What a great story! I hope Tom Owen (no relation) enjoyed his new-found wealth and his trip
to Budapest. Ambitious travelling salesmen usually aimed to set up a more permanent business -usually a draper’s shop- in the High Street or nearby streets of Merthyr Tydfil. Many were Scottish, succeeded in their ambitions and established a strong Caledonian element in the town.
One of Merthyr’s most successful drapers was Mr Price Lewis of London House and later of The London Warehouse, both in the High Street. A Welshman, he became prosperous enough to build, in 1851, Merthyr’s first villa- Courtland House in Thomastown, later known as The Rectory.
I wonder what happened to Tom Owen! Did he buy a shop or move away to more salubrious parts?
Perhaps Penarth, Swansea or Tenby.
What a great story! I hope Tom Owen (no relation) enjoyed his new-found wealth and his trip
to Budapest. Ambitious travelling salesmen usually aimed to set up a more permanent business -usually a draper’s shop- in the High Street or nearby streets of Merthyr Tydfil. Many were Scottish, succeeded in their ambitions and established a strong Caledonian element in the town.
One of Merthyr’s most successful drapers was Mr Price Lewis of London House and later of The London Warehouse, both in the High Street. A Welshman, he became prosperous enough to build, in 1851, Merthyr’s first villa- Courtland House in Thomastown, later known as The Rectory.
I wonder what happened to Tom Owen! Did he buy a shop or move away to more salubrious parts?
Perhaps Penarth, Swansea or Tenby.