The Welsh in Colonial America

The Welsh in Colonial America follows the Welsh from the Celtic immigration from Europe to what is now Wales 6,000 years ago, and tells the story of Bluestones which later were taken to Stonehenge. The Bluestones were mined in the Preseli Mountains in Wales and carried later to what is now England and used to create Stonehenge, along with the circle of much larger stones so well known. There, near Stonehenge, the bones of many ancient people are buried.

The rise of the rulers of southern Wales carries the Madog family to the mid 1500's where they are conquered by England, and some Welsh migrate to London. Two members of the Madog Clan, Thomas Maddoch/Maddux born in 1590 in Saint Mary Magdalene, Bermondsly, a Welsh community in London, England and Samuel Maddox born in1638 in Scethrog, Breconshire, Wales journey to America.

Thomas Madoch becomes an "Adventurer" to Jamestowne in 1620, an investor in the London Company and settled in what is now Isle of Wight, in Virginia and was then a community named for the Warrosquoake Indians in Jamestown. He ordered saplings to plant an apple orchard, but died in the Powhatan attack of Jamestown of 1622 before they arrived. His son, Alexander, who remained in England, came to Virginia in 1635 to claim his inheritance of his father, and lived in the colonies to his death in 1659 in Northhampton, Virginia. His descendant, another Alexander Maddux, born in 1757 was with General George Washington at Valley Forge, among other battles he fought in the American Revolutionary War. His descendants are traced to modern times and include folks who went by horseback on the southern route to California in the era of the Gold Rush, and some in San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake.

Samuel came from Scethrog, Breconshire, Wales, emigrating to St. Mary's County, Maryland shortly after the fall of Chrles I of England in 1645, according to the "History of Brechronshire" by Maud Maddox Jones, Genealogical Magazine, vol (1907) H.R. 929, p 44. Alexander and Samuel were third cousins, according to records. Samuel's descendant Mathew Maddox fought in many battles during the American Revolution, the last the Battle of Camden where he was severely wounded. He is buried in Parkersburg, West Virginia where a monument attests to his service. The Welsh are a fascinating people, who have received too little notice for their contribution to the founding of the United States of America. This book tells their story.