The Life and Times of Nathaniel Eames (b.1650) and His Family
Our Earliest Recorded Eames Ancestors

Submitted by Brett Gledhill

Decendants - Petigree Chart

By the mid 17th century, the Western European world was entering a period called the Age of Enlightenment. New agricultural developments meant that life was no longer greatly limited by a lack of food supply. Industrialism and commerce grew dramatically, providing an increasingly more numerous upper middle class, with a flavor for luxury and cultural refinement, Religious wars continued to be fought, but tolerance slowly increased. Pilgrims and other freedom seeking people were pioneering new, thriving colonies in the land of America. The absolute power of monarchs was diminishing. In 1649, by beheading their king, England sent a shocking message to all the world that even a monarch was not above their lieu.

This Age of Enlightenment also had a great impact on the world's records. For the first time in centuries, Western civilization began to maintain full vital records of the lower classes--the common man. By 1597, all of the 11,000 parishes of the Church of England (including England and Wales) were required to maintain records of infant baptisms marriages and burials, and to send transcripts of these parish registers to their bishops. These new requirements took a few generations to really take hold, but generally by the 17th century, traces of nearly every family in Wales could be found through various record keeping processes.

We find through research that beginning in the mid 17th century there was a small sprinkling of people throughout the parishes of Northern Wales who bore a name greatly revered by our Family today--EAMES. This name was found among the early parish record entries, spelled in many different ways. Eames, Eames, Ems and Ames are some of the more common spellings. A remarkable tradition concerning this name is that many of those who bore it in the 17th and 18th centuries did not subscribe to the very prevalent Welsh custom of patronymics. A patronymic name is one where the given name of the father becomes the surname of his sons and daughters. In this system, families change their surname with each generation. A name was a very sacred title to those early Welshmen. A good name was one of the most honored gifts that a man could bestow upon his son, and by which a son could honor his father.

We do not know what it was that made this Eames name special to our early ancestors, but we do know from the records that it was preserved down through the 17th and 18th centuries with each generation by the vast majority of the children.

One possible explanation for the unusual usage of the name EAMES in Wales is that perhaps our people were foreigners. We have found no records of our Eames ancestors in the parishes of North Wales prior to about 1650. Through their correspondence in researching our Eames line, the Genealogical Society received the following information in 1953, from the Reverend R. Jones, the Vicar of Tydweiliog:
"One account that I have had is that they (the Eames), together with two or three other families whose descendants are still here fled from Scotland after the Rising of 1715, but apart from vague references in one or two books I have not yet been able to verify this.

This information would not fully apply to our line of Eames ancestors, but it does point to a possible explanation as to their name usage and their origins. The two counties of Caernarvon and Merioneth are located at the extreme northwestern end of Wales. Parts of these counties comprised the ancestral home of our fames ancestors for 200 years and 6 generations. If we consider 200 years in terms of what events were happening in our own country that long ago, we realize that this is quite a long period of time. As we consult a map of Northern Wales we are amazed to find that these 6 generations lived their lives for that many years within an area which would only extend about 25 miles from one end to the other.

Both Caernarvanshire and Merionethshire are next to the sea. The parish of Llanllyfni, in the county of Caernarvon, is 2 miles to the east of Caernarvon Bay and 8 to 10 miles north of Cardigan Bay. Llanllyfni is the parish where our earliest fames ancestors were living in the latter half of the 17th century. Like most of those surrounding villages were our ancestors once lived, Llanllyfni was principally an agricultural area. That region is also known for its slate quarries. Further south in Merionethshire there are copper and lead mines as well.

In the year 1671, the name of Nathaniel Eames (b.1650) appeared for the first time. He was among the panel of jurors for the trinity quarter sessions of Caernarvonshire. By 1671, our Nathaniel fames must have been of legal age. Perhaps this is why the Genealogical Society estimated his birth year as 1650. No actual record of his birth has been found
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About 27 years after his jury service, Nathaniel Eames was appointed one of the two guardians for the parish of Llanllyfni for the year 1698. We can assume that this title was one of some distinction. Unfortunately, we have not as yet located the specific duties of a guardian during that time. This would be a good assignment for one of our new family researchers.

Three years later in 1701, our Welsh researcher Bob Owen, reports that the name of Nathaniel Eames of the parish of Llanllyfni was one of the list of panels named as a suitable constable for his district.

From these three references of our earliest Eames ancestor, we can form a few ideas about the type of man he was. He apparently had the respect of the local villagers. He was a responsible citizen and one who honored the legal process. He was a man that his associates felt they could depend on as a protector and one who would preserve the peace.

It may be an assumption that these three references to Nathaniel Eames were all one in the same person. For that matter, we have no positive proof that any of these apply to our own ancestor. We have no birth or marriage record for Nathaniel Eames nor do we have birth information for any of his children. Because Nathaniel Eames was a man of some respect in his community, the assumption that he was married certainly seems justified considering the age in which he lived. At the beginning of the 18th century, Nathaniel would have been about 50 years old. This was the time when his prominence and productivity was at its peak. Some of his children would have been old enough by then to begin their own families and take their place in the community. Would he have been appointed guardian or recommended as a suitable constable if he was a poor provider for his family, or if he had no family at all?

Likewise, Nathaniel's wife must have been a very respectable woman in the community. We have no record of who she was or anything about her.
The children which Mr. Bob Owen felt belong to this family are Rowland Richard, Rebecca. Jonathan and Simon. There may have been additional children and some of these children may not actually belong to this family. The records back at that early date were very incomplete. Mr. Owen was an expert at this type of research, and he had access to many records, hence his judgment on these matters should be respected.

The fourth and final record we have of our earliest Eames ancestor was that of his burial. On May 3, 1727, Nathaniel Eames, a pauper, was buried at the Llanllyfni churchyard. Assuming this record was in fact that of our Nathaniel, he would have been about 75 to 80 years old at his death. That was a ripe old age for a man to live in his generation. From the obscurity associated with youth, he had risen to community prominence, and then faded into the challenges of old age with its unwelcome dependence on other people. While in his prime, he had served his community. Now, as a pauper his community provided him with a decent burial.

There are many unanswered questions about our earliest mentioned fames ancestor, Nathaniel Eames (b.1650). Yet, these four recorded entries of him seem to symbolize the changing of the world itself, from centuries of darkness to an enlightened new era. It was the dawning of a day when even the common man could be remembered with honor by his descendants.