> 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. Hi Arlene, Wendy and all, This whole thread has been SO interesting. It kind of adds a bit of "meat to the bones." Every one of my ancestors from the Llandegai area has so far been a slate quarryman and I have learnt so much just recently. My g.g. grandfather was a Slate Waggon (sic) Driver in 1864, do you know what this kind of job would have entailed? Well obviously driving a Slate Wagon (!!), but how was it powered etc? Was it just some kind of cart or more like a rail train? On the birth certificate of his son, they are shown as living at Cilgeraint Incline, Llandegai, is this a "village" or just the name of a street? Arlene, I have been on eBay and looked for the book you recommend, but it doesn't seem to be available in Australia, I will have to do a wider search, can you tell us a little about it? Is it just concerned with the Great Strike or does it give an overall picture of life for these men? Which has just made me think of something else..............were girls ever employed in the quarry as I see you mention 8 year old boys working there and I know that both boys and girls were employed in say the cotton mills and factories back in the "good old days." Thanks and Regards Barbara

Dear Barbara, I think Cilgeraint is a street, Llandegai is a pretty, small village. Women usually worked in service, there wasn't a lot of opportunities for women in an otherwise rural area..not like Lancashire with the mills. I think it's held the women's movement back in Wales. I've got a couple of books about the slate quarry's. I think you could get them on inter library loan. All the best from the outskirts of Caernarfon, Wendy -----Original Message----- From: Barbara Williams [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 09 September 2004 20:28 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [CAE] Re: debate on strikes at Penrhyn and other quarries > 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. Hi Arlene, Wendy and all, This whole thread has been SO interesting. It kind of adds a bit of "meat to the bones." Every one of my ancestors from the Llandegai area has so far been a slate quarryman and I have learnt so much just recently. My g.g. grandfather was a Slate Waggon (sic) Driver in 1864, do you know what this kind of job would have entailed? Well obviously driving a Slate Wagon (!!), but how was it powered etc? Was it just some kind of cart or more like a rail train? On the birth certificate of his son, they are shown as living at Cilgeraint Incline, Llandegai, is this a "village" or just the name of a street? Arlene, I have been on eBay and looked for the book you recommend, but it doesn't seem to be available in Australia, I will have to do a wider search, can you tell us a little about it? Is it just concerned with the Great Strike or does it give an overall picture of life for these men? Which has just made me think of something else..............were girls ever employed in the quarry as I see you mention 8 year old boys working there and I know that both boys and girls were employed in say the cotton mills and factories back in the "good old days." Thanks and Regards Barbara ==== WLS-CAERNARFONSHIRE Mailing List ==== Gwynedd Family History Society www.gwynedd.fsbusiness.co.uk/ ============================== 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