I first began genealogical research after hearing the claim that the last Welsh prince of Wales (before Britain took over) was a Thomas. Welsh history is complex, with Welsh names and the ancient ways of clans & chieftains not making things any easier to understand. For a while, I thought that the last Welsh prince of Wales was Llewellyn ap Gruffydd, who put up a massive fight against the British. Clearly, however, Llewellyn was not a Thomas.
Recently I read yet another claim connecting the Thomas line to Welsh royalty, but this time more specifically. Though “House of Names” is certainly not the most reputable historical source, it’s claim that the name Thomas was “first found in Breconshire, where the family claims descendance from Owen Glendower, Lord of Glyndwyrdwy, Prince of South Wales” gave me more to go on.
Owen Glendower, known to the Welsh as Owain Glyndwr, had his name anglicized by Shakespeare when he appeared as a character in Henry IV. He was the last native Welshman to hold the title “Prince of Wales,” and was also a descendant of the previously mentioned Llewellyn ap Gruffydd! A little more digging resulted in this page, which shows a connection between Owain and a Sir Rhys ap Thomas (yet another prominent figure!)
Perhaps it is through this Sir Rhys ap Thomas that the Thomases in Breconshire claim to be descended from Owain Glyndwr. I set upon connecting Owain’s and Sir Rhys’s family trees with success. However, their connection is only through marriage; there is no blood relation.
Another problem with this theory is that, although it appears that Sir Rhys has the surname “Thomas,” Welsh names do not function like ours do, and Sir Rhys’s son’s name was Sir Griffith ap Rhys. So, the Thomas link ends there.
In desperation I wrote to the president of the Owain Glyndwr Society in Wales, asking if he was aware of any connection between Glyndwr and the Thomas line. About two weeks later (mid-July), I received a snail-mail reply from Mr. Adrien Jones, who was unable to directly answer my question, but gave names and addresses of two Society members who are descended from Glyndwr who may be of greater assistance.
Today I received another note from Mr. Jones with two additional contacts, one of whose address is in the House of Commons, Westminster, London. He also indicated that he has sent letters to two newspapers. As far as I understand, posting letters to newspapers in that area of the globe is a way of publicly announcing that you are in search of something or information. Hopefully he will receive some replies!
Leaves on the Tree 