58. ELIZABETH III LEIGH (chr 2 Jan 1676 St Peter's - 24 Feb 1762
Capel Dewi, bur 1 Mar Llanarthney). Father:
15. OAKLEY I LEIGH Though we have no documentary evidence that the Elizabeth who became wife of WILLIAM REES was the daughter of OAKLEY 1 LEIGH, we have numerous references to family relations as "cousins" and also the fact that their first son was named after WILLIAM REES'S father OWEN and their second son was named after Elizabeth's father OAKLEY. Further study of this REES family might provide documentary evidence.
Even before the marriage of OAKLEY I LEIGH'S daughter ELIZABETH to WILLIAM REES Esq. the two families may have been related through OAKLEY'S wife's grandmother in the Abergwili area, but this interesting possibility remains to be proved. See the PRICHARD ANCESTRY. The chronology of ownership of Capel Dewi before OWEN I REES is also uncertain, and its possible relation to earlier estates is very difficult to study with the numerous changing patronymics in this time. WILLIAM'S father OWEN I REES was educated and served as Notary Public, certifying legal documents. His "cousin" Nathaniel Morgan was named as overseer of OWEN I’S will in 1698, and Morgan married Sarah Lewis, daughter of Rebecca Hughes in our same Abergwili line. Morgan's own estate was eventually turned over to Rees PREES, son of OWEN I REES, but whether these relations are significant is unknown. Interestingly, Francis Jones cites GGB Kadwgan vawr of Talgarth as a source for his treatment of Capel Dewi in Historic Homes of Carmarthenshire and their Families, but that GGB section has few clear references to Capel Dewi or a single Rees family and very few dates (seen on Film no.104351).
Derek Williams' research presents a happy picture of the REES family in its 17th-century mansion in Capel Dewi in this period. WILLIAM REES seems to have been the classic squire with a large estate, and he was very active as city sheriff in 1714, mayor of Carmarthen in 1735, and county High Sheriff in 1741 (a position taken by the gentry not commercial men). The REES family must have had a coat of arms, but we found nothing of it. The marble memorial plaque in the Llanarthney church honoring WILLIAM and ELIZABETH LEIGH REES calls them
"Universally belov'd and respected whilst living, they were equally lamented when dead."
The ancient estate was broken up, and the mansion house itself has
become a small hotel named the Capel Dewi Uchaf Country House.
The front of the house is almost original though the inside was somewhat
remodeled, with guest rooms for six, a dining room, and lounge with
fireplace. Set in two acres of garden and fruit trees, the hotel also
has a private fishing section along the Towy River and a stable for
boarding horses. Several cottages were made from the original converted
stables. Capel Dewi Uchaf House is about seven miles north of
Carmarthen, making a ten-minute taxi ride from the train station.
Sources: St. Peter's Collocation of Names (Film no.104504); Llanarthney Bishop's Transcripts (Film no.105151); list of Carmarthen mayors and sheriffs (NLW MS 12366D); wills of OWEN I REES (NLW SD/1698/ W), MARY NN REES (NLW SD/1727/), Elizabeth III LEIGH (NLW SD/1762/55 W), Owen II REES (NLW SD/1777/ ), Rev. Oakley REES (PCC? 1770 ), Elizabeth REES (PCC? 1780 ); Alumni oxoniensis.
63. JOHN II LEIGH (chr 1 Apr 1686 St
Peter's - bur bef 19 Dec 1746
w.p.) clothier, mayor, gent. Father: 15.
OAKLEY I LEIGH
md possibly (2) Anne UNKNOWN (? - bur 12 Aug 1754)
The genealogy done by Amy VanCott (and others in the Ancestral File)
considered this JOHN (son of OAKLEY I) to be the same person as JONATHAN
I (son of RICHARD III). JONATHAN's second wife Catherine GWYNN was given
to this John. However, JONATHAN's two children in St Peter's records,
WILLIAM I and Sarah I, were born too early to be the children of this
JOHN II, whose own christening occurred in 1686, not 1682, as Amy
believed. I verified this later birth year in the original Latin
Bishop's Transcripts as well as the parish records and "Collation of
Names." Finally, the names of John and Jonathan were well known to be
distinct and were not used interchangeably.
JOHN II was listed as a clothier in several documents, e.g. the bond for the estate of his cousin
JONATHAN I dated in 1717, and the will of his cousin OAKLEY II LEIGH of Millfield in 1721. He was
sheriff of Carmarthen in 1713 and mayor in 1731. Styled as gent in a posthumous document about his
will dated 17 Dec 1746, he himself used the title Alderman for his will. He seems to have been
successful as a clothier, but we found no detailed economic data. He outlived both sons and in 1743 named his daughter Anne (married name Evans) administrator of his will even though his "beloved wife" (unnamed) was still alive.
We can find nothing certain on JOHN'S wife or wives. Speculatively, the
"Mrs Dorothy Leigh" buried at St Peter's on 19 April 1732 seems
promising, because "Mrs" indicates a certain status and fits JOHN'S term
as mayor in 1731. Alternatively she may be the Dorothy Leigh (christened
in 1673) who was a daughter of OAKLEY I and thus a sister of JOHN II.
Perhaps JOHN married again because his will dated 1743 refers to his
"beloved wife." This wife may have been the "Mrs Anne Leigh widow" who
became guardian of JOHN'S two orphaned grandsons in 1750 (see
Rev. RICHARD NASH II LEIGH).
Sources : GG, Adv Carm (Film no.104351); St Peter's records and Collocation of Names (Film no.104504); original Latin Bishop's Transcripts (Film no.105132); Administration Bond for the estate of JONATHAN I LEIGH (NLW SD/1717/22 B); JOHN II
LEIGH's will and related documents (NLW SD/1749/22 W X) and will of OAKLEY II LEIGH of Millfield (NLW SD/1721/61 W and Film no.105240).
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