Capel St Silyn

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Gwernogle, Carmarthenshire, Wales, United Kingdom
Surnames/tags: evans beynon

The farm of Capel St Silyn in Gwernogle was the birthplace of Thomas Evans (Tomos Glyn Cothi), and is associated with David Silyn Evans (whose middle name comes from the name of the farm) and other members of the Evans family. This page records events associated with the farm.

The farm was apparently built on the site of an old chapel dedicated to the Welsh saint St Silyn, hence the name.

20 June 1764 - Birth of Thomas Evans (Tomos Glyn Cothi), the son of Evan and Hannah Evans.

1841 Census - the farm is occupied by the family of Evan Evans. It seems a reasonable assumption that Evan was a relative of Thomas - possibly a grandson or a great-nephew or similar.

25 December 1841 - Evan's son John Evans is buried in Llanfihangel Rhos-y-Corn at the age of 2 years. His residence is given as Capel St Silyn.

9 November 1847 - The farm is the residence of Margaret Beynon) on her marriage to John Evans. Evidently the Beynon family moved into Capel St Silyn some time between the end of 1841 and 1847, but it's difficult to be any more specific than this. It's unclear what happened to Evan Evans and his family - they don't seem to appear on the 1851 Census, but there are no burial records suggesting that he had died in the meantime.

1851 and 1861 Censuses - The farm is occupied by Evan Beynon (Margaret's father) and his family. Evan's wife Sarah passes away in 1857.

14 November 1864 - Evan Beynon is buried at Llanfihangel Rhos-y-Corn, with his residence given as Capel St Silyn.

1871, 1881 and 1891 Censuses - The farm is occupied by John Evans and his family, including his wife Margaret, the daughter of Evan Beynon. It seems reasonable to assume that they moved in shortly after Evan Beynon's death in late 1864.

An article in the Merthyr Times and Dowlais Times and Aberdare Echo of 11 June 1896 (page 3), discussing middle names that come from places, gives David Silyn Evans as an example and states that he spent seven years at Capel St Silyn. Other articles show that he attended the Brecon College and was ordained in 1873; if we assume that the training course lasted 2 or 3 years, this is consistent with the family moving into Capel St Silyn in 1864.

21 January 1887 - Margaret is buried at Llanfihangel Rhos-y-Corn, with a residence of Capel St Silyn.

15 June 1893 - John is buried at Llanfihangel Rhos-y-Corn, with a residence of Capel St Silyn.

After 1893 - it is unclear what happens to the farm at this point. A search of the 1901 and 1911 Censuses found no match, but there are mentions in newspapers after this date that suggest that the farm was still in existence for at least several further decades.