Welsh immigrants to Cumberland County, New Jersey?

Question

I have a lot of ancestors from Cumberland Co., New Jersey. I think they were mainly Welsh because of the last names Davis and Ayars.

Do these family names sound Welsh?

Does anyone know what the percentage is of Welsh immigrants in Cumberland Co., NJ?

Answer 1

We have a genealogy group covering this area in yahoo groups. You may find others searching these surnames there

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SNJGG/

Answer 2

Without a timeframe on when they arrived there, and a sense of whether they were immigrants when they went there or were 2nd/3rd/4th generations, it's hard to give you a good answer. Davis is such a common name throughout the US, Canada and Britain that it's hard to say that the ancestors who lived in NJ were actually Welsh. They could just as easily have been from England via Bermuda via Canada. If it was theh 1700s makes a difference from whether it was 1820 or 1880. If you can find census records on your exact line, you can find where they originated and trace them through sites like http://www.castlegarden.org

As for Ayars, you have the same problem, except you have to figure out if the spelling was adulterated or is original. Back to tracking them through census records and figuring out their origins that way.

Answer 3

Does Cumberland CO have a genealogical society?  Maybe they can help with the Welsh immigrant question.

Answer 4

This came from www.ancestry.com

Davis Name Meaning and History

Southern English: patronymic from David.

Ayars Name Meaning and History

English: variant spelling of Ayers

Hope it helps.

Answer 5

I claim descendancy from the Stephenson family of Cape May, New Jersey.  They were Welsh.  It's possible they were Quaker.