It does not take long when researching the surname 'Parry', particularly in Herefordshire itself, to start coming across references to the family from the Golden Valley. They are frequently referred to as "the Parrys of Poston", but the descendant branches in Herefordshire also appear to include those of Newcourt, Dulas, Moorhampton, Arkston, Wormbridge, and Wilmaston.
Other Parry families outside of Herefordshire are thought by some researchers to descend from them - that of Llanbedrog in Caernarfonshire, of Allington in Wiltshire, of Highnam in Gloucestershire, and of Aston Somerville (which was in Gloucestershire, but is now in Worcestershire). However, few of the pedigrees for these families show how they connect back to that of the Golden Valley.
This page is an attempt to construct an accurate pedigree for the Golden Valley family. It is a 'work in progress', and probably always will be, as new information becomes available. Although I have included sources where relevant, and tried to indicate if a comment is little more than a passing thought, you are strongly recommended to check out the information for yourself.
On this page the tree will be broken down into sections dealing with just two or three generations at a time. This will enable discussion points and queries to be included, although minor differences between sources will not necessarily all be listed. On another page will be a full version of the pedigree.
Please note that the initial full pedigree is based on certain 'key' sources, and is only provided as a starting point and "framework" for the research. The existence of a connection on this pedigree does not mean that evidence for it has been found. Sources for confirmed links will be indicated.
Links will be provided to the pedigrees of the other families who are thought to descend from the Parrys of the Golden Valley, but such families will only be added to this pedigree as the evidence for the connection becomes established.
If you have any comments about the information on these pages, or can add further details, then please contact me.
On this page:So why my title for this page?
The usual account of this family states that they acquired their lands in the Golden Valley by the marriage of Moreiddig, a descendant of the Irish kings, with Catherine, the widow of Thomas Lord Lacy, or lord of Ewyas Lacy. And the most commonly quoted pedigree for the family is probably that appearing in Jones' History of the County of Brecknock, which traces the lineage back to Alured, King of Kyrian in Ireland, who was living at the time of Hywel dda (c882-950).
Although the pedigree in Jones does trace the descent of Griffith ap Harry down to the two daughters, and heirs, of Miles ap Harry, who died in 1542/3, the main content relates to the descendants of John ap Harry, Griffith's brother. This line ends with people who were still alive in 1800, when Jones was writing his history. This concentration on the one branch is reflected in the title of the pedigree - "The Parrys of Poston and Llandevailog Tre-Graig" - since those are the properties associated with the descendants of John.
It was only as I started to come across references to Parrys in places near to Poston, such as Dulas, Wormbridge, and Morehampton, and discovered that these were branches of the same family, that I realised the description of the family as "of Poston" was inadequate. On obtaining further details of the family from other sources it became obvious that, not only were several branches of the family missing from Jones, but also his description of their descent from the kings of Ireland seemed to be unknown to many of these other, earlier, sources.
Even the link to the Lacy family, the supposed source of the Parry's land and properties, turned out to be problematic. The fact that it was not mentioned in most of the other sources was an indication that there was something wrong. This was then confirmed by Paul Remfry, who has studied the Lacy family of Ewyas in detail for his work on the castles in the area, and who told me that there never was a Thomas Lacy, Lord of Ewyas. Obviously, without a Thomas, then there could be no Catherine Lacy, his widow.
So, in my view, it appears that the history of the family has been rewritten over time, so as to indicate a more illustrious background.
The pedigree in Jones suffers from two obvious faults in that there are few dates given, and there are no sources quoted for the original information (although sources for some additions are mentioned). However, it appears that one of his sources was the Golden Grove books. These volumes of pedigrees, produced around 1765, are a copy of others from the seventeenth century. One of the pedigrees in the Golden Grove books is for Idio Wylht, and it is amongst his descendants that "Moreydhig" and the Poston family descent are found.
There is a long tradition of the use of pedigrees in Wales, where one's entitlement to land related to one's descent. However, in the Heralds' Visitations of Herefordshire, (1569 and 1634), the family generally starts with Henry ap John, father of Griffith and John ap Harry. Another source, Llyfr Baglan, which was written between 1600-1607, includes earlier generations as far back as a Moreiddig, but he is shown as the son of a Trymbenog, and Idio Wylht is not linked to the family. One pedigree in Llyfr Baglan is extended further beyond Trymbenog - but it is to "Blethyne, sone to Maynerch, lord of Brecon". Interestingly, once again it relates just to the Poston branch of the family.
It would seem remarkable that, in the intervening years to the compiling of the Golden Grove pedigrees, a different and more extended lineage should become evident. Especially when other branches of the family were being "lost" from the tree.
An insight into the methods of the heralds can be gained from Chris Phillips' Medieval Genealogy site. It was clearly advantageous to be able to link into a "known" pedigree, in order to make the Herald's work easier and that, I suspect, is the process that has taken place with regard to the Golden Valley family.
But of course, if you are a descendant of the family, then perhaps you would rather believe that I am the one who is re-writing the history!
As discussed above, the earlier generations of the Golden Valley pedigree are problematic. For that reason, the various versions are shown on a separate page - click here to view the "Beginnings" page. In keeping with the purpose of this page, which is an attempt to produce an accurate pedigree, the "start" will be taken to be that ancestor who is mentioned in every main source, and for whom some contemporary evidence can be found.
These criteria currently result in the separation of the descendants of Griffith ap Harry, from the descendants of John ap Harry. This is because I have yet to find evidence for their father, Henry ap John, in any contemporary records, although he does appear in several of the later pedigrees. There is also (so far) no contemporary evidence that confirms John ap Harry and Griffith ap Harry were brothers. Click on the links below to go to the discussion of each line.
For now, both lines will still be shown together on the full pedigree page so that corresponding generations can be seen - click here to view the "Full Pedigree" page.