Elizabeth Prichard, of Techla, were kinswoman to John Bevan (cousins), but not related to Edward Richard it seems. Elizabeth died, and her sister re-
- See elsewhere in this volume.
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sold their joint purchase to John Bevan. Part of this tract, that reserved by John Bevan for his own use, lay partly in Merion, and now constitutes the Morris and other properties, just south of Wynnewood station. Fn.2 The balance was surveyed in Haverford township.
A very full account of the grantees under the purchase made by Dr. Edward Jones and John ap Thomas is given further on, so it is not necessary to mention them particularly here, further than to say that they were the first settlers in Merion township. Richard ap Thomas is referred to else-where. His purchase caused him considerable loss.
FN2. A portion of the original tract remained in the family until a few years since, when it was sold by the father of Walter Bevan, now of Rosemont. (See Bevan Genealogy.) This tract of land is situate directly back of the residences of Isaac Clothier, Esq., and William P. Henszey, Esq., of Wynnewood, on the south side of Lancaster avenue. The old Bevan home is still standing.
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Arms of Irstyn ap Gwrgan. Gules, three chevronellis, argent.
THE BEVAN FAMILY, OF TREVERIGG, GLAMORGANSHIRE, AND MERION, PENNSYLVANIA.
From the south side of Lancaster Avenue, directly opposite Wynnewood Station, on the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, in Lower Merion, a fine Telford street leads directly to the old Haverford Road, the southern border of the original township. The new avenue, on of the most picturesque drives in this section, is bounded for a little distance on the west by the property of Issac H. Clothier, Esq., and on th east by what was formerly Remingston's Park. Passing down this street towards Haverford, we come to a picturesque farm, now, or late, belonging to the Henry Morris estate, and extending to the township line. This land, until a few years since, was the property of the Bevan family, and a part of the original purchase of John Bevan (otherwise called John ap Evan, ab Evan or B'evan), who came here from his paternal estate of Treverigg, in Glamorganshire, in the year 1683. A very old Colonial mansion is yet standing upon the summit of a gentle slope of hill-side, to the west of, and overlooking the way, and if it does not include a part of the first stone house
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built by the family, it is nevertheless, doubtless, on the site of the home of the first owner of the broad tract, of which this little farm of some 78 acres was all that remained a few years since, when it was sold by Henry C. Bevan, a direct male descendant of John, the first settler. The lands of John Bevan, the original patentee, extended into Haverford Township, and it was at this place that he settled the little company of colonists that he brought out from his Welsh home. The Haverford lands were surveyed to those person who had contributed towards the purchase money for the 2000 acres patented, whilst the Merion lands were retained by John Bevan for his own use.
The family of Treverigg was one of the most ancient in Glamorganshire, and possessed considerable wealth for that day. The Bevans descended in the direct male line from the ancient Princes or Lords of Glamorgan, whose lineage is traceable for many generations back to the old Cymric Kings of teh Island of Britain. The following is the ancestry of John Bevan (beginning in more modern times), compiled from authentic documents and records remaining in Glamorganshire. A brief account of the direct male descendants in Pennsylvania is also added, whilst the descendants in the female lines are given in the last part of this article. As it is understood that the male line in Glamorganshire has failed, and that the earlier male lines from Iestyn ap Gwrgan have died out, it would appear that members of the American branch are not only the sole male representatives of the Treverigg family, but are representatives, as heirs male, according to their respective order, of the ancient Princes of Glamorgan.
Article continues to page 186.
Copyright © 2010, Adrian Benjamin Burke, Esq., and the Whitney Research Group.
