Arlene, Your comments regarding deaths due to quarry accidents are well founded. Two of my own ancestors survived the American Civil War (as soldiers), only to die as the result of a quarry accident shortly thereafter! Mary

I love hearing the stories of North Wales. My great grandfather, Rice Jones, was a quarryman before he immigrated to the US in 1887. My great aunt, his daughter, Elizabeth Winifred, used to tell me about him going off to work. She loved where she lived in North Wales and I think until the day she died in 1969 she would have gone back if she could. When her father came to America, he was an anthracite coal man. She hated the way he came home every night with a black face and hands. She hated the choking and coughing of first shaking and then washing the coal dust out of his clothes. I guess some of the quarrymen who left Caernarfonshire didn't fair much better in the United States. Gayle Thorpe Baar Irving, TX with roots in PA, NY, MA, CT & Great Britain http://hometown.aol.com/gtbaar/myhomepage/profile.html

Wendy, When you hear the lives they lived, how hard they work, and what they received in return, it makes you angry. My grandfather and several uncles, started working at Penrhyn Quarry as 8 year olds. They pulled the carts that took the slate up to the rail cars. The rail line is still in Llandegai. Everyone should really try and find a copy of 'The North Wales Quarryman'. Our ancestors worked very, very hard, for very little. They were like slaves. Little boys working beside their fathers, brothers and uncles. I have a cousin that drives a truck at the quarry now. Thank you for relating your father's story. It's wonderful to be able to share first hand knowledge. I lost many relatives to quarry deaths and then lung disease. One just died this year after many years of suffering. Again, thanks for sharing. Arlene On Sep 7, 2004, at 1:16 AM, Wendy Jones wrote: > It's been interesting to hear the views of those to the 3 year strike > at > Penrhyn. My father was a quarryman before and after the Second World > War for > a few years. He's still alive at 82, a veteran of the Second World War. > > His description of the working conditions at Dorothea and Maenofferen > and > Llechwedd was that they were like slaves. Somebody was killed almost > every > week. A comparison was made in a local article in the local newspaper > fairly > recently on the plight of the then quarrymen and the plight of slaves > in > America. > > I went to watch a fragment of film about quarrymen 'Men against Death' > in > Dorothea with my father, that was shown in Neuadd Goffa Penygroes. He > knew > some of the individuals. The film is being reviewed in a book about the > history of Welsh films. I was shocked at what I saw. Men working at the > bottom of a deep hole. Men clinging to the sides and blasting, A > makeshift > corrugated shelter at the bottom. Men looking out for each other with > the > blasts as lumps of slate were blasted from the sides and railed down on > those below. Men running for cover into the corrugated shelter. One or > more > killed every week. Men walking silently home in respect for the dead. > The > supervisors still wanting them to work. > > At the same time Plas Newydd, Plas Penrhyn are models of advanced > architecture and design. There was no lack of know how to design safer > working conditions. Why this know how was not extended to the > introduction > of safer working conditions I do not know. > > A friend of mine who knows the relatives of the quarry owners, was > visiting > the quarry hospital at Llanberis with them (now a museum), and they, > looking > at the history and artefacts of the workers' former lives said....'no > wonder > they hated us'. The discrepancy between the standard of living of the > quarry > owners and the quarry workers was immense. > > Prior to the acquisition of the quarries by the 'owners', against the > backdrop of industrial revolution, the quarries were small scale > concerns, > quarried in conjunction with the running of small holdings. The local > small > scale quarrymen lost control of their own livelihoods through their > different approach to land ownership. They were the 'indians' and they > lost > their land through what has become modern 'law'. Mass, labour > intensive, > extraction of slate became the order of the day. The intensification > and > expansion of production led to a dislocation of agriculture and a > source of > subsidence and an over dependence, for the quarrymen on quarrying as > their > sole source of income. > > Seems still to touch a nerve! Wendy > > > > > ==== WLS-CAERNARFONSHIRE Mailing List ==== > http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/inst/uwbangor.shtml > Bangor University Archives > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > >

It's been interesting to hear the views of those to the 3 year strike at Penrhyn. My father was a quarryman before and after the Second World War for a few years. He's still alive at 82, a veteran of the Second World War. His description of the working conditions at Dorothea and Maenofferen and Llechwedd was that they were like slaves. Somebody was killed almost every week. A comparison was made in a local article in the local newspaper fairly recently on the plight of the then quarrymen and the plight of slaves in America. I went to watch a fragment of film about quarrymen 'Men against Death' in Dorothea with my father, that was shown in Neuadd Goffa Penygroes. He knew some of the individuals. The film is being reviewed in a book about the history of Welsh films. I was shocked at what I saw. Men working at the bottom of a deep hole. Men clinging to the sides and blasting, A makeshift corrugated shelter at the bottom. Men looking out for each other with the blasts as lumps of slate were blasted from the sides and railed down on those below. Men running for cover into the corrugated shelter. One or more killed every week. Men walking silently home in respect for the dead. The supervisors still wanting them to work. At the same time Plas Newydd, Plas Penrhyn are models of advanced architecture and design. There was no lack of know how to design safer working conditions. Why this know how was not extended to the introduction of safer working conditions I do not know. A friend of mine who knows the relatives of the quarry owners, was visiting the quarry hospital at Llanberis with them (now a museum), and they, looking at the history and artefacts of the workers' former lives said....'no wonder they hated us'. The discrepancy between the standard of living of the quarry owners and the quarry workers was immense. Prior to the acquisition of the quarries by the 'owners', against the backdrop of industrial revolution, the quarries were small scale concerns, quarried in conjunction with the running of small holdings. The local small scale quarrymen lost control of their own livelihoods through their different approach to land ownership. They were the 'indians' and they lost their land through what has become modern 'law'. Mass, labour intensive, extraction of slate became the order of the day. The intensification and expansion of production led to a dislocation of agriculture and a source of subsidence and an over dependence, for the quarrymen on quarrying as their sole source of income. Seems still to touch a nerve! Wendy

Hi again Thomas and Ian Thank you so much for your input into this thread I started. It is amazing to think that in the days before social welfare you could be considered a traitor to go to work to put food on the table for your family. I didn't realise that local people still bore such bitterness against the descendants of the "bradwyr's". I have learnt so much just recently, it has been a wonderful lesson in social history. I have been "doing the family tree" on and off now for about 10 years, but really only recently got into my father's side. Because of the name WILLIAMS being so common in Wales I thought I would start with my mother's more unusual name of POVALL when I first began this "hobby" of ours. The other day I found a wonderful site http://www.worldwidewales.tv/index2.php You can sit at your computer and watch narrated films (in English or Welsh) of historic events or tours around places all over Wales as well as biographies of famous Welsh people. If you go to "Historic Events" in Step 1 and then click on Step 2 "Penryhn Quarry & the Great Strike" you will see a film clip of the events we have been talking about and also a view of "one of the largest man made holes on the planet and the largest slate quarry in the world" Penrhyn Quarry. Thanks and Regards Barbara > Ian Thompson's assessment of the Penrhyn Strike situation is to be > applauded. What we should remember is that it was not a Black and White > issue. There were those who returned to the Quarry for good and bad reasons. > Some could not bear to see their half starved families, whilst others > accepted the £1 bribe offered by the Squire (Punt y Gynffon) so they could > enjoy a few drinks in the Pub. However, at the time both were tarred with > the same brush and called BRADWYR. > > History has not been kind to the former because of the actions of the > latter, but what should be stressed in no uncertain terms is that EVERYONE > lost out by the Strike, > The Squire, the Strikers who refused to return to work on a point of > principal and those who swallowed their pride and did for whatever reason. > It was a NO WIN Situation and that is the way the Strike should be > remembered. Not with malice towards those who broke the strike and towards > their children, their grandchildren and even great grandchildren. Why should > the innocents of today bear a cross for the actions of their ancestors? It > is time that the people of the area forgot about the mistakes of a century > ago. Possibly books like Y CHWALFA, T Rowland Hughes, and more recent ones > written in English have a lot to answer for. > > No! Neither I nor my family were interested parties. > > T. Meirion Huighes. > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "I Thompson" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, September 06, 2004 12:26 PM > Subject: [CAE] bradwyr > > > > Hi there, > > I was interested to read about strike-breaking in Penrhyn. My grandmother > > used to talk about my gt grandfather going out in Birkenhead in the > General > > Strike of 1926 to work when many others weren't doing with a red armband > on. > > His explanation was that at a time of poor employment, and with 10 > children, > > he couldn't afford to miss one day's work. I know that his decision > > attracted the opprobrium of neighbours and workmates so it must have been > a > > difficult decision to make. Equally so in Penrhyn, I would have thought? > > Ian > > London SW9 > > > > > > > > ==== WLS-CAERNARFONSHIRE Mailing List ==== > > Cewch ddanfon negeseuon Cymraeg neu Saesneg i'r rhestr hon > > This list covers a bilingual area, in which messages in both Welsh and > English are welcome > > > > ============================== > > You can manage your RootsWeb-Review subscription from > > http://newsletters.rootsweb.com/ > > > > > ==== WLS-CAERNARFONSHIRE Mailing List ==== > Cewch ddanfon negeseuon Cymraeg neu Saesneg i'r rhestr hon > This list covers a bilingual area, in which messages in both Welsh and English are welcome > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > > >

Hi, The biography of Griffith Griffiths, the Trafalgar veteran, has finally been completed. This can be found in the Biographies Section. There are a few projects currently in progress, and there are a few more in the pipeline. A Christmas 2004 special is planned, but this will rely on contributions from readers. Details to follow shortly. http://www.rootsweb.com/~wlsccaer/ Regards, Keith.

Not to my knowledge. The area you mention is nowhere near the well known Slate Quarries of North Wales. Penrhyn Quarry, Bethesda, Dinorwic Quarry, Llanberis, Blaenau Ffestiniog ,Meirionnydd and the Nantlle Valley Quarries near Penygroes are the ones which immediately come to mind. These employed many thousands of employees in their day. Regards, TMH ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, September 06, 2004 9:27 PM Subject: Re: [CAE] Penrhyn > In a message dated 9/6/04 4:20:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > [email protected] writes: > This was one of the longest strikes on record and lasted from 1900 - 1903 > Thank you! You say "ONE of the longest..." Were there any recorded strikes > in the Conwy Valley near Dolwyddelan or Betws y Coed or Capel Curig? > Mary > > > ==== WLS-CAERNARFONSHIRE Mailing List ==== > Cewch ddanfon negeseuon Cymraeg neu Saesneg i'r rhestr hon > This list covers a bilingual area, in which messages in both Welsh and English are welcome > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 >

This was one of the longest strikes on record and lasted from 1900 - 1903. T MeirionHughes. ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, September 06, 2004 7:39 PM Subject: [CAE] Penrhyn > Hello everyone, > I'm really sorry I missed the beginning of this dialogue. What was the date > of the strike? > Mary > > > ==== WLS-CAERNARFONSHIRE Mailing List ==== > Cewch ddanfon negeseuon Cymraeg neu Saesneg i'r rhestr hon > This list covers a bilingual area, in which messages in both Welsh and English are welcome > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 >

Hi Mary The Penrhyn Lock-out started in November 1900 and ended November 1903. I do not know of any strike action in the Dolwyddelan, Betws y Coed quarries. Bill

Hi to all I have a question for more knowledgeable people about the strike. The strike went from 1900 to 1903, but when I was looking at the 1901 census today getting some information about my family - I noticed that all the neighbours (as well as my own family) are all shown as occupation - Slate Quarryman - next column - Worker. Does this mean that they may have worked in one of the other local quarries or would they have been "bradwyr's" (traitors)? I found my g.grandmother Ellen WILLIAMS nee OWENS with her 3 children (Mary Ellen, Jane and Thomas John) living with her parents, she is shown as married (rather than widowed) but no sign of her husband Robert WILLIAMS. I downloaded a few pages of who I thought he could be - but none seem to be the right one. I hope he had gone away to work rather than be a bradwyr, but who knows what any of us would do if faced with starvation. Regards Barbara

Ian Thompson's assessment of the Penrhyn Strike situation is to be applauded. What we should remember is that it was not a Black and White issue. There were those who returned to the Quarry for good and bad reasons. Some could not bear to see their half starved families, whilst others accepted the £1 bribe offered by the Squire (Punt y Gynffon) so they could enjoy a few drinks in the Pub. However, at the time both were tarred with the same brush and called BRADWYR. History has not been kind to the former because of the actions of the latter, but what should be stressed in no uncertain terms is that EVERYONE lost out by the Strike, The Squire, the Strikers who refused to return to work on a point of principal and those who swallowed their pride and did for whatever reason. It was a NO WIN Situation and that is the way the Strike should be remembered. Not with malice towards those who broke the strike and towards their children, their grandchildren and even great grandchildren. Why should the innocents of today bear a cross for the actions of their ancestors? It is time that the people of the area forgot about the mistakes of a century ago. Possibly books like Y CHWALFA, T Rowland Hughes, and more recent ones written in English have a lot to answer for. No! Neither I nor my family were interested parties. T. Meirion Huighes. ----- Original Message ----- From: "I Thompson" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, September 06, 2004 12:26 PM Subject: [CAE] bradwyr > Hi there, > I was interested to read about strike-breaking in Penrhyn. My grandmother > used to talk about my gt grandfather going out in Birkenhead in the General > Strike of 1926 to work when many others weren't doing with a red armband on. > His explanation was that at a time of poor employment, and with 10 children, > he couldn't afford to miss one day's work. I know that his decision > attracted the opprobrium of neighbours and workmates so it must have been a > difficult decision to make. Equally so in Penrhyn, I would have thought? > Ian > London SW9 > > > > ==== WLS-CAERNARFONSHIRE Mailing List ==== > Cewch ddanfon negeseuon Cymraeg neu Saesneg i'r rhestr hon > This list covers a bilingual area, in which messages in both Welsh and English are welcome > > ============================== > You can manage your RootsWeb-Review subscription from > http://newsletters.rootsweb.com/ >

In a message dated 9/6/04 4:20:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: This was one of the longest strikes on record and lasted from 1900 - 1903 Thank you! You say "ONE of the longest..." Were there any recorded strikes in the Conwy Valley near Dolwyddelan or Betws y Coed or Capel Curig? Mary

Hello everyone, I'm really sorry I missed the beginning of this dialogue. What was the date of the strike? Mary

There were strikes everywhere. Men would work different quarries at different times due to strikes. Arlene > In a message dated 9/6/04 4:20:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > [email protected] writes: > This was one of the longest strikes on record and lasted from 1900 - 1903 > Thank you! You say "ONE of the longest..." Were there any recorded > strikes > in the Conwy Valley near Dolwyddelan or Betws y Coed or Capel Curig? > Mary > > > ==== WLS-CAERNARFONSHIRE Mailing List ==== > Cewch ddanfon negeseuon Cymraeg neu Saesneg i'r rhestr hon > This list covers a bilingual area, in which messages in both Welsh and > English are welcome > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > > >

Hi My wife's grandfather was one of the miners who went on strike. He left and went down to Porth in South Wales for work as a miner. I have been told that there are some records in the N.L.Wales saying the names of the miner's who were found work in South Wales.I contacted N.L.Wales but never received an answer, can anyone verify if these records exist. Regards Alun.

Hi Arlene This looks like a really interesting book. I am going to see if I can get a copy on ebay too. I would be very interested in anything further you can share about the place. I visited there two years ago with my sister, we were only there for a day trip but we visited our grandfather's birthplace at 4 Bryn Owen Street and just went for a little hunt around as I was "off" doing the family tree thing at that time. We did find Coed Y Parc though after a lot of driving up and down and walking back and forth!! Oh - and we did have a very nice (HUGE) pub lunch in the main street there. Regards Barbara ---- Original Message ----- From: "Arlene Berta" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, September 06, 2004 8:00 AM Subject: Re: [CAE] Penrhyn > Hi Listers interested in quarrymen of North Wales. There is an excellent > book, The North Wales Quarrymen. I was able to find a copy on ebay. It > tells all about their lives and the strike. > > All the males on both sides of my family were quarrymen and were involved > in the strike. I have a cousin who's grandfather worked during the strike > and received a home to live in as a reason to work. A friend of mine, > living in Bethesda, is the granddaughter of the man that built those homes > for Lord Penhryn. She's elderly, and full of historical knowledge on the > village. > > I have been fortunate to have family and friends that know much of the > history. Bethesda has a wonderful history. Did you know pubs were only > allowed on one side of the high street as Lord Penhryn owned the buildings > on the other side. He did not allow pubs. I beleive at one time there > was something like 83 pubs in Bethesda. I'll have to check again on that > number. I have it written down, but the book is at my daughter's where I > spend my week days babysitting. > > I'll go through the book and write all the facts I have learn from an > expert on Bethesda who I had the pleasure of spending the day with last > year. He toured me around and showed me lots of interesting things. He's > written a book on Bethesda. Not sure it is available yet. I'll check. > > Definitely try and find 'The North Wales Quarrymen'. Excellent reading. > > Arlene Berta > Folsom, Ca > > > > >> Hello Barbara > >> > >> If you would be so kind and email the links I would be indebted to you > >> My father and family worked in the Llanberis quarry > >> Regards > >> -- > >> Ronald Jones > > > > Hi Ronald > > > > If you go to this page > > > > http://www.llechicymru.info/index.english.htm > > > > you are sure to find lots of really interesting information, I printed out > > the article "What I saw at Bethesda" - this was so enlightening as to how > > people lived through this strike (1900-1903). My grandfather Thomas John > > WILLIAMS was born in Bethesda in 1898 so I got a real feel of how it must > > have been for his family living there at the time. > > > > I also was on this page today and saw a pic of Llanberis quarry and how it > > used to look.... > > > > http://www.data-wales.co.uk/ > > > > And on this page, I found my grandfather's two sister's enrolled at the > > local school, also gives you another feel for the "great strike" which I > > didn't know about until just very recently. > > > > http://www.gtj.org.uk/ > > > > > > An interesting page about how slate is used today......... > > > > http://www.inigojones.co.uk/ > > > > Kindest Regards > > Barbara in Sydney via Liverpool > > > > > > > > ==== WLS-CAERNARFONSHIRE Mailing List ==== > > Gwynedd Family History Society > > 36 Y Wern Y Felinheli, Gwynedd LL56 4TXX > > [email protected] or [email protected] > > > > ============================== > > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > > > > > > > > > ==== WLS-CAERNARFONSHIRE Mailing List ==== > Cewch ddanfon negeseuon Cymraeg neu Saesneg i'r rhestr hon > This list covers a bilingual area, in which messages in both Welsh and English are welcome > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > > >

Hi there, I was interested to read about strike-breaking in Penrhyn. My grandmother used to talk about my gt grandfather going out in Birkenhead in the General Strike of 1926 to work when many others weren't doing with a red armband on. His explanation was that at a time of poor employment, and with 10 children, he couldn't afford to miss one day's work. I know that his decision attracted the opprobrium of neighbours and workmates so it must have been a difficult decision to make. Equally so in Penrhyn, I would have thought? Ian London SW9

I have a cousin, now 62 years old, who is still embarrassed that his grandfather worked the Penrhyn strike. People did what they felt was best to support their large families. Arlene > Hi there, > I was interested to read about strike-breaking in Penrhyn. My grandmother > used to talk about my gt grandfather going out in Birkenhead in the > General > Strike of 1926 to work when many others weren't doing with a red armband > on. > His explanation was that at a time of poor employment, and with 10 > children, > he couldn't afford to miss one day's work. I know that his decision > attracted the opprobrium of neighbours and workmates so it must have been > a > difficult decision to make. Equally so in Penrhyn, I would have thought? > Ian > London SW9 > > > > ==== WLS-CAERNARFONSHIRE Mailing List ==== > Cewch ddanfon negeseuon Cymraeg neu Saesneg i'r rhestr hon > This list covers a bilingual area, in which messages in both Welsh and > English are welcome > > ============================== > You can manage your RootsWeb-Review subscription from > http://newsletters.rootsweb.com/ > > >

Hi Barbara, Many left to work in other quarries, and many went south to the coal mines in Glamorgan. My family went to Glamorgan, where my aunt and uncles were born. Many left for the US to work the mines. Have a look for him in Glamorgan, as well as the other slate quarry towns. I do know many scabs received homes in Llanllechid on Carneddi Road. It was an awful time for all of them. Arlene > Hi to all > > I have a question for more knowledgeable people about the strike. The > strike went from 1900 to 1903, but when I was looking at the 1901 census > today getting some information about my family - I noticed that all the > neighbours (as well as my own family) are all shown as occupation - Slate > Quarryman - next column - Worker. > > Does this mean that they may have worked in one of the other local > quarries > or would they have been "bradwyr's" (traitors)? > > I found my g.grandmother Ellen WILLIAMS nee OWENS with her 3 children > (Mary > Ellen, Jane and Thomas John) living with her parents, she is shown as > married (rather than widowed) but no sign of her husband Robert WILLIAMS. > I > downloaded a few pages of who I thought he could be - but none seem to be > the right one. I hope he had gone away to work rather than be a bradwyr, > but who knows what any of us would do if faced with starvation. > > Regards > Barbara > > > > ==== WLS-CAERNARFONSHIRE Mailing List ==== > Cewch ddanfon negeseuon Cymraeg neu Saesneg i'r rhestr hon > This list covers a bilingual area, in which messages in both Welsh and > English are welcome > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > > >

Hi Listers interested in quarrymen of North Wales. There is an excellent book, The North Wales Quarrymen. I was able to find a copy on ebay. It tells all about their lives and the strike. All the males on both sides of my family were quarrymen and were involved in the strike. I have a cousin who's grandfather worked during the strike and received a home to live in as a reason to work. A friend of mine, living in Bethesda, is the granddaughter of the man that built those homes for Lord Penhryn. She's elderly, and full of historical knowledge on the village. I have been fortunate to have family and friends that know much of the history. Bethesda has a wonderful history. Did you know pubs were only allowed on one side of the high street as Lord Penhryn owned the buildings on the other side. He did not allow pubs. I beleive at one time there was something like 83 pubs in Bethesda. I'll have to check again on that number. I have it written down, but the book is at my daughter's where I spend my week days babysitting. I'll go through the book and write all the facts I have learn from an expert on Bethesda who I had the pleasure of spending the day with last year. He toured me around and showed me lots of interesting things. He's written a book on Bethesda. Not sure it is available yet. I'll check. Definitely try and find 'The North Wales Quarrymen'. Excellent reading. Arlene Berta Folsom, Ca >> Hello Barbara >> >> If you would be so kind and email the links I would be indebted to you >> My father and family worked in the Llanberis quarry >> Regards >> -- >> Ronald Jones > > Hi Ronald > > If you go to this page > > http://www.llechicymru.info/index.english.htm > > you are sure to find lots of really interesting information, I printed out > the article "What I saw at Bethesda" - this was so enlightening as to how > people lived through this strike (1900-1903). My grandfather Thomas John > WILLIAMS was born in Bethesda in 1898 so I got a real feel of how it must > have been for his family living there at the time. > > I also was on this page today and saw a pic of Llanberis quarry and how it > used to look.... > > http://www.data-wales.co.uk/ > > And on this page, I found my grandfather's two sister's enrolled at the > local school, also gives you another feel for the "great strike" which I > didn't know about until just very recently. > > http://www.gtj.org.uk/ > > > An interesting page about how slate is used today......... > > http://www.inigojones.co.uk/ > > Kindest Regards > Barbara in Sydney via Liverpool > > > > ==== WLS-CAERNARFONSHIRE Mailing List ==== > Gwynedd Family History Society > 36 Y Wern Y Felinheli, Gwynedd LL56 4TXX > [email protected] or [email protected] > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > > >