Epilogue

April 28th 2021

I honestly thought that I’d finished this story but suddenly some new evidence appeared which draws so many loose ends together and also provides us with a stinging twist to the tale.

Twenty miles to the North East of Nolton Haven near a place called Dinas Cross, within the hamlet of Cwm-yr-Eglwys stands the remains of tiny chapel of St. Brynach. This church lay close to the sea shore, so close in fact that at spring tides, the churchyard wall was frequently washed by the sea. It would be hard to find a prettier place…….or so you would think.

It is likely that this is where Rebekha was laid to rest.

1809 Nov20: Rebecca William was buried.

Note, here the Christian name is spelled ‘Rebecca’ . Also, the surname is spelled ‘William’ and not the more usual Williams. She did indeed marry a Thomas William.

Still, how can I be sure that this is ‘my’ Rebekha? If this is ‘my’ Rebekha then she lived to be 40 years old.

It appears that from about 1740 onwards, the area around Dinas Cross and North Pembrokeshire became something of a stronghold for Methodism.

I’ve discovered some of the records for the Methodist meetings at Dinas from 1743.

Dinas Society - Steward: John Lloyd, single man

Married men: 1. John Griffith - believes continually, a very plain experienced Christian; came through many hard trials, now enjoys great liberty.

2. William Griffith - under convictions and in a hard battle with his corruptions, and in hopes to overcome.

If you remember, the father of Rebekha’s first child, Ann, was given as William Griffith.

Also, Rebekha’s first husband was John Griffith.

It would be an extraordinary coincidence to find these three names linked with both places unless they are indeed the characters from Rebekha’s narrative.

Strangely though, the story doesn’t quite end there. It has a remarkable twist in the tail.