Last year at the reunion, I reported our initial efforts in researching the ancestry of Sarah Roberts, finding three men named John Roberts who lived in the same area and attended the Old Chapel Independent Church in Llanbrynmair. We have now expanded our list of John Roberts candidates to 5. We had first selected John, son of Richard Roberts and Susannah Francis as the most likely to be the father of Sarah.

Following the family reunion, I spent a week at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, where I was contacted by another professional genealogical researcher who was searching for the Edward Owen - Sarah Roberts lineage for Lila Orme, a descendant of W. T.'s brother, Edward Moroni Owens. He had started on the Sarah Roberts line first, whereas we had started with Edward Owen.

After discussing our various findings, it was decided to send for marriage certificates for all the John Roberts -Sarah Thomas marriages. These showed strong evidence for the older couple rather than the younger line we had started researching.

While waiting for the documents to arrive from Somerset House, we began researching Margaret Evans paternal ancestry. From our past experience, it was decided to begin with the early Church records from the Welsh LDS Branches where they were baptized, and go on to their own recorded data statements as recorded in early Utah records. The information in these records led us back to the southern part of Glamorgan on the peninsula west and south of Swansea. There we found Margaret's grandparents' families and great-grandparents. These are somewhat different from what we had previously recorded on our pedigree.

This spring, I met with Lila Orme and we exchanged research information. We agreed she would continue to follow Sarah Thomas's line while we would look further for Roberts ancestry. The pedigrees showing the result of this year's research are included in this year's reunion packet, which is available for a donation to the research fund.

Also in the packet are copies of death certificates for Edward Owen and his wife, Sarah. Edward's certificate shows he left Glamorgan and returned to Montgomery after the younger family members joined the Church and left for America.

Maps of the Merthyr Tydful area showing the LDS Branches our ancestors joined are also included, as well as Pictures of central Montgomery Country village, farmstead, cottage floor-plans and an illustration of a farmhouse living room, to give us an idea of their living circumstances. A section from "The History of the Parish of LLanbrynmair - Jones of Esgair Evan" shows the Jones coat-of-arms and mentions our ancestor, Humphry Jones of Esgair.

Most recently, Roberts research has uncovered a surprise in the form of a French name for our John Roberts' mother, Ann Jarvis. The name in France is spelled Gervais, and may have originated from Hugenot refugees to Wales from France, or from the Norman Conquest.

This line indicates exciting new information in the future. There are notations in the records that suggest the Jarvis family members left wills, which are always interesting, informative, and very valuable in establishing relationships.

For those of you who have inquired, our plan at present is to complete as far as possible the research on ancestry of W. T. Owens's father and mother, then proceed in a systematic fashion with the parents of each of his wives. Tracing all these lines back to the beginning of the parish registers will keep us well occupied for at least the next decade.

Thank you so much for your continued support and assistance on this important research project.

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