In Association with the Merthyr Tydfil & District Historical Society
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Continued from the previous post……
SUCCESSFUL CAREER OF A MERTHYR GENTLEMAN IN NEW YORK
Merthyr Telegraph – 20 September 1878
“The next week after landing in this city he began work in a job printing office in Beekman Street. In a very few weeks after that he heard that the American Grocer, a new publication at that time that was struggling for existence, wanted a foreman, and very fortunately for him and it, he obtained work on the paper. He remained in the position of foreman, receiving a moderate salary, upon which he lived carefully and economically, saving some money and laying it by every week doing his work thoroughly and well, and showing his ability in the best way it can be shown, viz., by practical demonstration. Changes subsequently took place in the office, and Mr Jones having some money invested in the stock, and having gained the confidence of other stockholders in his ability to conduct its affairs, in July, 1876, assumed control, and under his management our readers can testify to the marked ability with which the paper has been conducted.
Our mail list testifies to the enormous growth of its circulation, our advertising columns to the great increase in advertisements, whilst our advertisers can bear witness as to how great a hold it has on the minds of its subscribers by the large returns they receive from advertising in its columns. If the stockholders do not receive large dividends it is not the fault of Mr Jones, but of the policy of devoting all the revenues of the paper to improving it and extending its circulation.
Mr Jones is now a large owner in a paper that is acknowledged to be the representative journal of the grocery trade in the United States. This has been due to his own exertions, to his working faithfully and ably for his employers when on a salary, thus impressing them with the importance of raising him from step to step, until confiding the sole charge of the paper to his hands. By his economy in saving a portion of his wages every week, thereby having a fund to assist him in purchasing an interest in the paper, he gave confidence to his associates, inasmuch as a man who was a good manager of his own affairs, was careful, economical and saving when on a salary, must needs be the right man to have charge of the financial, editorial, and mechanical departments.
The result has proved that they did not make a mistake, and that the right man was put in the right place. The rigid economy that Mr Jones was obliged to learn in his youth is carried out in every department of the American Grocer. Every person on the editorial staff, and every man and boy in the composing room and job office know that he thoroughly understands what can and ought to be done, and also that he will insist upon its being done properly and at the time wanted. The result of such a course has been that every department of the American Grocer is filled with hard-working, steady men, and, as Mr Jones says with pride, he can turn out more work, in better style, from the composing and job office than is done with the same force in any other office in this city.
We hope by the 1st of September to see him back at his post, refreshed and invigorated by rest and recreation that his travels will widen his business experience, and that the prominent business men whom he will undoubtedly come in contact with, will give him broader views, so that he may be able to lie even more useful to the readers of this paper than ever. We do not doubt that this will be the case. An energetic, observing man, who has the opportunity, is always picking up and storing away in the storehouse of his memory facts and figures to be put into practical use at the proper time, and there can be no question that our readers will be the gainers by our chief’s trip to Europe”
The following article appeared in the Merthyr Telegraph 140 years ago today.
SUCCESSFUL CAREER OF A MERTHYR GENTLEMAN IN NEW YORK
Merthyr Telegraph – 20 September 1878
We have much pleasure in publishing the following extract from the American Grocer in our paper. The subject of the biography is well known in Merthyr, and his genial character and good-natured qualities will be remembered by many who recollect him amongst us. His amiable wife also (a sister of Mr Chirm, formerly of the Brunswick Hotel), will be recollected by her many friends here with much gratification. We willingly bear our testimony to Mr Jones’ excellent ability as a member of the printing profession, for he was engaged as foreman at our office for a considerable period, and he is also a gentleman of considerable intellectual power. We heartily congratulate him on his great commercial success in the land of his adoption.
“Since our last issue the Editor of this paper left us on the White Star steamer Britannic for a trip of three months’ duration to Europe, to visit the home of his a childhood and also the Paris Exhibition. As the great success which Mr Jones has achieved in a very few years is one of the most striking examples of what can be done by hard work, energy and determination to succeed, the assistant Editor, now in charge, has determined to give to the readers of the American Grocer a little of his history, although certain that Mr. Jones would not allow it to appear were he in charge of the editorial department. The temptation to do this is altogether too strong to be resisted, for of all the examples we have given from the career of the business men around us, not one has been more striking than that which we could furnish in the case of Mr Jones.
Watkin T. Jones was born in the town of Merthyr, in Wales. His father was a journeyman printer, an exceptionally good workman and thoroughly acquainted with the business in all its departments. The son had as a boy that independent spirit that is so prominent a characteristic with him today. At a very early age he entered a printing office in his native town to learn the printer’s trade, and he did learn it thoroughly in every part and detail. In a few years he became as good a workman as was to be found in the office, and not satisfied with living in a small country place, like so many young men, he was bound to go to London.
Thither he went and obtained work as a journeyman printer on one of the metropolitan dailies. Not seeing his way clear, however, to an immediate success in London, he finally persuaded his wife (who by-the-bye is a “help-meet” in every sense of the word) to agree to try their fortunes in America, and so in 1870 Mr Jones sailed for New York, with but little money, but brimful of hope and courage.”
To be continued…..
From the Merthyr Telegraph 151 years ago today….
by Irene Janes
Here is a name to remember – Professor Julie Williams C.B.E, world leading Figure in the research of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Julie Williams is still very much alive, kicking and still researching, and her research is making a huge difference worldwide but I am just so afraid like other famous women if her works are not recognised in Merthyr they will never be heard of let alone forgotten.
Well I am not sure about you, but when I was about seven I read The Famous Five and my weekly magazine, Princess. Perhaps this is why I have not and ever will receive a Royal honour.
At the age of seven, little Julie (then Baker), would be professor, from Cefn Coed, loved horse riding, ballet and playing football. However, between scoring goals and pirouetting around on horses Julie may have missed the fact Richard Burton had married (for the first time) Elizabeth Taylor or the Welsh Office was established. It was more likely her pin up poster would not be of Howard Winstone but that of the great British Physicist and Chemist Michael Faraday. This was because one day in W.H.Smiths Julie picked up a leaflet about Faraday which she admits she did not understand but piqued her interest. In addition to this, a B.B.C. programme, “The Ascent of Man” (1973), set her on a journey and where others now follow her.
Her schooling at Vaynor and Penderyn Grammar School served her well, and when The University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology, in Cardiff beckoned, Julie welcomed the opportunity to make the most of the many horizons now open to her. The one horizon we celebrate here is her studying psychology to PHd level. Her fascination of how a human brain works is as strong now as it was as an undergraduate. The idea of ‘How molecule changes can produce some sort of thought processes’ became and still is her focus. After her research work with schizophrenia, Julie turned her attention to Alzheimer’s, which is more prevalent today than ever. We all know someone inflicted by it.
In Wales 2,500 people under the age of 60 have this disease and that figure is expected to rise.
Julie’s academic and research successes could fill pages and I salute them all, alas, there are too many to mention here. The details are on the internet for you to read at your leisure. Here are just some of the professors’ academic achievements:
Now Julie and her team, with funding from the U.K. Dementia Research Institution, are concentrating on thirty genes that pose the risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Such is the importance of eradicating or controlling this disease £250m made available by the U.K. Medical Council.
Today she acclaimed as a world leader in her field of research.
It is hardly surprising that in 2012 Professor Julie Williams, in recognition of her dedication and research was awarded the C.B.E.
Away from Royal recognition now, and back to Merthyr and Julie’s roots. Out of general interest, her father Eric Baker had a Ford dealership. For twenty years her mother Terry ran the W.R.V.S. shop and coffee shop, in Prince Charles Hospital.
Here is a link no matter how tenuous but one that makes my imagination bridge the years. Her grandfather Henry Edwards worked and lived as caretaker in Cyfarthfa Castle. I like to think Rose Mary Crawshay, (wife of Robert Thompson Crawshay) who fought for the education and advancement of women (see my previous article – http://www.merthyr-history.com/?p=1934) and founded Vaynor School, where Julie became a pupil, is smiling down with pride on Professor Williams.
An observation from the Evening Express 120 years ago today (10 September 1898):-
The longest word in the Welsh language is the “My last word” with which the preacher promises to finish the sermon, and takes ten minutes to say it.
by Laura Bray (née Bevan)
‘Bronygarth’, or ‘Pen y Cae’ as it was originally called, is an Edwardian villa located on the corner of West Grove and Gwaelodygarth Lane, immediately opposite Gwaelodygarth House. It is set in about three-quarters of an acre of land and was built in about 1908.
The land on which the house was built, was originally owned by William Meyrick, who also owned the land on which Pentwyn Villas and ‘Rockwood House’ were built, and for whom Meyrick Villas is named. On his death in July 1852 he bequeathed his land to his three granddaughters – Ethyl Margaret Meyrick, Isabella Mary Eddington and Emma Catherine White, none of whom lived locally. Ethyl Margaret Meyrick later married a George Swaby and it is their daughter, Marion Frances Swaby (later Gay) whose name is shown in principal as the vendor of the lease in April 1910 to Mr J W Morris.
The new owner, Mr John Walter Morris, lived in 6, High St, Merthyr and was by occupation an Outfitter. The deeds of April 1910 indicate that ‘Bronygarth’, which at this stage was still called ‘Pen Y Cae’, had already been built, and came with a 99 years’ lease commencing 1 August 1908. The annual rent was cited as £25 and for this Mr Morris received a “parcel of land of three thousand, six hundred and ten square yards or thereabouts”. On the deeds the house is shown as abutting a “proposed road” (West Grove) with the land to the east on which ‘Rookwood’ stood, being leased to J.W. Lewis Esq.
Mr Morris moved in with his wife Lucy, his two sons named Joesph and John, and one live-in domestic servant (Laura Farley) and by 1911 the house had been renamed ‘Bronygarth’.
Following John Morris’s death on 2 May 1925, ‘Bronygarth’ was put on the market and on 12 August 1925 it was sold by Lucy and Joseph Morris for £250 to Illtyd Bevan Rees, then living in ‘Langdale’ – the house on the corner of Gwaelodygarth Lane and Gwaelodygarth Road. The land remained leased at £25 p.a.
Illtyd Rees was a Stock and Sharebroker, and a member of Zoar Chapel in the town. Although it looks as if he bought the house outright, there is paperwork that shows that he took out a mortgage on 7 November 1933 for £1950. Illtyd died on 11 July 1950, following which his widow, Eveline, by then living in Llanishen in Cardiff, sold the house for £3500. The buyer this time was F. L. G. Bevan. The house remained leasehold until 27 August 1956, when Glyn paid £600 for the freehold.
Frederick Lawrence Glyn Bevan had been born and brought up in ‘Ardwyn’, the house opposite ‘Bronygarth’ on the other side of West Grove. His father, Frederick John Bevan was a self employed Manufacturers’ Agent, and on his death in July 1947, his sons, Clive and Glyn, took over the business. Glyn was educated in Clifton College Bristol, and in Magdalene College, Cambridge, but during the war he had served in the navy, being based at Freetown in Sierra Leone, the Admiralty in London and latterly in Columbia in Ceylon. It was in Ceylon, at a New Year’s Eve dance in 1945, that he had met his future wife, Mary Winifred Tann, who was stationed there as a WRN.
Glyn and Mary had stayed in touch after the war, and had become engaged in August 1950, so when ‘Bronygarth’ came on the market that summer, it seemed too good a chance to miss and Glyn’s mother bought it for them as a wedding present. As the house had been auctioned, Glyn and Mary (and various family and friends who spied a good opportunity for wedding presents!) paid another £450 for all the furnishings and fixtures and they moved in following their wedding in March 1951.
Mary stated once that when Glyn asked her if she wanted to live in an Edwardian house following her marriage, her heart sank as she imagined a cramped and dark house, her experience of South Wales being based mainly on visiting her aunts in Abertillery between the wars.
In fact she found ‘Bronygarth’ to be light and airy, with large, spacious rooms. The house was spread over three floors and had six bedrooms, one of which Glyn used as a study and office, three bathrooms complete with original bathroom suites and had retained its original features such as fireplaces, tiling coving, stained glass windows and rare curved oak panelling in the hall. Mary fell in love with the house at first sight and never regretted the move.
During their tenure, Glyn and Mary made only minor adjustments to the furnishings and decoration of the house, but they did make substantial changes to the garden. Glyn dug out two ponds – a serpentine-shaped one near the house, and a rectangular one at the bottom of the garden; he laid out geometric rose-beds, put in cinder paths and semi-circular steps; built a large rockery running across the front of the house, which he planted with azaleas and heathers. In the bottom south-east corner of the garden he had a greenhouse, compete with grape vine; potting shed and vegetable patch. There was even a full sized grass tennis court running parallel to West Grove, and Mary had been known to grumble at the time it took to cut the grass!
Following the death of Mary’s father in the 1970’s, they converted the coach-house/garage at the bottom of the garden (now 35 West Grove) into a two-bedroom bungalow for Mary’s mother, where she lived until her death in 1989 at the age of 97.
Glyn and Mary were to own the house until they died, Glyn in August 1994, and Mary who had been bequeathed ownership of the property by Glyn in 1990 as he became increasingly frail, lived there on her own until her own death in December 2013 aged 91.
by Peter Rogers
Earlier this year, we featured an article about a fatal boxing match in Merthyr (http://www.merthyr-history.com/?p=1874). Local boxing historian Peter Rogers has kindly provided me with more information about Thomas Beynon.
The first part is based on a report that appeared in the Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian dated 4 April 1868.
Thomas Beynon, a middle-aged man, was charged with the manslaughter of Rowland Thomas, a young man of 23. They fought bare-knuckle for two and a half hours, and 70 rounds were fought. The purse was a pound a side and a sovereign.
They fought with utmost determination at a well known resort of pugilists called the Giant’s Grave, midway between Merthyr and Aberdare. At the end of the 70th round, Rowland Thomas could not come up to time, in fact he was in such a state that the most apprehensions were felt, and Beynon made off but was soon captured and taken to the police station. Aid was immediately obtained for Rowland Thomas, but after lingering for a few hours, he died. The principal or immediate cause of death being a ruptured blood vessel, by some attributed to a backward fall which the deceased had at one portion of the fight.
Beynon, the victor, had very little cause for rejoicing. He was so punished that he had to be carried to the police station. Both parties were colliers, and strong of make, and is said were related to one another. A gentleman resident of the locality says no science was displayed by either. It was simply a pounding match, and no other result could well have been anticipated. Beynon was liberated on bail.
Eight days later, Thomas Beynon entered into a prize-fight with Jonathan Muzzy for a certain sum. They accordingly met and for a space of two hours were engaged in combat, during which time they fought 75 rounds.
The Merthyr Express reported the incident on 11 April 1868, as did the Brecon County Times (as shown in the blog entry quoted above and reproduced here).
Thomas Beynon was brought before Swansea Assizes and charged with the manslaughter of Jonathan Muzzy on 30 March 1868 and remanded. On 20 July 1868, Thomas Beynon was imprisoned at Cardiff Gaol for 36 months.
The details of his imprisonment were taken from ‘Cardiff Gaol, Glamorganshire: Calendar of Trials at Assizes and Quarter Sessions for the County of Glamorgan. England 1770-1935’.
Many thanks to Anthony Rhys for allowing me to use his excellent painting of Thomas Beynon. To see more of Anthony Rhys’ work, visit his website: http://www.anthonyrhys.com/