No 13 Feed My Lambs

Posted by Hywel Roberts on July 13, 2008 11:45 AM

Over the past few years I've been involved in a project to redevelop one of Caernarfon's historic buildings, Feed My Lambs. It was built originally as an Infant School in 1836 and the school Log Books for 1865 to 1899 deposited in Gwynedd Archives give a fascinating insight into life amongst the poorer community in Caernarfon in the second half of the nineteenth century.

We secured a grant of £347,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to carry out renovation work to save this historic building and to restore it for use by the Church, who own the building, and it to enable it to become once again a thriving community centre. The first photo shows how it was before the work started and the second of how the exterior looked a few weeks ago. There will be an Open Day on Saturday 12 July between 10.00 am and 4.00 pm to give the public an opportunity to see inside. The work revealed an original church window that had been hidden for decades. The new stained glass for this window will not be ready until September but the window frame is a remarkable sight and a real bonus that's come to light through the restoration work.

Part of the project is to prepare interpretation panels to illustrate the use of the building since 1836. Work has been undertaken in the Archives by a Bangor University student which will form the basis of the interpretation of its history as a school. A photo of a plaque on the wall to commemorate Ellen Parry for 50 years service to the school is shown. We have also been appealing to the public for stories and photographs of people and events at Feed my Lambs in twentieth century. A fair number were received at the planning stage but now that the restoration is seen to be a reality we are being inundated with stories.

Only last week Robert Glyn Williams of Caernarfon told me how the building been used as a convalescence home during the First World War. Robert's parents, Elizabeth and Robert Williams kept a well-known grocer's shop in Penllyn. His mother's uncle, John Jones from Bwlchtocyn, lost his toes through frostbite in the trenches and when he came back from France he was taken to Feed My Lambs for convalescence before being discharged from the army. As a boy, Robert used to visit Bwlchtocyn regularly and each time John Jones used to ask about Feed My Lambs and he clearly had very fond memories.

This is the first time that we learnt of this use of the building and we'd be pleased to hear from anyone else who may know of this aspect of its use. Many have told us that when they were pupils in the Ysgol Râd (the associated National School that stood opposite FML but now demolished) that they went to Feed My Lambs to get their school dinners. It appears that is was used as a school canteen when school dinners were first introduced during the Second World War until the time the pupils left Ysgol Râd to go to the new Maesincla school. We've been given a very interesting photo of the pupils making the move from the old school to the new.

If any of the readers have any memories of using Feed My Lambs or know some stories about their ancestors using the school I be very interested to hear from you. We would be very interested in receiving photographs which we would scan and return the originals. Because of the recent influx of material there will be a delay in completing the interpretation boards so your photo could still make a significant contribution.

I've had a few health problems lately which explains the inconsistencies in the timing of these blogs. I'm going for treatment next week but hope to resume the regular blogs from the end of August when I'll be dealing with census returns.

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12 Women's History Roadshow

Posted by Hywel Roberts on June 18, 2008 7:51 AM

Information has reached me about a Women’s History Roadshow to be held at Caernarfon Record Office on Saturday, 28 June, 11am - 3pm (entry free). This is being organised by Archif Menywod Cymru / Women's Archive of Wales (WAW) which exists to promote the study, and to rescue and preserve the sources, of women's history in Wales. Their aim is to rescue material of all kinds which relate to women’s lives in Wales and to ensure it is properly cared for and preserved, and made accessible (subject to any restrictions) to anyone interested.
The task of recovering women’s history in Wales is urgent and pressing. Central to the reclamation of this distinctive history is the active process of tracking down, rescuing and conserving historical sources which throw light on women’s lives. The past cannot be reconstructed without authentic historical sources.
WAW collect a broad range of archival, photographic and other material sources which illustrate the history and heritage of women in Wales, and their experience in a range of spheres including the domestic, political, religious, economic, cultural and social. They particularly seek diaries, scrapbooks, the minute books of women’s organisations, literary manuscripts, photographs and similar materials. Their collections are deposited in WAW’s name in existing record offices in Wales, and in the National Library of Wales, where they are properly cared for, and where they can be accessed by researchers subject to any restrictions put on a collection.
Roadshows are a means of getting the public involved and are based on the popular model of the Antiques Roadshow. The public are being invited to bring memorabilia which tell us about the lives of women in Wales. As well as one-to-one discussions about the historical (as opposed to monetary) value of family or organisational records, each roadshow will also include talks and exhibitions, advice on conservation, and on safeguarding material for posterity.
Experts on hand at the Roadshow will give advice on conservation and preservation as well as discussing the historic value of the items. Items can be deposited with the Archive or copied for the Women's Archive of Wales’s website.

Professor Deirdre Beddoe, Emeritus Professor of Women's History at the University of Glamorgan and President of the Women’s Archive of Wales, will be among the experts viewing items at the Caernarfon roadshow, as will Catrin Stevens, author and historian, and local archivists will provide the vital local link. Catrin Stevens said: “People are often unaware of the significance of many items, and may throw them away without realising their potential value – there is a lack of material about women of the twentieth century, and women in general, especially ordinary women.�
If you have any material of this nature amongst your family records I would urge you to take it along to the Roadshow in Caernarfon on Saturday June 28th. A total of 17 Roadshows are being organised throughout Wales over a period of 2 years. One has already been held in Dolgellau and the next opportunity in this area will be in Anglesey on April 25, 2009. Even if you haven’t got relevant information it could still be an interesting event and you could learn a lot about how records are kept in public archives.
For more information about the Caernarfon Roadshow, contact Rhiannon Gomer on 01341 420168 or email rhiannon.gomer@womensarchivewales.org, or visit the website: www.womensarchivewales.org.

Caernarfon Archives closed in June
The Gwynedd Archives in Caernarfon will unfortunately be closed to the public throughout the month of June due to maintenance work (Apart from the Roadshow on 28 June).

Ynys Môn Archives Service
The special “Ask your Archivist� introductory sessions continue with one session in July as follows:
• Have you wondered how to start tracing your family history?
• Have you ever wondered about the history of your house?
• Do you want to know more about a subject or a place on Anglesey?
• Then come along and ask Anne Venables. You can get advice on how to go about doing your own research which includes how to use the Anglesey Archives in Llangefni. Once you’ve started you’ll find it hard to stop!

By appointment only: If you wish to attend any of the sessions listed in the following libraries you should telephone 01248 752083 to book your place.

Llangefni Monday, 7 July 2-7pm

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11. Discovering a new cousin

Posted by Hywel Roberts on June 2, 2008 8:54 AM

The photo shows officers of the Gwynedd Family History Society together with the Rev. Dr D. Ben Rees and his wife Meinwen following his lecture at the Society’s AGM on Saturday 17 May. Seated in the photo are Mrs Meinwen Rees, The Rev. Dr. D Ben Rees and Society Chair Myfyr Hughes. Standing are myself, Llew Williams (Vice-Chair), Bryan Jones (General Secretary), John Barlow (Librarian) and Gwyndaf Williams (Publications Officer).

Ben Rees spoke on “Gwynedd Families in Liverpool and Bootle since 1800� and he gave numerous examples of Gwynedd people who came to undertake a range of different roles in the life and development of Liverpool. He is an expert in this field having written or edited numerous publications including “Cymru Lerpwl a’r Cyffiniau, Cyfrol 1�, now sadly out of print, and “Cymru Lerpwl a’r cyffiniau yn yr Ugeinfed Ganrif, Cyfrol 2�, both published by Cyhoeddiadau Modern Cymraeg Cyf, 32 Garth Drive, Liverpool, L18 6HW. These are excellent reference books.

The talk was attended by members from all 6 Branches of the Society in Gwynedd and some members from Clwyd. Following the talk there followed an interesting question and answer session and an opportunity for people to mix, revive friendships and acquaintances and discuss common interests. One of the great things about belonging to a Family History Society is that you meet people who are always prepared to give guidance to newcomers and share experiences and through this there’s always a possibility that you might meet a distant cousin.

You may notice that I’m wearing a medallion in the photo. This is because that at that stage I was acting in my capacity as Deputy Mayor of Caernarfon. I’d been installed on the previous Thursday evening and was delighted that my first official duty in this position was to welcome Ben Rees to Caernarfon. This gave me enormous pleasure because of my involvement with the Society and because of my friendship with Ben Rees since college days.

At the Mayor installation ceremony on the Thursday evening my proposer and seconder said a few words about me and mentioned my interest in family history and my family connections with Penmachno and Llithfaen. After the formalities, Lis Jones, the Mayoress of Bangor, told me that she was also researching her family history and had family connections in Llithfaen. I asked if by any chance she was related to the Victoria Inn family and, to my surprise, said that she was.

My great grandparents John and Jane Roberts kept the Victoria Inn (now Tafarn y Fic) from the 1870s onwards and I remember their daughters, my grandfather’s sisters Hannah and Minnie, keeping the pub in the 1940s and early 1950s. It turns out that Lis’s great grandmother Laura, was Jane’s sister and had spent time helping out in the inn before marriage. I had found a new third cousin!

I had previously found John and Jane’s wedding records and therefore knew that her parents were John Hughes and Ellen Thomas from Efailnewydd but I hadn’t had time to investigate any further along this branch of the family tree. Lis has now offered me the benefit of her research and this is a fine example of we all try to help each other.

Caernarfon Archives closed in June

The Gwynedd Archives in Caernarfon will unfortunately be closed to the public throughout the month of June due to maintenance work.

Ynys Môn Archives Service

The special “Ask your Archivist� introductory sessions continue during June and July as follows:

• Have you wondered how to start tracing your family history?
• Have you ever wondered about the history of your house?
• Do you want to know more about a subject or a place on Anglesey?
• Then come along and ask Anne Venables. You can get advice on how to go about doing your own research which includes how to use the Anglesey Archives in Llangefni. Once you’ve started you’ll find it hard to stop!

By appointment only: If you wish to attend any of the sessions listed in the following libraries you should telephone 01248 752083 to book your place.

Rhosneigr Wednesday 4 June, 2-4.30 pm
Beaumaris Monday 9 June, 4- 7pm
Moelfre Monday, 16 June, 2-5pm
Llangefni Monday, 7 July 2-7pm

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Gwynedd and Liverpool

Posted by Hywel Roberts on May 13, 2008 5:58 AM

The AGM of the Gwynedd Family History Society will be held in Caernarfon on Saturday 17 May. The formal AGM meeting for members will start with tea and coffee at 10.30 am and in the afternoon there will be a talk by the Rev Dr D Ben Rees on “The presence of Gwynedd Families in Liverpool and Bootle since 1800�. Potential new members are welcome to come along to this talk and also to find out what the Society has to offer.

Ben Rees has been a Welsh Presbyterian Minister in Liverpool since the end of the 1960s until his recent retirement and has authored a number of books and numerous articles on the history of the Welsh in Liverpool and is active in all aspects of Welsh life in Liverpool.

This year Liverpool is the European City of Culture and Gwynedd Archives are in the process of preparing an exhibition featuring the links between Gwynedd and Liverpool to be held at the Museum in Bangor during September. Dr Rees’s talk is therefore very timely and I’m particularly looking forward to the talk because of my own Liverpool background.

I was born in Liverpool but went to stay with my grandparents in Penmachno during the war and returned to bomb damaged Liverpool in 1945. Although we went back to Wales in 1947 I continued visit Liverpool regularly to stay with my aunt and uncle every school holiday until about 1954 when they also left Liverpool. I therefore have many childhood memories of Liverpool but strangely my subsequent visits to Liverpool were very rare until my daughter went to college in Liverpool in 1998.

This gave me the opportunity to get to know the city again and the memories came flooding back as I took her around to show where I used to live in Litherland, where I went to school, where my grandparents had lived, Gwladys Street School where my father had been a teacher etc.

One day I took her to see the Stanley Road Chapel in Bootle where I had been baptised. Unfortunately the chapel had been completely destroyed in a bombing raid in 1941 so when we returned in 1945 all the services and activities were held in the vestry. The members decided to rebuild and a new chapel, built in a similar style to the old, was opened in 1955 but unfortunately it was closed during the 1990s.

It is now used by the local authority and the building is in good condition but when my daughter and I visited I saw that there was nothing to indicate that this had once been a Welsh Chapel. I felt that there should be a plaque to show its former use and decided to do something about it. I approached Ben Rees, whom I’d known since college days, and money was raised, a plaque was prepared and I was delighted to be invited to the unveiling ceremony during the Bootle Welsh Festival in October 2003. I felt that I’d played a small part in preserving the heritage of this chapel where I was baptised and that had been so important to my parents and thousands of Welsh people over the years.

GFH Society Annual General Meeting Talk, Saturday 17 May 2008, 2.00 pm at Yr Aelwyd, Stryd yr Eglwys (Church Street), Caernarfon.
Guest Speaker: Rev Dr Ben Rees, Liverpool.
“The presence of Gwynedd Families in Liverpool and Bootle since 1800� The talk will be in English

Ask your Archivist

I’ve been sent more information about additional special sessions being organised by the Archives Service in Ynys Môn.

• Have you wondered how to start tracing your family history?
• Have you ever wondered about the history of your house?
• Do you want to know more about a subject or a place on Anglesey?
• Then come along and ask Anne Venables. You can get advice on how to go about doing your own research which includes how to use the Anglesey Archives in Llangefni. Once you’ve started you’ll find it hard to stop!

By appointment only: If you wish to attend any of the sessions listed in the following libraries you should telephone 01248 752083 to book your place.

Benllech Tuesday 13 May, 2-5pm
Cemaes Monday 19 May, 2-6pm
Rhosneigr Wednesday 4 June, 2-4.30 pm
Beaumaris Monday 9 June, 4- 7pm
Moelfre Monday, 16 June, 2-5pm
Llangefni Monday, 7 July 2-7pm

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9. Birth Certificate again

Posted by Hywel Roberts on April 27, 2008 8:50 PM

In Blog No 8 I wrote about the problems that occur sometimes with records for people living in parishes on the borders of counties. This doesn’t only apply to counties with land boundaries as I remember some totally unexpected complications my wife once had when looking for birth details of ancestors in the Brynsiencyn area of Anglesey. She was looking, quite naturally, in the Llangefni Archives and Llangefni Registry Office without success. She eventually found them in the Caernarfon records office!

When there was a regular ferry service from Anglesey to Caernarfon, Caernarfon was the market town for the southern corner of Anglesey and people found it easier to get to Caernarfon than to Llangefni and used to register their births etc in Caernarfon rather than Llangefni. You would only know this if you knew the history of the area but staff in the County Archives and volunteers at the Gwynedd Family History Society open days are very good in bringing such complications, and the potential solutions, to your attention.

These days we have to make an appointment to go the office of the Registrar of Birth, Marriages and Deaths to register a birth but in the nineteenth century a local Registrar would visit people to register the births. If you look back at the birth Certificate for Robert Williams, born in July 1878 shown with Blog 8 you will notice that the Registrar was Matthew R Williams. He was a clockmaker by trade and I have a grandfather clock made by Matthew Williams. My mother said that he was related but I haven’t succeeded in finding the connection yet.

Matthew Williams was the son of Parc, Penmachno, which was the neighbouring farm to Tyddyn Ucha, the home of Robert Williams’ mother, Catherine Roberts, so he was most probably a close family friend rather than a relative. The authors of an excellent 1993 book “The Clockmakers of Llanrwst�, which is mainly about the famous clockmakers John and Watkin Owen, mention Matthew Williams as one of the lesser known clockmakers in the area. In their research they found only one Matthew Williams clock. I have one and I’ve subsequently found one other so there are at least three of Matthew Williams’ clocks surviving today. If anyone reading this piece knows the whereabouts of another Matthew Williams clock, with the name “M Williams, Penmachno� like mine in the photo, I’d be very interested in learning about it.

Being the Registrar of the Yspyty sub-district was a part-time job for Matthew Williams but he sadly hanged himself on 7 March 1879 at the age of 35. In the report on the unfortunate incident in Banner ac Amserau Cymru (12 March 1879) it states that he had spent the previous day in the parishes of Pentrefoelas and Yspyty Ifan collecting details of births and deaths. This would indicate that people would get a message to the Registrar about a birth or a death and he would arrange to visit to collect and record the details.

The Birth Certificate is one of the key documents in tracing your family tree as you will get you will get the exact birth date and details of the father and occupation and address at the time. You will also get the mother’s maiden name. You will always get the mother’s name but in the cases of illegitimate births there will be no name for the father and I’ll give an example of this at some later blog.

Finding a connection with the Registrar, as I did in this case, is an unexpected bonus which you sometimes get when researching your family history. And the story of the clock is itself an interesting story which I’ll write sometime.

GFH Society Annual General Meeting, Saturday 17 May 2008, 2.00 pm at Yr Aelwyd, Stryd yr Eglwys, Caernarfon.
Guest Speaker: Rev Dr Ben Rees, Liverpool.
More about this meeting and the Liverpool connection in the next Blog

The GFH Society meeting for May are:

Bangor, Saturday 10 May Branch Outing: Rhyd Ddu and Nantgwynant with Margaret Dunn

Caernarfon, No meeting

Dolgellau, 8 May (second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel:
Penri Jones Evans, “Hanes Tref y Bala�

Llandudno, No meeting

Llangefni, 15 May, Mystery trip

Pwllheli, No meeting

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More about Birth Certificates

Posted by Hywel Roberts on April 13, 2008 10:25 PM

Last time I wrote about my great grandfather’s Birth Certificate and the example shown was a copy of the register entry of William William’s birth on 29 November 1851. The copy shown was prepared by the then Registrar, Arthur Owen, and dated 16 August 1921. More experienced readers will know that he obtained this copy in preparation for his seventieth birthday on 29 November 1921. He would have needed the certificate in order to be able to prove his age in making an application to receive his old age pension, which at that time was paid at the age of 70. Unfortunately he didn’t get much benefit from his old age pension as he died on 3 February 1922.

This time I show a copy of the Birth Certificate of my grandfather, Robert Williams who was the second of four sons of William Williams and Catherine Roberts. He was born in July 1878 and you will notice that the copy is dated March 1948 which again indicates that it was obtained ahead of his application for an old age pension at the age of 70 in July 1948.

You will notice that his father’s name is down as William P. Williams even though we saw from his birth certificate that he was born William Williams. As he was exactly the same name as his father, he decided to adopt the middle name “Pritchard� taken after his grandfather William Pritchard. He was known, certainly during his adult life, as William Pritchard Williams and I’ve seen many documents that he has signed as William Pritchard Williams. He didn’t change his name officially but simply adopted the middle name. If one was starting to trace the family tree from complete ignorance then this type of change of name could lead to much confusion but I was lucky that I’d listened to my grandparents and then my mother talking about him and I knew about the additional name.

Robert Williams went on to do exactly the same and adopted the middle name “Cadwalader� after his grandfather on his mother’s side. He was subsequently known as Robert Cadwalader Williams despite his birth certificate stating simply Robert Williams.

The family lived at Talywaen which was a terraced house on the main road going into Penmachno but bigger than the Glanypwll terraced houses. Talywaen looks in very good condition today.

On the top of both certificates is shown the Registration District, Llanrwst and the Sub-District, Yspyty. It then states that this is the Counties of Caernarvon and Denbigh. In most cases the District and Sub-District will be within one county but sometimes, as in this case, a sub-district can cover parts of two counties. The Parish of Penmachno was wholly within the old county of Caernarvonshire but the main town in the area, Llanrwst, was in the old county of Denbigh and this has caused me problems from time to time. The sub-district of Yspyty covered the parishes of Penmachno, Yspyty Ifan and Pentrefoelas, the second two being in Denbighshire.

If you’re interested in a parish that is on the border with another county you should check that the nearest main town is within the same county otherwise you could encounter difficulties as I’ve had with Llanrwst being within Denbighshire.

The GFH society meeting for remainder of April and early May are:

Bangor, 10 May: Branch Outing “Rhyd Ddu and Nantgwynant with Margaret Dunn�

Caernarfon, 24 April (last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the The Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Members Evening - talks given by members about aspects their family history

Dolgellau, 8 May (second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel:
Penri Jones Evans, “Hanes Tref y Bala�

Llandudno, 14 April (second Monday of each month) 7.00pm: An evening in the Conwy Archives, Old Board School, Lloyd Street, Llandudno.

Llangefni, 17 April (third Thursday of each month) 7.15pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Visit to Yr Aelwyd undertaking research

Pwllheli, 18 April (third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod:
John Dilwyn Williams “Gair o brofiad�

Ask your Archivist

I’ve been sent information about special sessions being organised by the Archives Service in Ynys Môn. The first session is at Holyhead Library, Thursday 17 April 2p.m. - 7p.m

• Have you wondered how to start tracing your family history?
• Have you ever wondered about the history of your house?
• Do you want to know more about a subject or a place on Anglesey?
• Then come along and ask Anne Venables. You can get advice on how to go about doing your own research which includes how to use the Anglesey Archives in Llangefni. Once you’ve started you’ll find it hard to stop!

By appointment only: If you wish to attend the above session or any of the further sessions listed below you should telephone 01248 752083 to book your place.

Porthaethwy Thursday 24 April, 2-7pm

Amlwch Thursday 1 May, 2-7pm

Benllech Tuesday 13 May, 2-5pm

Cemaes Monday 19 May, 2-6pm

Rhosneigr Wednesday 4 June, 2-4.30 pm

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