By Dorothy J. Cardy
In the spring of 1979, I came across a letter written by one of Jenkin Davies’s son, Henry Idris Davis, to his brother, John, who had migrated with his Father, Titus, and brothers and sisters to the U.S. in 1863. It was dated December 11, 1928. At the top of the page was a return address, specifically London House in Penygroes, Wales.
I hoped that an outside chance would direct a letter to one of the descendants of Jenkin so I wrote a short explanation of who I was, some of my ancestry to Titus Davis and a plea that it could be delivered to a distant cousin.
In May of 1979, I received a letter from a Margaret Samuels who was the great grand-daughter of Jenkin Davies. Her Grandfather was the eldest son of Jenkin. His name was John Davies. She explained that she had received my letter second hand, due to the fact that the Davies family did not reside at London House anymore. She explained that it had been sold to the local grocer who subsequently had the local post office on the premises. He had done some searching before delivering the letter to Margaret. She was very happy to have finally made contact with American relatives as many of the family members had been anxious to do this in the past.
Several days later, I received telephone calls from Wales and also one from Coventry where another daughter of John lived. I began correspondence with Mair (everyone calls her Mary) Williams who lives in Coventry and also with Lily Morgan who lives in Tycroes, Wales (a short distance from Penygroes). I also continued writing to Margaret Samuels. The eldest daughter of John, Elsie Davies, also lived in Coventry and she wrote me many lovely letters, too. She was the only member of the family who had not married and was retired and living in a Council Flats near her sister, Mair.
Subsequently, I began to make plans to visit all of them as soon as possible. However, due to the cost, etc., I was not able to visit them until the summer of 1981. I took my grandson, Nick, who was almost 10 years old and we flew from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles where we boarded a Pan American plane to Heathrow Airport in London, England. I visited first with a friend in Kent, England and she was kind enough to offer to drive me to Coventry where I was greeted warmly by Mair and her husband, Sydney Williams. Elsie was also there and I was overcome with the warmness and hospitality of everyone. Mair had an array of many different kinds of cakes spread out on the coffee table and my grandson, Nick, could hardly wait to sample them. Coffee was served all around and one of my first misconceptions were shattered when I realized that they served more coffee than tea. However, a cup of tea was regular fare anytime of the day, if one wanted it. Mair’s home was lovely, furnished with tasteful brocaded furniture, sculpted carpets and exquisite china and silver.
After spending several days with Mair and Syd, they drove me to Wales and the countryside was breathtaking with green fields, hedges and quiet little villages with town squares bustling with shoppers. I was fascinated with the thatched roofs of some of the old cottages and my camera was clicking constantly. We first visited with the youngest brother, John, who lived in Lliaworney [Llysworney], South Wales. It is a charming little village, most of the houses being very old, many of them remodeled and brought up to date with new plumbing and central heating. John and his wife, Judy have built a beautiful house – quite large by Welch standards and furnished in expensive antiques and gold-leafed accessories. It has a large living room with paned windows looking out over meadows and hedges for quite a distance. John and Judy have three sons, two of them now married. The third son, Simon, was still in school and had just come home for a six-week vacation before returning to school again. The house has five bedrooms and three bathrooms, all of them with lovely fixtures and ornate hardware. The dining room had a large table which seated at least 18 people and a Welch sideboard filled with antique blue and white china.
John is very successful, being an executive with a conveyor belt company. The company provides him with an automobile which was a “Rover”, probably comparable to an expensive sports car in this country. Nick could hardly wait to take a ride in it. We soon had that opportunity as Nick and I joined John and Judy in the “Rover” and we traveled on to Tycroes to see Lily and Gwyllam (William) Morgan. Both Gwillam [Gwyllam] and Lily were retired. They had lived for many years in Coventry, but had decided to spend the rest of their days back in Wales. Their home was a lovely little cottage attached to another one. We call them duplexes here in this country. Their home consisted of a living room, dining room, kitchen and storage area on the main floor and three bedrooms and a bath upstairs. Even in the month of June it is cooler than I was accustomed to, but a fire was going in the fireplace. I did not ever see an open fireplace in England or Wales – all are fireplace inserts with a brass door on the front and they burn mostly coal as it is plentiful still in Wales. Sydney and Mair stayed overnight, but John and Judy went back to Llisworney [Llysworney] after we had all had a lovely Welch dinner of ham, potatoes, broad beans and salad. It brought back memories of my own Grandmother, Dina Ann Jones, as I could remember the same kind of gravy and the similarities of taste that I remembered as a child when she cooked for harvesters.
I stayed with Lily for three days and then one day, Margaret and Vernon Samual came by and I was whisked off to their house in Penygroes. This was one of the most delightful visits of my life. I was treated like visiting royalty. Unbeknown to me, they had brought my soiled laundry, too, and I looked out the window of my bedroom the next morning and could see all of mine and Nick’s clothes being hung on the line by Annie who was Margaret’s Mother. I got dressed immediately and came downstairs to ask about it and they just shushed me up with smiles and my protests were ignored. Annie is a widow and she comes to help Margaret out with the housework, etc. Margaret and Vernon both work. Margaret worked for the local chemist (Pharmacist) and Annie seemed to be always busy dusting and cleaning. I told her I was going to nickname her “Antiseptic Annie” and she just laughed and said it was okay. She loved housework and being widowed, it gave her a purpose in life to help her daughter. She has one other daughter, Megan, who was married to a teacher. Megan had two lovely daughters – teenagers and I met them all later on. When I was preparing to come home, Megan traveled to Lily’s house and brought Welch souvenirs for both Nick and I. Megan’s husband is very short and when he stood alongside me (I am 5’9” tall) it was quite a contrast so we had our picture taken together.
While staying with Margaret, her employer came by and told me that her family had a dairy farm in the same area that our ancestor Titus had lived and she offered to take me there. We picked up Lily and Margaret and her husband along with Nick and I and our guide who was Margaret’s employer made a tight squeeze in Vernon’s small car. We first visited the railroad station in Llandeilo where Titus and all the children except Jenkin departed for America in 1863. Then we traced Mary (Titus‘s wife) and Jenkin’s steps back to the house that she and Jenkin would share for years to come. As we traveled slowly down this narrow lane, I could hear Lily say, “She’s still walking – walking.” It was almost like going back in time and imagining their sense of loss and loneliness as they knew their family was going thousands of miles away and they were now alone. From the description in Thomas Davis’ life story, we found our way to the little house he had left behind. An English couple now owns the land and they have added on to the house, but the original stone house still stands proud and secure. From there we went down another narrow road and found the house where Jenkin was born. Thomas mentioned that it had been too small for their family and they had found a larger house. This little house was now being used for storage and Lily commented that at one time it must’ve had a thatched roof, long since replaced by a metal one. We met the owner of the land who lived in a larger house up the road. Of course, I took photos of all these cottages and landmarks.
We stopped at our hostess dairy farm and had lunch and I was impressed at all the children speaking only Welch. Of course, all of the families in Wales speak Welsh fluently and most of the children only learn English after they have started school. We left the Dairy farm and continued on toward Cwmdu (Pronounced Cum-dee). There we encountered a small Inn run by a lovely old lady who said she was 92 years old. She spoke only Welch so I had to stand by and wait for Lily to translate for me. When they mentioned who they were, she told them she remembered Jenkin and his children. They knew she was telling them the truth as he called one of his daughters, “Polly”. Only the family would know he had this nickname and she told of him coming through the area in a caravan preaching his religion which was Baptist. We also located the local Baptist Church where he sang with the Choir. It seems he was known for a beautiful singing voice and also did some composing of hymns.
The amazing part of this whole journey is that it seemed that time had stood still in some areas and except for seeing an occasional automobile, life is at a very slow pace and the customs of the past are still very prevalent everywhere. The little Inn was heated with a huge coal burning stove and tea was available for those who requested it. An elderly gentleman was sitting by the stove, smoking an ornate pipe and listening intently to the reminiscing of this very old lady. I took photos of the inside of the Inn, plus several of her – one standing in front of her magnificent collection of Blue Willow China all neatly displayed in a very old Welch Sideboard.
After leaving the Inn, we found the school – Capel Isaac – where Thomas had attended school. The building is still being used for small children. One of the things that constantly amazed me while visiting Wales, was the way old buildings are kept in good repair and are used constantly. One Church which I visited had been built in the eleventh century and services were still held there every Sunday morning.
We then continued on to the Cemetery and Church Yard where Mary Davies was buried. It is called Llandyfusant [Llandyfeisant] Parish, Blaennantllwydmoor[Blaen Nant Llwyd Moor] Crem due Bur, Talley. There are ruins of an old monastery nearby and a large cemetery around the old Church. Nearby is a quiet lake, almost mirror-like. If there is a more peaceful place than this, I would like to see it. We found Mary’s grave and I photographed the tombstone which is written in Welch. Lily is still trying to determine if her Grandfather, Jenkin, is also buried there. However, the rectory was closed and we were not able to get any information at that time.
By this time it was getting late and we had to return to Penygroes. I would have liked to have traveled further northward to some of the other villages written by Thomas, but time did not permit. I hope to go back to Wales again someday to search more of the area where our ancestors lived.
I spent several days with John and Judy and then returned to Coventry. I stayed with Mair and Syd and also spent one delightful evening and an overnight stay with Elsie. She had prepared a lovely dinner for Nick and I and also one of John’s sons and his wife were there. The table was set with fine linen and lovely bone china and silverware. I found out afterward that Elsie did her laundry in her bathtub, which included doing up the pure linen tablecloth. Her flat was filled with family momentumes, bone china. She opened the door of her lovely old China Closet and presented me with a lovely creamer and sugar.
The next day, we toured Coventry. This was Nick’s first experience on a double decker bus and we enjoyed it thoroughly. Elsie took us to the old Coventry cathedral which was bombed and burned during World War II. Next door to the ruins a beautiful church has been built. The bombed Church has been left exactly as it was after the bombing. We had tea in a little tea shop. Elsie was a tiny little lady with snow white hair and bright sparkling eyes. She always wore beautiful hats, with big roses on them and delicate netting. I always had uncontrollable urges to just hug her. She passed away this last winter and I am sure her family misses her very much. Knowing her was one of the most memorable parts of my journey to England and Wales. When we were all making out family group sheets for the family history, she wrote “spinster” by the blank marked “Occupation”. She was proud of being single and never made any apologies for being without a husband. She told me, “I guess I am a fussy one – never found a man I wanted to marry.” Her sisters told me she had many opportunities, but chose to live out her life alone.
Lily and Gwyllam never had any children and Lily said she felt badly that they had not been able to have children of their own, but had found much joy in helping raise nieces and nephews, especially the children of Glyn who died quite young of tuberculosis. I was very impressed with Gwyllam. He had arthritis very badly and had difficulty in walking as his feet were so badly infected with it. He also had bad lungs, which I am sure was due to the many years he spent in the coal mines. He was very well read and had translated many works from Welch to English. He also had a talent for writing, but had been disappointed many times that his works had not been published. I received several letters from him from time to time and found him to be very eloquent. He passed away several months after I came home. Lily still lives alone in Tyroes and writes to me of her loneliness for him. They were very devoted to each other and had a long-happy marriage.
While in Wales and England I taped quite a bit of the memories of Lily and some of Annie also. I have transcribed them exactly as they are on the tape. The continuity is not in order, but she tells of her life as a child in Wales and also much about her Mother and Father and the rest of the family. John’s children have very harsh feelings about the sisters of John which I have transcribed exactly how they felt about these feelings between them all.
The following information was sent to me by Lily Davies Morgan, daughter of John Davies and grand-daughter of Jenkin Davies.
“The following details I was given by Auntie Myfanvyy during a holiday with us in Coventry. She stated that Grandfather, Jenkin Davies, was very religious and a very hard taskmaster to his family – expected too much, also she stated that he bordered on being a genius – his ability to create music and literary ability. He also endeavored to spread the gospel throughout the county of Carmanthenshire [Carmarthenshire] for the Baptist Church. He travelled widely in Wales. During these excursions, his main livelihood was being carried out by my Grandmother, Sarah, who worked extremely hard to fetch and carry stock from a neighboring town of Llanelly. She sold fine china, also fresh fruit, etc. This, Elsie and I remember well. She also, like her son Tom, traded very honestly and scorned at anything except the top quality in her wares. She maintained a high standard. However, London House at the time was a hive of activity. It had a large workshop at the rear of the house where my uncles carried out a repair shop of many activities, mainly bicycles. Also their main trade was painting and wood graining and at that time the young men of the village gathered, because cycling was their main source of travelling around the countryside before the car era, of course. Our uncles were considered very forward thinking in that day and age. The Aunties we have not such nice memories, unfortunately, from nieces and Auntie relationship. However, all that is past and forgotten and I am glad to say that we, the next generation, have been fortunate and enjoy a very happy relationship with our nephews and nieces.”
The following letter was written by Henry Idris Davis, son of Jenkin Davis to his Uncle John Henry Davis. It was written December 11, 1928. Florence Davis Ross has the original letter. It gives important genealogy. He had poor health and never married and died in 1930 at the age of 38. Some parts of the letter are faded and difficult to decipher.
London House
Penygroes, N Llanelly,
Carmathenshire, South Wales
Great Britain
December 11, 1928
My Dear Uncle John,
Received your kind letter a few years ago dated January 21st, 1925. I am truly sorry that I did not reply previous to this, but you mention in your letter not to write direct, as you could see the same with Uncle Henry. Well, Uncle, it is only natural that I should send direct to you. I sent a letter to Uncle Henry on September 12th 1928 but I haven’t received a reply yet as he is very ______ in replying.
I do hope that everything is alright and that he is still with you in Utah. He told me in his last letter of his health. I am sorry about him as we can’t do without health, but as for myself I don’t know what health is these last ten years, as life is a burden to me. And the worst of it, I am living in the western part of Wales and the worst part of England and Wales for weather. If I could go to the South of England as they get good weather there, plenty of sunshine which we don’t get in Wales, but that’s where my luck comes in. Your country is the place for fine weather and you have everything you require, in fact you are outstanding in every other country, in every way.
France is also a good country for fine weather. If I could go there for a few months or few years I would be a new man but that’s my luck in the world, being born unlucky. The old saying is “It is better being born lucky than rich” I am not lucky nor rich. If I had health, other things would not trouble me.
The King of England is ill. The last 14 days, 3 bulletins is issued each day outside the Palace, the bulletins is signed by 5 doctors. Well, as for myself. I haven’t had a half fours of good sleep this last 5 years since I was tapped with dropsy and the Doctors call on me the last 4 years. I am for house by myself. I study diet at the time of writing I feel cold in bed and I get same in bed, the dropsy is coming on a little, but is more tapping for me. I can doctor myself now, but it is too late. If I had this experience 10 years ago as I have today, I would have experience this terrible, but I give myself to the Doctor and they are Doctors, they can’t even cured them self never mind other people. Nature way is the best.
Well, uncle, years ago I used to talk a lot about your country, but I am afraid it’s too late now, but my Brother Trevor talks a lot about coming out. So should he come, I shall go under his wings as he would look after me “well”. He does this the present day. I must give him “credit” . He is good to me, “The Best”. I often think, would they let me enter the U.S.A. I have been told if anyone travels first class they don’t examine them, but what about a job for my brother. I don’t say that jobs is very scarce in your country, but I think he would stand a good chance, he has a good trade, he is the head electrician at a big company these years, but the wages is very low to compare what they get in your country. He is a single man who ____ ____. I understand that things is much better in your country than what it is here. We are taxed in this country to the very bottom, unemployed is increasing. So we must get a new Parliament and I think we shall have same next year, 1929. The working men is pressed down, ______ only ______ 2.80 pound a week, the pound is about equal to your sterling and at present that’s about ⅓ per day off. The House is very high 2.20 pounds to 2.10 pounds per month, so you can guess how much they got left when they got 4 ro 6 children to feed. The miners have been pressed to the very bottom, that big strike in 1926 has put the tin hat on.
Business people have suffered owing to the credit trade, and some people don’t trouble much about this. So I am afraid that things is not going to last like this and something is going to happen. The shops in this country are going to be taxed in about 6 months so every shop will have to pay about 40 pounds a year taxes. The tax is call “Re-assessment” and the shopkeepers don’t half saying it. So you see the food will get up in price. I don’t know what things are coming to. France is much better off than we, less unemployed and tax and I dare say your country is the same as France.
As I have just mention about your country and that I would like to come over. I am in “New York” very often on the air by radio. I have been listening to dance music, from WGY Station relayed from Lanyke Hotel New York. My brother built this set for me, but at present I am unable to get any music owing that the storms on November 16 blew down the poles. I hope in future that I will be able to see your country by this new invention “television”. I am enjoying the wireless very much as this is only way of enjoying myself. I think this is a good _______
to ______.
Well, Uncle I understand that Blanantllywd was not Uncle Henry’s birthplace as you mention in your letters. Was your birthplace also in Cwnau. I know the farm well, the Garden is in front of the house, Cwmdu is the same today as when you left little “Wales”. I dare say you remember Talley. This little village is still the same, the old Talley Abbey is still there, same shape, but I wonder how much is left at present after that 100 mile gale which was experienced on November 16, 1923. I dare say you know that your Mother was buried in Talley graveyard as was my Father. So I will take a snap of these when Iget a chance. If I remember, I think cousin Tom “Uncle Henry” son took a snap of the grave when he visited us years ago. I will take a snap of the places and I will send them on to you. I haven’t been up that way since 1923. Could you send me one or two snaps of your city.
I don’t hear of Edward’s people, Hannah and Etta, as for cousin Lod, I understand that he died in some gold mine years ago. I remember them well. I don’t know much about Uncle Thomas, and Uncle Tim is dead. I think I saw a _____ of Tim’s son’s “twins” Uncle David _____ thing on in age _____ ago __________ out. I often think of that, but my _____ gone.
Well, Uncle, I hope that you are in the best of health and also the family. If this letter will reach you in time before Xmas, I wish you all a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year and all the rest of the relatives out there. We are all in good health at home, except me. By the way, we are only boys at home. All the sisters is married and my brother, John, he has 8 children, sister Mary has two boys, ______Blodwen none. Sister Myfanny 2 boys. I could mention my brother John has only 2 boys out of 8. My brother Trevor is 40 years aged and myself I will be 37 on February 7, 1929.
Well, Uncle I must draw to an end, and looking forward for the best. I hope to hear from you soon. I want you to send me a snap of yourself and your family and the city if possible.
With love to all,
Yours ________
/s/ Henry Idris Davis
(picture of a young man standing by a chair. Caption says:
Henry Idris Davis
Grandson of Titus Davis
Son of Jenkin and Sarah Davis
He died at 38 years of age
This photograph was taken in Wales)