Our grandpa, Leon Arthur Merrick* is Welch.
George Byron Merrick
The Meyricks are of the purest and noblest Cambrian blood and have possessed the same ancestral estate and residence at Bodorgan, Anglesey, Wales, without interruption above a thousand years.
They have the rare distinction of being lineally descended both from the sovereign Princes of Wales of the Welsh royal family, and from King Edward I, whose eldest son was the first Prince of Wales of the English royal family.
Genealogy of the Merrick-Mirick-Myrick Family of Massachusetts, 1636-1902 by George Byron Merrick page 1
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| Bordorgan Hall, Anglesey, Wales |
Bodorgan Hall is a country house and estate located in the hamlet of Bodorgan, Anglesey, Wales, situated near the Irish Sea in the southwestern part of the island. The hall is the seat of the Meyricks, and is the largest estate on Anglesey. The hall is the home of Sir George and Lady Jean Tapps Gervis Meyrick who is the niece of the Duke of Buccleuch.
Read more: Wikipedia
Sir George and Lady Jean Tapps Gervis Meyrick
According to the Daily Mail article in July 2012, Prince William and his wife, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, were renting at the Bordorgan Hall from the Meyricks.
According to the Daily Mail article in July 2012, Prince William and his wife, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, were renting at the Bordorgan Hall from the Meyricks.
William at 30: On the eve of his milestone birthday,
an intimate portrait of a very modern prince
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| Prince William and wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge |
Sir George Meyrick is one of Wales’s wealthiest landowners. In the eyes of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, he is also one of the most trusted. The Meyricks are at the heart of the quiet and utterly domestic existence enjoyed by William and Kate – one spectacularly at odds with any Royal precedent.
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| The Back Lodge of Bodorgan Hall |
Since the summer of 2010, the couple have rented a white-washed five- bedroom farmhouse on a remote bay on the Meyrick estate. Hidden from public view, surrounded by a thicket and reached by a private road, it has proved an excellent starter home. Over at the ‘big house’, Lady Meyrick, the daughter of Lord William Scott, brother of the Duke of Buccleuch, has become a confidante to the young couple and something of a surrogate mother to Prince William.
Read more: Daily Mail
Cadfan ap Iago
In the late sixth century, surnames weren't in use. The word 'ap' means 'son of''. We got our last name because when Henry the VIII made surnames mandatory for court records, Meyrich ap Lewellen was a guard in the King's court. And so we got Meyrich (think Maurice or Morris), which, for our family lineage, became Merrick.
(Embedded below are active Wikipedia links. Remember, the father's first name becomes the son's last name, generation after generation.)
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| John Edward Lloyd's History of Wales, Vol I, 2nd edition |
Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon
Cadvan (Catamanus), descended from a long line of regal ancestors, was King of North Wales at the end of the 6th century, and had his palace at Aberffraw. He fought at Bangor Iscoed, and is supposed to have been killed there, and buried at Bardsey. His grandson —
King Cadwaladr, a chivalrous and illustrious Prince, founded the church of Llangwaladr, A. D. 650 — the parish church of Bodorgan, which is still the family seat, near Aberffraw, which became a sanctuary. He removed thither the remains of King Cadvan, which were re-buried in a stone coffin. The lid of the coffin with the following original description, still legible, is now affixed to the wall inside the church.
Read more: Genealogy of the Merrick-Mirick-Myrick Family of Massachusetts page 1
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| (trans) 'King Cadvan, the wisest and most famous of all Kings.' |
Church of Llangwaladr
Celtic churches were initially built between the 5th and 7th Centuries. St Cadwaladr’s Church is no exception and it is believed that it is one of the later built churches. The Cadfan Stone seems to corroborate the date.
Read more: Angelesy Hidden Gems
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| Church of Llangwaladr |
THE MEYRICK CHAPEL
As is the wont of the gentry of those early days (maybe even today?) there was a belief that a grand physical manifestation of their faith would help them gain a place in Heaven.
Front of the Church
Today, the Meuric Family are still substantial landowners and continue to hold sway as Lord and Lady Meyrick of the Bodorgan Estate nearby.
So facing the altar of Llangadwaladr Church and having paid respects appropriate to your beliefs you may choose to glance to your left and view the Meyrick Chapel, which dates back to 1640. (ibid).
Merrick Chapel
We found paradise on Anglesey.
*Note: Relationships, such as grandmother, 2nd great, etc., are expressed from the perspective of the grandchildren of Leon Arthur and Anna Grace (Fuller) Merrick.
Terms of relationship - grandmother, uncle, aunt, cousin, etc. - are used here generically to include relatives such as fourth great grandfathers, great grand uncles, second cousins twice removed, etc.
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