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THE POWELL FAMILY OF LLOWES AND CLYRO IN RADNORSHIRE; AND BRILLEY IN HEREFORDSHIRE, 1581-1800. BY Mr. A. D. POWELL. X TO one who has attempted to trace a Welsh pedigree needs to be reminded of the difficulties encountered in the task. The similarity of Welsh surnames makes the identification of individuals difficult, and often impossible, even when records exist, owing to the lack of corroborative evidence while the surnames themselves appear only towards the middle of the 16th century, so that earlier researches depend almost entirely on Lewis Dwnn's Visitations or similar genea- logical manuscripts, of which there are not a great number, and which refer to comparatively few families. Powell is a common name along the banks of the Wye, especially on the Brecon side and there are a number of families in Radnorshire of this name, many of some standing in the history of the county, but unconnected with each other. The Powells dealt with here lived for the most part in the three contiguous parishes of Brilley, Clyro, and Llowes, on the borders of Radnor, Brecon, and Hereford. They belonged to the lesser gentry of the Marches, and were connected by marriage with families like the Hakluyts, Whitneys, Blounts, and Baskervilles, who recorded descents at the Heraldic Visitations of Herefordshire. This pedigree, which is the result of some twelve years work, begins in 1581 and is carried down to the opening years of the 19th Century, whence ramifications should not be difficult to trace. Wills, parish registers, and legal pro- ceedings have enabled me to establish satisfactorily the male descent in which I am interested;. but it will be seen that there are other branches on which there is still work to be done. It occured to me that by publishing the pedigree at its present stage the information alieady collected might be of use to others interested in the history of this and neighbouring families. A word of explanation should be given as to the way the pedigree unfolds itself. Roger ap Powell of Brilley (will, 1594) was called jun.' (' the younger') in the subsidy roll for Brilley in 1581. This seems to suggest that he had a father living at that period of the same name