Individual Notes

Note for: Morgan Holland, - BEF 1516 Index

Occupation:
     Date:   BET 1485 AND 1509
     Place:   Sergeant Porter to King Henry VI

Individual Note:
     All sources agree that Morgan Holland was married to Elizabeth,daughter of Hugh Conway of Bryneurin; the LDS website includes that this is in Llandrillo yn Rhos, Denbighshire. HHE (XDS/11/1, p5) states that the year of the marriage was 1488. If, as deduced above, Morgan was the product of the marriage between John and Ellin then he would have been a minor being possibly between 10 and twelve years old. This implies that it would have been an arranged marriage. Morgan was the eldest son of John Holland and consequently inherited the Pennant Estate. According to several sources Morgan was Sergeant Porter to King Henry V11 (1485 to 1509)

Griffiths only attributes one descendant to Morgan Holland, a son Hugh Holland, who inherited the Pennant Estate. However we know that he had a son John by virtue of two documents dated 1516 translated from Latin which refer to John son and heir of Morgan Holland deceased. Also Morgan's' brother Owen of Berw left a bequest in his will dated 1529 to his cousin John who must have been of Pennant and was therefore most likely John ap Morgan.

There is some confusion about who was the heir of Morgan. If John was the eldest why didn't he inherit Pennant? HHE seems to have been confused over this issue as he names John as the son and heir but later concedes that Hugh was the eldest son. One possibility is that John died before Morgan but this is contradicted by the bond that states Morgan to be deceased by 1516.

On balance there appears to be more evidence to suggest that Hugh was the eldest and this is the assumption perpetuated in this pedigree. As for John there is no information to suggest that he lived in EglwysBach and it seems likely that he will have moved elsewhere as he was not destined to inherit Pennant. There are however several references to a John Holland having interests in land in Caernarfon in theTrecastell and Conway areas and there must be a possibility that John took up residence in this area. This will be followed up when tracing the Hollands of Llangelynnin and Gyffin. HHE in his notebook states that it was John ap Morgan that married Elin vch Ithel in 1525 but this cannot be correct. HHE appears to have been confused regarding the marriages of the John Hollands within the family and this can only be clarified if the original documents within the Pennant papers can be found.

In addition to Hugh and John, the HHE notes attribute to Morgan a daughter Catherine, who married John ap Rhys ap Ieuan ap Grufydd ap Vain of Eglwys Bach in 1515. There is also a will dated 1565 (SA/1565/R1/68r) of Thomas Holland of Eglwys Bach who had a wife Elin and a brother (John). There is no reference to thisThomas on any of the published family trees or HHE notes. It seems likely that he was another son of Morgan Holland. The brother's name is abbreviated in the will but nothing but John seems to fit, in which case it implies that John ap Morgan was still alive in 1565. The will was witnessed by William Holland and what looks like Robert Holland and others. The William would have been William ap Hugh, his nephew.There is no compatible Robert on the Pennant family tree that fits the timescale. A possibility is that Hugh ap Morgan also had a son Robert, but this is not recorded anywhere. There appear to be no Robert Hollands on any of the family trees during this period, however we know a Roberto Holland, yeoman, existed in 1576 as there is reference to him in the Conwy parish register. The only logical assumption is that Thomas was a son of Morgan.

In a book called Conway and Menai ferries, by H R Davies, published by the NLW Board of Celtic Studies there is reference to Morgan Holland being granted the lease of the Conwy and Tal Y Cefn ferries for twenty years as follows; "In 1504 the ferries of Tal y Cafn & Conwy were leased to Morgan Holland for twenty years for an annual rent of £20.There were two boats, one only on each ferry. These are subsequently to be maintained by Morgan Holland and are to be worth £10 at the end of the term or alternatively the lease is to answer to the Lord King and his heirs Princes of Wales in the sum of £10". A copy of this book can be found in the Conwy library.

Notes provided by Brian Holland

Individual Notes

Note for: Morwyth Holland, - Index

Individual Note:
A document translated from Latin, dated 1410, which pardons Ieuan ap Robyn Holand, and also Ieuan's sisters Morwyth and Gwenllian, Ieuan ap Griffith ap Robert Holand and others for " all manner of treasons, insurrections, rebellions, arsons etc." It seems highly likely that the Robyn mentioned is the ancestor of the Eglwys Bach family, Ieuan being the Welsh for John.

Note from Brian Holland

Individual Notes

Note for: Owen Holland, - Index

Occupation:
     Date:   1585
     Place:   MP for Anglesey

Individual Notes

Note for: Owen Holland, - BEF 4 Apr 1634 Index

Residence:
     Date:   1603
     Place:   Esgorebrill

Will:
     Date:   8 May 1632
     Place:   St Asaph, Denbighshire

Burial:
     Date:   4 Apr 1634
     Place:   Eglwysbach, Denbighshire

Individual Note:
     The Gfs Pennant pedigree chart identifies Owen as the son of Jeffrey but gives no other information. We know that he was married to JaneFfoulke by virtue of the entry in Cwytta Cyfarwydd that refers to her burial on the sixteenth day of February 1633 (p151).

Additionally there is a marriage settlement dated 1625 that refers to Jane, his wife, however this must have related to the marriage of his eldest son Jeffrey as their own children were born as early as 1603. Also we know Owen died in 1634 by virtue of his will and an entry in the PR. Jane Ffoulke was the daughter of Ffoulk ap Robert of Plas Newydd, Meriadog, near St Asaph, and his wife Grace vch Piers Holland of Kimnel, and relict of Thomas Salusbury. (Gfs p 327).Another example of intermarrying between family groups.

From various sources we can identify five children attributed to Owen.There is a mystery about two of these, Marie and Grace who were reputedly both born in 1603. The birth of Grace vch Owen is given as17th Jan in the transcribed version of the PR and Marie vch Owen isGiven as 29th June in the local historians version. We know both these people existed as Grace was named as the main beneficiary in Owens will in 1634, and Marie vch Owens death is recorded as 1619 in the PR. As no other Owens have been identified within the area we must assume that, either one of these date entries is incorrect, or the baptism of Grace was deferred relative to the birth. This could possibly be resolved by reviewing the PR and Bishops Transcript. Interestingly another daughter, Gwen vch Owen (Senior), is entered in the PR as having died in 1619. Perhaps this is an indication that there were two Owens living but so far there is no other evidence for it.

There is some doubt as to whether Owen had one or two sons. The PR identifies Jeffrey as being born in 1606 who ultimately inherited the estate. Owen's will leaves a bequest to his grand daughter Elizabeth vch Piers, however we don't know whether Piers was a son or son in law. As there is nothing in the PR relating to a Piers Holland, and as he didn't receive a bequest or inherit the estate, it seems reasonable to conclude he was a son in law.

Notes from Brian Holland