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Lewis

Why is the bloody hand in the mouth of the griffin head on the COA? A legend is, a number of Welsh warriors were approaching the coast of Ireland in their boats with a view of laying claim to the land; and according to a previous agreement, the land would belong to him who first touched it. The Lewis ancestor is said to have foreseen a close finish in the race, and to have chopped off his own hand and thrown it ahead of him to the shore, thus securing possession of the land. This account, while possessing its own romanticism and accounting for the bloody hand, does not explain as well the account the symbolism of the griffin's head. In some books of heraldry the griffin's head on the Lewis Arms is described as a dragon's head. The two are very similar in heraldic representation.

Lewis ap Thomas born about 1510 in Brecknockshire, Wales². His wife was Maud ___. They had a son, Richard Lewis. No other information is known at this time.

Richard Lewis born before 1537 in Liangotuck,Crickhowell, Brecknockshire, Wales.
Father of:

Edward Lewis died 1635
Richard Lewis b 1565 - died 1616 married Catherine Morgan 1591
Thomas Lewis died 1635
William Lewis before 1628 location unknown

Lewis Prichard, originally, Lewis ap Richard, was born in 1565, married Catherine Morgan in 1591 and had a son born in Monmouthshire, Wales. Lewis Prichard died in 1616. Buried 4 May 1616 in St. Telos Church, Llantilo Pertholey, Abergavenny, Wales. Their son was:

John Lewis born in Monmouthshire, Wales in 1592

John Lewis was born in Monmouthshire, Wales in 1592 His mother's name is not known. His father was Lewis Prichard. John married Lyda Warner, born in 1610 in Wales, on 21 November 1630 in Monmouthshire, England, now Wales. He immigrated circa 1653 to Gloucester County, Virginia. He died in Gloucester, County, Virginia in 1657. He was buried at Poropotank Creek, New Kent County, Virginia. John and Lydia had three sons, John Lewis, born in St. Telios, Monmouthshire, England (now Wales), in 1633.

Major William Lewis.
Edward Lewis.
Major John Lewis, born circa 1640 at England

John Lewis was born in St. Telios, Monmouthshire, England (now Wales), in 1633. He was the son of John Lewis and Lyda Lewis. He died in New Kent County, Virginia. John Lewis married Isabella Miller (date not known). Isabella was born 8 February 1639 in New Kent County, Virginia and died in New Kent County, Virginia on 9 February 1703. They had a son, John Lewis, born 30 November 1669 in Gloucester , Virginia.

John Lewis, born 30 November 1669 in Gloucester , Virginia., the son of John Lewis and Isabella Miller. He died on 14 November 1725 in Warner Hall, Gloucester, Virginia. John Lewis married Elizabeth Warner in Warner Hall, Gloucester, Virginia in 1685. They had a daughter, Martha Ann Lewis, born 2 February 1712 in Chesterfield, Virginia.

Martha Ann Lewis, born 2 February 1712 in Chesterfield, Virginia. She died 21 January 1764. She was a daughter of John Lewis and Isabella Miller. Martha Ann Lewis married Mitchell Clay in 1732 in Bedford County, Virginia.
Please see Clay and Warner for more information.

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Sources and notes:
²WikiTree
Monmouthshire (cc)

15 November 2011