Cylchgronau Cymru

Holcombe, and before his death had acquired further properties. David John died on 20 November, 1801, aged 78, and was buried in Llan- rheithan churchyard. His will, dated 9 December 1799, was proved on 12 June 1802. By his wife, Elizabeth, he had an only child, Mary Anne, who was born a year before her father died. Mary Anne John married at Cardigan on 10 November 1821, Thomas George, of that town, attorney at law. The marriage proved unsuccessful, and in 1832 the husband divorced her for adultery. There was no issue and Mrs. John returned to Llanrheithan, in which she had a life interest only, and lived there until her death on 11 February 1880, at the age of 80. My maternal grandmother, Mrs. Elizabeth Francis of Clawddcam, knew her well, and it was from her she heard the stories about John Laugharne that I mentioned at the beginning of this essay. Elizabeth, the widow of David John, married on 17 March 1807, to John Phillips of Wernolau in the parish of Llanboidy, brother of William Phillips, a successful merchant at Carmarthen. Their pre-nuptial settlement was dated 18 December 1806. Elizabeth died at an advanced age on 1 October 1834. John Phillips died on 17 September 1837, aged 72, and was buried at Penuel in Roch parish. There was no issue of the second marriage. Elizabeth and her two husbands were devout Baptists, and during their tenure, religious services of that denomination were frequently held at Llanrheithan. The small wooden pulpit used for the services is still preserved at the house to this day. Although I do not know the details of the arrangements, it is clear that the Llanrheithan property was divided into two parts, one of which became in time the property of Thomas Harries of Trewilym, whose wife Mary (Rees) was a niece and ultimate co-heiress of Mrs. Elizabeth John (afterwards Phillips), and the other part passed to the relations of her second husband, Phillips of Bolahaul, near Carmarthen. It is likely that the old mansion was taken down early in the nineteenth century, for since the advent of David John, the emphasis was on farming. Accordingly, the farmhouse and buildings where they stand today, became the pivot of life at Llanrheithan. The Harrieses derived from an old yeoman stock settled at Trenichol in Llandeloy parish, since 1650. Thomas Harries of Trewilym (1793-1883) was a younger son, and it was through his wife's relationship with Mrs. Elizabeth John that he received a share of the Llanrheithan property. Thomas's son, John Harries (1820-1906), was the first to live there. John Harries married his cousin, Mary Elizabeth, daughter of William Harries of Lochmeyler, by his wife, Elizabeth Mortimer of Trewellwell. He was succeeded by his son, Mansel Rees Harries (1872-1952), and he in turn by his son, John Mervyn Mortimer Harries, the present owner of Llanrheithan. After the last war, Mr. Harries added to his property by purchasing parts