It all starts with my great grandfather, Daniel Williams (1852-1920) who was born in Wales to a coal miner father, Thomas Williams (1815-1868). Daniel's brothers are also listed as coal miners in the Wales Census records. Presumably, these men knew what they were doing when mining coal. They were multi-generational miners and learned from father to son and brother to brother. And none were lost in a mining disaster.
They lived for who knows how many generations in Strata Florida, near Tregaron, in the county of Ceredigion or Cardiganshire in Wales. There were tin mines in the area and we wonder if the Williams men once worked there. Mining skills are relatively similar for the various materials taken in Wales so it would have been no problem for them to be mining tin and then move to coal and end up in shale, which were all plentiful in Wales at the time.
Mom went there and stood in the ruins of the big Abbey at Strata Florida soaking in what was left of the memories and dust of the ancestors. Buried there is Dafydd ap Gwilym (c. 1315/1320 – c. 1350/1370), which might be translated into present day English as David Williams, who was one of the leading poets of the Middle Ages, certainly of Wales and all of Europe. He possibly died of the Black Death. Mom claims him as our own, baring solid evidence to the contrary, which we're hoping we never find.
Strata Florida Abbey
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Old Thomas who was born about 1815, married Jane James in 1841, and his sons started arriving right after. By then, even the once bountiful southern coal fields in Wales were starting to get mined out. There was too little work for too many men so wages were on a downward slide. (The Academy Award winning film "How Green Was My Valley" depicts a typical Welsh mining town and it's trails, and is worth a viewing if this interests you.)
Old Thomas died around 1868 in Tregeron, and afterward his family moved from Cardiganshire to Breckonshire. Just about that time the Consolidation Coal Company, with offices in Baltimore, Maryland and London, had its eye on the Western Maryland coal fields with their rich and mostly untouched big veins, began recruiting in Wales. Daniel Williams must have been ready to jump at a new opportunity because that's just what he did. Sometime about 1872 or 1873 (I'm confused about this) he sailed to America.
At the Consolidation Mine Company in Ocean, Allegany, Maryland he put down roots, and married Miss Jane Price (1862-1939) of Wellersburg, Pennsylvania on 28 October, 1878. In the 1880 US Census Daniel is listed as working as a coal miner, with wife Jane and son James just a year old. And so family life began in earnest.
Jane (Price) Williams and Daniel Williams.
Possibly their wedding portrait.
He built a career working for the mining company and was a solid member of the community and a home owner. Here's what Aunt Betty has to say about him from her notes:
Notes on Daniel
Williams
As far as we know, Daniel lived
in Midland and Ocean, MD after he arrived in the United States. He was Foreman of
Mine No. 16, Consolidation Coal Company. He was a member of the George’s Creek
Valley Lodge of Masons in Lonanconing, Maryland. He was selected
to take a large lump of coal from Ocean Mines, Maryland to the Chicago World’s Fair in
1893. He was elected as a Trustee in the Ocean School District #18 on June 22,
1907.
I see two sentences and glean some further information about Daniel from Aunt Betty's write up. He was an Ocean School District Trustee. I knew that he valued education and was willing to save and pay for it because he paid for his son Joe Williams to attend the Peabody Institute of Music in Baltimore. So I'm guessing he was also a saver.
And then there's the trip to the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 to take the large lump of coal to be displayed. I keep searching the Frostburg Mining Journal, a true treasure trove if you have ancestors in the area, but as of yet not met with luck: there are a lot of pages and the text is small. That must have been quite an honor for him and surely covered by the local weekly newspaper that loved to trumpet about the accomplishments of its citizenry. I need to keep looking for that article!
One by one, his seven sons grew and had the opportunity to go work in the mine with him. Joe went to study music. Jimmy, the oldest, was a minor league baseball player and ended up in Texas. My Grandfather Camey disliked working in the mines and made his career elsewhere. The rest of the boys worked in the Ocean Mine Number 16 if they wanted. It was one of the safer mines and the "black car" visited there much less often than it did to the mine in Lonaconing where it went just about every day to remove a body to the undertaker.
Aunt Betty and her parents, Charles and Bronwyn, lived with her grandparents, Daniel and Jane, in their home in Ocean, which is about a 10 - 15 minute drive from Frostburg. After Daniel died in 1920 and Jane followed him in 1939, Aunt Betty and her parents continued to reside in the home.
From Aunt Betty's photo collection.
So Aunt Betty and I are sitting in her cozy living room chatting about Daniel and his life and times and she wonders out loud where he got all the money to purchase the land and coal mine in Mount Savage (which is near Frostburg) and the property in West Virginia that contained the tin or silver mine. Indeed, where did he get that money?
Let's start with the Mount Savage property because I just realized something about it. Aunt Betty is a good researcher and an excellent organizer. Below, is the text of her transcription of the ownership of the Mt. Savage lots which she took from the deeds, and I'll point out two things after.
WILLIAMS FARM, MT SAVAGE, MARYLAND
DEED: December 11, 1854
By and
between
DEED: June 8, 1869
By and
between MARTIN CLARK and TIM CLARK
DEED: December 9, 1893
By and
between WILLIAM J. CRUMP and GEORGE CRUMP of DEED: March 20, 1912
By and between GEORGE CRUMP and ANNIE MARGARET CRUMP his wife to HENRY WESLOW and JULIA WESLOW, his wife by deed in the land records of Allegany County, Maryland.
DEED: October 12, 1914
By and
between JULIA WESLOW of
DANIEL WILLIAMS predeceased his wife leaving the title to
the above described property to JANE WILLIAMS, his wife and JANE WILLIAMS having died in February of 1939 and devised the aforesaid property unto CHARLES
WILLIAMS, WILLIAM D. WILLIAMS, THOMAS WILLIAMS, CAMBRIA WILLIAMS and JOSEPH
WILLIAMS by will probated February 21, 1939, and recorded in the Orphans Court Allegany County , Maryland
To have and to hold the above described property unto the
said WILLIAM D. WILLIAMS and LILLIAN WILLIAMS, his wife, as tenants of the
entireties, their heirs and assigns, in fee simple forever.
DEED: November 13, 1941
By and
between JOSEPH WILLIAMS and HELEN G. WILLIAMS, his wife to WILLIAM D. WILLIAMS and LILLIAN WILLIAMS, his wife for
the sum of Ten Dollars ($10.00) the land known as the “CRUMP FARM” composed of
lots No. 3369 and No. 3370.
DEED: November 13, 1941
By and
between CHARLES WILLIAMS and BRONWYN WILLIAMS, his wife, THOMAS D. WILLIAMS and
ISABELLA R. WILLIAMS, his wife, CAMBRIA WILLIAMS and EMMA WILLIAMS, his wife
for the sum of Ten Dollars ($10.00) the land known as the “CRUMP
FARM”composed of lots No. 3369 and No. 3370.
When Aunt Betty and I were chatting about this, we were wondering exactly where the property was. She had a pretty good idea about it's general location but the area had become overgrown and now it was practically impossible to determine any boundaries, at least by us. Then I noticed that the property was continually referred to as the Crump Farm and Lots No. 3369 and 3370. I got super excited. Off to check the Military Lots map put out by the Evergreen Heritage Center and Frostburg State University!
You can see below a section of that map and now it's pretty easy to find the location of lots 3369 and 3370. This land was awarded to Andrew Bruce for service in the Revolutionary War. We know where this is and it's right down the hill from Mom's house! I just love this map because it thoughtfully includes present day landmarks and roads. Mom lives on Route 36.
The land in West Virginia was not as exciting to me as this property. Oh, sure, it held promise of tin and silver but after Daniel's death, the family lost it to back taxes during the Great Depression. I don't find any evidence that Daniel and the boys actually worked the West Virginia property.
The Mt. Savage property was another story. Daniel and the boys possibly had hopes of a big pay day as they watched coal prices rise to new heights due to the demand for coal during WWI. Notice that Daniel purchased the property in October of 1914 and the war began in July. They felt that there was coal on that land, no doubt, and did something there, but exactly what we don't know. It's said in the family that he wanted to mine with his sons, all accomplished coal miners (except my Grandfather Camey) and most likely thought of this as his legacy to them. Theoretically, if the mine hit a big vein the boys would all be rich beyond measure. Today some of that same property is still owned by a descendant of Daniel Williams.
When I think of the great narrative saga of Daniel William's life, from the coal mines of Wales and unfortunate times to taking a chance on a better future, then to a Western Maryland home and land ownership, I can't help but be impressed. Daniel's vision for mineral wealth seems unbound, even though it was unfulfilled, but is admirable to me. Everyone needs a big dream. It is, after all, the American way.
And where did he get the money to buy all that land? He earned it.
Now I can't help but wonder if this photo was taken on his own land and was to document the start of a mining adventure. It was taken in 1915, the year after he purchased the land in Mt. Savage.
The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/12/stories-from-mom-and-aunt-betty-part-4.html
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