Harry/Harris

                This page only looks at Harry^A ap Thomas ab Owen and his wife Elizabeth, Welsh Quakers, along with their son Daniel¹ Harry who immigrated to Pennsylvania and his wife Sibyl Price, and Daniel and Sybil's daughter Elizabeth² Harry who married John Davies. [See an explanation of the National Genealogical Society's Numbering System used on this web page.] If a reader has corrections or additional information, I would be very glad to hear via e mail, at

                Traditional Welsh nomenclature uses the father's name as the next generation's surname. Once Welsh immigrants became anglicized, David became Davies. English folks used Davis rather than the Welsh Davies, and since the records tended to be kept in English by English, the name gradually morphed to Davis.

Welsh Ancestors

                There is some confusion in secondary sources, especially in the ones that try to connect our line to wealthy Welsh Anglican gentry with similar names. It doesn't work.[1] Our Harry^A Thomas Owen was a weaver, which was not a high status or wealthy occupation. He was probably born about 1630. By the time he was 31 or 32 he had joined Friends. Joseph Besse records that in 1662 "William Evans, Rice Pritchard, Lewis Pugh, Richard Owen, Harry Thomas, David Powell, and Evan Harry were imprisoned at Montgomery, and very hardly used, lodging on bare boards, and having sometimes their water kept from them." From then to 1685 Harry and Elizabeth often appeared in the court records of the Quarter Sessions of Montgomeryshire, usually for non-attendance at services of the established church.[2] In their old age their son Daniel took good care of them. But after the sons emigrated, the old people had a difficult time. Welsh Friends wrote to Pennsylvania soliciting assistance from the boys.

                Children of Harry ap Thomas and his wife Elizabeth (may be incomplete):

1. Daniel¹, m. 1690/1 Sibyll PRICE; 6 surviving children.


2. Hugh, d. 1708; m. Elizabeth BRINTON ca. May 1686, daughter of William and Ann (BAGLEY) Brinton. Hugh was a weaver and farmer, living on a farm in Birmingham Township, Chester Co., Penna. Children:[3]

   a) Evan, b. 1686/7; d. 15 Aug. 1728; m. Elizabeth UNDERWOOD;
   b) Jane, b. 1687 or 1687/8, d. 1736; m. 1711 Alexander UNDERWOOD;
   c) William, d. Sept. 1758; m. Esther __;
   d) Hugh, b. 1691; d. 1760; m. 4 Jan. 1730/1 Elizabeth WICKERSHAM; his will was signed 29 Mar. 1760 and pr. 24 June that year.
   e) Elizabeth, b. 1695; d. 8 Mar. 1758; m(1) 1713 Robert EACHUS; m(2) John GLEAVE;
   f) Ann, b. 1696; m. 25 Nov. 1714 Thomas SPEAKMAN;
   g) John, b. 1697; d. 1763; m. Frances __;
   h) Lois, m. John KERSEY;
   i) Olive, d. 4 Oct. 1766; m. 16 Mar. 1720/1 Daniel BAILY;

Immigrant Generation

                Harry ap Thomas's sons, the brothers Hugh and Daniel^A Harry had little economic prospect in Wales. They emigrated to Pennsylvania on the Vine out of Liverpool, William PREESON, master, arriving in Philadelphia 17 Seventh Month [September] 1684. They were identified as being from "Manhimleth" (also spelled Macchinleth or Manhinteth) in Montgomeryshire.[4]

                Daniel sent back to his Welsh monthly meeting for a certificate of removal, presumably when he needed it in order to get married. The certificate was received at Haverford Monthly Meeting. It spoke highly of Daniel, and was signed by fourteen Friends at "a monthly meeting near Dolgelle" held 2 Fifth Month 1687.[5]

                On 4 Twelfth Month [February] 1690/1, Daniel Harry, batchelor, resident of Radnor, and Sibyll PRICE, spinster, "late of Waun", province of Pennsylvania, were married at Haverford.[6]

                At first Daniel had rented 100 acres in Haverford Township "near the head-waters of Darby Creek, not far from St. David's Church." In time he was able to purchase his own land. He was listed with 300 acres on 5 Twelfth Month 1701.[7]

                I have been unable to locate any records regarding Daniel's will, let alone his date of death. If you have information on either of these things, I would be very glad to hear via e mail, at .

                Children of Daniel Harry and his wife Sybil (Price) (may be incomplete, order uncertain):

1. Sybil Harry², b. 10 Mo. 27, 1691; d. June 1731, her will identified her as a spinster of Radnor, with bequests to siblings: Henry, Mary PUGH, Anne MORRIS, Margaret, and the wife of John DAVID. She signed with her mark.[8]


2. Elizabeth Harry, b. ca. 1692; m. ca. 1715 John DAVID or DAVIES; ten children.


3. Henry Harry, b. no later than ca. 1703, only son of Daniel, who was the grantee of 100 acres in Radnor in 1686, asked for confirmation by the Land Commissioners of this land to him, 25/9m/1724. Henry inherited £5 from his sister Sybil.


4. Mary Harry, m. __ PUGH; inherited £1 from her sister Sybil.


5. Anne Harry, m. __ MORRIS; inherited £1 from her sister Sybil.


6. Margaret Harry, unmarried in 1731, inherited a saddle from her sister Sybil.

Second Generation in Pennsylvania

                Elizabeth Harry² was born in ca. 1692, and married ca. 1715 John DAVID, son of Richard and Ann (__) David. John was named executor and inherited £23 from his sister-in-law Sybil (since Sybil's sister Elizabeth as a married woman could not legally inherit anything in her own name), £5 of which was to be applied to the use of his daughter Rachel; David and Elizabeth also got the residue of Sybil's estate after the payment of debts and other legacies.[9]

                John died in 1736 leaving his widow Elizabeth and children. I have not been able to locate a will or administration for him, or for her.

                Children of John and Elizabeth (Harris) Davies:[10]

1. Daniel Davies², d. in Uwchlan 1784; probably unmarried as his will, signed 29/4/1783 and pr. 6 Aug. 1784 left everything to his siblings: John David, his 6 sisters who received 20 shillings each, Benjamin got 1 sterling shilling; brother-in-law David JOHN was named executor.[11]


2. Hannah Davies, m. 10/9m/1743 David CADWALLADER; d. before 4/1783;


3. Mary Davies, m. 28/9m/1740 David JOHN, who was named executor for her older brother and for her sister Sybilla's husband;


4. Rachel Davies, b. 10/2m/1720; m. 10/3m/1745 Joshua JOHN, the brother of Hannah John who married Rachel's brother John Davis;


5. Elizabeth Davies, m. Jonathan WORRALL;


6. Sybilla Davis, b. 1/1m/1726; m(1) 13/4m/1746 Edward WILLIAMS; m(2) 27/3m/1754 William KIRK;


7. Amos Davis, b. 1/3m/1728; d. 23/2m/1782; m(1) 5/5/1757 Elizabeth, daughter of John and Grace MEREDITH of Vincent; m(2) 7/6m/1771 Agnes, widow of William BROWN, daughter of Evan and Susanna JONES; d. before 4/1783.


8. Abigail Davies, probably d. unmarried.


9. John Davies, m. Hannah JOHN, daughter of Griffith and Ann JOHN, and sister of Joshua John who married John's sister Rachel Davis;


10. Ruth Davies, b. 27/3m/1733; m. Jacob WILLIAMS, the brother of Edward Williams, the first husband of Ruth's sister Sybilla;


11. Benjamin Davies, b. 27/7m/1736; d. 9/10m/1809; m. 31/10m/1771 Hannah, daughter of John DAVIES of Radnor; 11 children.[12]

    a) John Davis
    b) Mary Davis
    c) Elizabeth Davis
    d) Hannah Davis
    e) Benjamin Davis
    f) Amos Davis
    g) Tacy Davis, m. to Thomas WOODWARD of Thornbury
    h) Samuel Davis
    i) Sibbilla Davis
    j) Sarah Davis
    k) Ruth Davis, b. 3m 30, 1797; d. 11m 13, 1863 in West Whiteland Twp.; m. 10m 16, 1824 at West Chester Samuel SMEDLEY.

To continue the story of this family, go to the David/Davies page.

This Harry family is part of a larger Price tree, which, with its collateral branches, including this Harry branch, has been expanded with considerable historical context into a hard copy book. To learn more about the times in which these family members lived, you might want to read The Price Family in History. It gives a lot of social, religious, economic, and political context for the lives of these ancestors. The book includes Harry ap Thomas ap Owen and his wife Elizabeth in Wales, as well as their son the immigrant Daniel, and his daughter Elizabeth.

The larger Price line includes these collateral lines: Ashbridge, Bonsall, Borton, Cox, Davis, another (Ellis) Davies, England, Fisher, Haines, this Harry/Harris line, Holliday, John, Jones, Kirk, one Lewis (Henry), the other Lewis (Thomas), Malin, Morgan, Orbell, Paxton, the main Price, another Price (Richard), a third (David) Price, Sharpley, Schumacher/Shoemaker, Taylor, Thomas, Townsend, Warner, White, Williams, and Wood. In time others may be posted here, too, although they will be quite short as I only follow "my" part of a surname line.

If you have additions or corrections to this web page, I would be delighted to hear from you. Contact me via e mail at .

Go to the index of other lines that are included in this website (not all of them have been posted yet).

Go to the Paxson home page.

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This page was posted 9m/24/2011, and updated most recently on 1m/5/2012.

Notes and Sources

The full bibliographical citation is given the first time a source is mentioned, but is not repeated each time that source is cited. Scroll up til you find the first mention and there you will find the complete citation.

1. For a summary of the evidence (or lack thereof), see http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op= GET&db=millerm&id=I00906.



2. Robert Jesse Harry, The Ancestors and Descendants of Hugh Harry and Elizabeth Brinton (Northfield, Ohio: R. J. Harry, 1987), 1, 6.



3. Dates and spouses of children are from http://www.pennock.ws/surnames/fam/fam04468.html, seen 9m/24/2011.



4. "A Partial List of the Families Who Arrived at Philadelphia Between 1682 and 1687", PMHB Vol. 8, no. 3 (1884), 332.



5. Radnor Monthly Meeting records, Certificates, pp. 52-3, Friends Historical Library (FHL), MR-Ph530.



6. Radnor Monthly Meeting Marriage Certificates, pp. 76-7, FHL, MR-Ph530; Margaret B. Harvey, "The Incompleted Burial Records of Merion (PA) Meeting Grave-yard", on http://files.usgwarchives.org/pa/montgomery/church/merion03.txt, seen 10/19/2009; see also George Smith, M.D., History of Chester County, Pennsylvania (Delaware County Institute of Science, 1862), 466; Harry, The Ancestors and Descendants of Hugh Harry, 1.



7. Harvey, "The Incompleted Burial Records of Merion (PA) Meeting Grave-yard"; J. Smith Futhey and Gilbert Cope, The History of Chester County, with genealogical and biographical sketches (Philadelphia: L. H. Everts, 1881), 38. The book is digitized on http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924005813518/#page/n55/, and page 38 is image 55.



8. Her birth is in Radnor Monthly Meeting Births and Deaths, 480, FHL, MR-Ph530. Chester County Archives, Wills and Administrations Book E, file 162. The will was dated June 9, 1731 and pr. June 26, 1731.



9. Chester County Archives, Wills and Administrations Book E, file 162.



10. Dates and names of spouses from "Rash's Surname List".



11. Abstract of Wills of Chester Co., 3:201.



12. Benjamin's line is given in Futhey and Cope, History of Chester Co., 516.

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If you have additions or corrections to this web page, I would be delighted to hear from you. Contact me via e mail at .