THE SECOND SON AND DAUGHTER OF JOHN DERWAS

   The daughter Margaret married William Morris of Cefnlenydd but no more is known.     

   Griffith Derwas of 'New Chapel' or Cefnlenydd, the second son of John Derwas and great grandson of John ap Owen, married Katherine, daughter of David Tanat of Tredderwen and they had eight children, 3 sons and 5 daughters. In age order the girls were Mary (born 1657), Anne, Katherine, Prudence and Elizabeth, and the sons Richard, John and Griffith.

   Richard was born in 1669 and later went to Oxford where the following entry appears in the University Registers: - "Derwas, Richard, son of Griffin of Llantrinis, co. Montgomery, pleb. Brasenose College. Matric. 6th Nov. 1689, aged 20. B.A. 1693."  He took Holy Orders and eventually went as Curate to the Parish of Meifod under the then Vicar, the Reverend Randall (or Randolph) Davies, who held the living from 1647 to 1695, except for a break during the Commonwealth Period when he was dispossessed in favour of a Puritan.

   In 1694 Richard married Mariann, one of the Vicars daughters, according to an entry in the Meifod Parish Registers which reads :- "Matrimonum legitimum contractum fuit inter Richardum Derwas, clerk, et Mariann Davies, amb de parochia, 8th (or 18th) Dec 1694."

   Richard succeeded his father-in-law as Vicar of Meifod in 1695 and held the living until his death in 1723. He and his wife apparently had no children for in his Will he left Cefnlenydd to his brother John, Cefnbriw to his brother Griffith and the income from two small farms, Tir-y-Clodion and Claethle, to form a charity in the parish of Meifod which continues to the present day. Originally it provided coats or cloaks for 4 "old decayed persons" each year with payments of one shilling "every 1st Sunday in the month" to some 8 or 10 "aged persons that shall be duly prepared to come to Church; and not the same always, but by turns; and to the bedridden, the same must be sent to them." As the years went by the farms were sold and some woodland too and the money invested at 5 per cent interest in two mortgages with the "Trustees of the 3rd District of the Montgomeryshire Turnpike Roads." The money so raised is still distributed as a Christmas Charity by the Vicar and Churchwardens, who hold a special chequebook for this purpose. Vouchers are given to be honoured in the local shops and the money paid later.

   Richards’s youngest sister Elizabeth married Derwas Jones, probably at Penrhos Church but during the period of 'loose sheets' as the record seems unavailable. Derwas Jones may be a descendant from John ap Owens' 2nd marriage, as Miss Lily F Chitty of Pontesbury confirmed the connection of John ap Owen with Derwas of Cemmaes and said she herself had an uncle, Derwas Jones, and a brother with the Christian name of Derwas but could not give details of the marriage mentioned. Their eldest son, Richard Derwas Jones, was born on 1st April 1725, baptised at Llandrinio the same month.  All the family appears to have used Derwas as their surname from then on. There were two more sons, John and Griffith and two daughters, Mina and Gwen.

   In 1764 Richard married Mary the daughter of Thomas Bowen of Llandrinio and they had two sons, Thomas born in March 1765 and John born in March 1770. Richard probably farmed at The Spawns, Alberbury and later at The Hayes on the Loton Estate. He died in 1802 and was buried at Alberbury.

   Richards' elder son Thomas married Sarah, the daughter of Robert Butterton of Alberbury and continued at The Hayes after his father's death. There were 6 children of this marriage. Of the 4 daughters Mary married 'the boy next door' William Wilde of The Hayes, an adjoining farm of the same name - probably Upper and Lower, and they had a son Richard. Sarah and Elizabeth died unmarried and Margaret married Richard Minton of Hopton by whom she had two sons, Richard and Thomas.

   Thomas, Richards’s elder son, died in August 1807 at the early age of 42, but his widow Sarah remained the tenant until her son Thomas married in 1827. A brother Richard died unmarried in 1878. Thomas's wife was Mary, daughter of John Rogers of Alberbury and there were 15 children of this marriage, to be dealt with in a separate section later.

    We now return to John Derwas, the 2nd son of Richard Derwas Jones. He was born in 1770 and in 1795 married Elizabeth the daughter of Thomas Brown of the Pentre and later had the tenancy of the farm. They had 6 children; Thomas born in 1796 who only lived a month; Elizabeth born in 1798 who married John Menlove of the Rowley in the Parish of Worthen; a second Thomas born in 1799 who married Mary Meyrick of Coppice House in the Parish of Ford; Richard born in 1802 who married Anne Gittins of Alberbury; John born in 1804 and Margaret Martha born in 1808, who married Edward Jones of Middle Bachia in the Parish of Llanfyllin.

    To record further issue of the above, Elizabeth had a daughter Margaret Maria who married Robert Platt of Wattlesborough Hall and had four children Elizabeth, John, Robert and Annie. Margaret Martha had three sons and two daughters, Richard who married Elizabeth Margaret Jones, Edward who died young, a second Edward who also died young, Martha and Mary Anne. It must be emphasised here that on the 'tree' Richard is highlighted with a 'star', as also is Richard of the fifteen children below.

A FAMILY OF FIFTEEN SURVIVING CHILDREN 

     In what is loosely termed the Victorian Era of the 1800's families became large and Thomas and Mary Derwas of The Hayes, Alberbury were certainly 'in the fashion' by having 15 children, as mentioned earlier, and their tenancy of the Loton Estate had to support them.

    The eldest son Richard was born in 1828 and later married Elizabeth Margaret Jones, the eldest daughter of Edward Jones of Bachie, Llanfyllin in 1859. She was born in 1839, the granddaughter of his grandfather's brother. These two were the grandparents of Em and May Rogers. It would appear that Richard on our side of the 'tree' married a distant relative, Elizabeth Margaret Jones, from the other side of the 'tree' and so combined both sides.

   The eldest daughter was Elizabeth (Aunt Betsy) and was born in 1830. She never married and after retirement from a successful career as a cook, lived in Oswestry until her death at the age of about 80.

   Mary, the second daughter was born in 1832 and also died unmarried. She kept house for her youngest brother Hugh Owen, after the early death of his wife.

  Sarah was the third daughter born in 1834 and married Wythen Foulkes of Stanford, a widower, in 1884 in her fiftieth year.

  Thomas the second son was born in 1837, but died in early infancy.

  Thomas the third son was born in 1838 and given the same name as his recently dead brother, a common custom at the time, and is said to have immigrated to America.           .

     Margaret was the fourth daughter born in 1840 and later married Edward Richards, a saddler of Oswestry. They had 3 sons, James, Edward Owen and Herbert Edward and 3 daughters, Mary Elizabeth, Louise and Margaret Annie.

    Martha, the fifth daughter was born in 1842 and married Edward Baugh of Llanymynech and sired 7 children - Robert, Edward and John, Mary, Maria, Eva and Maud.

    John the fourth son was born in 1844. He was high spirited and adventurous and went to America in his early twenties, where he died.

    William the fifth son was born in 1846 and later married Julia Wyatt, having one daughter Elizabeth Maud, who became an actress.                                                                                                    

    George, the sixth son, was born in 1848. He married Sarah Rowena Brown, a widow with 4 children, Harry, Leonard, Elmer and Annie. George and Sarah had 4 daughters and farmed at The Pentre, later retiring to Ashleigh House at Crew Green. The eldest daughter Nellie married Harry Hollis of West Felton and had no children. Second daughter Nesta married John Vaughan of Penbryn, Coedway and was also childless. Kathleen the third daughter never married and was a teacher in various posts in Shropshire, including 2 years at Cockshutt School about 1906 and many years as Infants Mistress at Alberbury C.E. School, living with her mother at Ashleigh House. She retired in the early 1950's to live in Shrewsbury where she died in 1977 at the advanced age of 88 or 89.

    I have a record of a further daughter Maud Rowena who married a Herman Gregory and had three children, Herman who died in infancy, Marion Elizabeth who married a Charles Rumsby of Oxford and had a daughter Gillian, and a son Richard who married Edna Games of Wem.

    Jane the sixth daughter was born in 1850 and married David Roberts, a Bank Official in Oswestry. He became very interested in the family history and with the help of the local Librarian researched the pedigree from 1577 to the 1800's. They had 6 children - Alfred, Arthur, Gertrude, Hugh, Cyril and Percy, who were left orphans at a very early age.

    Annie the Helen) the eighth daughter was born in 1855 married William Gregory of Criggion and had one son, Thomas Aubrey Derwas Gregory, who died unmarried in 1972.

    Hugh Owen, the seventh son and youngest child was born in 1857 and died in 1941. He married Alice Ann Adams of Criggion who died at an early age leaving 5 young children and his elder sister Mary then kept house for him and his family. Their eldest daughter was Alice, born in 1889, who married James Egerton and lived in the Birkenhead area and had one son James, who is unmarried, and 4 daughters. Freda married .... Garner and has three sons, John the eldest and twins Philip and Charles; Betty married .... Roberts and has one daughter Melinda; Alice married .... Garrett and has a son Peter; Joan married .... Black and has two daughters, Marilyn and Alison. Gladys, Hugh’s' second daughter, was born in 1890 and later married Samual Bancroft, organist at Holy Trinity Church in Oswestry where she later kept house for her father when he retired there after farming at Criggion Hall and Sweeny Mountain. Her cousin Aubrey Gregory made his home with them in later years. Louise, Hughs' third daughter, was born in 1892, died at the early age of 33 and was unmarried. Vera Helen the fourth daughter was born in 1894 and was at one time companion to an old lady (Miss Round ?) at Preston-on-the-Weald Moors. Later she married Archibald Pinnock who kept The Stores at Shawbury. They had one son Frank who took up farming and married Joyce Beddoes of The Meadows, Norbury, Shropshire. They have 3 sons, Mark, David and Andrew and now live at Lea Farm, Norbury, where Frank specialises in sheep. Vera died in 1977 aged 83 while living at Mytton Oak Road, Shrewsbury. Francis Thomas, the only son of Hugh was born about 1897 and married Anne Jones of Welshpool. He was for many years a partner in the Ironmongery firm of Denbigh and Son of Welshpool and Oswestry. They had 3 children, Joan the eldest and only daughter married Alan Lloyd of Criggion and they have 3 daughters: Wendy, Susan and Sian; the elder son Keith married Lobelia Hughes and has 4 children, Catherine, Adrian, Ceri-ann and Gareth; the second son Ronald married Margery Jones of Llandrinio and they have two children, Helen and Roger. Keith and Ronald founded their own Ironmongery business of Derwas Bros. with branches in Welshpool and Oswestry.

Return to First Son Richard.                                                                              Richard and a younger brother John, who later emigrated to America, both joined the Yeomanry in their youth. Richard was of an inventive turn of mind and would probably have done better in engineering than in farming or hostelry.