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Gwefan Cymru-Catalonia 48 The Welsh Language |
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History of the Welsh in
Edited by the Reverends Thomas E. Hughes and David
Edwards, and Messrs. Hugh G. Roberts and Thomas Hughes.
1895
THE WELSH SETTLEMENT OF
By
the Rev. Daniel Williams,
48 THE WELSH LANGUAGE. (x138)
The short sketch that I shall write about the Lime Springs Welsh settlement
will no doubt be read by many Welsh people, but I shall constantly keep before
my mind, as I write, the American reader, who is not able to read the Welsh
language, and is not familliar with Welsh customs.
First of all, a word may not be out of place about the Welsh language. Many
suppose that the language of Wales is simply the language of England, of which
the principality of Wales, is in some sense a part, but this is a great mistake.
There is hardly a language in Europe that differs more radically from the
English than the Welsh. They belong to different families - the English to the
Teutonic, and the Welsh to the Celtic family. As the Angles and Saxon came from
northern Germany, the English resembles its old sisters, the German, Dutch and
the Scandinavian tongues; it has been very materially changed by the influence
of the Latin, so that it now resembles, in many points, what are known as the
Romance tongues - the French, Spanish, Italian, etc., but the Welsh was the
original language of Britain - of a part of the island at least - when the
Angles and Saxons came, and retains to this day its distinctive traits, and its
distinguishing features. That it differs from the English may be shown in this
way. One of the most popular of English hymns, "Guide Me, O Thou Great
Jehovah?" was written by a Welsh minister, Rev. William Williams. The same
hymn is a favorite with the Welsh - in its Welsh version, of course. Which of the
two versions was written first I do not know. The first stanza of the Welsh
runs thus:
"Arglwydd! arwain trwy'r anialwch
Fi bererin gwael ei wedd,
Nad oes ynof nerth na bywyd,
Fel yn gorwedd yn y bedd.
Hollalluog
Ydyw'r un a'm cwyd i'r lan."
Below is a translation of the above, word for word:
Lord guide through the wilderness,
Me (a) pilgrim poor his look,
Not is in me, strength nor life,
Like a-lying in the grave.
Almighty
Is the one that will lift we up.
There is very little resemblance, it will be seen, between a word in Welsh and
the same word in English. Through and trwy in the first line, in
and yn in the fourth are about the only instances in which any
resemblance can be seen.
The patriotic Welshman will probably not agree with me that the Welsh is a
difficult language to acquire by mere grammar and lexicons, but such it
certainly is. Its euphonic changes - though one who has learnt the language
when a child, makes them without the least effort and without the least
mistakes - to a "foreigner" must be very puzzling. When to drop the c at the beginning of a word, or change
it into g or ch, when to change the t to
d or th is a knowledge he will have only after learning many rules, and
after putting these rules in practice for many a month. It is rarely that one
who learns the language from books becomes a master of the Welsh in this
respect.
A few years ago a professor of ancient languages, in one of the colleges of
This language, though known to but few "foreigners," is the language
of
The Welsh settlers of Lime Springs are to be found in six townships,
(1)
and (4)
The settlement, therefore, is divided into two parts
by the state line, and into nearly two equal parts by the
49 THE LOCATION OF FORESTON (IOWA) (x140)
In early days Foreston was quite a village, containing in 1866 probably fifty
or sixty buildings, but when the railroad came to Lime Springs in 1867, its
death sentence was signed; for many a day it has been like the deserted village
of Goldsmith, except that in this case the ground is deserted by the buildings,
and not the buildings by the inhabitants. The mill, the proprietor's house and
barn, the miller's house and Thurber's barn on the hill, are the only buildings
now to be seen; and these are all of recent construction, except Thurber's
barn; it stood there, we believe, in ante-railroad times. For the sake of
convenience we will go out from Foreston and locate definitely a few other
points. A mile and a half south is the Foreston church, four miles southwest is
the
.
50: EARLY SETTLERS - 1856-1866. (x141)
In this chapter we propose to give rather a full account of some of the early
settlers. The first Welshman who came to the vicinity of Lime Springs, of whom
we have any account, was R. W. Jones,
in the summer of 1856.
During the summer of 1860, Jones went north to Chatfield, where the land office
was at that time. Here he
accidentally met four Welshmen, J. J. Jones, J. R. Williams, O. D.
Owens and R. W. Thomas, moving westward
looking for land. Jones began to tell them of the advantages of Southern
Fillmore, and prevailed upon these men to turn their faces that way. This was
an important event, There was a relationship. J. J. Jones' wife was a sister of
Owens; J. R. Williams married another sister, and all these were cousins of the
wife of R. W. Jones. Yet this meeting in Chatfield was purely accidental, and
most important in the history of the Welsh settlement; after this, one family
came in the wake of another, one man came because an acquaintance had come
before him, but this meeting at Chatfield was a mere accident. Had this not
occurred it is quite possible that the Welsh settlement of Lime Springs would
never have come into existence, and the lot and relationship of hundreds, if
not thousands of persons, would have been otherwise than they are.
J. J. Jones had been upon the northern lakes, and was often called by his
companions "Sailor Jack" or oftener "Jack Jones," and this
sobriquet clung to him through life. J. R. Williams also became known as
"Jack Williams," and is so known to this day, to young and old, Welsh
and others. Jack Williams took land in the southeast corner of York, Jack Jones
to the north and Thomas to the east, across the line in
A Sunday school was started this summer in J. J. Jones' house, with Thomas the
only professing Christian among the men as superintendent. Along towards winter
Thomas returned to
In 1860, D. J. Davies and wife
returned to
No family, as far as we know, moved in during 1862.
Yet this year was not without its importance. And first, we would mention a
cloud of sorrow that came over the little Welsh community; in March of that
year occurred the death of Thomas Evans, the second, as we have seen of the
Welsh settlers. He was buried north, near Canfield's, but the remains have
since been removed, as we have been informed, to the cemetery of Bristol. The
attending physician was Dr. Reed,
still residing at Lime Springs. During this summer again came two men on a
visit from Wisconsin; John D. Williams, and his
neighbor, William Lewis. Williams
was a brother-in-law of D. J. Davies. He had started the summer before, but not
meeting the Davies brothers at Prairie du Chien, as he expected, returned home
without going further. In June, 1862, he and Lewis came via Dodgeville, up the
Mississippi, then west across Southern Fillmore. Williams was accustomed to
relate an incident connected with this journey reflecting honor on him as a
pedestrian rather than Lewis. Starting out one morning on foot from Caledonia,
with thirty miles before them, they espied a team in the distance, going in the
same direction. They immediately decided to give chase, overtake it if
possible, and secure a ride. They quickened their pace, exercised all their
powers as on they went. They hailed the driver, made signs, but with no
success; either he did not hear, or did not heed. Lewis soon began to feel that
the task was a big one, was getting discouraged, and advised giving up, but
Williams insisted on going on. Lewis was rather corpulent, and had a peculiar
gait which was not at all favorable for a forced march. It was a warm June
morning. Williams, who was now several yards ahead, and by this time carrying
both bundles looked around and saw that the perspiration was showing itself
through Lewis' linen coat, but on they went.
The present generation are not aware of the fact that John D. Williams, in early and middle
life, was able by putting four of his fingers in his mouth, to produce one of
the most powerful and piercing whistles ever heard from a human head; coming at
this time to the brow of a hill, he dropped his bundles, put his fingers in his
mouth and whistled. The driver looked around and brought his team to a
standstill. When they came up to him they found that he had a lame horse, or
the chase would have been more desperate, and likely less successful. They were
carried, however, several miles and were well paid for the extra effort put
forth in the morning.
During this visit, Williams bought the quarter section
now owned by Rev. R. W. Hughes, for about $450, and eighty acres west of it for
$200, and another eighty acres near by, in 1866, with a crop oil it for $1,000.
Lewis bought eighty acres in Bristol for $200, and the
adjoining eighty acres in 1869, with a small crop for $3,000. From this it may
be seen that the time to buy land in Southern Fillmore was early in the 60's.
The first Sabbath Williams and Lewis attended the Presbyterian service at Lime
Springs, and listened to a sermon by Rev. Adam Craig. On the second Sabbath,
Williams preached in Welsh at the house of J. J. Jones. This was the first
Welsh sermon in this part of the country.
No new family came in 1863, yet it was a year of
interest. Early in 1863, Thomas decided to visit Minnesota again. Leavng his
home near Oshkosh, Wis., he lodged one night with John D. Williams. Williams said to him: "If you see land in
Minnesota that you like, come back this way; I can borrow money for you from an
old bachelor in this neighborhood, who has money to loan." Thomas went on
to Prairie du Chien, and at McGregor found a man from near Lime Springs, with
whom he rode as far as Barker's Grove; then walked to Foreston and on to Jack
Williams'. He bargained for eighty acres near what be had bought before, and
then returned to Wisconsin. At Portage City, he entered the car for Cambria, to
get the money promised by John D. Williams, but as he began to look for
Cambria, to his amazement he discovered he had taken the wrong train; that he
was on the main line going towards Milwaukee, and was now rushing towards
Wyocena. Consulting his pocket- book he found that to get back was simply
impossible, for his remaining change had been given for a ticket for Cambria,
and now he was rushing away from Cambria on another road. What to do was the
question. Finally the conductor kindly allowed him to ride to Watertown, from
which place he slowly worked his way towards his home near Oshkosh, depending,
most of the way, we presume, upon "John Shank's Mares." After getting
home he wrote Williams a letter about the land and the money, adding: "The
best way is for you to send the $200, and take the deed in your own name, and if
I can get the money in the future I will pay you.' About two years after this,
Thomas, having saved the $200, came to Cambria, paid the money, plus the
interest, paid the old bachelor, and the deed was signed to him by "J. D.
Williams and wife." This is the way men did business in primitive times.
In the spring of 1863, "when the snow was going
away," came David Roberts (Bont
Newydd), and his brother, Robert, to visit the new colony. After them came R. P. Jones and Rev. Robert Morris, a Congregational minister, from Wisconsin. This
is a date we can fix. "Morris," says one, preached a sermon on Easter
Sunday, and baptized a little girl, now one of the wives of Bristol. That was
the first time for me ever to hear about Easter." In June, came H. H. Morris and J. D. Williams. They returned to Wisconsin together, and this date
we can fix; for they brought the sad news of the accidental shooting that day,
north of Cambria, of a young girl on her way home from school. This happened,
according to records still extant, June 26, 1863. During this summer, a little
before the Fourth, came Rev. J. A. Jones,
of Berlin, Wis., on a visit.
The day before the Fourth, 1864, O. R. Jones and family arrived in Foreston. Mrs. Jones was a sister
of J. J. Jones. A little later, probably in August, came Rev. J. A. Jones and family. Mr. Jones had been called to minister
to the spiritual wants of the English congregation at Foreston, and the Welsh
people of Southern Minnesota.
Early in 1865 came R. P. Jones and family,
and settled on a farm in Bristol. During the autumn came Rowland Evans and family, and bought land a few miles north, also J. H. Roberts, who went back to
Wisconsin. Evans and family spent the winter north in the town of Forestville.
In May, 1866, came H. H. Morris and R. W. Hughes; William R. Jones also came about the same time with his family.
Late this year came Hugh Edwards, R. T. Williams and their families, and J. D. Williams, in November, to his farm
on the state line. Many bought land this year, intending to come in the
following spring.
On Christmas day was held a great Welsh literary
meeting, in the Foreston school buildings Welsh Eisteddfod on a small scale.
The evening meeting was held in Fnglish. Some may remember Henry Van Leuven's oration on "Progressive Knowledge,"
and R. T. Williams' address on "The Original History of the Celtic
Race," and those who had recently left their old homes and were still
feeling that this was a new country, very much enjoyed a song sung by Rev. J.
A. Jones and family, "Pining for Home and the Old Fireside."
This Christmas evening, by Rev. J. A. Jones, in his
own house, was solemnized, we believe, the first marriage in this Welsh
settlement. Jane, daughter of W. P. Davies, was married to R. W. Hughes. We
have indeed heard a story, that Jack Williams was married here in very early
times. There is much of the humorous about Jack, and some people like to tell
stories, and it may be get up good stories about him. This story runs that he
was married at a very early day by Justice Sales
Green; that he had not the wherewith to remunerate Green for his services,
and that the justice had to wait on Jack for payment until fall. But this, we
believe, must be a fabrication. Our impression is that Jack was married in
Wisconsin; that he was married by a preacher, and that the preacher was paid
for his services, there and then, in the current coin of the country.
50.1 COMING IN GREAT NUMBERS - PROSPERITY -
ADVERSITY (x146)
We have dwelt at some length on the history of these years, 1856-1866; and that
for several reasons. The pioneers of every country deserve honor. These
settlers, for the first ten years, were few in numbers; we can count them, as
it were, and get acquainted with them as they come in. This becomes impossible
after 1866. Every man is known in a small village, not so in a great city. But
the chief reason is this : Not many who took prominent part in these early
times are now to be found. It may be well to record these events before the
survivors are gone to the silent land.
We shall touch but lightly, and in a different way, upon the years 1866-1895.
Early in 1867, the Welsh families began to come in great numbers. Each of the
months, March, April and May, of that year, probably saw as many families
coming in, as were to be found in the whole settlement in October of the
previous year; and they kept coming in goodly numbers till 1870, or later. And
these were years of prosperity. The land was constantly rising in value. This
always inspires the landowner. It gives him hope and courage. The wheat crop
was good, and the price high. We remember very distinctly that in the autumn
wheat was $1.50 per bushel. A farmer would go to Lime Springs in the fall of
that year, with a good load of wheat - fifty bushels, the product of two or
three acres - and return with $75 in his pocket. Indeed, we have recently
noticed a newspaper item, that the highest price ever paid for wheat in a great
market was $3.00, in Chicago, about this period of which we are writing. Yet
there were some drawbacks, Machinery was expensive. Hired help was high. Taxes
were high. Interest was high, 10 per cent or more. Many of the Welsh farmers
had homes or barns to build, and coming in on a prosperous wave, many mortgaged
their land to get hold of more. But good times are often dangerous times. It is
when the day is pleasant and the sea calm that the fisherman ventures out too
far; and prosperous times do not last forever. The seven years of plenty in the
land of Egypt were followed by seven years of famine. A few years after the
times we have described, with the farmers around Lime Springs, the tide began
to turn, and the water to flow back, and many a vessel - to carry out the
figure - was left on the strand high and dry. Many a farm had to go for the
mortgage, and many a farmer - prosperous a few years before - had to leave in
spite of all he could do, for other regions, to begin life over again, and that
in some cases with but very little capital. This unfavorable period continued
for four or five years, beginning with 1878. At this time the wheat crop
failed, and as wheat was the farmers' main support, the failure of the wheat
crop was keenly felt by all. It was about this time that a change was made, from
wheat raising to dairying and stock raising, and this is the line of farming
followed ever since. The farmers who were able to weather this storm, lived and
prospered, and are nearly all today in comfortable circumstances, as their good
houses and capacious barns testify.
51 ACCIDENTS. (x148)
It may not appear out of place to give some space, and this place is probably
the most appropriate, to a few unpleasant and indeed sad occurrences, in the
history of the Lime Springs settlement. Calamities and disasters, though not
pleasant to narrate or dwell upon, at the time produce profound impressions in
the community where they happen, and are long remembered by the inhabitants.
The Johnstown flood will not be forgotten in Pennsylvania. The Pomeroy cyclone
will be remembered by many families in Iowa for long years to come. Some things
took place in the Welsh community of Lime Springs that made great impressions
at the time, and are vividly remembered to this day.
51.1 THE MILLDAM IN FORESTON, 1867 (x148)
The
first that we shall mention occurred early in 1867, at the milldam in Foreston.
Two brothers, and another man, had gone one day to Preston to inquire about
land. Returning to Foreston that evening, they found that the water had risen,
that the team could not cross over the dam. One brother took the team a mile
north to John D. Williams', where he remained over night. The other unfortunate
brother, in crossing the millpond, was carried by the current, boat, boatman
and all, over the dam and thrown, of course, into the boiling waters below. His
body was found six weeks later a mile down the river. The boatman reached the
shore and was taken up thoroughly chilled and exhausted. The writer has a very
vivid recollection of this event; for next morning, when the other brother was
about ready to start with the team toward Foreston, two men were seen coming
across the field in the garb of hunters. They called John D. Williams aside and
informed him of the sad accident. J. D. Williams accompanied the brother to
Foreston, taking the writer along (who was very unwilling to go on such a
journey) and quietly broke to him the sad news on the way. Some years after
this J. D. Williams, J. Ap. Jones, of Cambria, Wis., and two other men had the
dreadful experience of finding the boat sinking under them in the middle of the
pond by the breaking of a plank in the bottom. Williams, though not a
"swimmer," swam this time and successfully reached the dam on the
upper side. The others were carried down by the strong current, and swept through
the dam, which at this time was partly broken. The two younger men, however,
being thoroughly alive to the situation, and "grasping at a straw,"
caught hold of a piece of timber in the end of the dam as they were rushed
through, and held on until rescued. Jones, who was older, more corpulent and
much more unwieldly, was carried along bv the current to the waters below, but
fortunately found his feet touching terra firma, as he was floating over
a little islet some yards below the dam. Thus no lives were lost, but the
danger was great, and the experience, though the narration was amusing to
others after the event, was not to be forgotten by those who were immediately
concerned.
51.2 THE MILLDAM IN FORESTON AGAIN (x148)
Some
years after this again four persons, father, son, daughter and nephew, were
crossing one Sunday morning to church. Not crossing "far enough up,"
the boat was carried down by the current, but providentially, as they were
going over the dam, the front end of the boat struck on a large stone on the
lower side and lodged there, with the hind end upon the dam, and the four
persons inside. Word went to the Foreston school building, where services were
held in those days, and the shore was soon lined by an anxious crowd. The
question was how to reach the boat, or how to get the people out of the
dangerous place they were in. And this must be done quickly for the river was
rising, and the boat, in all probability, would soon be displaced and thrown
into the boiling waters below. Some endeavored to wade part way across the dam,
bracing themselves against the current by the use of pitchforks; others
attempted to ride on horses near enough to throw a rope. After manoeuvering
about in this way for some time, they succeeded in throwing them a rope, which
the son tied around his sister and cousin, who were then put out and quickly
drawn ashore by the crowd. This was done again to the father, and finally the
son; and the moment his foot left the boat, down it went into the boiling
waters.
51.3 THE BLIZZARD OF JANUARY, 1873 - DEATH OF REV. J.
J. EVANS. (x149)
But in writing of accidents, the saddest by far that ever occurred in the Welsh
settlement of Lime Springs, was the death of Rev. J. J. Evans, wife and child,
in the blizzard of 1873. Many, no doubt, remember that storm. We are not sure
but the word "blizzard" - to denote a terriflc snow storm - was first
used about that time. The writer was that winter at Minneapolis, if a personal
reminiscence may be pardoned. Before him lies a letter he wrote home
"January 20, 1873," two weeks after the storm. We quote the
following: "We have read of many 150 deaths in the late storm, the
Fillmore boys came back Saturday night with a story frightful to me. One of
them said that a Welsh minister, wife, three children and team, had frozen to
death January 7th, three or four miles north of Granger. The other had heard
that it was south of Granger, and that they were within half a mile of home. *
* * * Please let me hear by return mail." A letter soon came, giving full
particulars, but as this letter is not to be found, and as we do not like to
give important facts from memory, we asked B. F. Davies, Esq., of Cresco, to
consult for us the files of the "Howard County Times" and "Iowa
Plain Dealer." He kindly replied. We quote from his letter of March 25th,
1895: "The copy of the Times dated January 16, 1873, is missing. The copy
of January 9th mentioned the storm on Tuesday (January 7th), and the storming
at time of going to press. Paper of January 23rd says that the railroad
blockade of two weeks' duration had ended and trains were running. The Plain
Dealer of January 17th has the following, but I do not believe it exactly
correct.
“ACCIDENTS WITH EXPOSURE AND DEATH: The terrific storm that swept over this
region of country last week was attended by unusually severe and fatal
consequences. We learn of the death of Rev. John Evans, a Welsh clergyman,
residing in the township of Forest City, who, with his wife and two small
children, were during the evening at a prayer meeting(?), some two miles (?)
from home. Their course home was facing the storm, and it seems that when near
there, the team became fast in the snow. Whereupon Mr. Evans took one child
about three years old and carried it home, its arms and feet (?) becoming so
badly frozen as to result in death probably. He then took some quilts and
returned for his wife and babe. His wife was probably so benumbed that she
could not go, for she was found frozen to death near (?).the sleigh, while he,
it seems, after going about ten rods, fell upon (?) the babe, in which
condition both were found next day."
Believing that the above was not correct in several
particulars (see interrogation mark at doubtful points) we again wrote to one
of the sons of Mr. Evans, who likely gave us just about the facts in following
few lines: "The death of my parents was something like this: On a pleasant
afternoon, Tuesday, January 7th, 1893, they went to visit a neighbor,
three-quarters of a mile from home. About five in. the afternoon it began to
storm. They started home about seven. The neighbor lived in a grove, so they
did not know the severity of the storm before they started, but soon after
leaving the house, they came upon the open prairie, and had the storm full in
the face, without a fence or anything to guide them. Father reached the house
the first time about eleven, and took with him some clothes. About midnight he
came again, with little Lizzie, and returned for mother and the baby. The
thermometer was about eight below zero. The next day mother was found, also the
cutter and horses; and the day after father and the baby near together, and not
far from mother, who was in the cutter." We have heard neighbors relate
that Wednesday, the day of the search, was a frightfully cold day. If the
thermometer stood eight below the night before, with a terrible gale of wind
from the northwest, it must have been close to thirty if not to forty the
following day. By Thursday, when Mr. Evans' body was found, the storm was
somewhat abated. A person told us recently that he was sent to inform the
sister and family a few miles away. Wishing to have the news presented to the
sister as gently as possible, he called her husband outside, and gradually
broke the news to him; but he was entirely overcome and seemed to have lost all
control of himself. He went directly into the house and said to his wife,
"John Evans, his wife and children, are frozen to death." The sister
fell to the floor on her face and was for a time unable to move or speak. Mr.
Evans was to preach the following Sabbath at the Foreston school house, but on
that day the funeral sermon was preached to an immense number by Rev. O. R.
Morris. The sermon now lies before us. It was a serious, thoughtful,
appropriate discourse from the words in the Acts of the Apostles, "And
devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over
him." This death of Rev. Mr. Evans, and his family, in this way made a
greater impression than anything of the kind that ever occurred in the
settlement. Beside the circumstances connected with the event, the fact that
Mr. Evans was one of the ministers, well known and very much respected, tended
to deepen the impression.
52: PROMINENT MEN OF LIME SPRINGS (
A
sketch of the Lime Springs Welsh settlement, or of any other Welsh settlement,
would be quite incomplete without considerable space in it given to the subject
of religion ; for religion has a prominent place among the Welsh in any part of
the world. But before we take up this immediate question, we may be allowed to
mention a few of the most prominent persons in the Lime Springs community. By
prominent persons we do not mean, of course, men of national or international
reputation - the little Welsh community of Lime Springs could not claim such
distinction - but men who have been, or are now, more forward in the community,
or elsewhere, than others. As such, we would first mention the ministers.
52.1 MINISTERS (x152)
The
ministers of Lime Springs fall into three classes.
The Pioneer Ministers - Revs. J. A. Jones, J. D. Williams, D. T. Rowlands, D. O. Jones, O. R.
Morris and J. J. Evans.
The Pastors - or those who have had special care of
particular churches: Rev. O. P. Morris,
R. Isaac, R. W. Hughes, J. W. Morgan, W. W. Davies and Edward Joseph.
The Young Ministers - In this class we put the young
men of Lime Springs who have entered the ministry. Revs. R. W. Hughes, Daniel Williams, J. T. Evans and T. H. Lewis.
It is somewhat singular, that the superintendents of
the American Bible Society for Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, have
been chosen from among these, viz : Rev.
R. W. Hughes and Rev. J. T. Evans.
Next to the ministers, in a Welsh community, we must put the elders of the
churches.
52.2 ELDERS. (x152)
The
elders who have served the
Foreston - Hugh
Edwards, W. T. Lewis, H. G. Jones, O. E. Williams, H. O. Roberts, W. W. Williams, W. R. Williams, E. T. Jones and J. H. Jones.
Lime Springs - D.
K. Jones, E. H. Jones and J. Price.
Somewhat important in a Welsh neighborhood are the singers, or rather
choristers.
52.3 SINGERS. (x152)
Four
may be mentioned as having been quite prominent in the service of song. Rev. J.
A. Jones, who led the singers in early times. The great musical genius, Daniel Theophilus, W. T. Lewis,
chorister in Foreston for twenty-five years, and the present pastor, Rev. Edward Joseph. The choristers now,
we believe, are William Thomas, for
52.4 POETS. (x153)
The
poets are Rev. J. T. Evans, J. H. Roberts,
J. R. Williams and Noah Hughes.
Twenty years ago, at least, the poets seem to have flourished better on the
Bristol side than on the other. As the writer never posed as an adjudicator of
poetry he hardly feels competent to pronounce as to the merits of these poets.
He presumes, however, that the are all good poets. R. H. Jones, of Lime Springs, also should be mentioned.
52.5 POLITICIANS. (x153)
It
may be said, we believe, that the Welsh, as a general rule, have but little
ambition for political distinction. Whether the prominence given to religion
has anything to do with this we do not know. Macauley, in his essay on Milton,
says : "The Puritans were men whose minds had derived a peculiar character
from the daily contemplation of superior beings and external interests. Hence
originated their contempt for terrestrial distinctions. The Puritan prostrated
himself in the dust before his Maker, but he set his foot on the neck of his
king." And there is some Puritan tone about the ordinary Welsh character.
Some one has said that "The people of the United States are a nation of
office-seekers, as much as the English, according to Napoleon, were a nation of
shopkeepers." But this cannot be said of the Welsh. Some, however, of the
Welsh of Lime Springs have climbed up a few rounds on the political ladder. E. R. Morris was a member of the
Minnesota House of Representatives in 1889. W. W. Williams in that of Iowa in 1892 and 1894. William Theophilus was also a member of
the Iowa legislature one term, and two terms clerk of court for Howard county. B. F. Davies has been auditor of Howard
county for one or two terms.
52.6 TEACHERS. (x153)
Many
of the young people of Lime Springs have "taught school," and that
with success ; but we recall but two that have reached any prominence that we
have space to mention. John Morris,
son of Rev. O. R. Morris, graduated in 1888, at the State University of
Minnesota, with the degree of Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, having
received, it was said, "the highest markings ever given in that
department." For several years after this he served as “Supervisor of
Manual Training in the schools of Minneapolis." The other is Richard Jones, son of Rev. J. A. Jones.
Richard graduated at Iowa College, Grinnell, Ia. Was for a time principal of
the Des Moines High School, and later of the State Normal School at Normal,
Ill. In the meantime he had received the degree of A. M. from his Alma mater.
In 1889 he visited Oxford, Eng., and studied for a time at the famous old
university of Heidelberg, Germany, where he received the degree of Ph. D. He is
now professor in
53 RELIGION (x154)
We
are inclined to the opinion that
From this explanation we think it may be seen how it
is that the Welsh Methodists of America are really Presbyterians. This
denomination is the strongest by far among the Welsh of America. All the
churches of the Lime Springs settlement belong to it. This denomination -
though small compared with the great denominations of the land -shows, indeed,
considering all circumstances, as much vitality as any denomination in
54 THE CHURCHES OF LIME SPRINGS (
A
word now about the three churches of Lime Springs. The churches of
54.1
THE CHURCHES AT
So six years went by - seventeen from the time of the first settler - before a
church was erected. But at last, in 1873, the people of
54.2
THE CHURCH IN THE TOWN OF LIME SPRINGS (
There now remains for us to say a word about the Welsh church in the town of
55 THE WELSH LANGUAGE IN FORESTON (
We
said at the beginning, that Foreston is the center of the Welsh community. So
it is in location, but as far as prominence and influence are concerned, the
"center of gravity" has been of late years moving toward the town of
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