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Archiver > WALES-GEN > 2005-01 > 1105886313


From: "Betty" <>
Subject: Bray WILKINS from 1600's Wales !
Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2005 09:39:18 -0500


Hello,

I have the book, "The Family of Bray Wilkins," on loan from my local
library, and I'd like to offer a couple of paragraphs from Page 1 and 2 of
the book:

"The ancestry of Bray Wilkins in Wales has not been established. The
authors of several historical works on old Salem, as well as the histories
of several New England towns where members of the family settled, make
significantly similar references to Bray Wilkins as being a descendant of
'Lord Wilkins' of Wales who was a connection of Bishop Wilkins, who married
a sister of the Protector, Oliver Cromwell. It is also alleged that he
came from Brecknock county, in Wales. Bray is definitely described as a
'great grandson of Lord Wilkins,' Bishop of Chester. It seems to have
been overlooked that Lord Wilkins was born in 1614, four years after Bray.

There were many Wilkins families in Wales and there is much information
about the family, running far back into English history, and it is quite
likely Bray Wilkins had his antecedents in one or another of those families,
but after diligent and thorough inquiry by English and Welsh authorities,
conducted in the interests of genealogy, it must be admitted no definite
trace has been found as to Bray Wilkins' presence in Wales or of any who
might be his immediate ancestors."


Bray WILKINS, considered patriarch of most WILKINS families in New England,
lived in Salem and Middleton, MA, USA, in 1600's. This book was published
in 1943 by William Carroll Hill of the NEHGS.

....
Note: I am trying to determine if William WILKINS of "Maine" in the
1770-1800 time period was one of his descendants. In turn, I am trying to
find out if William had a son, Samuel WILKINS, who was my ancestor.


Betty (near Lowell, MA, USA)


FYI: I am also trying to find out if a William LEWIS was originally from
Wales in the late 1700's. He moved from Shropshire, England, to
Liverpool, somewhere around 1800. (I do not have easy access to my notes
right now, so I cannot offer specific dates this morning.)



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