Rhys ap Gruffydd Griffith I

• Preferred Name: Rhys ap Gruffydd Griffith I^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}
  
• Gender: M
  
• Burial: 1356 in Carmarthen Augustiniant Priory at LATI: N1.8609 LONG: E4.3115
  
• Alt. Death: 10 MAY 1356 in Carmarthenshire, Wales at LATI: N1.8609 LONG: E4.3115
  
• Alt. Birth: 1287 in Penrhyn, Llandygai, Caernarvonshire, Wales at LATI: N3.2167 LONG: E4.1
  
• Alt. Death: 10 MAY 1356 in Hungary at LATI: N7 LONG: E9.5
  
• Occupation: Knight
  
• Death: 10 MAY 1356 in Carmarthenshire, Wales at LATI: N1.8609 LONG: E4.3115
  
• FSID: LR1T-G83
  
• Alt. Birth: ABT 1300 in Llansadwrn, Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales at LATI: N1.9701 LONG: E3.917
  
• Birth: BET 1288 AND 1310 in Carmarthenshire, Wales at LATI: N1.8609 LONG: E4.3115 with note: Find a grave lists birthdate as 1310.
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  
  Sir Rhys Griffith (ap Gruffudd), Knt.
  Welsh: Syr Rhys ap Gruffudd, o Llansadwrn
  Also Known As: "ap Gruffudd"
  Birthdate: before 1288
  Birthplace: Llansadwrn, Carmarthenshire, Wales
  Death: May 10, 1356
  Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales
  Immediate Family:
  Son of Gruffudd ap Heilin and Efa verch Gruffudd
  Husband of Joan Somerville, heiress of Wychnor
  Father of Sir Henry Griffith, of Wychnor & Long Benton
  Brother of Gwilym ap Gruffudd
  Managed by: Michael Paul Ristow
  Last Updated: today
  View Complete Profile
  view all
  Immediate Family
  
  Joan Somerville, heiress of Wychnor
  wife
  
  Sir Henry Griffith, of Wychnor &...
  son
  
  Efa verch Gruffudd
  mother
  
  Gruffudd ap Heilin
  father
  
  Gwilym ap Gruffudd
  brother
  About Sir Rhys Griffith, Knt.
  Rhys "Hen" ap GRIFFITH , of Llansadwrn, Sir (Gruffudd ap HEILIN , of Penrhyn6, Heilin ap TUDOR , of Y Nant5, Tudor ab EDNYFED4, Ednyfed "Fychan" ap CYNWRIG3, Cynwrig ab IORWERTH2, Iorwerth ap GWGON1) was born BEF 1288 in Llansadwrn, Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales, and died 10 MAY 1356 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England.
  
  Family
  From https://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=REG&db=jweber&id=I26668
  
  He married Joan SOMERVILLE , Heiress of Wychnor BEF 1339 in Settlement date, daughter of Philip SOMERVILLE , of Wychnor & Cossington, Sir and Margaret de PYPE. She was born ABT 1310 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and died 1376.
  
  Children of Rhys "Hen" ap GRIFFITH , of Llansadwrn, Sir and Joan SOMERVILLE , Heiress of Wychnor are:
  
  Rhys II "Jevan" ap GRIFFITH , of Abermarlais, Sir was born ABT 25 DEC 1325 in Abermarlais, Llangadog, Carmarthenshire, Wales, and died 27 MAY 1380 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England.
  ii. Henry GRIFFITH , of Wychnor & Long Benton, Sir was born ABT 1332 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and died 25 MAY 1372 in Longbenton, Tynemouth, Northumberland, England. He married Joan CLINTON , Heiress of Coleshill BEF 1371 in 3rd husband 2nd wife, daughter of John III CLINTON , of Coleshill, Sir and Joan HILLARY. She was born BET 1341 AND 1342 in Coleshill Manor, Arden, Warwickshire, England, and died BEF 1386
  Notes
  From https://biography.wales/article/s-RHYS-APG-1356
  
  Son of Gruffydd ap Hywel ap Gruffydd ab Ednyfed Fychan by Nest, daughter of Gwrwared ap Gwilym of Cemais. He was the wealthiest and most influential figure among the native gentry of the 14th century, and in his career is crystallized the attitude and aspirations of those members of his class who lent support to the Angevin cause in Wales during the first century of the English settlement ...
  
  From https://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jweber&id=I26668
  
  Rhys [Hen] ap Gruffydd married Joan de Somerville by 1339. She was a great heiress, which vaulted Rhys and his family into the limelight (and made Griffith their surname instead of a temporary patronym). Sir Philip de Somervill died 23 Jan. 29 Edw. III, holding land or moieties in (approximately) one manor in Yorkshire, three in Leicestershire, one in Warwick, one in Derby, fourteen in Northumberland, one in Lincoln, and three in Stafford (CIPM 10:220-5). Rees ap Griffyn and his wife Joan (Sir Philip's daughter, aged 40 and more), are mentioned frequently. The IPM of Rees ap Griffith/ap Gruffutz [sic] the elder, knight, states that he died 10 May 30 Edward III, and held manors or land at Stokton, co. Warwick, Staynton, Benton and Wytton, co. Northumberland (held in right of his wife Joan), Orreby, co. Lincoln, Alrewas, Whichenover, Briddeshall and Tatenhull, co. Stafford, Blacwelle, co. Derby and in Nottingham. His wife, Joan, who "survies" was aged 40 and more [much more], and his son and heir Rees ap Griffutz was aged 30 years and more "at Christmas last." (CIPM 10:274-6). He also held land in Lansadorn, Talliares, Combleant, Kilsayn, Kayo, Matihlayn, Maynordeill, Ketheynoc, Kergerwyn, Perveth, Langiby, Bettous, Lanrustud, Generglyn, Pennarth, Lampeder, Drusselan, Glycothy and Penneynt, all in South Wales. [Paul Reed (Reedpcgen), soc.genealogy.medieval, newsgroup, 31 Jul 1998]
  
  From http://thesignsofthetimes.com.au/37/694667.htm
  
  He was the wealthiest and most influential figure among the native gentry of the 14th cent., and in his career is crystallized the attitude and aspirations of those members of his class who lent support to the Angevin cause in Wales during the first century of the English settlement. It would appear that he inherited the family estates centred on the manor of Llansadwrn in Cantref Mawr directly from his grandfather. He first appears in the records as steward of Cardigan in 1309, and in the course of the next few years he acquired other offices of profit in south-west Wales. It was, however, the support which he gave to the Despensers which in 1322 brought him into a position of real eminence when he was appointed deputy to the royal justice in South Wales, given leases of Dinefwr and Dryslwyn, granted the lordship of Narberth, and made sheriff of Carmarthen with custody of the town and castle. In consequence he was deeply involved in the crisis over the abdication of Edward II in 1327, and may only have escaped complete destruction by a hasty flight to Scotland. A little later he was restored in possession of his lands, but again in 1330 he was obliged to seek asylum overseas because of his part in a premature attempt to unseat the regents. Later in the same year, when the personal power of Edward III was at last established, Rhys was recalled, was eventually restored to many important offices, and henceforth until his death played a leading role among the Welshmen of his day in furthering Edward's foreign adventures. In all the Scottish expeditions between 1310 and 1341, and afterwards in the French campaigns, he figures not only as the organizer of native levies in south-west Wales, but as an active campaigner and the most prominent of the Welsh captains. He was knighted between June and Nov. 1346, possibly after Crecy at which battle he was present. But he was not to see the second great military triumph of the reign, for he d. a few months before Poitiers, on 10 May 1356, at Carmarthen, where he was interred, possibly in the church of S. Peter in which his grandfather was buried. Meanwhile he had m. Joan de Somerville, a wealthy heiress who had brought him land in as many as six English counties, which, with phenomenally extensive properties in Carmarthen and Cardigan, passed to his son, Sir RHYS THE YOUNGER (b. 1325). These unusually large Welsh estates for the period in which Sir Rhys flourished, and indeed the first of their kind in Wales, continued in the hands of his male descendants until the marriage towards the close of the 15th cent. of a sole remaining female descendant with Thomas ap Gruffudd ap Nicolas of Dinefwr; the eldest son of that union was Sir Rhys ap Thomas... Among other interesting family connections, Sir Rhys was related to Sir Gruffydd Llwyd..., and to the poet Dafydd ap Gwilym (a son of his maternal cousin), who has included certain references to Sir Rhys in a poem composed about 1346. There is also a poem by Iolo Goch in Rhys's honour. 2
  
  About Syr Rhys ap Gruffudd, o Llansadwrn (Welsh)
  Rhys "Hen" ap GRIFFITH , of Llansadwrn, Sir (Gruffudd ap HEILIN , of Penrhyn6, Heilin ap TUDOR , of Y Nant5, Tudor ab EDNYFED4, Ednyfed "Fychan" ap CYNWRIG3, Cynwrig ab IORWERTH2, Iorwerth ap GWGON1) was born BEF 1288 in Llansadwrn, Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales, and died 10 MAY 1356 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England.
  
  Family
  From https://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=REG&db=jweber&id=I26668
  
  He married Joan SOMERVILLE , Heiress of Wychnor BEF 1339 in Settlement date, daughter of Philip SOMERVILLE , of Wychnor & Cossington, Sir and Margaret de PYPE. She was born ABT 1310 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and died 1376.
  
  Children of Rhys "Hen" ap GRIFFITH , of Llansadwrn, Sir and Joan SOMERVILLE , Heiress of Wychnor are:
  
  Rhys II "Jevan" ap GRIFFITH , of Abermarlais, Sir was born ABT 25 DEC 1325 in Abermarlais, Llangadog, Carmarthenshire, Wales, and died 27 MAY 1380 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England.
  ii. Henry GRIFFITH , of Wychnor & Long Benton, Sir was born ABT 1332 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and died 25 MAY 1372 in Longbenton, Tynemouth, Northumberland, England. He married Joan CLINTON , Heiress of Coleshill BEF 1371 in 3rd husband 2nd wife, daughter of John III CLINTON , of Coleshill, Sir and Joan HILLARY. She was born BET 1341 AND 1342 in Coleshill Manor, Arden, Warwickshire, England, and died BEF 1386
  Notes
  From https://biography.wales/article/s-RHYS-APG-1356
  
  Son of Gruffydd ap Hywel ap Gruffydd ab Ednyfed Fychan by Nest, daughter of Gwrwared ap Gwilym of Cemais. He was the wealthiest and most influential figure among the native gentry of the 14th century, and in his career is crystallized the attitude and aspirations of those members of his class who lent support to the Angevin cause in Wales during the first century of the English settlement ...
  
  From https://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jweber&id=I26668
  
  Rhys [Hen] ap Gruffydd married Joan de Somerville by 1339. She was a great heiress, which vaulted Rhys and his family into the limelight (and made Griffith their surname instead of a temporary patronym). Sir Philip de Somervill died 23 Jan. 29 Edw. III, holding land or moieties in (approximately) one manor in Yorkshire, three in Leicestershire, one in Warwick, one in Derby, fourteen in Northumberland, one in Lincoln, and three in St
  
  === NOTES OF Rhys ap Griffith ===
  Sir Rhys Griffith (ap Gruffudd), Knt.
  Welsh: Syr Rhys ap Gruffudd, o Llansadwrn
  Also Known As: "ap Gruffudd"
  Birthdate: before 1288
  Birthplace: Llansadwrn, Carmarthenshire, Wales
  Death: May 10, 1356
  Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales
  Immediate Family:
  Son of Gruffudd ap Heilin and Efa verch Gruffudd
  Husband of Joan Somerville, heiress of Wychnor
  Father of Sir Henry Griffith, of Wychnor & Long Benton
  Brother of Gwilym ap Gruffudd
  Managed by: Michael Paul Ristow
  Last Updated: today
  View Complete Profile
  view all
  Immediate Family
  
  Joan Somerville, heiress of Wychnor
  wife
  
  Sir Henry Griffith, of Wychnor &...
  son
  
  Efa verch Gruffudd
  mother
  
  Gruffudd ap Heilin
  father
  
  Gwilym ap Gruffudd
  brother
  About Sir Rhys Griffith, Knt.
  Rhys "Hen" ap GRIFFITH , of Llansadwrn, Sir (Gruffudd ap HEILIN , of Penrhyn6, Heilin ap TUDOR , of Y Nant5, Tudor ab EDNYFED4, Ednyfed "Fychan" ap CYNWRIG3, Cynwrig ab IORWERTH2, Iorwerth ap GWGON1) was born BEF 1288 in Llansadwrn, Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales, and died 10 MAY 1356 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England.
  
  Family
  From https://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=REG&db=jweber&id=I26668
  
  He married Joan SOMERVILLE , Heiress of Wychnor BEF 1339 in Settlement date, daughter of Philip SOMERVILLE , of Wychnor & Cossington, Sir and Margaret de PYPE. She was born ABT 1310 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and died 1376.
  
  Children of Rhys "Hen" ap GRIFFITH , of Llansadwrn, Sir and Joan SOMERVILLE , Heiress of Wychnor are:
  
  Rhys II "Jevan" ap GRIFFITH , of Abermarlais, Sir was born ABT 25 DEC 1325 in Abermarlais, Llang

• m. 1325 in Carmarthenshire, Wales

1. Rhys Griffith II, b. 25 DEC 1325 in Llansadwrn, Carmarthenshire, Wales     d. 27 MAY 1380 in Warwickshire, England

1. Title: Brief History of Rhys ap Gruffydd
   Publication: Name: https://biography.wales/article/s-RHYS-APG-1356?&query=Rhys%20ap%20Gruffydd&lang[]=en&sort=score&order=desc&rows=12&page=1;
   Note: First shown in historical records, life events and death.
   Page: Adding more information.
   
2. Title: Rhys ap Gruffydd I and his wife Joan Somerville in Miscellanea genealogica et heraldica
   Author: Joseph Jackson Howard, Editor, Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica, Hamilton, Adams, and Co., Paternoster Row, London, 1868, orig. series Vol. 1, page, 64
   Publication: Name: https://archive.org/details/miscellaneagenea112unse/page/n83/mode/2up;
   Note: Translation: In the year 2 R. 2. The death of the aforesaid Resus ap Griffith, a soldier who, with the aforesaid Johanna, had issue with Resus Griffith, who died on the tenth day of May in the year 1356 and was buried in the Abbey of Pollesworth or the Priory at Caermarden in Wales. Translation: In the year 1 R. 2. The death of the aforesaid Johanna, wife of the aforesaid Resi, daughter and heir of the aforesaid Philip Somerville, on the 8th day of October, Anno 1376, who died at Stokton, I do not know where she is buried.
   
3. Title: Rhys Hen Ap Gruffudd, "Find A Grave Index"
   Author: "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVGH-Z7CD : 10 September 2021), Rhys Hen Ap Gruffudd, ; Burial, Carmarthen, , Carmarthenshire, Wales, St Peter Carmarthen; citing record ID 113262186, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
   Publication: Name: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVGH-Z7CD;
   
4. Title: Rhys ap Griffith, "Find A Grave Index"
   Author: "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVP9-PZFJ : 3 July 2020), Hen (Elder), 1356; Burial, , ; citing record ID , Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
   Publication: Name: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVP9-PZFJ;