Gen. Robert L. Lewis Jr. - Real or Fake?

The MISconnection between Robert Lewis and William/John Lewis of Chemokins keeps being remade because people *believe what they have read* in the OLD books and the OLD genealogies, and they *do not know* that it was never anything but guesswork, and they *do not know* that there is hard evidence to the contrary.

As if the tombstones weren't enough, there is a forgotten record that associates a *John* Lewis with a William Lewis and a John Lewis Jr. in the very area most associated with the Lewises of Chemokins.

Land Patent Book No. 3 p. 4:
1 July, 1653, land granted to Mr. John Lewis, 250 acres, head of a branch of Poropotanke Creek called Lewis Creek (formerly Totopotomoye Creek) in Gloucester Co. Adjoining lands of Capt. Francis Morgan and Samuel Sally. Transported 5 persons: John Lewis, Lidia Lewis, Wm. Lewis, Edward Lewis, John Lewis Jr.

No. Robert.

(Lydia is thought to have been the wife of John Lewis Sr., but there is no other reference to her in Virginia. Assertions that they were married in Monmouthshire on 21 Nov 1630 have thus far gone unsupported.)

This person actually did some rummaging in old church records in Llantilio Pertholey, Monmouthshire, Wales, and hit pay dirt: https://richardgwynallenblog.wordpress.com/2016/04/26/the-lewis-fam...

One thing that most people have a VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY hard time understanding is that until Tudor times - and in some cases *much* later - Welsh families, in general, *did not* have or use English-style surnames. They used patronymics (X son of (ap) Y, A daughter of (verch) B).

In practice this means that families which NOW have the same surname may originally not have been related at all. "John Lewis" may have been descended from "Lewis ap Thomas", while "William Lewis" may have descended from "Lewis ap Rhys", and "James Lewis" may have been descended from someone who said "I'm taking my grandfather's name because I like it better", and so on.

Private User
I would like to continue with this, I suggest we do it in the discussion it will then be associated with the profiles we tag

Okay. The immigrant John Lewis with the Poropotank tombstone was apparently a John *ap* Lewis per parish records from Llantilio Pertholey, Monmouthshire, Wales. John "the Immigrant" Lewis

Old Welsh naming practices being what they were, this implies that his father's name was Lewis, and the records point strongly to one Lewis ap Richard (also sometimes called "Pritchard", which became a surname with various deformations, including "Ricketts"). http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/lewis/13104/ - the first two paragraphs are just sorting out Lewis of Breconshire from Lewis of Monmouthshire.
http://www.senclewises.com/history2.html take pedigree with a fair amount of salt and cross-check with Anne Brannen

Oh, my.

Angus Wood-Salomon -- is this the same tree about whose names you were asking me earlier?

I thought then that somethings weren't right -- these things always come back to haunt.

I will go look, and then put in my own two cents.

So essentially, if this is all true, this person

John "the Immigrant" Lewis

and this person

John "the Immigrant" Lewis

would be the same, but with the Lewis Prichard and Catherine?

Picture's pretty clear from Lewis ap Thomas on down - there may not be enough generations counting back to Rhys Goch, though.

Lewis ap Richard/Prichard/Ryketts' wife Catherine was a Morgan, daughter of one Watkin Morgan, or so the available records indicate. (The Morgans had "gone English" and gone over to inheritable surnames.)

While the parish records say that John Lewis married Johane Lewis (a cousin?) in 1610, she may not have been the mother of John Lewis of Chemokins. This implies a second wife (identity uncertain), and possibly a third wife (assuming Lydia wasn't a daughter).

I am in agreement to remove both Roberts and their wives as the parents of John Lewis, I, Col, of Monmouth 1592-1657
That is Robert William Lewis and Margaret (Puleston) Lewis
William ap Huw Lewis, Esq.
Margaret Puleston
and
Gen. Robert Lewis and Sarah (Pennington) Lewis
General Robert L. Lewis, of Gloucester County
Sarah Pennington

I suggest when we merge John (Rycketts) Lewis, 1592-1657 with John Lewis, I, Col, of Monmouth 1592-1657 and use the parents of John (Rycketts) Lewis, 1592-1657

John (Rycketts) Lewis, 1592-1657
John "the Immigrant" Lewis

Parents: Lewis Prichard (Rycketts) and Catherine (Morgan) Prichard
Lewis Prichard
and
Catherine Prichard

I am happy with this. Private User, the generations back to Rhys Goch are holding -- i cleared them and mastered them in April. I checked, using 30 year generations where there aren't specific dates, and they fit.

So far, so good.

I havent checked wives and other children up the line, but can do that tomorrow.

I just found Col. John Lewis as a Neville descendant, and disconnected. Would someone be kind enough to double check the parents & ancestry now? I added notes that he was the son of Lewis Prichard & Catherine Prichard (should she have a married name in this era?)