text: Genealogists have made an error in compiling the family tree of Hillary Clinton and she is in fact linked to a poor Welsh mining family, an expert claimed . As she kicks off her bid to enter the White House, Hillary Clinton could claim that her path to the presidency began some 160 years ago in the little-known Welsh parish of Ystradyfodwg – if she can pronounce it, that is. For while the US Democrat has previously spoken of her British ancestry, a definitive family tree has revealed her links to a poor mining community in the Welsh Valleys. Ystradyfodwg, pronounced Ust-rady-vod-ug, was the home of Mrs Clinton's great grandmother - a woman who showed a determination, similar to that of the former First Lady, to struggle through poverty and eventually emigrate to America with her family. In fact Mrs Clinton's steely resolve to get to the White House and make history as the first female president, can be seen in the actions of her female ancestors, who even defied social conventions through the years. US genealogy expert Megan Smolenyak has  traced Mrs Clinton’s roots to a mining family from Ystradyfodwg, a small community in south Wales. It is named after Dyfodwg, or Tyfodwg, a sixth century Welsh saint who some believe may have been a Breton Monk. The district, known for its reliance on coal mining and poverty, has since been abolished and is now part of Rhondda. Mrs Clinton's great-grandmother Mary Griffiths was born in Merthyr Tydfil in the Welsh Valleys, and from an early age supported her widowed mother. Official records show she was working as a servant by the age of 12 but in reality she may have been working even earlier. Ms Smolenyak said: 'Born around 1850 in Merthyr Tydfil – at that time, the largest town in Wales – she [Mary Griffiths] can be found in the 1851 census living with her widowed mother and three older siblings. 'Fatherless by the age of one, Mary Griffiths had already been dealt a tough hand.' Scroll down for video . She went on to marry William Jones, a coal miner from Neath, in 1871 and the couple settled in Ystradyfodwg. In a bid for a better life the family made the lengthy journey via Ellis Island to Scranton in Pennsylvania, another mining district where they would continue their trade in the early 1880s. Shortly after they arrived Hannah Jones was born, sometime between 1882 and 1883. Mary Griffiths Jones continued as the head of the family, her husband mostly absent. Hannah Jones was one of just four children out of 14 born who survived - an indication of the poverty her traditional mining family lived in. Mrs Clinton's grandparents Hannah Jones (left) and Hugh Rodham eloped to wed in Binghampton, New York, and are pictured with their granddaughter, former First Lady Hillary Clinton . It was in America that Hannah Jones - who was to become Mrs Clinton's grandmother - met Hugh Rodham, part of the Rodham family who had travelled to America two years earlier from Northumberland. But the circumstances of their marriage reveal the poverty the Jones family endured and the wide social gulf between the Rodhams and Joneses at that time. The pair eloped to Binghampton in New York to get married - a place akin to Gretna Green where people would often go to wed because regulations were less strict. Hannah Jones' family hailed from a poor mining district which is now part of Rhondda in Wales . Mrs Clinton's family were from Ystradyfodwg, close to Neath and Merthyr Tydfil, and now part of Rhondda . From the family histories of the Jones and Rodham families, it appears the pair may have been forced to elope because the Rodhams were unlikely to have approved of their son marrying a woman from such a poor family when they had managed to become moderately wealthy after emigrating to America. Ms Smolenyak revealed that the Jones family were all miners while the Rodhams - who were to become Hannah Jones' in-laws - had left the trade after arriving in the US, and one even became a physician. Ms Smolenyak said: 'When Hugh Rodham found himself smitten with Hannah Jones, he had fallen for a girl who was regarded as being from “the wrong side of the tracks.” Mrs Clinton announced she was running for president last week and toured the Whitney Brothers factory . If Hillary Clinton is successful she could make history as the first female president of the United States . 'If he hadn’t been bold enough to wander across the state line to marry his sweetheart, Hillary’s father wouldn’t have born, erasing her from the scene. 'And if [Hillary] Rodham Clinton recalls her grandmother Hannah as a strong-willed woman who “ruled everyone within her reach,” it may have been a reflection of her determination to escape the circumstances that left her the sole survivor of her birth family of 16 by her early forties.' Hannah Jones Rodham, frequently described by Mrs Clinton as a 'strong willed woman' gave birth to Mrs Clinton's father Hugh E Rodham in 1911 and died in 1952 when Mrs Clinton was just five. 1850s - Mary Griffiths born in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales to poor family. 1851 - Miss Griffiths was living with her widowed mother and three siblings in Wales and by the age of 12 was working as a slave. 1871 - Miss Griffiths married William Jones, a coal miner from Neath near Swansea. They settled in Ystradyfodwg, near Merthyr Tydfil. 1880  - The Joneses moved to Scranton. 1882-1883 - Hannah Jones was born, one of 14 children - of which only four survived. 1902 - Hannah Jones eloped to Binghampton to marry Hugh S Rodham. He had been born in Northumberland and travelled to America with his family where he met Hannah Jones. 1911 - Hugh E Rodham  born to the couple in Scranton, Pennsylvania. 1942  - Hugh E Rodham married Dorothy Howell Rodham, originally from Chicago. 1947 - Hillary Rodham, the eldest of the couple's three children was born. She later went on to marry Bill Clinton. 1952 - Hannah Jones Rodham dies, when Hillary is just five years old. The account appears to be the first definitive family tree for Mrs Clinton which traces her Welsh roots to an area of the Valleys. Previous versions appear to have been drawn incorrectly due to a mix-up over her grandmother. Ms Smolenyak claimed she discovered a key flaw in how genealogists previously compiled Mrs Clinton's family tree in misidentifying Hannah Jones. She said the mistake was made after two children of the same name were born in Scranton in Pennsylvania between 1882 and 1883, and experts previously 'latched onto' the incorrect Hannah Jones. Ms Smolenyak discovered the error while doing research for a piece about Mrs Clinton for Irish America and managed to trace the correct woman using marriage records and obituaries. She identified a woman born shortly after her family arrived in the US in the 1880s, Hannah Jones, who then went on to marry Hugh Rodham in 1902. The revelations come after Mrs Clinton herself appeared to make a mistake regarding her ancestry last week when she suggested all her ancestors were immigrants. She was later forced to correct the error after it was proven that Hannah Jones was born in the US in the 1880s.
target: A definitive family tree of Hillary Clinton reveals her Welsh ancestors .
  They lived in a poor mining district called Ystradyfodwg, now Rhondda .
  Family emigrated to Pennsylvania where Mrs Clinton's grandmother Hannah Jones was born - one of four children out of 14 born to survive .
  Hannah Jones then eloped with Hugh Rodham - Mrs Clinton's grandfather - to marry because his family probably disproved of her poor background .