Yes well interesting story his fathers side is from Camarthen via Merthyr. His wifes side there is a Williams from the West country, when my brother checked, they originated from West Wales, went to the west country for work, so they came home in the end.

You've stumbled on one of the other difficulties - actually tracing where the registration records are kept, especially in the Valleys area! At least your grandfather wasn't a John Jones - if he was, I'm sure you'll still be searching!Do you know if his ancestors moved into the South Wales Valleys from elsewhere in Wales?

Yes well with my Grandfather whom I new and loved, to find his birth certificate took nearly a whole year. He was born in 1903 so he missed the census he was born in late December so he was on the following years list, he was born in Pontypridd whose records are in Caerphilly records not Ponty and Caerphilly's record are in Ystrad mynychs new offices. To top it off he was an Evan Williams and there was another Evan williams next to him born in the same place.

Yes, pre-mid nineteenth century research can be very difficult in Wales. The further back in time you go, the fewer the documents you have to cross-reference and the difficulties can be compounded by many families still using the patronymic naming system, even as late as the mid-nineteenth cent (on top of the perennial problem of common surnames, nonconformity and lack of surviving documents, families moving home every couple of years etc etc......). But it's not all bad news and some brick walls can, in many cases, be overcome.Which part of Wales were your ancestors from?

That good to know, I've being researching for about four years now, I'm split between the West country and West Wales. For the West country I've gone back to 1711 but with the Welsh side I'm still struggling in the mid 1800's. I've got lots of Williams and then Davies and Harris. Hard work as well as all the site have very little when it comes to Wales.

I thought you'd like to seethe attached article, written by me in response to the publication of the 1911Welsh census.

Many references to genealogical sources in Wales are usually based around themindset For Wales, see England. True, Wales has broadly followed the samemodel as England as far as official documents are concerned. However, thatmindset tends to disregard any particular Welsh issues that influence thecontent of historical documents. From years of helping people trace theirancestry in Wales I know that that mindset and can (and has) led the unwary upthe garden path only to crash straight into a brick wall during their research.

The publication of the 1911 census and its associated forms completed in Welsh,at last tells the world that family history research in Wales has distinctissues that need to be borne in mind while researching Welsh ancestry. Thisarticle outlines just some of these issues.

I'm currently working on another article which highlights problems associatedwith researching Welsh surnames and some of the myths involved. I'll post ithere when it's ready or you can read it soon on my website.
updated by @eilir-ann-daniels: 11/11/15 10:37:30PM