Baptism:
Date: 20 Oct 1626
Place: Eglwysbach, Denbighshire
Will:
Date: 13 Apr 1684
Place: Eglwysbach, Denbighshire
Burial:
Date: 1684
Place: Eglwysbach, Denbighshire
Individual Note:
Owen was born in 1626 (PR); there is no record of his death but we know from his will that he died in 1684. We know he was married twice,his first wife being Ellen Foulkes vch Humphrey who he married in 1637(PR); she died in 1660(PR). This means that he was only 11 when he married so the marriage was clearly a family arrangement and suggests that Ellen Ffoulkes was from a family of equal status, however so far we have been unable to identify her origin.
According to the PR there were six children born to Owen and Ellen,the first of these being William born in 1649 who went on to inherit Pen Y Bryn. Presumably, therefore, the marriage was not consummated until Owen was twenty one. The other children attributed to Owen and Ellen in the PR were Robert b 1651, Ellen (b1653), Gwen (b1654) and AN Other Daughter (b1657, d1657). In the Local Historians version ofthe PR there are seven Elizabeth's baptised between 1642 and 1655, and one death. This information needs double checking in case burials have been misread as baptisms, particularly as it does not agree with our independent version of the PR. Assuming the source data is accurate, it is conceivable that one of these was a daughter of Owen and Ellen, the most likely being Elizabeth born on the 28 July 1655, i.e. betweenGwen and A N Other. The birth dates of the other Elizabeths don't fit between the birth dates of the other children in this period.
During this same period Owen also appears to have had an adulterous relationship with a Jane vch John which resulted in the birth of a child John on the 18th July 1652(PR).This child died as an infant within the year of his birth i.e. between the birth of Robert andEllen.
Following the death of Ellen, Owen married a second time to Margaret Davies. In Owens will he leaves bequests to his sons Thomas, Owen, Piers and Jeffrey and his daughter Jane who he states as being his younger children, and also "preferring of his children by his now wife Margaret". There are no baptisms in the PR for the sons but this could be because they were born in the period of missing records. There is a baptism for Jane in 1666 and for another son Humphrey in 1674.Humphrey was not mentioned in the will but this may be because he was a minor, being only ten years old at the time of Owens death. He also mentions in his will his son and heir William confirming him as his eldest son.
There are no entries in the PR to indicate what happened to Owen, Pyers, Jeffrey, Elizabeth, Ellen and Gwen. A N Other died in the year of her birth (PR), there is a death for Thomas Holland in 1697 and1719. However this could have been either Thomas ap Owen or Thomas ap Robert of Pennant. As Humphrey went on to take over Bryn Y Fran itseems probable that Thomas predeceased him, and as Humphrey died in1711 we can conclude that Thomas ap Owen died in 1697 and Thomas ap Robert of Pennant in 1719.
Jane married Robert Edwards in 1701 (PR and Hayes). According to the HHE papers "Jane the first sister of William Holland married Robert Edward and had issue Hugh Robert Edward" The descendants of this marriage ultimately inherited Pen Y Bryn when the male Holland line ran out.
There is a marriage record in the register for the parish of Llanrhaedr near Denbigh for Owen Holland and Anne vch Evan on 29th June 1698. It seems highly likely that this was Owen ap Owen as no other births for an Owen have been identified within the relevant timeframe. They had a daughter Grace who was born on the 10th April 1698. As she was not entered as a Bas daughter we must assume that this was in the same reignal year but reflects the date of baptism and not the date of birth. So far there is no trace of what happened to this family.
Notes from Brian Holland