The Welsh and North America
The Welsh and North America
Welsh and Successful in North America Today
Christian Bale
Actor
Dame Shirley
Bassey
Singer
John Belle
Architect
Michael
Bogdanov
Theatre Director
Kate Burton
Actor
John Cale
Musician
Joe Calzaghe
Boxer
Hillary Clinton
Former US
Secretary of
State
Grahame
Davies
Author
Geraint
Wyn Davies
Actor (Playing
Dylan Thomas)
Duffy
Singer
Menna Elfyn
Poet
Richard Ellis
Astronomer
David Emanuel Sir Harold
Fashion Designer Evans
Journalist and
Broadcaster
Sir Martin
Evans
Discoverer of
Stem Cells
Rebecca Evans Cerith
Wyn Evans
Soprano
Singer
Daniel Evans
Actor
Catrin Finch
Harpist
Jasper Fforde
Novelist
Ioan Gruffudd
Actor
Terry Hands
Theater Director
*
Sylvia Ann
Hewlett
Writer and
Economist
Peter Ho
Davies
Author
Sir Anthony
Hopkins
Actor
Rhys Ifans
Actor
Jem
Singer
Karl Jenkins
Composer
Katherine
Jenkins
Mezzo-Soprano
*
Charlotte
Church
Singer
David Gray
Singer
*
*
*
Sir John
Houghton
Scientist
Andrew
Howard
Actor
Jason Howard
Baritone
Sion Dale
Jones
Actor
(in Floating)
Gwyn Hughes
Jones
Tenor
John Owen
Jones
Singer (musical
theatre)
Sir Tom Jones
Singer
Cambridge
Jones
Photographer
Martyn Jones
Artist
Damian Lewis
Actor
Grant
Llewellyn
Conductor
Ross
Lovegrove
Designer
Guy Masterson Cerys
Matthews
Actor
Singer
Sir Terry
Matthews
Entrepreneur
Robert
Minhinnick
Poet
Christopher
Monger
Director and
Screenwriter
Sir Michael
Moritz
Entrepreneur
Mali Morris
Artist
Edward Povey
Artist
*
Helen McCrory John Metcalf
Actor
Composer
*
*
Dennis O’Neill
Tenor
Only Men
Aloud!
Choir
Sian Phillips
Actor
Lloyd Robson
Poet & Author
Ian Rowlands
Playwright
Super Furry
Animals
Rock Band
Owen Teale
Actor
Paul Watkins
Novelist
Llyr
^ Williams
Pianist
*
Catherine
Zeta-Jones
Actress
*
Jan Morris and
Twm Morus
author and poet
Claire Jones
Harpist’
*
Jonathan Pryce Matthew Rhys
Actor
Actor
Carlo Rizzi
Conductor
Michael Sheen Owen Sheers
Poet
Actor
*
*
Stereophonics
Rock Band
Sir Howard
Stringer
Sara Sugarman
Movie Director
Alexander
Talbot Rice
Artist
Bryn Terfel
Bass-Baritone
Peter Thabit
Jones
Poet
Rachel Trezise
Author
Tim Vincent
TV Presenter
Ian Woosnam
Golfer
Mike Young
Animation
Director
*
*
* Photo by Cambridge Jones
*
*
Roger Williams Iris Williams
Playwright
Singer
*
*
Former Chairman
and CEO of Sony
*
The Welsh and North America
Introduction
This booklet is a brief history of the Welsh nation and its relationship with North
America. It is the story of the important contribution that the Welsh have made to
North America from the 17th century onwards and how the relationship continues
to flourish today in business, tourism, academia and the arts.
Doing Business
While the Welsh may have come to North America to work in mining and
manufacturing, today there is very little traditional heavy industry left in Wales.
Presently, there are over 150 North American companies in Wales and a growing
number of Welsh companies are investing in North America. Here are just some
areas where Wales now excels, frequently working closely with North American
companies and research centers.
For full details on business sectors and opportunities in Wales today, please contact
the Welsh Government in North America (see details at back).
Aircraft Maintenance
Repair and Overhaul
Automotive
25% of the UK’s MRO is carried out in Wales.
Major investors include Airbus, BA, GE
Aviation, Raytheon, Hawker Beechcraft, and
Allied Aerosystems.
There are 150 automotive companies in
Wales with 16,000 employees and one third
of all engines made in the UK are now made
in Wales. Major investors include Ford with
over 2000 employees.
Opto-electronics
Creative Media
5000 people in Wales are employed by 85
opto-electronics companies. The OpTIC
Research Centre at Glyndwr University is
developing the European Extremely Large
Telescope. Cardiff-based IQE is a world
leader in the supply of semiconductor wafer
products for photonic applications and now
has several bases in the USA.
The BBC is at the center of a growing
cluster in South Wales producing film, TV
programs, animation and games. The BBC
recently opened a 170,000 sq ft studio
premises in Cardiff Bay where it produces
programs for a worldwide audience. Llanellibased Tinopolis, the UK’s largest regional
independent, recently acquired A. Smith and
Co. and BASE Productions in the USA and
makes programming for most of the US’s
top networks.
Diagnostics
Wales has one of the largest UK clusters
of in-vitro diagnostic companies including
American giant Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics.
RSR specialises in autoimmune thryoid
diagnostics while Concateno Trichotech
and Cansford Laboratories both carry out
drug testing on hair samples. Microvisk will
shortly launch a hand-held coagulation
testing device for patients on Warfarin.
Ten Things Made in Wales today
• Airbus A380 wings
• Toyota Auris Hybrid engine
• Sony Blu-Ray cameras
• Thales Satellite Cover Glass and Cover Slides
• Raytheon’s Shadow R Mk1 aircraft
• Flexicare Hall Lock System
• Faun Trackway Heavy Ground Mobility System
• GE Healthcare’s Whatman 903 Specimen
Collection Device
• Ford fuel-efficient EcoBoost engine
• The Raspberry Pi
Financial and Business Services
Cardiff is ‘the fastest growing British
city for financial services jobs’ and ‘an
essential near-shoring hub for the City of
London’ (FT). The financial sector now
accounts for 25% of all jobs in Cardiff.
Major investors include Eversheds. Deloitte,
ING, Zurich, Conduit, Lloyds, AA, Centrica,
Brewin Dolphin, Target, BT, PWC, Admiral,
Principality, Serco, Tesco, Legal and General,
and Confused.com.
Raspberry Pi
Airbus A380
The Welsh and North America
Visiting Wales
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Beaumaris Castle
Blaenavon
Caernarfon Castle
Conwy Castle
Harlech Castle
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal
National Parks
Brecon Beacons National Park
Pembrokeshire National Park
Snowdonia National Park
For a small country, Wales packs a lot
in! It’s a Celtic country, part of the
United Kingdom, and is about 250
km (or 180 miles) long and 90 km (or
60 miles) wide. Travelling north to
south takes about 4 ½ hours. But of
course you also have to account for
photo, coffee, and local pub stops.
There’s a lot to see: our 641 castles,
3 national parks, 10 great little steam
trains, lots of colorful market towns
and Cardiff, our capital city.
Areas of Outstanding
Natural Beauty
The Anglesey Coast
The Clwydian Range
Gower
^ Peninsula
The Llyn
The Wye Valley
Great Little Trains of Wales
Bala Lake Railway
Brecon Mountain Railway
Llanberis Lake Railway
Ffestiniog Railway
Snowdon Mountain Railway
Talyllyn Railway
Vale of Rheidol Railway
Welsh Highland Railway
Welshpool & Llanfair Railway
Welsh Highland Heritage
Sites of the National Museum
Big Pit: National Coal Museum
National Museum Cardiff
National Roman Legion Museum
National Slate Museum
National Waterfront Museum
National Wool Museum
St. Fagans: National History Museum
Wales’ Top Gardens
Aberglasney House and Gardens
Bodnant Gardens
Chirk Castle
Dyffryn Gardens
Erddig
National Botanic Gardens of Wales
Penrhyn Castle
Plas Newydd
Powis Castle and Garden
Portmeirion
St. Fagans: National History Museum
Wales Millennium Centre
Three Ways To
Vacation In Wales
•Play golf in the shadow of a castle
on one of our inspirational links
golf courses or The Twenty Ten
Ryder Cup Course.
•Stay at Dylan’s! Spend the night in
Dylan Thomas’ childhood home
in Swansea, now a self catering
accommodation.
•Put on your walking boots and
explore the 870-mile Wales Coast
Path, the world’s first of its kind.
DID YOU KNOW?
The National Botanic Garden of
Wales is the first national botanic
garden to be created in the UK
for over 200 years.
The Welsh and North America
Academia
There are nine universities in Wales on 12 campuses:
• Aberystwyth University
www.aber.ac.uk
• Bangor University
www.bangor.ac.uk
• Cardiff University
www.cardiff.ac.uk
• Cardiff Metropolitan University
www3.cardiffmet.ac.uk
• Glyndwr University (Wrexham)
www.glyndwr.ac.uk
• Royal Welsh College of Music
and Drama (Cardiff)
www.rwcmd.ac.uk
• University of South Wales
(Newport, Treforest)
www.southwales.ac.uk
• Swansea University
www.swansea.ac.uk
• University of Wales Trinity St
David’s (Carmarthen, Swansea,
Lampeter)
www.trinitysaintdavid.ac.uk
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Photograph
Nick Guttredge
Welsh universities have 30 centers of excellence, 91 departments rated 4-star and
above for research, and 66 departments listed as excellent for teaching quality.
Welsh universities have many Study Abroad programs and welcome full-time
international students from over 120 countries each year onto some 5,500
courses.
For further information on studying in Wales, on university centers of excellence,
and on research programs, please visit the respective universities’ websites or visit
www.wales.com.study.
Practical information for North American students on visas, scholarships and fees
can be found at the British Council’s website http://www.educationuk.org/global
Welsh Food and Drink
‘Wales is now home to some truly worldclass food festivals, restaurants, farmers’
markets and producers – part of the general
renaissance of British cuisine combined with
an increasing focus on fresh local produce.
The country’s natural larder includes
freshly caught fish, tender local lamb and
a smorgasbord of cheeses. These staple
ingredients are used in everything from
traditional dishes to fusion creations in some
of the cities’ most cosmopolitan restaurants.’
The Rough Guide to Wales.
Now some of these fine Welsh food and drink
products are available in stores in the USA.
For a printable PDF on how to buy Welsh food
and drink in the USA and for some recipes for
producing your own Welsh dishes, visit
http://americas.visitwales.com/news-andfeatures/food-drink
The Welsh and North America
A Brief History
c.600
BCE The Celts Arrive in Britain ––
the roots of Welsh civilization
55 BCE The Romans conquer Britain
c.400
CE King Arthur is born
c.440
c.530
c.1179
The Anglo-Saxons
invade Britain
Saint David, patron saint of
Wales, is born
Prince Madog is said to have
discovered America
1662 Jon Miles leads Welsh Baptists
to America
1662 Welsh Quakers settle
to 1700 in Pennsylvania
1701 Yale University is founded ––
named after Welsh benefactor
Elihu Yale
1757 Morgan Edwards becomes
President of what is now
Princeton University
1801 Thomas Jefferson becomes
President of the USA
1804 Lewis and Clark Expedition
sets off
1837 John Pierpont Morgan is born
1911 Frank Lloyd Wright builds
Taliesin
1953 Dylan Thomas dies in New York
1959 Hugh Griffiths wins Oscar for
Ben Hur
1991 Sir Anthony Hopkins wins Oscar
for Silence of the Lambs
2001 Sir Terence Matthews is
knighted
2003 Catherine Zeta-Jones wins
Oscar for Chicago
2003 Clive Granger and Robert Engle
win Nobel Prize for Economics
2004 Sir Harold Evans is knighted for
services to journalism
2004 Welsh Assembly Government
opens Wales International
Center in New York
2005 Sir Howard Stringer is
promoted to Chairman and
CEO of Sony Corporation
2006 Sir Tom Jones is knighted
2007 Welsh scientist Sir John
Houghton shares Nobel Peace
Prize with Al Gore
1847 The Welsh Mormons arrive,
2007 Sir Martin Evans receives Nobel
1849 The Welsh 49ers join the
2009 National Assembly for Wales
1851 The New York Times is co-
2009 Wales is the featured nation
led by Dan Jones
great Gold Rush in California
founded by George R. Jones
1851 First copy of Y Drych is
Prize for Medicine
Celebrates its 10th Birthday
at the Smithsonian Folklife
Festival in Washington DC
2009 Turner to Cezanne:
published in New York –– oldest
to 2010 Masterpieces from the Davies
ethnic newspaper in the USA
Collection, National Museum
1861 Jefferson Davis is elected
Wales tours the United States
President of Confederate States
2010 Wales hosts the Ryder Cup at
the Celtic Manor Resort
1861 Many Welshmen serve in
to 1865 the American Civil War, the
2011 Christian Bale wins Oscar for
majority on the Union side
The Fighter
1892 The Welsh immigrate through
to 1943 Ellis Island
2012 The Richard Burton Diaries are
published in North America
2013 Sir Michael Moritz is knighted
2014 Wales celebrates Dylan
Thomas 100 centenary
Pentre ifan Burial Chambers, Wales
The Welsh and North America
Early Welsh Settlers
THE MYTH OF THE ‘WELSH INDIANS’
In around 1179, Prince Madog and his
followers are said to have sailed from
Wales to today’s Mobile, Alabama,
and then established communities in
America, intermarrying with the native
Americans.
The myth of the ‘Welsh Indians’ grew
over time and it was widely believed
that there existed tribes of people in
America with fair
hair and skin who
had a rudimentary
knowledge of
Christianity, built
fortifications and
temples, and spoke
a form of Welsh.
When Thomas
Mandan Chief
Jefferson sent
Lewis and Clark on their overland
expedition in 1804, one of their main
tasks was to search for the Welsh
Indians. They failed to complete this
task and the mystery of the ‘Madogwys’
has never been solved.
The Mandan Indians may be the “Welsh Indians”
COLONIALS
Welsh people
looking for cultural
and religious
freedom from
English dominance
were among the
first to establish
colonies in
America.
Bryn Mawr College
today, Courtesy of Bryn
Mawr College
1662 – Jon Miles led Welsh Baptists to
Massachusetts where they established
the town of Swansea.
1682 – Welsh Quakers settled in
Merion, PA.
1764 – Morgan Edwards of Pontypool
establisted Brown University in
Providence, RI.
1757 – Morgan Edwards became
President of the College of New Jersey –
now Princeton University
The Boston Manuscript
The Boston Manuscript is a rare ‘pocket book’ dating to the 14th century
and containing the Laws of 10th century Welsh ruler Hywel Dda. The volume
disappeared in the 18th century, only to re-appear in the library of the
Massachusetts Historical Society in the city of Boston by 1831. The history of its
trans-Atlantic crossing is a mystery, although it is probable that it was taken in the
luggage of an early settler. In 2012, it was bought by the National Library of Wales
and returned, 150 years later, to Wales.
THE CAROLINAS
In the 18th Century, Welsh people left
Pennsylvania and settled in the Carolinas
in what are today Northeastern Cape
Fear in Duplin County, North Carolina,
and the Upper Pee Dee River Region of
Marlboro County, South Carolina. These
areas were known as ‘the Welsh Tract.’
Pennsylvanian Quakers
DID YOU KNOW?
Harriton House near Philadelphia
was built in 1704 by Welsh
Quaker Rowland Ellis. He named
it Bryn Mawr, a name that was
later adopted by the nearby
ladies college. The house has
been restored to its original state
and is open for visitors http://
www.harritonhouse.org/
The Welsh and North America
Going West
LEWIS AND CLARK
Thomas Jefferson sent his
Welsh private secretary
Meriwether Lewis and William
Clark to explore the uncharted
territories west of the
Mississippi. They used the map
of the young Welsh explorer
John Evans. The Lewis and Clark
expedition changed world power
by opening up the interior of
the continent to exploration and
colonization by the US.
Thomas Jefferson
THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH
In 1849, after the discovery of gold
in California by James Marshall,
thousands of Welsh people with
mining in their blood joined the
Gold Rush. Hundreds of thousands of
hopeful panners flooded into the area
and the output of gold roses from $5
million to $55 million in three years.
COLORADO GOLD
By 1859, ‘Gregory Gulch’
was known as ‘the richest
square mile in the world’
and Welsh prospectors
came from Dodgeville and
Cambria in Wisconsin over
the Great Plains to this area
of Colorado.
Before the railroad was
built in 1870, they came in
ox-driven covered wagons
and the journey took seven
months. The final 8-mile
journey up the valley
to Central City required
crossing the river fifty-eight
times, back and forth.
Panning for gold
WELSH MORMANS IN UTAH
Thousands of Welsh Mormons
emigrated to America in the 1840’s
and 50’s traveling west to join Brigham
young in Utah. At this time, the Welsh
DID YOU KNOW?
You can visit the Great Plains
Welsh Heritage Project in
Wymore, Nebraska, and
discover the contribution of
Welsh pioneers to the North
American prairies. http://www.
welshheritage.org/
Mormon convert Dan Jones established
55 Mormon branches in Wales with
3,603 members. In 1847, he sailed
to America with over 2000 Welsh
converts.
Today it is estimated that 20% of the
population of Utah is of Welsh descent.
The Welsh and North America
Farming
A typical journey for immigrant Welsh farmers in the 18th century
A large tide of Welsh immigration took
place just before the American Civil War
in the mid 1800’s, when Welsh farmers
and their families came to populate the
new lands and frontiers in the Midwest
and beyond.
They settled peaceably and were soon a
welcome addition to their communities.
Many of the Welsh communities they
helped to settle continue to celebrate
their Welsh traditions:
ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK
Oneida Welsh farmers introduced Welsh butter into the New York market. Oneida
County also became the center of Welsh-language printing in the USA. Religious
books and periodicals were printed here as well as the oldest Welsh-American
newspaper Y Drych (today a part of Ninnau and Y Drych).
COLUMBIA, WAUKESHA, IOWA AND
WINNEBAGO COUNTIES, WISCONSIN
‘The people lived their life faithfully
throughout the week – no
drunkenness, murdering, breaking
the Sabbath, swearing or cursing. The
men were hard working in the fields
and wives kept their houses clean and
warm, and a hearty welcome was given
to strangers by every family
throughout the neighborhood. They
were excellent American citizens and
strong Prohibitionists to the core.’
The Reverend JA. Jones writing in 1856 after a visit
to the Welsh community of Proscairon, WI
OHIO: THE STORY OF THE ‘1818 WELSH’
On April 1, 1818, six farming families
from Tregaron, Wales, were on their
way to Paddy’s Run in Butler County,
near Cincinnati. They had traveled
along the Ohio River in flatboats
and stopped overnight in the tiny
community of Gallipolis.
Curiously, they never went any further
and became known as the ‘1818 Welsh.’
Some say that the women in the party
were so tired of traveling that they
secretly cut the ropes that tethered
their boats during the night.
EMPORIA, KANSAS
‘The Welsh people in Emporia and
vicinity probably number several
thousand souls; yet there are no Welsh
paupers, no Welsh criminals, no Welsh
loafers, no Welsh snobs; they are the
salt of the earth, it is a better, cleaner,
kindlier town because it is the home of
these people’
Emporia Gazette, February 11, 1911
The Welsh and North America
Finding work in American Industries
It is often said that Wales ‘roofed and
US and used for heating homes and to
heated America.’
drive the railways and steamships.
Before the first slate quarry opened
With the birth of the Gilded Age in
in the USA in 1785, nearly all the
America, more skilled craftsmen left
slate used for roofing in America was
Wales and came to America to work
imported from North Wales.
in the new coal, slate, iron, tinplate,
and steel industries.
The roof covering on the
They brought with
White House was
them their families,
made in Pontardawe,
customs, and the
Wales, in the late
Welsh language and
19th century
set up chapels and
from tenne plate
cultural institutions
– a product of the
and formed choirs.
tinplate industry.
Many of these centers of
Welsh coal was
The roof of the
Welsh settlement still, today,
imported into the White House comes from Wales feel proud of their Welsh heritage.
PENNSYLVANIA
Welsh coalminers and mine engineers
went to Scranton and Wilkes Barre in
the Lackawanna Valley, known as the
‘anthracite capital of the world.’
Welsh slate workers established quarries
with names for Welsh places such as
Old Bangor Quarry in Bangor, PA, and
Snowdon Quarry in Slatford, PA.
Thousands of Welsh steelworkers
went to work for the Bethlehem Steel
Corporation in Pennsylvania which
made I-beams for skyscrapers and
other large steel components involved
in the building of roads and ships.
They settled in the communities of
Allentown, Reading, and Bethlehem.
Pit Ponies in a Pennsylvania coal mine
NEW YORK AND VERMONT
From 1850 through the 1920s,
thousands of skilled Welsh quarrymen
came to work in Slate Valley in New
York and Vermont. Their story is
depicted today in Slate Valley Museum,
Granville, NY:
http://www.slatevalleymuseum.org
Slate dressing and sizing
Copyright: Gwynedd Archive Services
Welsh Steelworkers made components for skyscrapers
DID YOU KNOW?
From1840 onwards, skilled
quarrymen from North Wales came
to work the Peach Bottom Slate
quarries stretching from Delta to
Cardiff in Southern Pennsylvania.
Their history can be traced
today on numerous gravestones
in Slateville Cemetery and at
the Coulsontown Quarrymen’s
Cottages, both in Delta, PA. Visit
http://www.deltawelshheritage.com
The Welsh and North America
The Welsh in the American Civil War
Industrial migrants from Wales to the
USA brought with them ideas about
Trade Unionism, free speech, and
equal rights, which were brewing in
the new industrial Wales.
Many of these had also been raised in
the Nonconformist tradition and had
heard anti-slavery sermons preached
from the pulpits of their chapels.
Most of the Welsh who came to work
in the new American industries settled
in the northern states and became
fervent supporters of Abraham Lincoln
and the anti-slavery movement.
Welsh soldiers joined many different
regiments of the Union Army during
the Civil War, notably the 97th
Pennsylvania; the 117th and 146th
New York; the 9th Minnesota; the
22nd Wisconsin; and the 56th Ohio.
Two union generals
were born in
Wales: General
Joshua Owen, from
Carmarthen and
General William
Powell from
Pontypwl.
General Joshua Owen,
69th Pennsylvania Infantry
General William Powell
‘When the war broke out in 1861 Gen.
Powell was commissioned captain
and assigned to a company in the
Second regiment of West Virginia
Volunteer Cavalry. Promotions for
bravery followed rapidly until at
the close of the war he held his
commission as brevet Major General
of United States Volunteers.
In a skirmish at Wytheville, Va., he
was badly wounded, shot through
the body, from which he never fully
recovered. He was taken prisoner and
carried to Libby prison, in Richmond,
and after six months in prison he was
passed through the lines in exchange
for a son of Gen. Lee.’
Extract from General Powell’s obituary in the
Wheeling Daily Intelligencer December 28, 1904
Many of the Zouaves from the 146th New York
were Welsh. (National Park Service)
The 48th Pennsylvania contained a
large number of Welsh coalminers who
were responsible for digging the great
mine at the Battle of the Crater at
Petersburg, Virginia, on July 30, 1864.
DID YOU KNOW?
Several Welsh-language versions
of the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin,
by Harriet Beecher Stowe, were
printed in America at the time of
the Civil War.
‘The District of Columbia, Maryland,
Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky
are free and the Emancipation
Proclamation is in force, and
President Lincoln was elected with
500,000 majority. Yes, everything is
changed. The freed slaves show the
virtue of the improvement here. This
improvement has been ratified by
the legislators in eighteen or twenty
states and it is certain that slavery
will never again exist in the United
States of America.’
From W.R Jones in Bristol,
Wisconsin, to his brother in
Wales, April 6, 1865 Source: The
Welsh in America: Letters from
the Immigrants by Alan Conway
The Welsh and North America
Ellis Island
Between 1899 and 1931, 52,848
immigrants of ‘Welsh race or people’
were recorded at Ellis Island
in New York.
They were part of a wave of 12 million
emigrants who were hoping to
find a new life in America
at that time.
WELSH MEMORIES OF ELLIS ISLAND
(From Ellis Island Interviews in Their Own Words by Peter Morton Coan)
‘We left from the port of Manchester.
I don’t remember how we got there.
But I know we left in March of 1912
because father had tried to get
passage on the Titanic and it was filled,
so we couldn’t get on that... The trip
took nine days. My two aunts met
us there. My mother’s sisters. At the
harbor in New York, my aunts came on
board and stayed with us children while
my father and mother had to go to be
examined on Ellis Island.’
Agnes Howerbend, emigrated from Blaenau Ffestiniog
on the SS Campania, age 5, in 1912
‘Sometimes the seas were so rough
we couldn’t go up on deck, and if they
lifted that hatch up, water would pour
in. In the dining room, there were long
tables, and the dishes would go flying
all over the place. I don’t remember
seeing the Statue of Liberty. Later,
my father told me about it. He had
bought postcards that he showed me.
When we got to Ellis Island, my father
knew somebody who worked on the
docks, and he vouched for us and we
went through. We didn’t have to stay
there. I don’t remember whether we
were examined or not. All I remember
is walking along with the other
passengers and seeing a huge crowd of
people off to one side, fenced in, men
with handlebar moustaches, a lot of
Welsh people, people who were being
detained, and I wondered why.’
James Grouse, emigrated from Talysarn on the SS
Campania, age 8, in 1913
DID YOU KNOW?
Ellis Island was named for Samuel
Ellis - ‘the little Welshman’ who kept
a tavern on the island during the
1700’s and where local fishermen
would come to quench their thirst.
The Welsh and North America
Putting Down Roots
MAIN AREAS OF WELSH SETTLEMENT IN THE USA
SOME WELSH PLACE NAMES IN THE USA
Bala Cynwyd, PA
Bangor, AL
Bangor, ME
Bangor, MI
Bangor, NY
Bangor, PA
Bangor, WI
Barry, IL
Barry, TX
Berwyn, IL
Berwyn, PA
Bryn Mawr, PA
Cambria, AL
Cambria, NY
Cambria, PA
Cardiff, AL
Cardiff, CO
Cardiff, IL
Cardiff, IN
Cardiff, MD
Cardiff, NJ
Cardiff, NY
Cardiff, PA
Cardiff, TN
Cardiff, TX
Cardiff by the
Sea, CA
Conway, AR
Conway, NH
Conway, SC
Flint, MI
Floyd, IA
Gwinnett, GA
Haverford, PA
Lower Merion
Township, PA
Merion, PA
Montgomery, AL
Montgomery, TN
Morgantown, IN
Morgantown, KY
Morgantown, WV
Nanty Glo, PA
Narberth, PA
Neath, PA
Pembroke, GA
Pembroke, KY
Pembroke, NC
Pembroke, NH
Pembroke, VA
Radnor, PA
St David’s, PA
Swansea, AZ
Swansea, CA
Swansea, IL
Swansea, MA
Swansea, NV
Swansea, SC
Tredyffrin
Township, PA
Wales, AZ
Wales, KY
Wales, MA
Wales, ME
Wales, MN
Wales, ND
Wales, UT
Wales, WI
WHERE THE WELSH FOUND WORK AND SETTLED
Coal
Tinplate
Iron
Slate
Steel
Pennsylvania
Ohio
New York
Vermont
Illinois
Indiana
Tennessee
Alabama
DID YOU KNOW?
The Welsh Scenic Byway in Ohio is a 64 mile tour of Gallia
and Jackson counties and includes Welsh settlements,
farms, churches and cemeteries. http://www.dot.state.oh.us/
OhioByways/Pages/Welsh.aspx
The Welsh and North America
The Welsh in New York State
FARMING IN ONEIDA COUNTY
In the late 18th century, a new
of Steuben and Remsen were
wave of immigrants began
Welsh. They had become the
to come to America from
largest Welsh community
Wales, prompted by
in the United States,
crop failures, economic
with 20 Welsh Chapels,
depression, and a
a Welsh newspaper (Y
desire to escape
Drych), and a Welsh
tithing by the Church
monthly periodical
of England. The
(Y Cenhadwr). They
newcomers were
became renowned for
mainly from rural
their production of
farms in North Wales.
excellent butter and
cheese.
Some of the first
comers bought land
‘Utica at present is a
in ‘Steuben’s Patent’
large and fine town and
in Oneida County and,
increasing in size very much
Capel Cerrig or
once there, wrote
every year... There are many new
Stone Church, Remsen
to friends and family,
roads and canals being built in every
encouraging them to join
corner of the country giving plenty of
them.
work for everyone.’
From John Lewis in Utica to his nephew in Wales
By 1850, three-quarters of the
Feb 28, 1832.
inhabitants of the neighboring towns
However, not all the Welsh were pleased
with the area.
‘If it were not for the canal, many of
the Welsh would be without work...
The land is a desolate wilderness of
uncleared timber so that it is not worth
the Welsh buying it.’
William Williams writing home to Wales from Utica
August 17, 1818.
Stone Church, Remsen
IRON WORKING IN THE HUDSON RIVER VALLEY
During the 1830s and 1840s, The
Ulster Iron Works at Saugerties actively
recruited skilled Welsh iron workers.
They also imported the highly efficient
Welsh iron industry technology,
adapting it to their use.
Company owners and their managers
maintained contact with various iron
works in Wales including Blaenavon Iron
Works, Varteg Iron Works, and Dowlais
Iron Works.
BUILDING THE ERIE CANAL
Welsh people who could not make it on
the land and were not skilled enough
to work in the iron and slate industries
found work building the Erie Canal. As
settlers moved west, so it became vital
to connect the Atlantic Ocean with the
Great Lakes. In 1817, the building of
the Erie Canal from Albany to Buffalo
was approved which would link the
Hudson River with Lake Erie. The project
involved building a canal
View of the Erie Canal, 1829
363 miles in length with a descent
from Lake Erie of 555 feet and the
installation of eighty-three locks. The
work was carried out using horses, mules,
wagons, wheelbarrows, hand tools, and
thousands of laborers.
‘Wages on the canal are one dollar a
day and thirteen to fourteen dollars a
month with food and washing and half
a pint of whisky a day.’
From David Richard in Utica to his brother in Wales
December 11, 1818.
The Welsh and North America
The Welsh in New York State
SLATE QUARRYING
Hugh G. Williams in office
Granville, NY, 1928
Photo courtesy of Slate Valley
Museum, Granville, N.Y.
Between 1852
and 1920,
thousands of
skilled slate
workers left
Wales and
came to work in
the Slate Valley
of New York
and Vermont
One of these was Hugh G. Williams who,
in 1899, left Wales at seventeen years of
age, with a grammar school education
and slate quarrying skills. He joined other
Welsh immigrants who were working in
the slate quarries of West Pawlet, VT. He
rose to the top, eventually owning and
operating eight of his own quarries. He
established his business office in Granville,
N.Y., where he later became mayor.
CATTARAUGUS COUNTY
In the late 1870s, Welsh settlement
was flourishing in rural Cattaraugus
County, New York. At this time, a
“literary awakening” swept over the
Cattaraugus Hills.
Each Welsh chapel organized a literary,
ethical, and religious society and
these societies sponsored competitive
literary meetings.
PUBLISHING, POLITICS AND THE CIVIL WAR
With the growth of the Welsh
population in New York state, a thriving
Welsh-language publishing business
developed in the area in the second
half of the 19th century.
Many of the publications were political
in nature. Welsh voters for the most
part went over to the new Republican
Party and voted overwhelmingly for its
1860 presidential candidate Abraham
Lincoln. In 1860, a Welsh-language
biography of Lincoln was published in
Utica.
Other publications printed in the area
included Welsh-language translations
of ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’; religious
pamphlets; and periodicals and
newspapers such as ‘Y Drych’
which still
survives today
as ‘Ninnau and
Y Drych’ and is
one of America’s
oldest ethnic
newspapers.
The Harry F.
Jackson Welsh
Collection at
Utica College
today contains
Uncle Tom’s Cabin,
Welsh translation
the largest
collection of 19th and early 20th
century Welsh language imprints of
Central New York and one of the most
complete collections of the Welsh
newspapers Y Drych, Ninnau, Y Cyfaill
and Y Cenhadwr Americanaidd.
DR. ROBERT EVERETT
Dr. Robert Everett (1791-1875)
was editor of ‘Y Cenhadwr.’ He
came from Wales to Utica in
1823, and served as pastor of
two chapels in Steuben from
1838 until his death. Dr. Everett
was a leader of the local
abolitionist movement, and
published a Welsh translation
of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1854),
as well as the first WelshAmerican Hymnal (1846), both
of which he printed on his own
press.
Dr. Robert Everett
Map of Welsh immigration to New York State
CANADA
Lake Ontario
Lake Erie
Rochester
Buffalo
Attica
Cattaraugus
Settlement
Elmira
1840
PA
Washington Co.
Slate Valley
1852 - 1920
VT
Oneida County
Central New York
Settlements
1795
NH
MA
Ulster Co.
Iron Area
NJ
CT
The Welsh and North America
Welsh Voices in the Pacific Northwest
Many Welsh moved into Oregon and
Washington Territory in the 1880’s.
When train travel opened up the west,
they found land that was cheap and
abundant. Compared with the Great
Plains, the land was much more like
that of Wales.
“They proved that a coal miner’s life
was not for life, they could work
successfully at other occupations.”
William T. Williams, Seattle St. David’s Day Address.
March 1989 [1]
Those who came had adventurous
spirits. Some were lured by the prospect
of riches in Yukon gold but they soon
found more opportunity in rich virgin
forests, farming, fishing, education,
retail, construction and got to work
building towns and cities to live in and
prosper. When a Welshman found work
at a mine, mill or dock, he could easily
fill more jobs with other Welshmen by
writing to Welsh newspapers both in the
United States and back home.
BUILDING COMMUNITIES WITHIN CITIES
Photo of the Portland Cambrian Social Society when
they were invited on board a visiting ship anchored in
the Williamette River. ca. 1913
“Great steamships come to trade [in
Portland]. I saw ships from Liverpool,
Cardiff, and Swansea...”
David W. Thomas Beavercreek Farm to a friend in
Aberdare, Wales June 12, 1884 [2]
Until the arrival of the train to Portland
and Tacoma, agriculture clung closely
to the waterways. Many industrial side
streets in Northwest Portland are still
paved with cobblestones that arrived
as ballast from Welsh ships coming into
port, which left laden with wheat.
A Photo of Seattle Welsh Choir 1941
“The acoustics in the Old [Seattle] Welsh Church were
phenomenal. For our Gymanfa Ganu [singing festival]
we’d have visitors from Portland, Tacoma, Vancouver B.C.
with buses lined up outside.”
Hugh Parry, Center front, recalls. [1]
Many immigrants
arrived speaking
only Welsh and
so they formed
close-knit
communities
around
friendships and
their chapels
as they tried to
assimilate into
American society.
They continued
to retain their
customs rich
Photo of a handcrafted chair
which was given as first prize
in the bardic
at the 1890 Washington
tradition of
State Eisteddfod, a Welsh
tournament of the arts that
competition,
music, and poetry. dates back centuries.
The first Seattle
Welsh Church, built in 1893, soon
proved too small, and a larger one was
built in 1907. Unfortunately, this church
was also demolished in 1956 along
with much of the documentation of
the Welsh contributions to the Seattle
community.
The Welsh and North America
Welsh Settlements in the Pacific Northwest
BEAVERCREEK OREGON
AND BRYN SEION WELSH CHURCH
“If ever you come to these states,
Oregon City is the best place... Bring
every seed that you can think of...”
David W. Thomas, Beavercreek Farm, to a friend in
Aberdare, Wales June 12, 1884 [2]
Not far from Oregon City is the village
of Beavercreek Oregon. The Welsh
began settling here and encouraged
friends to come from Wales and other
Welsh American communities.
Photo of Bryn Selon Welsh church. In 1884 a church was
erected in Beavercreek to worship in the Welsh language.
The oldest remaining Welsh Church on the west coast, it
continues to hold these traditions.
THE COAL MINING AND
QUARRYING REGIONS OF WASHINGTON
“A lot of the Welsh were bosses... the
people that knew the mining they got
the bosses jobs.”
Carl Stelert. [3]
Captain John “Jack” Thomas Jones, shown here
homesteading on Decatur Island ca. 1894, came to
America in 1888 as a young man. He cut stone at the
Chuckanut Quarry before turning to fishing in the
Puget Sound and Alaska.
Photo courtesy of Phyllis Jones
In 1883, the whole town of Nortonville,
California moved to Black Diamond,
Washington when a better grade of coal
was found. The Welsh, who had been
mining and cutting stone for centuries,
brought their skills to surrounding areas
to mine coal and cut sandstone at
Wilkeson and Chuckanut, WA, to supply
the growing cities.
BIG BEND WELSH SETTLEMENT
Many attempts were made to settle
self-contained Welsh colonies in the
Pacific Northwest, but they proved
unsuccessful, largely due to the fact
that the Welsh were liked and respected
and assimilated easily into American
society. One last fruitless attempt to set
up a colony was made in the Big Bend
section of the Columbia River.
“...I have taken a good deal of interest
in Washington Territory for a Welsh
settlement... It is a healthy country,
wealthy in its agriculture and mineral
resources, the seasons are temperate...
It is like the Old Country, with hills
and plains and rolling prairies... Only
good, diligent, energetic, brave, and
determined men should come here.
These are sure to succeed; but the lazy,
the wastrels, the intemperate, and the
sleepyheads had better stay where they
are.”
Richard Jones to Editor of Y Drych Welsh newspaper
January 16, 1886 [2]
MARSHLAND FLATS
“Around 1885 more than a dozen
Welsh families, primarily dairy farmers,
grew hay and potatoes on the
Marshland flats [near Snohomish, WA].
William Morgan and his brother Dave
built a water-powered sawmill on
Marshland Road that supplied lumber to
nearby farms.”
David Powell [1]
William Morgan with his son
near the Marshland flats WA
Photo courtesy of
David Powell
The Welsh and North America
The Welsh in Canada: prominent Welsh-Canadians
DAVID THOMPSON - geographer
Born 1770 in London
Died 1857 in Montreal
The Thompson River is the largest
tributary of the Fraser River flowing
through the south-central portion of
British Columbia, Canada. It is named
for this great Welsh-Canadian land
geographer and explorer who mapped
over 3.9 million kilometers of North
America.
1957 Canadian stamp featuring David Thompson
Leslie Neilsen - actor and comedian
1926 - 2010
Leslie Neilsen was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, to a Welsh mother and a Danish
father. He appeared in over one hundred films and is particularly well-known for
his roles in spoof and parody movies such as Airplane! and The Naked Gun series.
He was described as ‘the Olivier of spoofs’ by film critic Roger Ebert. Neilsen was
inducted into both the Canada Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
GERAINT WYN DAVIES - actor
Born in Swansea, Wales 1957
Emigrated to Canada in 1964
Welsh actor Geraint Wyn Davies has starred in TV
favorites such as Airwolf, Forever Knight and Black
Harbour. He is a gifted Shakespearean actor and
has performed at the Stratford Festival and the
Shaw Festival. Geraint’s stage performances include
King Lear and Do Not Go Gentle in New York;
Gross Indecency and My Fat Friend in Los Angeles;
Cyrano and Richard III in Washington D.C; and
Sleuth with Patrick Macnee in Toronto.
Geraint Wyn Davies playing Dylan
Thomas in ‘Do Not Go Gentle’ by
Welsh-Canadian playwright Leon
Pownall
The Welsh and North America
The Welsh in Canada: prominent Welsh-Canadians
SIR TERRY MATTHEWS OBE - entrepreneur
Born Newport, Wales 1943
Lives in Ottawa, Canada
Sir Terry emigrated to Canada in the late 1960’s and
went on to become one of Canada’s most successful
businessmen, establishing companies such as Mitel,
Newbridge Networks, Bridgewater, DragonWave, Wesley
Clover, Kanata Research Park, March Networks, Solace
Systems, and the Brookstreet Resort. He was Wales’s
first billionnaire and owns The Celtic Manor Resort in his
hometown of Newport, Wales - host of the 2010 Ryder
Cup golf tournament and the 2014 NATO Summit.
ROBERTSON DAVIES - novelist, playwright, journalist
Born 1913 in Thamesville, Ontario
Died Orangeville, Ontario in 1995
The award-winning author
Robertson Davies published plays
and essays and over ten novels, the
most famous of which are in the
collections that became known as
The Deptford Trilogy, The Cornish
Trilogy and The Salterton Trilogy.
Of his use of Arthurian legend in his books, Davies said, “The Arthurian legend has
been a part of my life since childhood. My father, of course, was Welsh, and the
story of Arthur is very dear to the Welsh people.”
ROBERT HARRIS - painter
Born Ty’n-y-Groes, Wales, 1849
Emigrated to PEI in 1856
Died 1919
Robert Harris was commissioned to paint his famous work The Fathers of
Confederation in 1883 and it established him as the most renowned portrait
painter in Canada in his time. More than 300 of his portraits are known to exist
today and a collection of his work is housed at the Confederation centre of the
Arts in Charlottetown.
DR. Margaret OLWEN MACMILLAN
- author, historian and international
relations specialist
Born 1942 in Toronto
Margaret MacMillan is the great-granddaughter of the
Welsh Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Lloyd
George. She is the author of numerous books including
the award-winning best-seller Paris 1919: Six Months
that Changed the World.
The Welsh and North America
Prominent Welsh-Americans
Elihu Yale
(1648 - 1721)
was a rich merchant
with the East India
Company.
Yale University
was founded
in 1701 as the
Collegiate School in
Killingworth, Connecticut. In 1716 the
school moved to New Haven, and Elihu
Yale donated nine bales of goods, 417
books and a portrait and arms of King
George I to the school, thus allowing
it to continue. In gratitude to Elihu,
the school was renamed Yale College
in 1718.
Francis Lewis
(1713 - 1802)
was born in Llandaf,
Wales. He made a
career representing
American mercantile
houses in Europe,
Africa and Russia.
in 1765, he moved to Whitestone,
Queens. He was one of four delegates
from New York State who signed the
Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Francis Lewis died in relative poverty,
having given most of his money to
support George Washington and the
American Revolution.
Richard Burton
(1925-1984)
Welsh actor Richard
Burton became
Hollywood’s highest
paid actor, one of
Britain’s most admired
Shakespearean
performers and a lifelong lover of
Elizabeth Taylor. The Richard Burton
Diaries, edited by Professor Chris
Williams of Swansea University, was
published in 2012 by Yale University
Press. Burton’s diaries, written
between 1939 and 1983, offer a
rare and fresh perspective on his and
Elizabeth Taylor’s life and career, and
the glamorous world of film, theatre,
and celebrity that they inhabited.
Available from most bookstores and
from the Yale Books website: http://
yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.
asp?isbn=9780300180107
The Guggenheim Museum in New York
was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
John Pierpont Morgan
(1837 - 1913)
had Welsh ancestors
who established the
Massachusetts colony in
the early 17th century.
After the Civil War, J.P. Morgan built his
father’s firm into the biggest banking
company in the USA. Morgan’s control
over American and public financing
was, and still is, without equal. The
exquisite Morgan Library in New York
City was once home to this illustrious
family.
Frank Lloyd Wright
(1867 - 1959)
was brought up in
Wisconsin by his
Welsh grandparents
in what was known
as “the Valley of
the God Almighty
Joneses.” Frank Lloyd Wright frequently
referred to the Welsh motto “Y Gwir
yn Erbyn y Byd” (”The Truth Against
the World”), and he used a Welsh
bardic three-pronged symbol on many
of his buildings and other work. He
also named two of his homes and
academies after the great Welsh poet
Taliesin.
DID YOU KNOW?
A Dylan Thomas Walking Tour of
Greenwich Village, New York can be
downloaded from the internet as a
printed document. Visit
www.DylanThomasWalkingTour.com
Dylan and Caitlin Thomas
Copyright Jeff Towns/Dylan’s Bookstore
The Welsh and North America
Family History and Genealogy
There are over ten million people living in North America with
Welsh last names. Williams and Jones remain among the top
twenty names in both the USA and Canada.
SOME WELSH LAST NAMES IN NORTH AMERICA TODAY
Beynon
Bowen
Cadwallader
Davies
Davis
Edwards
Ellis
Evans
Floyd
Griffith
Griffiths
Gwilym
Gwyn
Gwynn
Gwynne
Harries
Harris
Hopkins
Howell
Howells
Hughes
James
Jenkins
John
Johns
Jones
Lewis
Llewellyn
Lloyd
Llywellyn
Maddocks
Merrick
Morgan
Morris
Owen
Owens
Parry
Pierce
Powell
Preece
Price
Pritchard
Probert
Pryce
Prydderch
Prytherch
Pugh
Reece
Rees
Rhys
Roberts
Thomas
Tudor
Vaughan
Walters
Williams
Wynn
TRACING YOUR WELSH ANCESTRY IN WALES
Family Pedigree of the Gwynne family of
Llwyn Hywel, Abergwili, in the county of
Carmarthen and Builth Wells in the county
of Radnor, mid XVII century. The National
Library of Wales.
The National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales is the main repository for family history research in
Wales, holding a vast number of records from all over the country. Useful material
for the family historian such as printed books paintings, maps and manuscripts can
be found at the Library. Census returns, nonconformist records and tithe maps, to
name but a few, are useful sources to help all family historians at some point during
their research. For more information, visit the Library’s website www.llgc.org.uk.
THE WALES-OHIO PROJECT
The Wales-Ohio Project is a digitized collection of Welsh Americana relating to
the state of Ohio held at The National Library of Wales.The site displays more
than 10,000 images of archive, manuscript and printed material, photographs and
maps; the contents of The Cambrian magazine (1880-1919); and sections which
chronicle the history and experiences
of the Welsh settlers in Ohio in the
nineteenth century. The Wales-Ohio
Project has been generously funded by
The phrase ‘Keeping up with the
Evan E. and Elizabeth F. Davis of Oak Hill,
Joneses’ was allegedly coined in
Ohio. Visit http://ohio.llgc.org.uk/
19th century New York when the
wealthy Jones family from Wales
continuously improved their
estate while their neighbors tried
in vain to keep up with them.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Welsh and North America
Welsh Government offices in North America
Washington D.C.
Welsh Government
British Embassy
3100 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington D.C., 20008
New York
Welsh Government
British Consulate-General
845 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Chicago
Welsh Government
British Consulate-General
625 N Michigan Avenue, Suite 2200
Chicago, IL 60611
San Francisco
Welsh Government
British Consulate-General
1 Sansome Street, Suite 850
San Francisco, CA 94101
For all North American enquiries please call: 202 588 6910
or email [email protected]
THANKS
The Welsh Government would like to thank the
following for their assistance with this booklet:
•BBC Wales
•Carreg Gwalch
•Eurig Davies
•Ellis Island Immigration Museum
•Dr. David Jenkins
•Dr. Bill Jones
•National Library of Wales
•National Museum Wales
•Ninnau & Y Drych
•William John Parry
•The Puget Sound Welsh Assoc.
•Robert Roser
•Slate Valley Museum, Mary Lou Willits
•James W. Thomas
•Upstate New York Welsh Heritage, Barbara
Henry
•Visit Wales
•The Welsh Society of Portland, OR
•The St David’s Society of Toronto
•Ontario Gymanfa Ganu Association
Credits and Sources
•Emmet Collection, Miriam and Ira D.
Wallach Division of Art, Prints and
Photographs, The New York Public
Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden
Foundations
•Robert N. Dennis Collection of
Stereoscopic Views, Miriam & Ira
D. Wallach Divisionn of Art, Prints &
Photographs, The New York Public
Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden
Foundations.
•The Welsh in America. Letters from the
Immigrants’ by Alan Conway
•I.N. Phelps Stokes Collection, Miriam
and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art,
Prints and Photographs, The New York
Public Library, Astor, Lenex and Tilden
Foundations
SOURCES FOR WELSH VOICES OF THE
PACIFIC NORTHWEST
[1] ‘Notes from the Past: Conversations
with the Welsh of Puget Sound’
[2] ‘Welsh in America Letters from the
Immigrants’ by Alan Conway
[3] ‘Black Diamond: Mining the
Memories’ Black Diamond Historical
Society
The photographs on the front and back covers are of actors and singers
prominent in North America and born in Wales or of Welsh heritage.
The portraits are part of the ‘Talking Pictures’ collection by Welsh
celebrity photographer Cambridge Jones, commissioned by
the Welsh Government.
Front page
Actors (top to bottom):
Damian Lewis
Rhys Ifans
Helen McRory
Michael Sheen
Matthew Rhys
Jonathan Pryce
Back page
Singers (left to right):
Bryn Terfel
Bonnie Tyler
Katherine Jenkins
This booklet is published by
the Welsh Government in North America
www.wales.com
Edition 3, January 2014