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Meredith Genealogy
Meredith, or Meredudd in its earliest manifestations, is a very old Welsh forename. The closest English translation would be "great lord." Royal princes bore this name in Powys (mid Wales) and in Deheubarth (south Wales) before the Anglo-Norman invasions. The name appears in the Welsh patronymical style as Gruffyd ap Maredudd, the lord of Mowddwry, in the 1100's and as Rhys ap Meredith in Lampeter in the late 1200's.
Owen ap Meredith, from these Welsh lines, succeeded by battle to the throne of England in 1485. He elected to use an anglicized form of his granfather's name. As a result, we have the royal house of Tudor rather than the royal house of Meredith.
The transition to English-style surnames did not really occur in Wales until the mid-sixteenth century. Gruffudd ap Thomas Ameredith from Radnor was born around 1495. His grandson, born in 1553, was the bishop, Richard Meredith.
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Wales. The Meredith families of Lambister and Llangulo in Brecon was one of the first to adopt the English style Meredith. John Meredith, later knighted, was the high sheriff of Brecon in 1762. Among present day Brecon notables is the Welsh novelist and poet, Christopher Meredith.
Meredith were and are also to be found in Radnorshire, Monmouth, and Glamorgan, and in the English border counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Staffordshire. John Meredith ran an iron foundry in Kington near Hereford in the early 1800's. Mary Webb was born Mary Meredith in the small village of Leighton in Shropshire in 1881. The novels she wrote evoke strongly the countryside of her day.
Ireland. Merediths are also in Ireland. Some have suggested that these Irish Merediths were descended from Bishop Richard Meredith and his brother John, both of whom were buried in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. The name can be found in Dublin and in Wicklow in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Rev. Thomas Meredith was born in Wicklow in 1777 but died in tragic circumstances in 1819. The family uprooted themselves to Canada where his son William Meredith became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Quebec.
America. The first Merediths arrived in America in the 1700's. Some prospered. Reese Meredith reached Philadelphia from Wales in 1730. His son Samuel rose to become the first Treasurer of the United States and issued the first American banknotes. Jonathan Meredith arrived in Philadelphia in the 1750's with his wife Elizabeth. Luff Meredith appears to be the forebear of a family that first settled in Delaware and later moved to Ohio. Other Merediths found it harder. One family account tells of Merediths from the debtor prisons of Wales being shipped out to Georgia where they struggled to make a living, another of Merediths in the poor house in Delaware.
Later Merediths are to be found in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas principally. There is a spot in East Texas called the Meredith Camp Grounds where Eber Meredith and his family were jumped by Indians in the 1850's. The Lake Meredith Recreational Area near Amarillo in Texas is named after AA Meredith, the father of the Canadian river dam.
Australia. Frederick Meredith from Denham in England arrived in Australia as a seaman onboard the Scarborough in the first fleet in 1789. A later arrival, in 1821, was Charles Meredith from Pembrokeshire and his wife Louisa Ann. He was active in political life in both New South Wales and Tasmania. A mountain range in northeast Tasmania commemmorates him. At the turn of the century, James Meredith moved further afield, to Samoa. Here his family run a coconut cream factory.
Select Meredith Miscellany
Medoc ap Meredith was the last prince of Powys.
Bishop Richard Meredith was noted for "his diligent preaching and keeping for the relief of many people." He was a bishop in Wales and Ireland during the sixteenth century.
Samuel Meredith was the first Treasurer of the United States.
George Meredith, born in Portsmouth, was a noted Victorian novelist.
Billy Meredith, born in Chirk in north Wales, was possibly football's first superstar in the early 1900's.
Select Merediths Today
Meredith, or Meredudd in its earliest manifestations, is a very old Welsh forename. The closest English translation would be "great lord." Royal princes bore this name in Powys (mid Wales) and in Deheubarth (south Wales) before the Anglo-Norman invasions. The name appears in the Welsh patronymical style as Gruffyd ap Maredudd, the lord of Mowddwry, in the 1100's and as Rhys ap Meredith in Lampeter in the late 1200's.
Owen ap Meredith, from these Welsh lines, succeeded by battle to the throne of England in 1485. He elected to use an anglicized form of his granfather's name. As a result, we have the royal house of Tudor rather than the royal house of Meredith.
The transition to English-style surnames did not really occur in Wales until the mid-sixteenth century. Gruffudd ap Thomas Ameredith from Radnor was born around 1495. His grandson, born in 1553, was the bishop, Richard Meredith.
Select Meredith Resources on The Internet
- Welsh Family Names. Welsh history and names.
- Merediths in Ireland. Websites at Rootsweb/Md-Mn - Meredith genealogy online.
- Merediths in Ohio. Websites on Rootsweb freepages/M - Meredith line.
Wales. The Meredith families of Lambister and Llangulo in Brecon was one of the first to adopt the English style Meredith. John Meredith, later knighted, was the high sheriff of Brecon in 1762. Among present day Brecon notables is the Welsh novelist and poet, Christopher Meredith.
Meredith were and are also to be found in Radnorshire, Monmouth, and Glamorgan, and in the English border counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Staffordshire. John Meredith ran an iron foundry in Kington near Hereford in the early 1800's. Mary Webb was born Mary Meredith in the small village of Leighton in Shropshire in 1881. The novels she wrote evoke strongly the countryside of her day.
Ireland. Merediths are also in Ireland. Some have suggested that these Irish Merediths were descended from Bishop Richard Meredith and his brother John, both of whom were buried in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. The name can be found in Dublin and in Wicklow in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Rev. Thomas Meredith was born in Wicklow in 1777 but died in tragic circumstances in 1819. The family uprooted themselves to Canada where his son William Meredith became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Quebec.
America. The first Merediths arrived in America in the 1700's. Some prospered. Reese Meredith reached Philadelphia from Wales in 1730. His son Samuel rose to become the first Treasurer of the United States and issued the first American banknotes. Jonathan Meredith arrived in Philadelphia in the 1750's with his wife Elizabeth. Luff Meredith appears to be the forebear of a family that first settled in Delaware and later moved to Ohio. Other Merediths found it harder. One family account tells of Merediths from the debtor prisons of Wales being shipped out to Georgia where they struggled to make a living, another of Merediths in the poor house in Delaware.
Later Merediths are to be found in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas principally. There is a spot in East Texas called the Meredith Camp Grounds where Eber Meredith and his family were jumped by Indians in the 1850's. The Lake Meredith Recreational Area near Amarillo in Texas is named after AA Meredith, the father of the Canadian river dam.
Australia. Frederick Meredith from Denham in England arrived in Australia as a seaman onboard the Scarborough in the first fleet in 1789. A later arrival, in 1821, was Charles Meredith from Pembrokeshire and his wife Louisa Ann. He was active in political life in both New South Wales and Tasmania. A mountain range in northeast Tasmania commemmorates him. At the turn of the century, James Meredith moved further afield, to Samoa. Here his family run a coconut cream factory.
Select Meredith Miscellany
If you would like to read more, click on the miscellany page for
further stories and accounts:
Medoc ap Meredith was the last prince of Powys.
Bishop Richard Meredith was noted for "his diligent preaching and keeping for the relief of many people." He was a bishop in Wales and Ireland during the sixteenth century.
Samuel Meredith was the first Treasurer of the United States.
George Meredith, born in Portsmouth, was a noted Victorian novelist.
Billy Meredith, born in Chirk in north Wales, was possibly football's first superstar in the early 1900's.
Select Merediths Today
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The Origin/Spread of Surnames