Annals And Antiquities Of The Counties And County Families Of Wales (Volume Ii) Containing A Record Of All The Gentry, Their Lineage, Alliances, Appointments, Armorial Ensigns, And Residences, With Ma

An indispensable portrait of Victorian Wales, recorded county by county. Rich, meticulous, and deeply rooted. This Welsh county history book, compiled by Thomas Nicholas, assembles exhaustive genealogy and family records, rolls of high sheriffs, members of parliament and magistrates of boroughs, the armorial ensigns of Wales, the pedigrees and memorials of antique county families, and brief notices of history, antiquities, physical features, chief estates, geology and industry for each county. Compiled by direct visitation and drawn from reliable original sources, the volume maps British gentry lineages across nineteenth century Britain with unusual precision, supplying both the granular detail that researchers of Welsh ancestry prize and the wider context that local history enthusiasts and casual readers can follow. Its entries pair concise pedigree outlines with descriptive notes on residences and alliances, enabling readers to trace marriages, offices and territorial ties through successive generations. Taken together, these materials form a durable historical reference collection that balances antiquarian thoroughness with practical readability. Heraldry students and antiquaries will welcome the careful recording of armorial devices and alliances; estate historians can use the book’s topographical and economic notes to reconstruct local landscapes and family fortunes.As a literary and historical artefact it speaks to the priorities of Victorian era Wales: order, alliance, landed identity and the signs by which families measured themselves. In every county account readers encounter not only pedigrees and offices but the traces of everyday life - mills and mines, parish seats, manor houses and the industries that shaped communities. For collectors of classic literature and antiquarian volumes the book’s combination of practical record and Victorian perspective makes it a compelling addition; casual readers will find the human stories implicit in alliances and estates unexpectedly absorbing. Out of print for decades and now republished by Alpha Editions. Restored for today’s and future generations. More than a reprint - a collector’s item and a cultural treasure. Accessible in tone yet rigorous in content, the work serves as a trusted British peerage reference and, for many scholars and genealogists, a Burke’s peerage alternative. Part practical manual, part antiquarian chronicle, it belongs on the shelf of anyone assembling family trees, tracing estates, or seeking a deeper, vividly mapped view of nineteenth century Britain.