Sut mae pawb!
I have just resubbed after a 3-week trip to England and Wales. It was my first time there
and I had the most amazing time--and fantastic weather!
I need to thank Jen for taking me to the Records Office and helping me hunt for birth and
marriage certificates, and generally showing me what they have there and how to access it.
She also presented me with a HUGE bag of material related to the copper trade and
coppersmelters (which my ancestors were), general info about Swansea, census CDs, and
Welsh language-learning materials, including a complete Wlpan course! Her partner,
Geraint, also called my B&B to check that I had arrived safely, and also stopped by Ty
Tawe one evening to introduce himself to me. (I am sorry I got pulled away for a prior
engagement, as I would have enjoyed talking to him more--in a quieter location!)
Also, when I reached Anglesey (not an easy thing without a car!), Phil and Chris extended
the warmest Welsh welcome anyone could imagine. They took me to their home for an
excellent homecooked dinner and uncorked a very special bottle of red wine. We had a
wonderful evening chatting and getting to know each other before they went waaay out of
their way to return me to the Bangor train station.
In England, I visited with Hugh in Sheerness and want to thank him for the lovely day-tour
around Sheppey. I went to Coxheath to see Ann and want to thank her for her gracious
hospitality, too--I am only sorry I could not stay long enough to meet her daughter, but I
had to get the train back.
I am sorry I did not get to call everyone who sent me phone numbers--I would still be in
Wales if I had! On my next visit I will be more organized and meet you.
On the genealogy front, aside from the Records Office, I met several people from
Pontarddulais, where, according to our records my direct ancestors were from originally.
One man told me I needed to talk to the vicar who would have church records and other
historical info about the town. I did not get to meet the vicar, as he was not in the day
I went to Pontarddulais, but I have his name, address and phone, so I will be in touch
with him soon.
This same person remembered a story of a Welsh man who was "smuggled"
(headhunted) out of Wales to the US to teach the Welsh way of coppersmelting--it sounded
exactly like my ancestor's experience and could have been him!
I also found out that the Cambrian (newspaper) Index will be on-line shortly--maybe this
spring. That will be the result of a lot of hard work by the folks at the Swansea
Library.
One of my Welsh tutors from the Cwrs Cymraeg I attended last summer presented me with his
book and CD on the Swansea copper workers' riots of 1843. We think our ancestors came
to the US in 1844, so this may have been part of the reason.
When I went to the Museum of Welsh Life (formerly St. Fagan's) in Cardiff, I was very
interested in the 1800-era rowhouse that would have been typical of the ironmongers, as I
figure my coppersmelters would have lived in a similar type home. (In fact, when they came
to the US, they lived in a rowhouse.) The Guide on duty at the rowhouses was also from
Pontarddulais! (Now this is not a very big place, so I found this amazing!) He also
immediately recommended the vicar and mentioned that the original church (St. Teilo's)
from Pontarddulais was in the process of being set up at the museum, and although it
wasn't open for visitors yet, I could go look at it and he told me where to find it,
as it isn't on the museum map yet. The existing St. Teilo's in Pontarddulais was
not built until the 1870s, so my family was already over here, but this old one dates from
at least the 1500s, so could very well be the church my family attended. It is being
restored as it would have appeared in!
1520, because while they were taking it down, they discovered amazing medieval wall
paintings inside. It gave me chills to look at it standing there!
Never having been to Europe, I was struck by the devastation and loss caused by WWII--even
though I had read about it, of course, and seen movies, it is not the same thing. There
are so many 1950-era buildings, especially in the dock area of Swansea, and every town has
at least one war memorial--usually more than one. The cemeteries I visited also all had
markers or benches, etc. dedicated to those lost. While WWII may sometime seem like
ancient history to Americans, there are daily reminders of it in Wales and England. (I
hope no one takes that the wrong way--of course Americans remember WWII and all those lost
and we honor them, but we don't have rebuilt bombed-out cities here.)
I could go on, but I won't, as this is getting off-topic, but I would definitely
recommend to anyone who has a Welsh background to try to go to Wales, at least once--it
will give you such an understanding of what life was like for your ancestors. And be sure
to visit St. David's--it took my breath away! Seriously, I had the same feeling as the
first time I saw the Grand Canyon.
I am in the process of typing up my travel notes, so if anyone is thinking of going to
Wales, I would be happy to share more on the places I went and things I did and saw.
Oh, I ate laverbread and cockles and drank Brains Dark (not at the same meal!). And even
with the generous (that's an understatement) Welsh breakfasts, I managed to lose 7
lbs. walking everywhere!
Hwyl,
Mona in Wisconsin, USA