ReesClark.com
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Blogus clarkensis: Just a few observations and the occasional modest proposal. If you'd like to participate or comment on my mad ravings write to me. If it gets weird, consider that weird attracts search engines, and the site is really a test of search engines and of our system features. (Many images can be clicked for a larger version.)
Fun Facebook Genealogy Fare
Recently I joined a Facebook group on Welsh Genealogy and found a bit of geographical connection. (Order of posts to Facebook altered to reflect actual sequence of overlapping messages.)

Sue Schultz wrote:
When I was a child, my mother said we were descended from the Prince of Wales. I told the nuns at my school who laughed. 55 years later, doing research + DNA, I did find there was some chance our Griffiths from Ystradgynlais might have descended from a prince of south Wales. At the cathedral in St David's, I did find the sarcophagus of Rhys ap Gryffudd died ca 1187 & said this is good enough for me.

(I spotted the name of Ystradgynlais, a village in Breconshire, Wales. -RC)

Rees Clark wrote:
Sue Schultz — I was in Ystradgynlais a few weeks ago. My Welsh-speaking great-grandmother and earlier generations were born there, and BTW lots of Griffiths and Gruffydds are buried near her in SE Idaho in a little village cemetery with many Welsh names.
Enjoyed seeing Y's lovely main street, much upgraded since my previous visit 40 years ago, and I recommend the Ancient Britain at edge of town for lunch; try the hake.

Dean Rees, Author, who had started the thread, wrote:
Rees Clark — (an image appeared here) along with a note that Dean's friend owned the local "Ancient Briton" restaurant I mentioned in the earlier reply and that the restaurant had won a culinary award.

Rees Clark wrote:
"Briton" — I stand corrected; the recommendation stands. ????

Rees Clark wrote:
Dean Rees — Absolutely fantastic; congratulate him.
My Welsh cousin drove me around Glamorgan for a couple of days, and we discovered the AB quite by accident. We were astonished and well pleased at the ambience, quality and presentation.
I was lucky in my genealogical quest; my great-grandparents joined the LDS church around 1850, married and took their mining and farming skills to the Appalachians and later to the Rocky Mountains along with thousands of other Welsh folk. As a religious obligation they kept track of their ancestors, and though my grandfather left the church those records came to me from a cousin.
The migration transformed that family; my great-grandmother never learned to read or write, yet her descendants have been farmers and ranchers but also lawyers, soldiers, politicians, professors, world-famous entertainers and successful business executives. Probably all a consequence of attending a revival meeting in Ystradgynlais around 1850. Butterly wings were indeed flapping somewhere!
Vowels and Consonants
Friends of mine on Facebook have been teasing one another about the spelling of their names. Rocky James Curtiss called out his friend and classmate Richard Curtis, about his missing S. So I hastened to point out the causes: "RE spelling, you have to remember the times back in the 40s. WWII caused all kinds of shortages. When I was born in 1943, there was a shortage of Es, so one might think I'm Rees Clark, not Reese Clarke, for that reason; however in reality my name comes from earlier family namesakes. In 1944 there was a shortage of Ss. So there are Curtisses and Curtises; it all depended on rationing rules that were set based on local availability. I'm surprised that the usually adept historian Jeffrey Handley didn't catch that. Now I know some people will attribute the differences to familiy legacy, but as any good Republican will tell you, it was all FDR's fault."
— Revised 2024 — RC