July 2002
All photos courtesy of Ken and Mary Alice Jones
Three years ago at the Jones Reunion in Gimli, Manitoba, Mary
Alice and I proposed that our family take a tour of Wales together and to
visit the area where John S. and Ann Lloyd Jones met, married and lived
for a short time before coming the New World. The Jones Tour of Wales 2002
was the result and there were a total of ten relatives and seven others
making the pilgrimage.
The Jones relatives making the trip were:
| Ken and Mary Alice Jones |
Grandson of R.S. Jones |
| Berwyn and Martha Jones |
Grandson of Sarah Jones |
| Warren and Linda Townsend |
Grandson of R.S. Jones |
| Sarah Jones |
Great-granddaughter of R.S. Jones |
| Marc and Martie Guthrie |
Great-granddaughter of R.S. Jones |
| Beth Oyler |
Great-great-grandaughter of R.S. Jones |
Honorary Joneses making the trip were:
| Larry and Jeanne Guthrie |
Jeanne was our Tour Coordinator |
| Eldon and Ruth Bohmont |
Eldon worked with Ken for years |
| Katy Carlson |
Nebraska St. David's Society member |
| Harold Hermann |
Nebraska St. David's Society member |
| Linda Mead |
Nebraska St. David's Society member |
We met in Manchester, England on Saturday, July 6, 2002, and were
joined the next morning by Andrew Peter Stone (Andy) our driver from Bowen’s
Coaches. We left from Manchester for our week’s tour of the most beautiful
country we have ever seen.
Our tour coach had seating for 40 individuals and was
complete with on-board toilet and refreshment center. With our smaller group,
we were able to move about freely and each individual had two seats to themselves.
It made for very comfortable traveling.
Our tour group
Sunday, July 7th
On our first day, we visited Llanfairpwyllgwyngyll, the
Welsh town boasting the longest name in Wales. Also on Monday, we visited
Caernarfon Castle where Prince Charles was invested with the title of Prince
of Wales. What a beautiful castle and picturesque site. That
afternoon, we arrived in Ruthin and checked into a 13th century mediaeval
castle that is now a luxury hotel. We stayed here three nights and made
day trips to other parts of Wales from this location.
Monday, July
8th
This day was set aside as the Jones Heritage Day. We visited
the church and graveyard in Llanrheadr where John grew up and likely attended
services. We then proceeded to the Saint Saeran's Parish Church in Llanynys
where John S. Jones and Ann Lloyd were married in 1870. The Vicar came to
tell us about the church and graveyard and helped us locate the church records
of John and Ann's marriage.
The interior of the Saint Saeran's Parish
Chuch in Llanynys.
This is the church where John and Ann were married.
According to the Vicar, this is likely the alter where
John and Ann exchanged vows.
Church records show that the marriage of John and Ann was
announced three times before their actual wedding date.
This is a photo of the church record.
Berwyn assisted us in locating the gravestone for John and Elizabeth Lloyd, the parents of Ann Lloyd, great-great grandparents for some of us on the trip and great-great-great grandparents for others. Mary Alice made a “rubbing” of the tombstone.
Gravestone "rub" of John and Elizabeth
Lloyd,
believed to be the parents of Ann Lloyd Jones.
Former farm of John S. and Ann Lloyd
Jones
On this evening, a lady from the historical office in Ruthin came
to the castle to tell us about Welsh history and to help with some family
research.
Tuesday, July 9th
This day, we traveled to the seashore and along the way
took a 13 mile journey on a narrow-gauge train. Again, the scenery was breath
taking. One thing we noticed about the country side was the abundance of
sheep. We think there are more sheep in Wales than there are people.
On our return to Ruthin Castle, we attended a spectacular
Mediaeval Banquet and spectacular it was. We had a four course dinner with
only a knife to eat with. We sat at rough wooden tables and the room was
lit with several large candles on each table. We had soup and salad, lamb,
vegetables, and roast chicken. The waiters and waitresses were all in costume
and provided us with musical selections during the dinner.
Wednesday, July 10th
On this day, we visited King Arthur's Labyrinth deep in
the spectacular caverns under the Braichgoch Mountain. After lunch, we traveled
to Aberystwyth were we explored the town and took pictures along the sea.
Martha, Berwyn Jones’ new spouse once lived in Aberystwyth
and was very helpful in pointing us in the right directions.
At the end of the day, we arrived at Llandindrod Wells
and our hotel where we would stay for three additional nights.
Thursday, July 11th
Today we journeyed to South Wales and the picturesque
village of Tenby. Then it was on to Pembroke where we visited Pembroke Castle
and then to St. David's where we visited St. David's Cathedral, another
spectacular structure where the remains of St. David of Wales are buried.
St. David's Cathedral
Friday, July 12th
On this day we experienced some additional picturesque
scenery as we drove through the Brecon Beacons National Park, passed through
the Black Mountains and arrived at the Gower Peninsula.
Saturday, July 13th
The last day of our tour included a stop at Powis Castle
where we spend lots of time exploring the beautiful gardens and taking pictures
of the wonderful flowers. They have eight full time gardeners and five volunteers
to keep the grounds maintained. It was truly a beautiful place.
On our way back to Manchester, we stopped in Chester on
the Welsh-English border. It is a larger city and not like anything we had
visited in the preceding days. We returned to the hotel in Manchester, England
where we had met one week befoe and on Sunday, we all went our separate
ways. Some of us had journeyed to London and Stratford-Upon-Avon the
week before the tour. Others traveled to London after the tour ended.
All in all, we had a very enjoyable week. The non-Jones travelers were
so much fun that we made them all honorary Jones Family members at the
end of the week. Don't be surprised if they show up at some future Jones
Reunion.
Standing left to right: Ken Jones, Ruth Bohmont, Eldon Bohmont, Harold Hermann,
Linda Mead, Warren Townsend, Katie Carlson, Linda Townsend, Sarah Jones,
Martha Jones, Berwyn Jones, Martie Guthrie, Marc Guthrie, Jeanne Guthrie, Larry Guthrie
Sitting: Mary Alice Jones and Beth Oyler
The country of Wales is gorgeous. The scenery is lush and the prettiest green you can imagine. The people were so very friendly and eager to talk to us about our trip and our impressions of this wonderfully warm country.
For those of you who couldn't make the trip, we missed you all and wished you could have been with us to experience this exciting tour of our ancestors beautiful homeland.
