The 'unexpected' PARRY sighting
A one-name study researches the genealogy, and family history, of all the people with that surname.
Although that does not necessarily mean collecting every mention of the name (an impossibility for a frequently occurring surname, such as PARRY, in these days of the internet), I still love coming across references to the surname in unexpected places, and will always try to 'capture' those.
And so it was earlier this month, while I was enjoying a lovely day out at the RHS Malvern Spring Festival.1
I'd decided to listen to a talk by Alan Titchmarsh and, since the main theatre area was full, was sitting out in the overflow, ready to watch the talk via a large screen. On the screen, various adverts were cycling through beforehand.
Suddenly, up popped an advert for PARRYS of Malvern, a jewellery company!
I was so surprised, the advert had been replaced by the time I got my camera out. So I then had to sit through all of Alan's talk, and several cycles of adverts, before I finally managed to obtain a photograph:
.heic)
It felt like an "added bonus" to an already wonderful day.
Herefordshire
Following the show, I spent a few days in Herefordshire, so that I could attend some events that were being held as part of the Herefordshire Histories Festival2. There were several that were of interest to me, but I focused on just a couple of them, in particular. One of these was the event in St Mary’s Church, Walterstone, entitled "From Walterstone to New York."3
This was an exhibition about a David Price, who emigrated to America in the 1840s. But the event was also aimed at attracting visitors "who are exploring the history of their own families or local properties or past life in Walterstone in general."
And that description certainly fits me!
Walterstone is part of an area known as Ewyas Lacy4, which is in the south west corner of Herefordshire, bordering Monmouthshire and Breconshire. This border area is a "hot spot" for PARRY families - and Walterstone is one of the villages that some of my own ancestors lived in, as they moved around the area.
Next door to the church is a pub called the Carpenters Arms. During the 1800s, and early 1900s, the owners of this pub were a PARRY family and, although I have not found any blood relationships between that PARRY family and my own, the two families definitely knew each other since, in 1911, my 2xgreat grandfather, Thomas PARRY, made John PARRY of the Carpenters Arms, one of the executors of his Will:
The keen-eyed among you will notice that my Thomas PARRY had a son who was also called John PARRY - but they were definitely two different Johns.
I shall write more, both about my Thomas PARRY, and about the Carpenter's Arms PARRYs, in my next post but, since it is already the last day of May, and I'm trying to stick to my aim of at least one post per month, that's all for now.
Notes and References
1. The RHS Malvern Spring Festival: https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/malvern-spring-festival
2.The Herefordshire Histories Festival: https://herefordshirehistories.org/
3. Exhibition "From Walterstone to New York.": https://herefordshirehistories.org/walterstone-to-new_york/
4. Ewyas Lacy: https://www.ewyaslacy.org.uk/doc.php?d=rs_home_sub1
