An Ohio family is celebrating its 100th reunion at the family farm they’ve owned since emigrating from Wales in 1838.

The Jones’ left Tyn Rhos farm near Aberaeron in 1838, taking a ship from Liverpool.

Promised land and a new life, John and Elizabeth Jones arrived with their five children, establishing a new Tyn Rhos settlement in Ohio, with a farm, church and cemetery.

Almost 200 years on from their family first arriving in the US, descendants still reunite every year at Tyn Rhos to celebrate their roots.

Tyn Rhos farm in Cora near Gallipolis, Ohio
Tyn Rhos farm in Cora near Gallipolis, Ohio (Jones' Family)

This August, they are reuniting for their 100th consecutive year, aiming to have over 100 people in attendance.

John Davies, a great-great-grandson of the Jones’, said: “We’re trying to encourage the young families to be interested in the heritage of the farm.

“When Elizabeth Jones came here, there was nothing but hillsides - they said the area around Gallipolis looked like Wales with its lowerland hills.

“Elizabeth arrived after John and was so disturbed by the appearance and conditions he was living in that she wrote back to Wales to say they were coming back, but the Ohio River she arrived on was down, and the boats couldn’t leave, so she had to stay.

“She stayed here kicking and screaming, but ended up making it from there.

“Some of this early history we want the kids to understand; it's interesting to learn the hardships they went through.”

An old and new photo of the Jones' reunions at Tyn Rhos farm
An old and new photo of the Jones' reunions at Tyn Rhos farm (Jones Family)

The family will be celebrating their 100th reunion on 31 August at the American Tyn Rhos farm with a campfire and hog roast, as well as taking a tour of the Welsh sites around the area.

Tyn Rhos is close to Rio Grande University, home to the Madog Centre for Welsh Studies - which describes itself as the only centre for Welsh studies in north America.

The area holds one of the largest Welsh-American settlements in north America, and because of this, the Madog Centre created the Welsh Scenic Byway, a trail with stops of Welsh historical significance, including Tyn Rhos.

Gallia County in Ohio was formerly known as ‘Little Cardiganshire’ due to the significant immigration from West Wales in the 19th century - Welsh was so widely spoken that it was the county’s most common second language until 1970.

Tyn Rhos has been managed by John and his brother for several years, returning it to a working farm complete with an original tongue-in-groove barn.

During the reunion, the family will plant daffodils and a Sessile White Oak tree, a significant tree for the farm, with one on the land said to be over 300 years old.

The Tyn Rhos farm house in Ohio
The Tyn Rhos farm house in Ohio (Jones Family)

The family have been active in understanding their heritage, with John’s son using the Madog Centre for a university exchange programme to Swansea, many of them having visited Aberaeron and some becoming amateur genealogists themselves.

John, 77, said on the reunion: “It’s the only time we’ll see some of our relatives, who will travel from Denver, Colorado, and Florida.

“Word has gotten out pretty good this year.”