Hello, list!
I am going to run this post again, since it has been at least a year, I
think, since I asked. My DAVIS and REESE (you can stop laughing now)
families came to the US in the mid-1840s. They were instrumental in
recruiting coppersmelters from Swansea and thereabouts to come to Baltimore,
Maryland (could also have been referred to as Canton, Maryland, as Baltimore
is divided into named neighborhoods and Canton was were the Welsh smelters
settled).
The DAVIS men were David, Daniel and Thomas. (Thomas Davis was my
g-g-grandfather.) The REESE men may have been related to Thomas Davis' wife,
Margaret REESE.
If David W. Davis came here to supervise the smelter (which he did--they
were all superintendents at one time or another), is it likely he held a
similar position in Wales somewhere????
I would be interested in knowing if anyone had relatives who came to the US
(esp. Maryland) to smelt copper in the mid-late 1800s, or who might have
these men in their trees and wonder where they went? I would LOVE to find
living relatives in Wales!
I know that once in the US, the smelters (not just our Davis and Reese
folks) tended to stick close together, at least for the first 50 years or
so, and often moved in groups to where the work was. I am thinking it was
that way in Wales, too, but correct me if I am wrong. I did learn that
smelting was a closed profession, passed from father to son. So if there are
other researchers out there with S. Wales smelters in their trees in the
1800s, it is possible they knew these men.
(Note: This book is the only place I have seen our DAVIS spelled with an
"E", except for one obit; and it is the only place I have seen these REESEs
with the extra "E".)
Here is the Welsh version I found, followed by a translation provided by
another list member:
It is from the book, Hanes Cymry: A History of the Welsh in America, by R.
D. Thomas, and I have read a version that was
already translated, but I want to check it for accuracy. These Davis men are
my direct ancestors and I am trying to determine the correct relationship of
the 3 men.
Dechreuwyd y sefydliad yn 1845, Daeth David W. Davies, Ysw., yma i
arolygu y gwaith copper, ac anfonodd am Gymry profiadol fel toddwyr
copper o Lanelli ac Abertawe, D.C. Buy gwaith yn llwyddianus hyd 1850 ar
y Locust Point, pan yr ymrafaeliodd y cwmpeini, ac y dechreuwyd y
gwaith ar Canton.
Llwyddodd gwaith copper Canton dan arolygiaeth D. W. Davies hyd ei
farwolaeth, Ion. 13, 1854. Dewiswyd ei frawd yn olynydd iddo, sef Daniel
Davies, gynt o Llwyn Adam, ger Pont-ar-ddulas, Morganwg, D.C. Dyn da a
chrefyddol ydoedd. Parhaodd i weinyddu ei swydd hyd 1864.
Dilynwyd ef yn ei swydd gan ei fab, Thomas Davies, Ysw.; a dilynwyd
yntau gan Thomas Rees, a John T. Rees.
Hi Mona,
Here is a quick translation.
The settlement (NOTE: meaning the Welsh in the Canton area of Baltimore,
Maryland) started in 1845. David W. Davies came here to supervise the
copper works, and he sent for experienced Welshmen as copper smelters from
Swansea and Llanelli D. C. The work was successful until 1850 on the Locus
Point when the company broke up and the work started at Canton. The copper
work at Canton was successful under the supervision of D. W. Davies until
his death, Jan 13, 1854. His brother was chosen as his successor, namely
Daniel Davies, previously of Llwyn Adam near Pontardulais, Glamorgan D. C.
He was a good and religious man. He remained in office until 1864. He was
succeeded in his office by his son Thomas Davies Esq. and he in turn by
Thomas Rees and John T. Rees