February 2009 Archives

Following my surgery early January I've been taking things easy at home over the past few weeks. I haven't been able to do much but I've had time to do some sorting of my family history records. Over the years I've undertaken research, or met someone with mutual interest, and have made notes but unfortunately I haven't always spent time ensuring that these notes were in filed effectively. I've now been able to do some of this, but I've got a long way to go!

I've also had time to look at some of the comments that people have sent in. I was really interested in the comments from Belinda (5 February) on her memories of Feed My Lambs in Caernarfon. Belinda, now living in Ireland, has fond memories of Christmases in Feed My Lambs during the mid 1960s. I'm sure that you'll be pleased to know that this 1836 former Infant School is now fully refurnished and back in use by the Church and by the community.

On 5 January there was an interesting contact from Ann Davies who is a great, great grand-daughter of Owen Gethin Jones (1816-83). He was probably the most prominent person to come from Penmachno after the Bishop Morgan who translated the Bible into Welsh. Gethin was a poet and prominent in Eisteddfod circles, he was a local historian and his three essays on the history of the parishes of Penmachno, Dolwyddelan and Ysbyty Ifan published in Gweithiau Gethin after his death are invaluable. He was also a highly successful building and civil engineering contractor in partnership with his brother-in-law William Jones, and his nephew, Owen Jones of Glasgwm Hall, Penmachno, who was one of my great, great grandfathers. The most prominent achievement was the construction of the railway from Betws y Coed towards Blaenau Ffestiniog which includes the long viaduct that takes the railway from one side of the Lledr valley to the other and is still called Pont Gethin on today's Ordinance and Survey maps.

Ann asks for information on Mary Davies, Gethin's daughter who married Owen Davies and lived on in Tyddyn Cethin after Gethin's death. My great grandfather, William Pritchard Williams, would have known Gethin's family well as they were all active in the Wesleyan Chapel, Bethania. In 1909, William Pritchard Williams (WPW), my grandparents and my mother, who had just been born, moved to live in Gwiga which was one of the two closest farms to Tyddyn Cethin. I have a copy of Gweithiau Gethin with WPW's name in it which my mother told me was given to him by Mary Davies.

In the last blog I showed a copy of a Certificate which my mother obtained in the Tŷ'n y Groes Sunday School which was at the bottom of the "road" leading to Tyddyn Cethin. In his valuable reference book on the history of Penmachno, "Plwyf Penmachno", Vivian Parry Williams states that this corrugated iron building was opened in 1912 but closed in 1926. Both my great grandfather and Mary Davies were widowed by 1909 and my mother said that she used to see William Pritchard Williams calling on Mary Davies and escorting her down the rough road to the Sunday School every Sunday. She said that she and Nellie and Jean, the two daughters of the next farm, Erw'r Clochydd, would sometimes be on the other side of the hedge and call "dau gariad" after them which means, "two sweethearts", although I'm sure that it was a completely innocent relationship! Mary Davies died in 1927 and was buried with her husband in grave A030 in St Tudclud churchyard.

The next Gwynedd Family History Society meetings are:
Bangor, 3 March (first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: J Elwyn Hughes, "Characters in 'Un Nos Ola Leuad'"

Caernarfon, 26 February (last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at The Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Gwilym Evans, "Hanes Oel Morris Evans"

Dolgellau, 12 March (second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel: Rheinallt Llwyd, "Llwydiaid Blaen y Glyn"

Llandudno, 9 March (second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Ebenezer, Abergele Road, Old Colwyn (please note new meeting place):
David Kent, "The Welsh Highland Railway"

Llangefni, 19 February (third Thursday of each month) 7.15pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Pat West, "Family History in the Archives"

Pwllheli, 20 February (third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod:
Noson Aelodau, "Dechrau ar hanes Becws Penta Poeth"