Dafydd ap Grufydd was born in Wales about 1580. He died in Wales but the date of his death is unknow. He had two known children:
- Rhydderch ap Dafydd
- James ap Dafydd
He was a writer of books, three of which were:
- The Genealogies 1664;
- The War in Caemarthen and a prayer for her, 1664
- Complaint of Adversity
Rhydderg Ap Dafydd was born about 1600 in Cardigan, Wales and died in Wales. He was the son of Dafydd ap Grufydd.
Rhydderch married a woman whose name was Dewi.
The couple had 6 known children: 1. David 2. John, 3. Rhys, 4. Morgan, 5. Phillip, 6. Gwenllian
Morgan ap Rhydderg was born about 1625 in Cardiganshire, Wales and died in 1680 in Wales. He was the son of Rhydderg ap Dafydd. All that is known of his mother is her last name Dewi.
Until the mid-1800’s, sons and daughters of Welsh parents would often take their father’s given name as their surname with the addition of the prefix ap for males and verch for females.
Morgan married Jane (unknown last name) in about 1670. The couple had 3 sons and a daughter. {The children took Morgan’s Christian name as there surname.} They were:
- Thomas, 2. Abel, 3. Enoch, 4. Esther
Morgan was baptized on 15 Oct 1667 in the River Tivey. He was an active church member preaching for many years, rising from Deacon to Minister. The king’s officers ordered Morgan to stop preaching and he suffer persecution because he continued to preach.
Preaching must have been in Morgan’s DNA. He came from a line of preachers and had many, many known descendants that were preachers.
Abel Morgan, son of Morgan ap Rhydderg, was born about 1673 in Wales and died December 16, 1722. He immigrated to Pennsylvania, and from 1711 to 1712 was pastor of the Pennypack Baptist Church. He landed at Philadelphia, February 14, 1712. He was the main organizer of the churches at Brandywine, Westchester County, and of Montgomery. He also aided in forming the church at Hopewell in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. He died at the early age of forty nine years, and his remains were buried in the rear of the Baptist meeting house in La Grange Place, but were moved to Mt. Moriah cemetery. The greatest work of his life was the preparation of the Welsh Concordance of the Holy Scriptures. Abel was married three times. His first wife was Priscilla Powell, whom he married in 1700 in Wales. He had two children by that marriage, a daughter Jane and a son who died at sea on the trip from Wales to the Pennsylvania. His second wife was Martha Burrows. He does not appear to have had any children by Martha. His third wife was Judith Griffith, daughter of Thomas Griffith. Abel and Thomas had one daughter and three sons, including Abel Morgan who married Elizabeth Howell.
Abel Morgan, son of Abel Morgan and Judith Griffith was born in 1713 in Delaware and died in 1756 in New Jersey. He married Elizabeth Howell in 1746 in Wilmington, Delaware. Elizabeth was the daughter of Reynold and Mary (George) Howell. Abel and Elizabeth had two daughters and three sons, including Abel Morgan who married Susannah Donahue.
Abel Morgan, son of Abel Morgan and Elizabeth Howell, was born in 1753 in Pennsylvania and died in 1858 in Grayson County, Kentucky. He married Susannah Donahue in 1780 in Pennsylvania. Abel and Susannah had five sons and two daughters, including Thomas J. Morgan who married Margaret Phegley.
Karen’s Great Grandmother – Frances Martha Morgan
Frances Martha Morgan, daughter of Thomas J.and Margaret (Phegley) Morgan, was born in 1828 in Daviess County, Kentucky and died in 1910 in McLean County, Kentucky. She married Samuel Booker Robertson in 1852 in McLean County, Kentucky. Frances and Thomas had five sons and five daughters, including Karen’s grandfather, Edward Garland Robertson.
