A Branch of the Kinsey Family: An article in the Powys Family History Society (PFHS) Cronicl

There are two family history societies with mandates that include Montgomeryshire, Wales.  The first was the Powys Family History Society (PFHS) that was formed in in 1980.  Next came the Montgomeryshire Genealogical Society when it formed in 1994.

The PFHS is celebrating it's 30 anniversary this year and has many ongoing projects of which to be proud of.  The society has numerous transcription projects available on the parishchest.com website but perhaps is shows itself best when the new edition of the PFHS Cronicl comes out three times each year.

For such a small organization, it publishes what is a fairly professional looking magazine that regularly proves to be a great read.

In 1990, E. R. Morris, a local historian, published an article in the 22nd Edition of the PFHS Cronicl on the Kinseys of Llanidloes and Llandinam called:

A BRANCH OF THE KINSEY FAMILY

           The surname of Kinsey, believed to be of Cheshire origin, is found in Llandinam parish in the latter part of the 16th century (see the early parish registers of Llandinam) and also in neighbouring parishes in Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire somewhat later.  For how long the bearers of this surname had been domiciled in Llandinam previous to the evidence in the parish registers one cannot at present be definite.  The Kinseys proliferated during the succeeding four hundred years and spread into neighbouring parishes such as Llanwnog, Mochdre, Kerry, Aberhafesp, Newtown, Llanidloes, etc.  It is with a branch of the family established in the latter parish but which had its beginnings in Llandinam that this short article is concerned.  The Llanidloes Kinseys played a part in the life of the small market/industrial town in the last century; were successful businessmen there and some took on civic office.  By today however, the surname is extinct in the town.
            Evan Kinsey the son of Evan Kinsey of Llandinam and his wife Hannah (nee Powell) was baptised 2 Nov 1733.  He married Ann Evans of Gwernerin.  He was buried at Banhadlog in 1799 and she at Llandinam in 1821 age 77.  Their son, yet another Evan, was baptised 9 April 1770 and married Martha Bumford.  They lived at Neuaddlwyd, Llandinam and later at Penyrallt, Llanidloes.  He died in 1852 at the age of 82.  The box tomb of this couple can still be seen in St Idloes Churchyard.  His sister Margaret, born 1777, married David Swancott, son of Philip Swancott, and were the progenitors of the Swancott family, who like the Kinseys played a considerable part in the civic and religious life of 19th century Llanidloes.  Like the Kinseys too, they are now extinct in the male line in the town.  However, the funeral account of their grandson William Swancott (1857-1904) mentions relatives farther afield - William Leason Swancott of Manchester, R & T Morgan of Rhayader, Rees Morgan Bala, John Morgan Rhayader, Dr Morgan Liverpool, Evan Morgan Brecon, and W Swancott Morgan, solicitor Machynlleth, all described as nephews.
            To return to Evan and Martha Kinsey, the former had a brother Thomas bp 25 March 1773 at Llanidloes who married Mary Evans (daughter of David Evans Red House, Trefeglwys and his wife Sarah nee Meddins).  This pair lived at Maesmawr and from them descend the Kinsey family who still reside there.
            Evan & Martha Kinsey had a family of at least seven children:
1.  Mary born 1807 married Robert Smith, lived at Glan Clywedog House and died in 1889; he died in 1897 aged 74.
2.  Jane the youngest daughter born 1823 married William Jones (born 1822) of Wrexham, a pharmacist who settled in Llanidloes, and died 1900.  One of their four sons was John Kinsey Jones (1860-1918) who carried on the pharmacy in Long Bridge Street and was Mayor of Llanidloes in 1897 and again in 1898.  He died unmarried.  Glyn Kinsey Jones, his nephew, succeeded him in business but left for Pembrokeshire in the 1940s and died in Tenby.  He left a son WJ Kinsey Jones (b 1922) and a daughter Joan.
3.  John Kinsey (1800-1876) was a maltster and publican who owned considerable property in theUpper Green district of Llanidloes.  He was a landlord of the Mount Inn and mayor in 1859 (see - Horsfall Turner’s Municipal History of Llanidloes).  His daughter married Evan Jones of Pantydwr and her descendants include Kinsey Morgan and Gerald Morgan of Rhayader (whose tanhouse is now to be seen in the Welsh Folk Museum at St Ffagans) and Richard Morgan Aberystwyth and Mrs Peggy Ingram formerly of Garmon View, Pantydwr.
4.  David Kinsey youngest of the four sons of Evan and Martha Kinsey was born in 1817 and died in 1902.  He was a draper and grocer in China Street, Llanidloes and for a time farmed at Morfodion.  He was made mayor in 1850 and rather unwillingly took up that office.  On March 9, 1840 he married Margaret Lloyd of Hiriarth farm - she was the daughter of Owen Lloyd (1782-1871) son of Owen Lloyd of Garth son of David Lloyd and Elizabeth (nee Owen) of the noted Cefnbarrach, Trefeglwys family (see Cronicl No 19, 1988).  They had five children:
David Lloyd Kinsey, of whom more later.
Owen Lloyd Kinsey (1850-1887) married Elizabeth? who died in 1938 aged 89 and left no issue.
There were also three daughters of whom the present writer knows nothing - Elizabeth b 1840, Jane b 1845 and Marggaret born 1847.
After the death of his wife Margaret, David Kinsey remarried.  His second wife was Frances Owen, sister of Baxter Owen, Esq., of Upper Glandulas and a member of the Owen family of Glyngynwydd, Tynycoed and Glan Severn, Berriew.
David Lloyd Kinsey the elder of the two sons of David and Margaret Kinsey succeeded his father in the grocer and drapery business in China Street.  He, who was born in 1842 and died in 1905, married into a well-known local family - the Hunts, who had been settled in the parishes of Llanidloes and Llangurig since the late 17th century at least.  David Lloyd Kinsey’s wife was Mary Hunt Pugh (1838-1908), whose family is dealt with in another article in this issue of Cronicl.  David Lloyd Kinsey and his wife Mary (nee Hunt Pughe) had three sons and three daughters.  Of the sons the writer knows little but that one emigrated to South Africa and another, William David Kinsey, emigrated to Australia (he lived in Clermont, Queensland) where he died September 7, 1906 aged 39.
Of the three daughters:
1.  Elizabeth (Cissie) born 1870 died 1938 in Llanidloes, married RM Davies, headmaster of Llanidloes National School for many years, who died in 1944 aged 77.  He was the son of Morgan Davies parish clerk of Llanidloes.  This pair had a son, William Kinsey Davies who was killed in a road accident near Abermule in 1930 aged 22 years and a daughter Dorothy (1915-1981) who married Edward Albert Davies son of a vicar of Llanmerewig.  They lived latterly at Norwich where Dorothy died.  Their ashes were interred in Dolhafren Cemetery, Llanidloes, the town of which Dorothy was so proud.  Their only son Richard Montgomery Davies lives in Kent and has several daughters.
2.  Edith Kinsey the younger of the three daughters was born December 13, 1875 and died in Llanidloes January 11, 1961.  She married William J Brown, carpenter and cabinet maker, New Street, Llanidloes.  The Browns were a well-known business family in the town.  They were originally Quakers and members of the Esgairgoch Meeting, Staylittle.  John Brown the grandfather of William J Brown was Mayor of Llanidloes in 1862 (see Cronicl No 7, 1983).  William and Edith Brown had two daughters:
a)  Elizabeth (Betty) who married Wheldon Williams (d 1970) of Trefeglwys and has issue a son Kinsey Williams (unmarried) and a daughter Judith, the wife of Simon Fisher of London, who has issue two sons.
b)  Joyce who married 1) ? Price, Rhayader and has issue a son David Price, 2) Edgar Littlewood and has issue - Janet b 1950
(married) Simon b 1952, Caroline (b 1954) married and Helen Sian b 1959 married.
            My thanks are due to Martyn Freeth of Chiswick, London for details of the earlier Kinseys.  Mr Freeth, a member of our society has an almost unrivalled knowledge of the families of Montgomeryshire and other Welsh counties an also of most English ones.

Rest be sure, E. R. Morris' article is by no ways complete.  A lot of details have been since added but, what it does do is try to articulate how this branch of the Kinsey family fits together.

By the way, it is the Evan Kinsey and Anne Evans who baptised Stephen Kinsey in 1775 that our line of Stephen Kinseys comes from.