Rowland Eames (the hatter born about 1682),
His Families and Descendants

Sumbitted by Brett Gledhill

Ancestors - Petigree Chart

Rowland Eames, born about 1682, was listed by noted Walsh researcher Bob Owen as the son of Nathaniel Eames, (b.1650). Mr. Owen had access to many more records end local histories than we do today, hence, his judgment in this matter should be highly regarded. Perhaps most convincing among our evidence of this father-son relationship is the fact that the son, Rowland, named two of his first four sons Nathaniel, undoubtedly a name held in highest esteem by Rowland. It is a fact, however, that the records back then were very sketchy, and this connection is probably only an assumption. We have no record of the birth of Rowland Eames, the birth year of 1682 is an estimation probably by the Genealogical Society. It is safe to assume that he was born near Llanllyfni, Caernarvonshire, Wales. This was the ancestral home for several generations. As far as we know, Rowland lived his entire life there.

Sometime before 1708, Rowland (b.1682) married Jane Price. No record of their marriage has been round. It is possible that she came from a neighboring perish, and their marriage took place there. The first mention found for this family was November 7, 1708, when their son George was baptised as an infant into the Church of England. Rowland Eames and Jane, his wife are listed as the parents. Similar entries are found for the baptism of their other children: Nathaniel (who died in 1711), Rowland Nathaniel and Hugh. It is unclear from Sister Musgrove's notes of the Bishop's Transcripts if on some of these entries Jane's maiden name, Price, is also given. One reference to her maiden name is quite clear, however. This it her burial record which states: buried 13 March 1720 at Llanllyfni, Jane Price wife of Rowland Eames. It was a Welsh tradition for even most married women to be buried under their maiden name. This gives us our only clue as to her parentage. IF she used the traditional patronymic name, than we should expect to find on her baptismal record that Price is the given name (not the surname) of her father. Be this as it may, we know that this woman, a fourth great grandmother of Rebecca May Eames, bore 5 children, and than died in the prima of her life, probably between 30 and 40 years of age. She left a husband of about 13 years and probably 4 children between the ages of 2 and 11 years. Her son Nathaniel, from whom we descend, was only 5 years old at the time.

Rowland Eames (b.1682), now a young widower, was left to raise the 3 or 4 young children. Perhaps he enlisted the help of his relatives and friends. About a year and a half later, Rowland married Ellen Jones at Llanllyfni, 22 November l721.5 She was probably a young woman from the parish. We do not know when she was born or who her parents were. About a year later a child was born to this couple. They named him John, probably the name of her father. John is the only child we find born to Rowland Eames and Ellan Jones. The next entry we have is the burial of Ellen Jones on April 4, I725. Rowland, now twice a widower by about age 40, was left with children Rowland (age 12), Nathaniel (age 10), Hugh (age 7), John (age 2) and maybe George (age 16 we don't know when he died).

Within 5 months, Rowland Eames (b.1682) married again. This time he married 19 year old Catherine Hughes, the daughter of Hugh Ab Evan and his wife Ellen of Llanllyfni. Catherine must have been a couragious young lady to take on a ready made family of this magnitude. In about 2 years time, 2 more children were born into this family, Richard in 1726, and Margaret in 1727. Then 4 years later, in 1731, a little boy named Foulke was born. This is all of the children we show born to this couple. We do not know when Catharine Hughes died.

Rowland Eames (b.1682) we know to be a hatter by trade. We have no infomation as to how, or where Rowland learned his trade. It is supposed that he spent many years as an apprentice, which was the custom back then. Some of the younger sons followed their father into a trade. Hugh became a tailor while Richard was a hatter like his father. Perhaps Richard learned his trade under the apprenticeship of his father. It is also probable that as these early Welshmen were so closely tied to the land, Rowland and most of his descendants did some farming along with their other occupations.

Without trying to read too much into these records, it seams that we can make a few safe assumptions based on the accomplishments of this family. There is definite evidence of distinction among them. They were quite obviously not among the gentry, but they had privileges and opportunities not generally available to the common man. Rowland, the son of Rowland Eames (b.1682) was for 39 years an agent to John Griffith of Cefnamwich, a medieval noble estate. Thus, Rowland must have been well educated, an unusual privilege back then. We don't know how educated his brother Nathaniel (b. 1715) was, but Nathaniel's son Rowland (b. 1756) was a highly educated musician and teacher. Hugh and Richard, sons of Rowland (b.1682), had learned a trade. Richard also was the parish clerk of Llanllyfni for many years. This distinguishes him as being among the unusually literate men of his day.

So, it is very likely that Rowland Eames (b.1682), the hatter, was a good influence on his children. Rowland must have derived great joy and satisfaction from the fine accomplishments of his family. His death occurred in February of 1758, at which time he was probably near 75 years old.