{"id":31,"date":"2016-04-15T14:20:32","date_gmt":"2016-04-15T14:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rwgevans.com\/family\/?p=31"},"modified":"2026-04-06T15:15:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:15:56","slug":"the-lleyn-peninsula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rwgevans.com\/family\/the-lleyn-peninsula\/","title":{"rendered":"The Griffith family of Lleyn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Grandmother Eluned Griffith (1898-1990)<\/a> came from a family that embraced the Welsh traditions of music, religion, education and the seafaring heritage of the Lleyn Peninsula in North Wales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her great grandfather Williams Williams (1806-1884)<\/a> was a drover and farmer who brought his family up at Penaber in Criccieth and from some time after 1851 until the 1880s at Ty Newydd in Llanystumdwy, later the home of David Lloyd George and now the National Writing Centre for Wales<\/a>. His three sons went to sea: John Williams (1835-1893)<\/a> who died in Beunos Aires, William Williams (b 1837)<\/a> and Robert Williams (1844-1930)<\/a> who served on the New Quay lifeboat in Cardiganshire.\u00a0 In his 1987 memoir The Red Dragon and the Rising Sun: Prelude, <\/span><\/em>Robert’s grandson Noel Davies (1919-1992)<\/a> says Robert recalls his father fitting shoes on cattle before driving them to English cattle markets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“His brother was the village blacksmith who, before the development of railways, was kept busy shoeing cattle for the drovers.  During my grandfather’s time the drovers had almost completely disappeared from the Welsh scene and his uncle depended on shoeing horses for a living.  The village boys habitually gathered near the busy smithy.  One boy who came to see the horses being shod was David Lloyd George, who was destined to become famous as a statesman”.   <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Many of their children and grandchildren continued the family’s maritime tradition as merchant seaman and in the Royal Navy during the war.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

William’s daughter Catherine Williams (1838-1907)<\/a> married Rev John Jones (1831-1909)<\/a>, son of the blacksmith at Llanynghendl on Anglesey and the minister at Pencaenewydd for forty years (view pages from his family bible here<\/a><\/i>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Kate Jones (1879-1911)<\/a> died at 32 “after a short illness” leaving two young children, the widower, Captain Owen Jones (1871-1915)<\/a> “was unable to be be present, being far away in China”.  He died four years later in Marselles leaving two daughters Anne Wynne (b1909)<\/a> and Catherine Theresa (1911-1952)<\/a> who were brought up by his sister Letitia. His chest and trinket-box are in the Lleyn Maritime Museum at Nefyn<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John and Catherine’s daughter Letitia Jones (1872-1942)<\/a> married Hugh Griffith (1862-1922)<\/a> whose father and grandfather were shoemakers at Well Street in Nefyn. Hugh studied at Bangor and became headmaster of the school at Llithfaen, where he led his own choir and \u201conce brought an orchestra to the slopes of the Eifl, so that his pupils and neighbours could enjoy and appreciate the musical masters.\u201d  He was said to have inherited his musical talent from his mother Ellen (1831-1891)<\/a> \u201cof the same religious disposition and well-versed in the spiritual melodies and rhymes of her nation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Well Street, Nefyn c 1875<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hugh and Letita had seven children<\/p>\n\n\n\n