Beyond Red Dragons O

INFORMATION TO USERS

This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer.

The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction.

In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion.

Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps.

ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. NOTE TO USERS

This reproduction is the best copy available.

UMT

CULTURAL EXPRESSION AMONG THE WELSH IN THE

NINETEENTH-CENTURY SLATE QUARRY COMMUNITY OF DELTA,

PENNSYLVANIA

Margaret L. Vetare

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University o f Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts with a major in Early American Culture

Winter 2003

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1412295

__ ___ ® UMI

UMI Microform 1412295 Copyright 2003 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.

ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. BEYOND RED DRAGONS ON STREET SIGNS:

CULTURAL EXPRESSION AMONG THE WELSH IN THE

NINETEENTH-CENTURY SLATE QUARRY COMMUNITY OF DELTA,

PENNSYLVANIA

Margaret L. Vetare

Approved: Bernard L. Herman, PftrD. Professor in charge o f thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee

Approved: 0 . JamesOurtis, PhiX Director of the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture

Approved: Mark W. Huddleston, PhJD. Dean of the College of Arts and Science

Approved: 3 Conrado M. Gempesaw IT, PhJX Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Planning

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many people and institutions have contributed to this work. A Lois F. McNeil

fellowship, as well as the support o f my family, made possible my studies in the

Winterthur Program in Early American Culture. At Winterthur, librarian Neville

Thompson took an active interest in my work and directed me to important source

material, while Program Director James C. Curtis provided encouragement for my topic.

My colleagues Judy Giuriceo and Ann Kirschner shared their clarity of thought and gave

generously of their time and scholarship throughout the research and writing process.

In Delta, Pennsylvania, Don and Ruth Ann Robinson made the holdings of the

Old Line Museum available for study, and guided me with their comprehensive

knowledge of local history. Their unflagging dedication to preserving Delta’s heritage is

an inspiration. In Cardiff, Maryland, the Heaps family kindly gave me access to the

interior of their building, once row housing for quarry workers. Tom Schaeffer of Penn

State shared his deep knowledge o f the quarry area with me. I would like to

acknowledge the graciousness o f all of the residents of the hamlet of Coulsontown; the

architectural interest of their homes has brought many curious guests to their quiet

neighborhood.

In Llanberis, Wales, Gordon Hartshorn escorted me through old quarry sites,

arranged a visit to the Welsh Slate Museum during the off-season, and introduced me to

iii

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. several former quarry workers. Roger Davis o f the Inigo Jones Slate Works, Groeslon,

took special care to explain the tools and techniques for working slate. In Caernarvon,

Bobby and Margaret Haines hosted me in their home and took me to many churchyards

and to the villages whence Peach Bottom’s quarriers emigrated. Tegwyn Jones reviewed

my translations and offered helpful alternatives when I had erred.

A grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Scholars-in-

Residence program supported my research and enabled me to draw on a body of oral

histories at the State Archives in Harrisburg, where Brent Glass and Linda Shopes were

particularly helpful. During that time, John and Fiona Patterson took me into their home

and provided a nurturing environment in which to work.

Mimi Fitzhugh drew the map of quarry regions in North America and North

Wales, and also assisted with photography and graphics issues. Allen Williams of the

Chester Granite Quarry in Massachusetts was my teacher in a week-long class on

ornamental stonecutting. Mr. Williams accommodated both my rudimentary skill level

and my special interest in slate. Bill Ochs provided editorial and graphics assistance, as

well as the support I needed to bring this effort to completion.

Finally, my thanks go to Bernard L. Herman, who introduced me to Delta and

entrusted me with its cultural riches. Professor Herman’s guidance was marked by

phenomenal depth of knowledge, humor, creativity, and patience. He let me wander in

directions I found compelling, but never let me get lost in the woods. To him I say dtolch

ytt faw n .

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES ...... vi ABSTRACT...... xi

Chapter 1 RED DRAGONS, RAMPANT...... 1 2 MANSARD ROOFS AND CORNER CUPBOARDS...... LO 3 “THE ROCK DOES NOT UNDERSTAND ENGLISH” ...... 26 4 POETRY IN STONE...... 47 5 SUBSTANCE AND STYLE...... 86 6 CONCLUSION...... 145

APPENDIX: SAMPLE INVENTORIES AND VENDUE LISTS...... 149 REFERENCES ...... 155 BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 167

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES

Figure I Slate quarries in North Wales and North America ...... 8

Figure 2 Peach Bottom Township and Slate Ridge ...... 9

Figure 3 Main Street residence, Peach Bottom Township ...... 17

Figure 4 Main Street residence, Peach Bottom Township ...... 18

Figure 5 Quarryworker’s cottage, Coulsontown ...... 19

Figure 6 Coulsontown, showing three quarryworkers’ cottages ...... 20

Figure 7 Quarryworker’s house, Gwynedd, W ales ...... 21

Figure 8 View o f Delta, Pennsylvania, 1888 ...... 22

Figure 9 Frame house with slate shingle siding, West Bangor ...... 23

Figure 10 Former quarryworkers’ row housing, Cardiff, Maryland ...... 24

Figure 11 Nineteenth-century quarryworkers’ row housing, Gwynedd, Wales 25

Figure 12 Farm buildings with slate roofs near Delta ...... 39

Figure 13 Main Street residence with patterned slate roof, Delta ...... 40

Figure 14 Slate plaque for Bethesda Church, signed by R. E. Evans ...... 41

Figure 15 Carved slate gateposts, Main Street, Peach Bottom Township ------.42

Figure 16 Slate fencing, Caernarvonshire, W ales ...... 43

Figure 17 Slate clock made by Humphrey Pritchard ------.44

Figure 18 Miniature slate clock and bureau, Museum of Welsh Life — ...... 45

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 19 Wooden, fretwork clock ...... 46

Figure 20 Griffith Jones gravestone, Slateville ...... 61

Figure 21 Griffith Jones, detail of eng lyn ...... 62

Figure 22 Henry Williams (d. 1870) gravestone, Slateville ...... 63

Figure 23 John Griffiths gravestone, Slateville ...... 64

Figure 24 Edward and Margaret Lloyd gravestone, Slateville ...... 65

Figure 25 Mary and David Williams gravestone, Slateville ...... 66

Figure 26 Magdalene Thomas gravestone, Slateville ...... 67

Figure 27 Mary Evans gravestone, Slateville ...... 68

Figure 28 Henry Williams (d. 1868) gravestone, Slateville ...... 69

Figure 29 William J. Jones gravestone, Slateville ...... 70

Figure 30 Richiard E. Jones gravestone, Slateville ...... 71

Figure 31 Jane Jones gravestone, Slateville ...... 72

Figure 32 Margaret Williams gravestone, Slateville ...... 73

Figure 33 Evan Davies gravestone, Slateville ...... 74

Figure 34 James Williams gravestone, detail of englyn, Slateville...... 75

Figure 35 David Lloyd gravestone, Slateville ...... 76

Figure 36 Robert M. Evans gravestone, Slateville ...... 77

Figure 37 Elias Rowlands gravestone, Slateville ...... 78

Figure 38 Winifred Jones gravestone, Slateville ...... 79

Figure 39 Ann Jones gravestone, Slateville ...... 80

Figure 40 Elizabeth Williams gravestone, Slateville ...... 81

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 41 Willie Jones and Owen Jones gravestones, Slateville ...... 82

Figure 42 Richard Jones gravestone, Slateville ...... 83

Figure 43 John Williams gravestone, Slateville ...... 84

Figure 44 Gravestone in Llanberis, Wales, with street address o f decedent ...... 85

Figure 45 Slateville Presbyterian Church...... 103

Figure 46 Rehoboth Welsh Church(Capel Rehoboth), Peach Bottom Township 104

Figure 47 Slateville Cemetery, with surrounding farmland ...... 105

Figure 48 Slateville Cemetery and Church ...... 106

Figure 49 “White bronze” memorial, Slateville ...... 107

Figure 50 Contrasting black slate and white marble stones, Slateville ...... 108

Figure 51 Gravestone with scrolled pediment, Llanberis, Wales ...... 109

Figure 52 Humphrey Lloyd table tomb, Slateville ...... 110

Figure 53 Table tomb, Llanberis, W ales ...... 111

Figure 54 Evans and Rowlands family “writing desk” gravemarker, Slateville ..112

Figure 55 John Edwards obelisk, Slateville ______113

Figure 56 Ellen Evans cartouche, Slateville ...... L14

Figure 57 Ann Jane Williams plinth gravemarker, Slateville ...... 115

Figure 58 T. S. Williamson marble obelisk, Slateville ...... 116

Figure 59 Slate obelisk, Caernarvon, Wales ...... 117

Figure 60 Scribe lines evident on Griffith Jones gravestone, Slateville ------118

Figure 61 Foulk children's gravestone, Slateville ...... 119

Figure 62 Ornamental center-points on gravestone, Llanberis, Wales ------120

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 63 William W. Morris gravestone, Slateville ...... 121

Figure 64 Michael Prichard gravestone, detail of superscript “e,” Slateville — 122

Figure 65 Jane Thomas gravestone, Slateville ...... 123

Figure 66 Elizabeth Jones gravestone, Slateville ...... 124

Figure 67 Jane Williams gravestone, Slateville ...... 125

Figure 68 Ellen Ann Foulks gravestone, Slateville ...... 126

Figure 69 Thompson Brown gravestone, Slateville ...... 126

Figure 70 John Tyson gravestone, detail of willow and um, Slateville ...... 127

Figure 71 Willow motif on gravestone, Llanberis, Wales ...... 128

Figure 72 William Roberts gravestone, Slateville ...... 129

Figure 73 John Roberts gravestone, Slateville ...... 130

Figure 74 Maggie Evans gravestone, Slateville ...... 131

Figure 75 William Morris gravestone, Slateville ...... 131

Figure 76 Hugh Hughes gravestone, Slateville ...... 132

Figure 77 Hugh Hughes, detail of “Whitaker & Swope” signature ...... 133

Figure 78 Mary Williams (d. 1858) gravestone, Slateville ...... 134

Figure 79 Mary Williams (d. 1902) and William M. Williams gravestones, Slateville ...... 135

Figure 80 William M. Williams, detail o f sunflower ------136

Figure 81 Mary Williams (d. 1902), detail o f sunflower ...... 137

Figure 82 William M. Williams, detail of rose ...... 138

Figure 83 Mary Williams (d. 1902), detail o f rose ...... 139

Figure 84 William M. Williams, detail of Bible ...... 140

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 85 Mary Williams (

Figure 86 William M. Williams, detail of inscription ...... 142

Figure 87 Mary Williams (d. 1902), detail of inscription ...... 143

Figure 88 Mary Williams (d. 1902) gravestone, showing superscript “e” ...... 144

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT

This thesis explores the nature o f cultural expression within a Welsh slate

quarrying community in nineteenth-century York County, Pennsylvania. It takes a

material culture approach, assuming that physical objects are invested with meaning by

the people who make or use them, and seeks the material manifestations of Welsh

identity in Delta, Pennsylvania, and the areas that constitute the Peach Bottom quarry

community.

The work is the product of original archival research into wills, probate

inventories, and vendue lists in York County; field work documenting architecture and

gravestones in the Peach Bottom community and North Wales; translation of Welsh

language gravestones for one Delta cemetery; and analysis of oral histories taken in the

Peach Bottom community in 1976.

The study concludes that slate gravestones were the primary material expression

o f Welsh ethnicity because they encompassed key cultural values of language arts,

religious belief, and skill at working with slate.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Chapter I

RED DRAGONS, RAMPANT

Residents of Delta, Pennsylvania, like to honor the borough’s Welsh heritage and

the related history of its local slate industry. Rampant red dragons, emblematic of Wales,

adom each street sign in the borough, and many a house’s front door sports a plaque that

reads “croeso ”—“welcome” in the Welsh tongue. In the spring and the fall, Rehoboth

Welsh Church"Capel ( Rehoboth ”) sponsors a Welsh homecoming that brings back far-

flung former residents for a gymanfa ganu , or hymn-sing. The gymanfa is always

followed by a te bach (“little tea”) reception featuring tea, bara brith, and Welsh cakes—

small griddle cakes rich in butter, raisins, and spice. In 1997, Delta’s Old Line Museum

and the Welsh Church initiated the Delta & Cardiff Heritage Festival, an annual event

held each October that attracts several thousand visitors and focuses on the slate industry.

Through these and similar activities, the story of the Welsh who came in the nineteenth

century to work in Delta’s slate quarries has a firm foothold in the community’s

consciousness.

The dragons, hymn-sings, “croeso ” signs, and Welsh cakes reflect efforts made

in the second half of the twentieth century to identity as Welsh, a town, whose Welsh

population was at its peak in the late nineteenth century. They are generic emblems of

Welsh identity in common use by Welsh Americans or towns in the United States with a

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. history o f Welsh inhabitants, akin perhaps to the shamrock, St. Patrick’s Day

celebrations, claddagh rings and soda bread among Irish Americans. They are

unequivocal and uncontroversial and are perceived as representing Welsh national, not

regional, customs. This study is the result of my desire to understand what material

emblems of ethnicity—if any—might have been used by the nineteenth-century quarry

families themselves, thereby adding a dimension o f specificity to this story o f Welsh

settlement that can not be communicated by red dragons alone.

In the 1840s, a wave of Welsh immigration began to York County, Pennsylvania,

that would continue until about 1900 (Figure I). The immigrants came almost

exclusively from North Wales to work in the slate quarries then being developed in

northeastern Maryland and southeastern Pennsylvania, where a ridge of slate

approximately thirteen miles long extended from Harford County, Maryland, through

York County and under the Susquehanna River into Lancaster County.1

Many of the North Wales quarrymen—singly, or with their families—chose to

settle in York County’s Peach Bottom Township, which, along with Whiteford Township

on the border in Maryland, encompassed the main areas of quarrying activity (Figure 2).

They established themselves primarily in two communities—Delta and West Bangor—

within Peach Bottom Township, and two communities—Cardiff and Whiteford—within

Whiteford Township.1 The slate extracted from this locale was known as Peach Bottom

slate, and while the various quarry companies had their own names (Peerless, Eureka,

Cambria, Welsh, Susquehanna, York 8c Peach Bottom slate companies, for example) to

distinguish their business from that o f their near neighbors, they all referred to their slate

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. as “Peach Bottom” so that buyers could identify the high qualify of the product.3 In

discussing these communities, I will follow suit and hereafter refer to the culturally and

economically unified area collectively as the Peach Bottom quarry community, and will

refer to specific municipalities when necessary.4

The quality of Peach Bottom slate had garnered international acclaim when it was

judged best roofing slate in the world at the 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition in London.

To meet the demand, the quarries in Pennsylvania needed an ever-larger skilled labor

force that could successfully prize the slate from the ridge and process it into usable

products. In addition to highly skilled workers, the quarrying business also required

unskilled laborers, and by the 1880s the industry supported a Welsh population o f around

five hundred people. Fueling the immigration to Pennsylvania was the labor strife in

many of the large quarries in North Wales, where quarry owners were not the Welsh

themselves but English capitalists whose profits rarely returned to the communities that

generated them.5

The quarriers were settling in apart of Pennsylvania that had been established in

the eighteenth century primarily by Scots-Irish who farmed the region and developed

rural trades such as milling and tanning. While the presence of slate in the Peach Bottom

area was known in the eighteenth century, inhabitants extracted the rock only on a very

limited basis, and worked the slabs primarily into thin gravestones and, toward the end of

the century, into small quantities of roofing shingles for local use. Until the construction

of the Susquehanna Canal in the 1830s, no viable means of transport beyond the local

market existed as an incentive to exploit the slate veins on a large commercial scale.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. When, the Welsh laborers began arriving in the 1840s to work in the fledgling industry,

they found themselves face to face with a predominantly agricultural population that

differed from the Welsh not only in occupational orientation but also in language and

religious affiliation.

Although the literature on nineteenth-century immigration has typically assumed

that acculturation and assimilation were easy and swift for people coming from Britain,

the experiences o f the Peach Bottom Welsh offer a counterpoint to that view. Like other,

non-British immigrant groups, the Welsh community made decisions about what to

preserve, what to cast off, and how to present themselves in their new abode. And like

the children of other immigrants, the children bom in America of Welsh parents refined

those decisions for their own generation.

It is the assumption of this thesis that the Welsh of the Peach Bottom quarry

community strategically used material culture as an essential tool for the maintenance and

expression of ethnic identity. Contemporary observers of the Welsh in Delta and the

surrounding area commented solely on nonmaterial expressions such as their use o f the

Welsh language and their ardent devotion to Christianity; a distinctive material culture

was either not apparent or not understood or not perceived as threatening by the early

historians o f the town. It is with fascination, not the scom heaped on so many immigrant

groups in the late nineteenth century, that John Gibson describes the Welsh in West

Bangor in 1886:

The Welsh, who began to locate in Peach Bottom as early as 1843,coming from the slate region o f North Wales, are an intelligent and industrious people. Many of them have become remarkably prosperous as operators o f the mines. There are in all 500 Welsh people in this community who

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. speak a language which, had its origin as far back as the sixth century, or 700 years before the origin of the English language. They are representatives o f an ancient Celtic race, o f which there are 1,500,000 in Wales, and 400,000 in America, mostly in the West. Welsh children are all taught English in their native country as well as in America. In Peach Bottom they attend the public schools; most of them are bright and intelligent pupils. They are taught, however, to hold in great reverence their native tongue, scarcely a word o f which is identical with the English. All of their religious services are conducted in Welsh in a solemn and impressive manner. There is no nationality more faithfully devoted to the cause o f Christianity. As a people, the Welsh are matter of fact, and do not read frivolous stories. There are no works on infidelity published in the Welsh language, and none were ever written by a Welshman.6

Nineteenth century historians were not alone in emphasizing language and

religious devotion as earmarks o f the Welsh in America. Oral history interviews

conducted in the 1970s with residents o f the quarry community also made plain the link

between the Welsh immigrants and those two nonmaterial expressions of ethnicity. Time

and again, residents of both Welsh and non-Welsh ancestry remarked on the religious

fervor of the Welsh settlers, noting their attendance at three services each Sunday as well

as at the midweek evening religious instruction known as the seiat. Alma Orr, who

wasn’t Welsh, associated the Welsh with the quarries and with church-going: “I would

see the Welsh people and know that they worked in the quarry, and I would also, you

always saw them going to church Sunday evenings at about ten minutes of six. You

would always see the various Welsh people walk up the street... As a child I thought that

was strange to go to church at six o’clock but of course I became very accustomed to it

because we saw them every evening.”7 Edith Roberts Jones recollected coming over the

hill from Whiteford to Delta three times every Sunday: ‘Ten o’clock m the morning we

had preaching. Two o’clock in the afternoon was Sunday School, and then six o’clock in

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. the evening. .. We knew we had to do it. That’s what we were supposed to do, that’s the

o way we were brought up, that we were to go to church on Sunday, three times a day.”

But because clear—if short-lived—evidence of specifically Welsh material

culture exists (and existed at the time the early historians were making their observations)

in the residential architecture o f Coulsontown, a diminutive hamlet on the outskirts of

Delta, it seemed reasonable to seek other material expressions of ethnicity among the

Welsh settlers. This study finds that expression primarily in the slate gravestones of the

community cemetery in Delta, gravestones that are distinctly Welsh in their material,

profiles, motifs, and inscriptions. The study suggests that the logic behind the

immigrants’ use of the gravestones may be found in the Welsh cultural emphasis on

religion, language, and skill with working slate. Further, the study demonstrates how an

art form flourished rather than declined when separated from its mother country, and

suggests that this expansiveness came about precisely because so much cultural energy

was channeled into it.

This work draws on my field observations of cemeteries and architecture in the

Peach Bottom quarry community and in North Wales, as well as on archival research into

written documents including probate inventories, vendue lists, census records, and

account books.9 In addition, the study includes verbal testimony of Peach Bottom

residents gleaned primarily from a set of oral histories taken in the 1970s by two

University of Delaware students.

This analysis discovers the ways in which the Peach Bottom Welsh used material

goods to set themselves apart, in selective arenas, from non-Welsh residents in the area.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The study then looks one step farther to see that their dependence on particular forms of

material culture for the maintenance of ethnic identity was laden with a logic and

meaning as revelatory of Welsh immigrant culture as the material culture itself

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Bangor Liverpool

Llanberis Nantlle^ Portmadoc

WALES

ME Bristol

Monson

Poultney Granville Boston NY

PA Northhampton/Lehigh

a slate quarries o primary ports

Figure 1 Slate quarries in North Wales and North America. Courtesy of M. Fitzhugh.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

mtvt Atlas o fYork Co„ J. I'T.r r . NMmifi ffim /irfi . i y,fanw**i (n tr tVfyrr OTTmlSMll’O. An^' rA, , ^K , rA, / ^ 4m fithMf #*» #*» V« A'fM'W « A'fM'W V« #•’//vri< M» AWf.r AWf.r IT0M vA)W#*< Untruth f,i Untruth s*~rr* fit fini<«*rT\jn i/« (Philadelphia: (Philadelphia: Co,), & Whitman, Pomeroy, 1876, bounded Township is Bottom Peach ’ J >. \ Figure 2 2 Figure and Ridge, Slate Township Bottom Peach Nichols, Beach Detail from by the Susquehanna River on the east and by Maryland on the onsouth, the Maryland and by east on the River the Susquehanna by Pennsylvania ■tJhltmj/i,0Hfti k'll.t.K vo

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Chapter 2

MANSARD ROOFS AND CORNER CUPBOARDS

Over the past several decades, material culture scholars—whether treating

ethnicity or not—have focused heavily on two categories o f artifacts: architecture, and

household furnishings such as furniture, textiles, and decorative or utilitarian wares of

ceramics, glass, and metaL Probate inventories and other legal records that reveal the

extent and nature of personal belongings (and extant household artifacts themselves) have

been enthusiastically embraced by historians wanting to document the lives of a broader

spectrum of the population than can be studied through the narratives and memoirs o f the

upper classes. While a few researchers have extended the traditional boundaries of

material culture studies by looking at, for example, agricultural field patterns, most have

been firmly rooted in the sources of architecture and household goods.10

The difficulty in applying this approach to ethnicity studies is that not all cultures

value material goods, or the same types o f material goods, equally. Thus in trying to

compare relative status or rates of assimilation in a pluralistic community by examining a

predetermined set of objects—such as buildings or furniture—a cultural bias may color

the findings o f the research. A. more useful approach, is to seek an understanding o f the

fundamental values of a culture, and then to look for the physical manifestations of those

values.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. In the Peach Bottom quarry community, the search for evidence of Welsh ethnic

expression in architecture and probate inventories yields little to indicate that the Welsh

saw themselves—or wished to be seen—as distinct from their non-Welsh neighbors. A

walk down Main Street in Delta or Cardiff today reveals a stunning array of largely

unaltered, eclectic, late Victorian frame residences, most with slate roofs, and many with

slate foundations and slate doorsteps (Figures 3,4). Many are trimmed with fanciful

commercial millwork of the era. Regardless of the ethnicity of the nineteenth-century

builder or inhabitant, and notwithstanding the profligate use of slate, the residences and

businesses of Main Street Delta and Cardiff are essentially the residences and businesses

o f any northeastern United States boomtown circa 1880—1900.

Delta and Cardiff s Main Street buildings stand in sharp contrast to the earliest

quarry housing in the area, four examples o f which survive today in the hamlet of

Coulsontown. The Coulsontown houses, made of a pinkish-orange local stone called

Cardiff conglomerate, replicate almost exactly a cottage form found in North Wales that

formed the basis for many Welsh workers’ cottages in the eighteenth and nineteenth

centuries (Figures 5 ,6 ,7).lt These houses, and the neighborhood they constitute,

represent a remnant o f the early phase of Welsh settlement in the 1840s and 1850s. As

more and more quarries commenced operations atop the slate ridge, the proximate

community of West Bangor developed and grew in size and importance so that in the

1860s and 1870s it became the locus o f new Welsh settlement. Not until the railroad

made its way to Delta in the late 1870s did Delta become the more important town,

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. incorporating as a borough in 1880 and eclipsing West Bangor as a center of business and

a desirable place to live (Figure 8).lz

Many, if not most, o f the structures that once stood along the main street o f West

Bangor have disappeared. The imagination struggles now to envision a time when

dozens of frame buildings lined the street, close upon one another, much like Delta today.

It is not possible to know precisely what each structure looked like, but extant buildings,

nineteenth-century narrative descriptions, and oral histories suggest there were no stone

cottages built in West Bangor. One building on Quarry Road currently owned by Ken

and Valerie Griffith features the interesting use o f slate shingles on two sides of the house

(Figure 9). This technique o f slate shingle siding is occasionally seen in North Wales.13

In Cardiff, Maryland, the Heaps Oil Company on Green Marble Road is quartered

in what was once connected row housing for quarry workers (Figure 10).t4 Only two

units of the original three remain; Mr. Marshall Heaps recalled the deterioration of the

third unit long ago.15 Like the Coulsontown cottages, they are built of stone and follow a

typical Welsh cottage floor plan, and like the Coulsontown cottages, the Cardiff row

housing is attributed to the first wave of quarriers prior to the 1860s.t6 One other

freestanding Welsh-style cottage remains on Green Marble Road, and local historian Don

Robinson recollects yet another double cottage located between Green Marble Road and

Main Street that was tom down in the twentieth century.17

In Delta itself there is nothing to indicate that the Welsh desired to maintain the

familiar worker’s cottage beyond the initial period of settlement, and this despite the

continued immigration o f Welsh quarriers to Delta beyond the turn o f the century.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Architectural scholar Thomas Schaeffer considers Delta’s Main Street a “suburban”

retreat from the industry of the quarries, appealing to the wealthier quarry owners and

managers; it runs parallel to but northwest of the slate ridge, while West Bangor and

Coulsontown are situated virtually on or just south o f the ridge. This might suggest that

only the wealthier Welsh, feeling more closely aligned with established, prominent non-

Welsh citizens than with fellow countrymen of a lower economic status, embraced

American building styles so earnestly. However, Delta’s Main Street includes housing of

all levels, from modest duplexes to grand, mansard-roofed Second Empire domiciles.

While the 1900 U.S. Census reveals that most of the laboring Welsh resided in West

Bangor, there were nonetheless Welsh slate splitters and dressers living on Main Street

alongside the wealthier quarry owners and managers and the merchants, hotel keepers,

and physicians.18 In both West Bangor and Delta, the built environment departed

sharply—and quickly—from that of the Gwynedd quarry towns the Welsh would have

remembered, within a generation of the first arrivals and even as new immigrants arrived.

O f course there can be many factors contributing to the abandonment of

traditional building forms. Probably the most influential is economy. By the time Delta

was flourishing, the railroad would have been supplying locals with an abundance of

milled lumber that would have been cheap and easy to build with. The possibility that

emigrants leaving Wales for Pennsylvania in the 1880s rather than the 1840s carried with

them stylistic changes they had witnessed in Wales; however, the late nineteenth-century

architecture of quarry towns like Bethesda, Bangor, and Llanberis in Wales does not bear

this out (Figure 11). Climate suitability can. be a factor affecting the maintenance of

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. traditional building forms in a new environment, but in this case the Pennsylvania climate

would not have presented difficulties, hi short, any number of good reasons for not

maintaining Welsh house forms might exist, but if architectural styles had held strong

inherent cultural value the settlers would have built them anyway. In order for a cultural

trait—material or otherwise—to be selected as a badge of ethnicity, it must be viewed as

a meaningful symbol.

A building can, of course, be inhabited in ways that reflect the ethnicity of the

occupant, even if there is no external appearance of difference. Linked to this alternate

usage are the presence, function, and location of household and personal goods within the

building. Ethnic preferences can sometimes be detected in the probate inventories and

vendue lists of a decedent; however, the studies that have traced these patterns have

typically focused on towns or regions in which the different ethnic groups had widely

divergent cultural habits, such as the English and the Spanish.19 Identifying distinct

ethnic behavior through inventories of goods becomes more challenging when studying

groups that are at least ostensibly more closely linked, as with British immigrants (the so-

called “invisible immigrants”) in North America.20

A comparison of probate inventories of Welsh and Welsh-American decedents

with those of their Scots-Irish and Anglo-American neighbors in the Peach Bottom

quarry community reveals that among decedents with comparable material wealth, the

inventories are indistinguishable along ethnic lines. The same furniture forms, household

textiles, and decorative objects, in approximately the same quantities, appear regardless

o f the ethnicity of the deceased. The same can be said of the goods recorded on the

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. public vendue lists.21 No difference is discernible, for example, between the chairs, the

washstands, or the comer cupboards o f David E. Williams, a Welsh-born quarryman who

lived in Coulsontown and died in 1887, and those same objects listed on the 1889

inventory of Anne M. Norris, who lived in Delta and came from one o f the oldest Scots*

Irish families in the area. No difference is discernible between the lounge o f Welsh

quarryman Griffith W. Hughes (d. L900), valued at $1.00, and the lounge o f Scots-Irish

Elizabeth Pyle (d. 1903), valued at $1.50; between his $2.50 cook stove and hers valued

at $3.00; or between his $.50 looking glass and hers valued at $.75 (see Appendix for

sample inventories and vendues).

Once again one might suspect the coming of the railroad—and the mass-produced

factory goods it brought for one and all to purchase—as the culprit behind the pan-ethnic

household furnishings. But culturally specific behavior for any ethnic group in Peach

Bottom, if it occurred, is no more visible in the inventories than it is in post-1860

architecture. Of course, probate inventories have never been a research panacea.22 For

example, if a non-Welsh appraiser were not familiar enough with a particular Welsh

furniture or clothing form to give it a Welsh designation, he would no doubt have listed it

as its closest familiar corollary. However, because of social and neighborhood networks,

the appraisers of Welsh decedents’ estates were in fact other Welshmen and those of

Scots-Irish decedents were other Scots-Irish in all but two o f the thirty-seven inventories

examined. Furthermore, neither extant materials in Delta’s Old Line Museum nor the

oral testimony of Peach Bottom’s Welsh residents supports the presence o f very many

objects made in Wales and brought to the United States or o f objects made by Welsh

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. settlers in the United States.23 This lack of documentary, oral, or material evidence of a

distinct Welsh material culture within the household would suggest that this form of

object did not—or perhaps could not, due to economics or the difficulties o f transporting

material goods from Wales—play a significant role in the maintenance of Welsh culture

among the Peach Bottom Welsh.

If the common categories of material culture—architecture and household

furnishings—were the only categories examined, the Welsh would appear to have been

ready assimilators who merged seamlessly with the imprint culture in the Peach Bottom

community. They would appear to have limited their maintenance and expression of

ethnicity to nonmaterial realms such as language and religion. However, it is precisely

these and other nonmaterial expressions of Welsh identity that point the researcher

toward a material cultural better suited to the expressive needs of the Peach Bottom

Welsh than household furnishings or domestic architecture.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 3 Main Street residence, Peach. Bottom Township. Just beyond the boundary of Delta, this house was formerly the home of Robert L. Jones, quarry owner.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 4 Main Street residence, Peach Bottom Township. Just beyond the border of Delta, this house was formerly the home of Jerry Jones, quarry owner.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 5 Quarryworker's cottage, Coulsontown.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Figure6 Coulsontown, showing three quarryworkers’ cottages.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 7 Quarryworker's house, Gwynedd, Wales.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Figure 8 8 Figure of Delta, Pennsylvania, View 1888, T, PA, M, Fowler, Morrisville, Old of Museum, Collection Line

! ..... Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 9 Frame house with slate shingle siding, West Bangor.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Figure 10 Former quarryworkerst row housing, Cardiff, Maryland.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 11 Nineteenth-century quarryworkers' row housing, Gwynedd, Wales.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Chapter 3

“THE ROCK DOES NOT UNDERSTAND ENGLISH”

In the Welsh language there is a word, cymreictod, for the idea o f“Welshness.”

What Welshness means, of course, has been the subject of contention, and indeed the fact

that there is conflict about what it means to be Welsh is seen as part of the essence of

Welshness.24 But despite the temptation to dismiss the Welsh affinity for verbal and

musical arts as a hopelessly exaggerated stereotype (after all, there must certainly be

plenty of tone-deaf Welsh), it is no exaggeration to say that those arts have presided over

Welsh culture for more than a thousand years, with poetry the principal contender for the

highest place of honor. One need only look to the annual National Eisteddfod in Wales,

during which poets and writers and musicians compete fiercely for coveted honorary

titles, to understand the extent to which Welshness is identified with competence in, or at

least informed appreciation of, the spoken, written, and sung word. Bards were an

official fixture in the courtly landscape from the early medieval period through the

sixteenth century. This chapter examines two manifestations of cymreictod in Peach

Bottom—deftness with language and deftness at working slate—and the connection

between the two. The following chapter will look at the application o f these skills to

Delta’s slate gravemarkers.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Slate was, and still is, omnipresent in the Peach Bottom quarry community, just as

it is in the quarry regions of North Wales. The hills o f waste slate, or “tips,” that

dominate the landscape of Gwynedd are much less significant in the Peach Bottom area

due to the comparatively small size of the industry and the great extent to which the tips

are now overgrown by trees and shrubs.25 As in North Wales, however, the rock turns up

in almost every imaginable place, put to an endless variety of uses.

As an architectural material, slate in Peach Bottom is used for roofing shingles on

even the smallest buildings, including outhouses, pig pens, and com cribs (Figure 12).

On residences, businesses, and churches, the gray shingles are most often rectangular but

may also be scalloped or laid in a pattern with colored slate brought in from other regions

such as Maine or New York (Figure I3).26 Slate forms the foundation of many a frame

building in Delta and Cardiff, while slabs of slate (usually manufactured from a different

grade o f slate than shingles) serve well as steps and thresholds. “Sawn ends”—a by

product of slate slabs—even make up the structural walls of a few small buildings,

notably the nineteenth-century town jail and a springhouse in Delta. The Old Line

Museum exhibits an elegant cartouche-shaped slate plaque formerly attached to the

Bethesda Church, inscribed with the church’s name (Figure 14).

In Delta, and formerly in West Bangor, large slabs of the deep gray stone form

sidewalks that glisten bright and black when it rains.27 As in Wales, several gateposts in

town are made of slabs as much as six or seven inches thick, some with ornamental

dressing or carving (Figure 15). Again as in Wales, tall, thin pieces of slate set in the

ground dot the surrounding rural landscape, having served as fence posts (Figure 16). A

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. well lined entirely with sawn ends as well as a cistern covered with a massive slate slab is

still in evidence in Coulsontown today.

Less visible in public are the uses to which slate was formerly put within homes

and yards. Because the stone is impervious to liquid and can, when not too thick, easily

be worked into flat pieces of a desired size, pieces were commonly bolted together and

used as water and feed troughs, coolers for butter and milk, and containers for ice or

vinegar. Some of these household objects may be seen at Delta’s Old Line Museum.

One local woman who was bom in 1900 recalled a slate sink and even a slate bathtub at

the house of her grandfather, who was in the slate business. One man bom in 1891

remembered washbasins and laundry tubs of slate. Residents also used the versatile rock

for other household items such as tabletops, round lids for barrels and crocks, and

fireplace mantels. One man even recollected a rat-trap devised by floating meal on top of

water in a slate box.28

No doubt the most singular object in the community is the extraordinary tall-case

clock, fabricated of hundreds o f pieces of slate (Peach Bottom mixed with green and red

“imported” slate) by one Humphrey Pritchard around the turn o f the century (Figure 17).

Pritchard was most likely the creator of a decorative slate inkwell and a letter-holder

(dated 1907), also in the museum’s collection. The clock, a staggering tour de force of

design and workmanship, has been viewed as the completely original product o f a

reclusive eccentric. It is more likely that Pritchard was drawing on one or more sources

of inspiration. In the North Wales slate regions there was a nineteenth-century tradition

of making miniature representations o f case furniture. The Museum of Welsh Life in

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Cardiff Wales, has a miniature tall-case clock: in its collection (Figure 18). And in the

United States around the turn of the twentieth century, kits with patterns and special

attachments for use with scroll saws were available to the woodworking hobbyist who

might want to make, for example, a scroll-work clock (Figure 19).29 Whether Pritchard

was a mad genius working in a mode all his own or an inspired bricoleur, his clock

demonstrates the creative potential inherent in the medium. And the community’s

startled response to the clock over the past hundred years may be a reflection of the fact

that the Welsh are not generally recognized for their visual arts.30

Residents of the Peach Bottom quarry community were physically surrounded by

slate regardless of their ethnicity. The rock’s abundance and usefulness was undeniable

to Welsh and non-Welsh alike when it came to practical applications in the home, farm,

or place o f business. But the Welsh who came to southeastern Pennsylvania had another,

exclusively Welsh use for slate that was the result of their occupational link with the slate

industry: the Welshman’s expertise in working slate was used as a badge of ethnicity.

R. Merfyn Jones has concluded that by 1882 the quarries of North Wales were

producing 93% of all the slate produced in Great Britain and were the largest suppliers of

roofing shingles in the world.31 It is understandable, then, that in the slate-producing

parts of Wales, an exceptional pride o f workmanship developed among the men

responsible for the physical work of extracting the rock and transforming it into usable

products, and that for many that pride was linked to pride in being Welsh.

The industry in North Wales had developed in the late eighteenth century from

small, localized concerns, operated solely by Welsh residents dwelling in the immediate

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. locations of the slate veins, to giant-scale operations owned and controlled almost

exclusively by English landlords who employed as wage-laborers those who had

formerly been independent quarriers. While the English owners installed English

managers and foremen, they knew better than to hire anyone other than a Welshman to

actually process the slate. Extracting slate from the earth without shattering it or

otherwise making it unfit for sale is exceedingly difficult work that requires subtle

understanding, indeed almost a sixth sense. The peculiarities o f the rock's grain and post,

the proper amount of black powder to be used in blasting, the best location in which to

drill the powder holes—the nuances o f these factors were understood only through life

long association with the rock. Once extracted, the art of transforming the rough blocks

into finely split and shaped shingles or other products depended again on a complete

understanding of the essence o f the material. Within the industry it was almost a truism

that a successful quarryman needed to have grown up with the rock. One quarry manager

writing in the Mining Journal in 1865 described the knowledge o f the Welsh quarryman

as follows:

I have read the best German, American, English authors on geology, and I have not seen one single passage in any one o f their works that can help, assist or enlighten a quarryman in any one o f his operations. It is all very well to talk of things, and compile large volumes, but bring these great authorities face to face with Nature or to a slate quarry and I will be bold enough to affirm that I can point to more than one hard working Welshman that will shame the best of them.32

Centuries of involvement in this labor (some o f which can only be done by hand to this

day), with jobs passed along from father to son, gave the Welshmen of Gwynedd a

justifiable pride o f workmanship that was widely recognized within the industry.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. While exclusion of the Welsh from management positions led to strife within the

quarry industry, at the same time it served to reinforce the sense that the Welsh were the

best and only workers capable of handling slate. This pride accompanied the Welsh

laborer over the ocean to the United States, even though the ethnic strife had been

removed in American quarries by virtue of their being owned and operated primarily by

other Welshmen. In the Peach Bottom quarry community, the slate industry was

dominated by Welsh immigrants, their sons, and their grandsons.

Oral history in Delta suggests that if someone outside of the Welsh community

wanted to learn to work slate, the Welsh quarriers would teach him. Unskilled jobs in the

quarry could be had by anyone willing to do the unglamorous work of the rubbishman,

whose task it was to clear away from the quarry the copious quantity of useless rubble

that was generated in the quarrying process and that interfered with the work of the

highly skilled rockmen. The Pennsylvania quarries also employed non-Welsh workers at

tasks not requiring work directly with the stone, such as hauling water or operating

boilers.33 But there was little or no tolerance for anyone incapable of the subtleties of

slate-working:

Italians came in when the electric quarry first started. . . They’re marble workers, they wasn’t slate workers. They didn’t know any more about slate than they did about anything. It didn’t last long. Instead of making slate, they just made what we call lumps! They didn’t know how to take it out or how to work it.34

Hazel Mathis, bom in Delta of Scots-Irish parents, echoed that impression when

responding to the question about Italians working in the quarries: “Well, I’ll tell you we

didn’t have very many. Might have been a few, but the Welsh were the quarrymen.”35

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Thus Welsh identity in the Peach Bottom quarry community became as inextricable from

slate as slate was thought to be inextricable from the earth at the hands of anyone other

than a Welshman.

Taking this occupational exclusiveness one step farther, many quarrymen in

Wales embraced the idea that only a speaker of Welsh could truly understand how to

work with slate. Northwestern Wales, the point of emigration for the Peach Bottom

quarry community, was (and still is) the least Anglicized region o f Wales. Its distance

from English border areas and its mountainous topography, coupled with the limited

economic development of the area, had discouraged any significant settlement of other

British citizens. Even after the intensive development of the slate industry brought more

opportunities for employment to the region, the skills required for mining or quarrying

other types o f rock were not transferable to the specialized skills o f quarrying slate, so no

influx of English-speaking workers ever materialized. Therefore, North Wales had long

been a stronghold of the Welsh language, especially in the quarries themselves.

A stronghold is necessary only when someone or something is under attack, as

was the Welsh language throughout the period when the quarry industry was flourishing.

By the turn of the twentieth century, Welsh had endured many threats to its survival, not

the least of which was the ascendancy of the Tudor dynasty in England; Tudor monarchs

forbade any Wetsh-speakers to hold official posts in the court, hi the nineteenth century,

compulsory public education throughout Britain established English as the only tongue

allowed in public schools.36 Social stigma as well as corporal punishment was imposed

on children who spoke Welsh at school. CulturaL domination by the English reduced the

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. number of Welsh speakers vastly, and even today, despite legislative progress made by

Welsh language activists, it is still classed as a “lesser-spoken” language.

The occupational association of quarry work with the Welsh language, then, was

one locus of strife in the management disputes of the North Wales quarries. R. Merfyn

Jones has discussed in great detail the thorny labor relations between the Welsh quarry

workers and the primarily English owners in his account o f the North Wales

Quarryman’s Union. Chasms as great as the open quarries themselves loomed between

the owners and the workers, and while some misunderstandings undoubtedly were the

result of the language difference, more often it seems that language served to crystallize

larger difficulties or to serve as the symbol of the problematic relationship. A song of the

1840s sung in Welsh by one David Jones reveals the equation both o f labor tension with

language and of quarrying skill with Welsh language:

If officials are needed, They are at once sent for from afar, Either Irishman, English or Scots Are in jobs everywhere

In works here in Wales, Englishmen can be seen interfering, You must get Welshmen to break the stone, For the rock does not understand English.37

Within the rather defensive environment of the quarries, linguistic preservation

clearly played an important role. One of the most compelling images of the quarries that

R. Merfyn Jones evokes in his work is that of the caban , a lunchtime activity which

pivoted around the able manipulation o f the native tongue. The quarrymen, with their tin

lunch-pails filled with sandwiches and plenty of strong boiled tea, would gather in a

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. small lunchroom among the quarry buildings or some designated spot outdoors, and

would challenge each other to verbal contests such as the clever exegesis of a religious

tract, the spontaneous expounding upon a specified topic, the careful creation or

recitation o f poetry, or the heartfelt delivery of a song.38 The positions o f Chairman,

Treasurer, and Policeman o f the caban rotated periodically among the men.39

Out of the strangely poetic environs of the open slate quarries in Caernarvonshire

such as Penrhyn in Bethesda, Dinorwic in Llanberis, and Dorothea in the Nantlle Valley,

or the underground slate mines o f Merionethshire such as Oakeley and Llechwedd in

Blaenau Ffestiniog, native Welsh speakers continued to emigrate to the Peach Bottom

area into the early years of the twentieth century. It is not known whether the formal

institution of the caban as such survived the journey to the Peach Bottom quarries.

However, oral tradition suggests that the essential activities of the caban —music and

rhetoric often centering on religious themes—were maintained among the Peach Bottom

Welsh. Milo Williams, the West Bangor-bom grandson o f Welsh immigrants, recalled

the songs and debates o f Welshmen that he witnessed when he worked as a boy in the

quarries around 1910:

Around dinnertime they’d sing Welsh hymns. And sometimes they’d get to discussing the Sunday School lesson that they heard on Sunday and have regular debates. One would have an idea, and another would have an. idea, and they’d give then: ideas and get debating on the Sunday School lesson. Some of the Welsh, they’d debate it in Sunday School. And then maybe they’d bring it up in the quarry on Monday morning, and they’d get started on that. And at work different times, if they had time, they’d be discussing that Sunday School lesson.40

Morris Hughes, bom in 1891 in Whiteford, began working in the quarries when he was

twelve and worked at Reeses’ quarry, Proctor’s quarry, and the John W. Jones quarry.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. He remembered a specific group of quarriers singing at dinner during work: “Every

dinnertime, four of them Welsh, people got together and sang. Every dinnertime.” They

sang Welsh church songs, because, as he explained, “they were church people.”41

Milo Williams was one among many Delta residents who recalled yet another

language-driven tradition among the Welsh. The conservatism o f Welsh naming

practices led to an almost absurdly small number of both given names and surnames. The

potential for confusion surrounding duplicate names within a community was ameliorated

by the practice of assigning often humorous nicknames based on personal traits or

anecdotal events in a person’s history 42 This occurred regularly in Wales and in Welsh

communities in the United States. In the Peach Bottom area, many older residents recall

how brothers William A. Williams and John Williams, owners o f the general store that

served Welsh residents in the early twentieth century, were usually referred to as “Will

Store” and “Johnny Store.” The occupational nickname extended to other family

members, so that the women of the family became “Maggie Store” and “Lizzie Store.”

According to Gertrude Williams Bradley, the daughter of Will Store, “the English people

used to come in, they didn’t know any different, and they called them Mr. Store, Mrs.

Store.”43

The quarries themselves fostered this lively tradition. According to Milo

Williams, “mostly around the slate quarries, if you didn’t have a nickname, if you were

around there long, you’d have one before you got away!” Williams’ own grandfather,

another William Williams who worked in the quarries, had lived at T y 'n y M aes (“house

in the field”) before emigrating in the 1850s. His fellow countrymen in Pennsylvania

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. knew him as “Will Ty’n y Maes,” but “the English people. . . they just thought it

sounded like ‘tin mice’ to them, and that’s what they called him.”44

If the Welsh population had a few laughs at the expense o f the uncomprehending

“English,” they also had a sense of humor about their own struggles learning English.

Several men garnered nicknames as a result of their grammatical bungling. For example,

Welsh places the modifier after the subject, unlike English. Enid Lewis, a native of

Corris, North Wales, whose family moved to the Delta area around the turn o f the

twentieth century, recalled one man who called a com crib a “crib com” and found

himself the possessor of that moniker ever afterward. Even more renowned among the

older Welsh population was one William Roberts, who knew what to call a horse-fly in

Welsh but referred to it in English one day as a “fly-horse.” As Milo Williams told the

story, “that was his nickname as long as he lived. His name was William Roberts, but

there was a lot of William Roberts, so this William Roberts—Fly-Horse—and that

distinguished him from the rest, and he gained the nickname for himself.”45

With or without a caban to keep the quarrymen in practice, verbal artistry in

Delta, as in Wales, still held the place o f honor in the realm. In areas o f Pennsylvania

with heavy Welsh settlement, such as the coal-mining regions of Scranton and Wilkes-

Barre, annual eisteddfodau continued the tradition o f musical and poetic competitions for

which Wales is still famous. Eisteddfod translates as “session;” in Wales the competition

dates back to at least the twelfth century. Prys Morgan has described the patchy history

o f the eisteddfod , including its revival in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries

when the competition took on its current shape.46 Prior to the late seventeenth, century,

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. theeisteddfod existed as an occasional, vibrant forum for professional bards to ply and

hone their skills, simultaneously setting artistic standards for the guild members. Until

the seventeenth century, bards in Wales were responsible for maintaining the myths and

history of the country and of specific households to whom they were attached. Although

the professional institution o f the bards disappeared, the eisteddfodau of the eighteenth

century carried on (or, according to Morgan, were revived) as a forum for skilled

amateurs.47

In the United States, transplanted Welsh and Welsh Americans organized the

festivals on regional and national levels. The World’s Fair in 1893 held an elaborate

eisteddfod which drew large crowds from Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and Philadelphia. In

the same year, some Welsh residents of Delta traveled to the festival in Wilkes-Barre to

hear the songs and recitations o f their native country. The March 17,1892, edition of the

Delta Times commented on quarryman Robert L. Jones and one of his daughters traveling

to the event:

Mr. R L Jones and his daughter, Miss Emma, left Wednesday morning for Wilkesbarre, Pa., to attend the Eisteddfod held there on St. Patrick’s day; Griffith Price o f this place is also in attendance.48

Since the social activities of less prominent members o f society rarely were considered

newsworthy, the newspapers do not reveal whether attendance at the eisteddfod spanned

the entire socioeconomic spectrum of the Peach Bottom Welsh or was limited to the

wealthy. Robert L. Jones represented the high end o f the spectrum, as indicated by a

contemporary biographical sketch:

His family consists o f five children, whose names given in order of birth are, Emma, John Hayden, Arthur, Isabella and Idris, who are at present all

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. residing with their parents, where they easily and gracefully sustain the high position in local society which their father’s successful and honorable career in business and other circles has won for himself and his family.49

Certainly it would have been difficult for daily-wage earners who worked in the quarries

to take off several days for the eisteddfod. Nevertheless, a slate worker would not have

been out o f place at such a gathering, as his work was viewed as an art comparable to

poetry. In the analogy of one nineteenth-century writer, again quoted in R. Merfyn Jones,

slate quarrying and language dovetail neatly:

Slate quarrying is not a matter of mere manual labour but an art which years of patient practice will hardly require. . . a slate splitter is like a poet and contends with the poet on an equal footing at the National Eisteddfod where slate-splitting, music and poetry are stock subjects of rivalry.50

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 12 Farm buildings with slate roofs near Delta.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure L3 Main Street residence with, patterned slate roof, Delta.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 14 Slate plaque for Bethesda Church, signed by R. E. Evans. Collection of the Old Line Museum.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 15 Carved slate gateposts, Main Street, Peach Bottom Township. Former Robert L. Jones house (see Figure 3).

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 16 Slate fencing, Caernarvonshire, Wales.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 17 Slate clock made by Humphrey Pritchard. Collection o f Old Line Museum.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 18 Miniature slate clock; and bureau, Museum of Welsh Life. These examples o f miniature furniture are on display in Llainfadyn Cottage, a Gwynedd slate quarrier's cottage of the eighteenth century now located at the museum.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 19 Wooden fretwork clock. Collection of Lynn (Massachusetts) Historical Society. Copyright l994MaineAntique Digest. Photograph by David Hewett. Reprinted by permission. (Detail.)

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Chapter 4

POETRY IN STONE

Theeisteddfod in Wales and America was a venue for Welsh speakers to practice

and show off their abilities in the composition o f poetry. Poetic forms have long been

standardized in Wales; as early as the fourteenth century, treatises on the rules binding

correct poetry were written and presented in the form of “bardic grammars.”31 Welsh

poetic forms have altered very little since the fourteenth century, which is generally

viewed as the period in which poetry reached its zenith and when rigorous standards were

established towards which many Welsh poets today continue to strive.

Each of the three major classical poetic forms is heavily rule-bound in terms of

meter and cynghanedd, a distinctly Welsh system of internal rhyme and consonance. The

architecture o f Welsh poetry is built on the line as the unit of form. In the awdl form, for

example, the poem is built of line upon carefully constructed line and does not break

down into formulaic stanzas. The cywydd consists o f any number of rhymed couplets.

Theenglyn , however, follows a stanzaic formula as well as the rules o f cynghanedd .

Historically, there have been several typesotenglynion (plural form) but one particular

form known as englyn unodl union (“straight, one-sided englyn”) has become by far the

most common, almost to the exclusion of other variants.52 The form is considered

appropriate for the pithy sentiments conveyed in epitaphs, and is therefore found

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. frequently on gravemarkets in North Wales. It is a form whose distinct Welshness made

it an invaluable tool for communicating Welsh identity among the Peach Bottom

community, where the tradition of composing englynion continued and flourished.53

The common englyn is a four-line stanza composed o f thirty syllables. The first

line should have ten syllables, the second should have six syllables, and the third and

fourth should both have seven syllables. The first two lines make up thepaladr (“shaft”

or “beam”), while the last two comprise the esgyll (“wings”). What is considered the end-

rhyme of the first line actually occurs three or four syllables prior to the end of the line;

that end-rhyme is repeated for the remaining three lines of the stanza. An example from

the Slateville Cemetery will serve to illustrate these regulations. When Griffith Jones

died in 1861 at age 39, he was commemorated with a slate headstone upon which the

following englyn was inscribed (Figures 20,21):

Owl Dori y da wrol, — a r hoffus [IOJ Griffith Jones yn farwol: — [6] Ond or llaid fe naidyn olt [7] [ffodir mwy hyffydoL [7]

(Ohl Cut down is the good and the brave, — and the amiable Griffith Jones, mortally: — But out of the mire he will jump, To a land more pleasant.)

Even a passerby unfamiliar with the Welsh language and unable to ascertain the number

o f syllables in the lines might look at the gravestone of Griffith Jones and recognize that

the end-rhyme may be located m the sound “ot.” What is not readily apparent in this

poem, however, is the internal consonance strategically placed according to syllabic

stresses. This is the hallmark ofcynghanedd , or “harmony of sound.”

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. There are three distinct types ofcynghanedd. Cynghanedd lusg features internal

rhyme between the first and second halves of each line. Cynghanedd sain requires that

each line consist of three parts, with the first two parts linked by internal rhyme and the

second two parts linked by the ordered repetition o f consonants. Cynghanedd gytsain

may be broken into sub-types, each o f which require that certain consonants in the first

half of a line are repeated in the same order in the second half of the line.54 In

cynghanedd groes, every consonant that occurs before the main stress in the first half line

must appear again before the main stress in the second half line. In cynghanedd draws,

several consonants may occur between the repeated consonants. What may seem like

excessive fussiness in this system is simply an indication of how firmly rooted in the oral

tradition Welsh poetry is. Poetry with cynghanedd is intended to make an aural

impression, just as it has for over a thousand years.

In the englyn to Griffith Jones, cynghanedd gytsain is apparent in the repetition of

the letters D and R in the first line; thegair cyrch (“link phrase”) that appears at the end

o f the first line shares, as it should, the R and FF with the first half of the second line.

The third line features the repetition of the N and D, while in the fourth line the letters F,

R, and D repeat.

Griffith Jones was by no means the only person whose death occasioned the

composition of an englyn . A poet (or poets) composed englynion from 1857 through

1892—almost the entire period in which slate stones were used in Slateville. Fifteen

other slate stones in the Slateville cemetery display the precise words o f the poet as

rendered by the stone-cutter. A seventeenth stone, that of Margaret Williams who died m

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1875, recycles the englyn o f Owen Thomas (d. 1883) with variations in spelling.53

Several other stones sport cynghanedd in the cywydd, or rhymed couplet, form rather than

in englyn form. A few, such as that composed in Welsh for Ellen Morris in 1861 (and

reused in 1872 on the stone o f Jane J. Jones), follow forms familiar in English poetry

such as iambic trimeter and tetrameter with ABAB rhyme and no cynghanedd .56

The verses usually distill concepts, events, or descriptive personality traits

specific to the decedent. For instance, after John and Elen Williams’ eight-year-old son

Henry Williams drowned on July 30, 1870, his short life was commemorated with an

englyn that reiterated in poetic form the particulars of his age and demise that were

already factually stated on the stone (Figure 22):

A drefmewn diniweidrwyddr orantal, Arweiniwydyn ebnvyddr Didawly mae, a dedwydd, Yn moll loryn wyth mlwydd ,.

(Home in innocence, from the desert, He was led suddenly, He is happy and contented, Praising God at eight years old.)

It was perhaps with intentional irony that the poet wrote of a drowning victim being led

from the desert.

Two years earlier, on April 28,1868, the unfortunate John and Elen Williams had

lost their adopted son, John Griffiths, to an unspecified accident at age twenty.57 He, too,

was commemorated with a slate gravestone (Figure 23) embellished with the following

englyn :

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Torwyd ireiddbren tiriawn, ~fe ledodd Eiflodau hyfrydlawn; Diangodd ei nodd cyn nawn, E dorwyd cyn bod aerawn.

(The tender branch was broken, —scattered were Its beautiful flowers; The sap escaped before noon, It was broken before there was fruit.)

In this case, the poem relies on two standard metaphors used widely in mid-nineteenth

century mourning conventions. Buds or flowers are frequently used when referring to the

death o f children or young adults, and the broken branch is often used to represent adults

cut down in their prime.58 The use of these metaphors is contoured, however, for more

specificity to John Griffiths’ stage of life. At twenty, he is not yet old enough to be

exempt from the flower metaphor. He is older than a bud, old enough to have bloomed,

but not old enough to have had time to bear fruit. It is tempting to wonder whether

“noon” is a generic part of the metaphor or a specific reference to the time of his accident

or death.

The flower metaphor was applied three years earlier to an englyn on a stone

(Figure 24) that marked the death o f two children, of David and Jane Lloyd, Edward (d.

1859 at two years old) and Margaret (d. 1865 at four years old):

Yddan rosyn gwyn tegwedd—yn foreu A fwriwyd i lygredd; Dilys ail egyr eu delwedd, A daw 7t iach eu cyrff o r bedd .

(Two white roses fair in form—so early Cast into corruption; Certainly in second bloom they’ll be seen, And their bodies shall come, healthy, from the grave.)

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Yet another englyn commemorates two small children on one stone (Figure 25), Mary

Williams (d. 1859 at one year and six months old) and her brother David (d. 1863 at one

year and two months old), but expresses their innocence not by comparison with beautiful

flowers but by their resemblance to Christ:

Mary o jy d y meirwon — a ddaxv allan Ar ddullweddpen Seion, A 'i braxvd ddawyn ei Haw rn lion O 'rgweryd ifro 'r goron.

(Mary from the land o f the dead -- will emerge In the image of Zion’s head, And her brother will come holding her hand From the ground to the land o f the crown.)

Poetic commentary on adult deaths was less likely to be conventional, since

longer lives and well-developed personalities provided more fodder for the poet to draw

on. Conventional values of the Welsh community may still be discerned, however, in the

description of individuals. When Magdalene Thomas died at age thirty-three in 1892, the

inscription on the scrolled pediment slate gravestone (Figure 26) which was erected in

her memory revealed at least as much about her survivors’ values as it did about her

personality:

Geiriau segar a sttrion — n i hmiodd Iflin o 7 chym ’dogion; le ”Nage, ” oeddddigon O eiriau call y wraig Hon .

(Nasty words and gossip — she never used To upset her neighbors; “Yes” and “No,” were sufficient Wise words for this lady.)59

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Likewise, thecwydd, or couplet, to Mary Evans who died in 1866 at age 72 (and who

shares a stone, Figure 27, with her husband Robert) tells us little about her personality but

succinctly expresses community values of religious faith and o f woman as a relational

adornment to man;

Bu hon yn goron i V gw r A chredodd ei chreawdwn

(She was her husband’s crown And her creator’s faithful.)

The deep religiosity o f decedents could become the main idea behind their

englynion, again mirroring the qualities held in esteem by the community. In the case of

Henry Williams (Figure 28; not the same as the young Henry Williams, above), who died

by accident in 1868 at age 51, his spiritual qualities are highlighted. Reference is also

made, though, to the pain and fear (“dread”) that must have attended his final hours or

days as a result of his accident, reflecting again the highly personalized nature of the

englyn :

Y gwir Or act efa garair — G air Ion, Yn gyxvir, gyhoeddai: Ac i Vfedd mewn heddydd ai, A dir, ei ofh a derfynaL

(The true Oracle he loved, — the Word o f God Correctly he proclaimed: And to his grave in peace he went, And surely, his dread was ended.)

William J. Jones, who died in 1871 at the age of 53, elicited similar if somewhat generic

praise for his religious virtue (Figure 29):

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Fe dynodd fywyd uniawn—hyd el or Y dalioddyn ffyddlawn; GwrDuw oedd, a gairda lawn Gafodd, fel loan gyfiawn.

(He lived an unwavering life—until the bier He remained faithful; A man of God he was, and a very good word Was given him, like the righteous John.)60

Theenglyn o f Richiard E. Jones, who died in 1876 at the age o f 48, expressed the popular

notion of the deceased having been taken by God because of God’s love for him (Figure

Cadd gysgodyma i gysgu, —mae 7t gorwedd un gurai yr lesu; myn loriwgolun morgu, Iwfynwes dawfynu.

(He found shelter here to sleep, — here lies One who loved Jesus; The Lord demands that one so dear to Him Should come to His bosom.)

Jones’s englyn also incorporates the common (and ancient) representation o f death as

sleep. This image, reflected over and over again in nineteenth-century mortuary art and

verse, implies faith in the resurrection (waking), and the metaphor is extended in many

ways. Theenglyn carved in slate on behalf of Jane Jones (died 1853 at age 66) and her

grandchildren William Williams (died 1854 at age 10) and Ellen Jane Williams (died

1857 at age 7 months) provides a good example of the typically Welsh slant on this

metaphor (Figure 31):

Gorweddyrym mewngweryd\ -hydforau'n Hadferir ifywyd: Ystafell ddistaw hefyd, Y dyw r bedd o dwrw r byd.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. (We are lying within the earth, until the morning When we will be revitalized to life: A quiet chamber as well Is the grave from the noise o f the world.)

The use of first-person voice in the Jones englyn is a narrative technique largely

outmoded in the Anglo-American epitaph tradition by the turn of the nineteenth century,

but found often enough in Welsh mortuary poetry all through the nineteenth century.61

Following English tradition, messages from the grave were commonly found on

seventeenth and eighteenth century American gravestones. However, had non-Welsh

residents o f the Peach Bottom community been able to translate texts like that for Jane

Jones above, they would have found them outmoded.62 The contemplation o f lying

amongst worms no longer had a place in the mid-nineteenth-century Anglo-American

culture of death, as the psychological emphasis had shifted from thememento mori

cautionary tale to the more secular, romantic memorialization o f the deceased.63

The husband of Margaret Williams (Figure 32; died 1875 at age 58) chose the

steep metaphor for his wife as well, though since thisenglyn is used on another stone it

may have been a stock, rather than original, poem:

Fy mrhiod hynod sy 'n hnno —yma Wiw mwyach ei cheisio . Atafni ddychwel eto Gwael ei grym mewn gwetygro .

(My worthy wife sleeps — here Henceforth it would be vain to seek her. Again to me she’ll never return, Too weak to rise from her earthly bed.)64

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. For Evan Davies, who died in 1874 at age 47, death was a “long night” (Figure 33):

Iaros himos; yr Iesu — suodd Ei was yma i gysga. Hwn a gwyd, e f elo 'n gu WedVr nost i deymasu .

(Sleeping the long night; Jesus — lulled His servant to sleep here. This one he’ll raise in might After the long night, he’ll rule.)

When James Williams died in 1878, his pain and debility were noted (again, making for a

highly personalized and descriptive tribute), followed by the notion that the metaphorical

sleep o f death would relieve not only his head pain but the literal sleeplessness his wound

or illness caused him (Figure 34):

Gwiw wryn llawn hawddgarwch — oedd Williams A ddaliwyd gan dristwch; Ond er loes, noder ei Iwch Agarwyddion gwirheddwch .

Wei heno caiffdawel hunedd—ai ben Heb ei boenus lesgedd; Gwyn fyd Iago yn ei fedd; Yn hwn ni chaijf anhunedd .

(A worthy man full of amiability — was Williams Caught by sorrow; But despite pain, note his dust With the signs of true peace.

Well, tonight he will get quiet sleep — his head Without its painful debility; Blessed be James in his grave; Where there will be no insomnia.)

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. When David Lloyd died in L885 at the age of 55, he too was “put to sleep” (Figure 35):

Hen gyfaill haedda 'i gofio — hir dymor Roedyma i huno, Daw rywfore 'n gryfo 'rgro, D. Lloyd annwyl fedd adeliad yno.65

(Our old friend deserves to be remembered—a long season Put here to sleep, He’ll come some morning strong from out of the gravel66 Dear D. Lloyd there in the tomb.)

Robert M. Evans’ most notable characteristic was apparently his considerable old age

when he died in 1881 at age 84 (Figure 36):

I dueddau pur ddedwyddwch —yr aeth Yr hen dad mewn heddwch H e’ otexi ddianialwch Yw ei le, ondyma ei hvch.

(To the regions of happiness - went The old man in peace. A bright heaven without wilderness Is his place, but his dust remains here.)

Elias Rowlands, who died in 1865 at age 36, apparently had a court date awaiting him

(Figure 37):

Ant enyd ni welir mo ’no — cafodd Ein cyfaill ei wysio I lys uxvch at Ittaws o Nefolion sy’n hyfeitio .

(For a while he won’t be seen — Our friend was summoned To a higher court by the host of Heaven who boldly sing.)

Stones featuring englynion account for approximately 25% of the slate

gravemarkers that use the Welsh language. Approximately 67% of all the slate stones

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. use Welsh, while 33% use English. Three slate stones incorporate both English and

Welsh. In the case of Winifred Jones who died April 15,1915, at age 87, just two

English words, “OUR MOTHER,” distinguish the stone from purely Welsh-language

stones (Figure 38). The remaining text in Welsh features the alliteration of cynghanedd:

"Hunodd 'nol cyrhaedd hen-oed” (“She who sleeps here reached old age”). The same

use of English for the words “OUR MOTHER” appears on the stone o f Ann Jones

(Figure 39; died 1877). In the bilingual case (Figure 40) of Elizabeth Williams, who died

November 4,1897, at age 44, only the sentiment is in Welsh, and it is a stock phrase

which appears elsewhere in the cemetery:"Na wylwch o'm plegidi” (“Don’t cry for

me”).

Survivors frequently chose brief quotes from the Old Testament for the

gravestones of the departed. Most popular is the phrase “Precious in the sight of the Lord

is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116, Verse 15), used both in English and in Welsh,

“Gwerthfawry ’n golwgyr Arglwyddyw marwolaeth ei saintef. ” Second in popularity is

the text from Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want,” again, found both in

English and in Welsh, "Yr Arglwydd yw jy Mugail, ni bydd eisieu arnqfl ” 67 The Book of

Job, Chapter 14, Verse 2, provided source material for another popular sentiment: “He

cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth

not.” This verse is used only in Welsh, and its use is consistent with the tendency to use

flower metaphors for young people.68 The text appears, though in past tense, on the

marble gravestone o f young David Williams, who died in 1875 at age 16 (and who was

the son of David E. Williams, whose inventory appears m the appendix): "Fel blodeuyn

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. y daw allan, acy torir e f emaith ac efe a gilia fe l cysgod, ac ni saif. ” In an unusual

application, the stones of young brothers Willie and Owen Jones each feature half of the

phrase, so that a viewer might read the entire sentiment by linking the two stones, which

stand side by side (Figure 41), Also from Job, Chapter 14, Verse I, is the quote on the

stone of Benjamin Evans (died 1874): "Dyn a aned o wraigsydd fyr o ddyddiau a, llawn

o helbul ” (“Man that is bom o f a woman is o f few days, and full o f trouble”).

A noticeable trend that confirms the role o f the gravemarkers in the preservation

and assertion o f ethnic identity is the inclusion of the decedent’s place of origin in

Wales.69 Town or village names are given, as in Festiniog, Bethesda, or Llanberis,

followed by “G. C.” for Gogledd Cymru, or North Wales. In some cases a more detailed

map was deemed necessary, and the name of a small village (or perhaps even the name of

an isolated dwelling) was placed in the context of the nearest substantial town, for

example “Coed Mawrgynt ger Caernarfon G. C. " or “Talgait gynt, ger Bangor (7. C. ’’

(“Coed Mawr near Caernarfon North Wales,” “Formerly of Talgau, near Bangor North

Wales”; Figures 42,43). This practice was extremely common in North Wales as well

during the time period under discussion (Figure 44), and must have been seen as useful—

at least to fellow immigrants—in maintaining a geographical and cultural connection to

the homeland.

The poet or poets that created the englynton in the Peach Bottom quarry

community were not credited on the slate stones.70 Neither the written records nor the

oral testimony collected in the 1970s reveal the identity of the creative force(s) behind the

Welsh epitaphs.71 While, as noted above, some o f the inscriptions merely cite Bible

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. verse or parts of hymns, most of the englynion are so personalized that they clearly were

written purposefully for the occasion of the individual’s death. Regardless o f who or how

many individuals wrote the englynion and other epitaphs featuring cynghanedd, the poet

got work because the community required his product. The poet’s skill with language,

and with the distinctive Welsh forms of poetic language, permitted the Peach Bottom

quarry community to identify themselves through their gravestones as a group apart from

their non-Welsh neighbors. Community members looked not only to the poet, however,

to ensure the expression of their Welsh identity; they looked to the stonecutter as well.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 20 Griffith Jones gravestone, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Figure 2 i Griffith Jones, detail englyn.of

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 22 Hemy Williams (d. 1870) gravestone, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. l q h k : e i u m a n - u

\ U a i ' : I U U U \ \ \. s 'u - i U'S • luUu. Cs! Llvu \\ illUuuA Lk’. u m v Il'NN \ . i l l - \ A_ U 1 s V: V A r i l ,-t.

Figure 23 John Griffiths gravestone, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 24 Edward and Margaret Lloyd gravestone, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 25 Mary and David Williams gravestone, Slatevflle.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 26 Magdalene Thomas gravestone, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 27 Mary Evans gravestone, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. \am y Qmeaii

Figure 28 Henry Williams (d- L868) gravestone, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Figure 29 William L Tones gravestone, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. vr 0! ■);: * ' 1 ^ lt j. s luJvytUl a' u

\ ! 1'-- I' 1' ' - •. t

Figure 30 Richiard E. Jones gravestone, Slateville. Note superscript middle initiaL "E."

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 31 Jane Jones gravestone, Slateviile.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 32 Margaret Williams gravestone, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 33 Evan Davies gravestone, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 34 James Williams gravestone, detail of englyn, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 35 David Lloyd gravestone, Slateville.

1 6

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 36 Robert M. Evans gravestone, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 37 Elias Rowlands gravestone, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 3 8 Winifred Jones gravestone, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 39 Ana Jones gravestone, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 40 Elizabeth Williams gravestone, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

stone completes the sentence begun on the Willie Jones stone. Jones Willie the on begun sentence the completes stone Figure 41 Willie Jones and Owen Jones gravestones, Slateville, The inscription on the Owen Jones Owen the on inscription Slateville, The gravestones, 41 Jones Figure Owen and Jones Willie

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 42 Richard Jones gravestone, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 43 John Williams gravestone, Slateville.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 44 Gravestone in Llanberis, Wales, with street address of decedent.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Chapter 5

SUBSTANCE AND STYLE

Gravemarkers themselves are a distinctive type of artifact. They are at once a

reminder of the corporeal body and an object that affirms the belief in the transcendence

of the soul through grace. They are deeply personal and privately owned, yet they inhabit

a public arena and fulfill a public function. They work well as a vehicle for asserting

ethnicity because they are utterly distinctive in style yet their purpose and usage are

recognizable and indeed shared by the host culture. The persistence o f Welsh forms in the

Slateville Cemetery through the early years of the twentieth century positioned these

stones, and the people who commissioned and made them, in an aesthetic orientation

markedly different from that o f the Scots-Irish who quite literally surrounded them.

Gravestones in the quarry community, then, were a form of material culture that, in Scott

Swank’s words, could “facilitate daily living” and “convey meaning.”72

The gravemarkers that make the Slateville Cemetery so unusual and evocative are

distinctly Welsh in their material, profiles, motifs, and inscriptions. With the exception

o f the inscriptions, certain aspects of these qualities are found in gravemarkers of other

ethnicities, but not during the time period under consideration, and not in such consistent

combination. We have just discussed the unique characteristics of the inscriptions in

Chapter 4; here we will consider the three other factors.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Slateville Presbyterian. Church, in. Peach Bottom Township was founded in 1849,

and the present building was constructed in 1867 (Figure 45). In addition to serving the

religious needs of the Presbyterian community of West Bangor and Delta, the church

provided members o f two West Bangor Welsh churches, the Calvinistic Methodist

Church and the Congregational Church, with a burial place in its cemetery. When the

Calvinistic Methodists replaced their church in West Bangor with the Capel Rehoboth on

the Main Street of Delta in 1891 (Figure 46), they continued to use the Slateville

Cemetery and indeed can still do so today. People of diverse ethnicity and religious

denomination have therefore been buried in this cemetery for nearly a century and a half.

The Slateville Cemetery occupies one of the highest points of land in the

immediate area. From its vantage, the topography of the surrounding slate ridge can be

observed, as well as some of the farmland to the southeast (Figure 47). Clustered nearest

the long, east side of the church building are the markers of many of Peach Bottom’s

Scots-Irish residents, most of whom sport luminous white marble monuments, from the

third quarter of the nineteenth century (Figure 48). A few trendy “white bronze” (zinc)

memorials are mixed in (Figure 49), and nearby are granite markers from the turn of the

twentieth century. But j ust beyond this inner tier of bright white gravestones are the

abundant black slate stones of Peach Bottom’s Welsh decedents (Figure 50).

The clearest division along ethnic lines in the Slateville Cemetery appears in the

use of differing materials for gravemarkers. In an area as dependent upon the slate

industry as Delta was up until World War I, it is hardly surprising to see so much slate in

use, especially by the people most responsible for the development, every-day operations,

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. and success o f that industry: the Welsh. What is surprising, however, is the almost

complete absence of slate markers among the non-Welsh, considering the sheer volume

o f material being extracted from the Peach Bottom quarries as well as the physical

suitability of the stone for monumental carving. Although most of the Peach Bottom

quarries concentrated on the production of roofing slate, some also made other products.

For example, on the L870 Manufacturing Census for Peach Bottom Township, James

Parry & Co. reported $4,000 worth o f mantels, tombstones, steps, and paving materials

combined, in addition to $9,600 worth of roofing slate.73 David O. McCreary recollected

in 1976 that the slate quarries were well-equipped for making monuments, noting “they

had rubbing beds, everything, up in the quarry... they could make everything.”74

McCreary’s recollection encompassed not only the above-ground monuments

made and used by the Welsh, but also their use of slate for below-ground “boxes”

(probably vaults): “Why don’t you go ‘round the cemeteries and take pictures o f all these

slate stones that’s in there... I know when I left here in 1909 there wasn’t a Welshman

buried that he wasn’t buried in a slate box. Rough box, hundreds of them over there in

Slateville. Go up to Slate Ridge, and a lot of other cemeteries. They made all that stuff.

You go up there and look at those monuments, look at what them old men made.”75

Out o f 136 extant slate gravemarkers m the Slateville Cemetery, only five bear

surnames that are not distinctly Welsh: Brown, Buckalew, and Wallace. An additional

two surnames which account for nine markers, Tyson and Nicholas, are not common

Welsh names but the use of the Welsh language on the stones and information from the

1880 Census confirm the Welsh ethnicity of those two families. Thus the axiom may be

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. put forward that in the Slateville Cemetery, not all Welsh use slate gravestones, but all

slate gravestones are Welsh/6 The earliest slate stones in the Slateville Cemetery date to

1851, while the latest dates to 1919. One hundred and one of them date from the 34-year

period between 1851 and 1885, while thirty-two date from the 33-year period between

1886 and 1919. Three ofthem are either undated or the date has become obscured on the

stone.

In order to determine the significance o f the use o f slate as a gravestone material,

it is helpful to consider general trends in gravemarkers in the United States during the

nineteenth century. Thomas J. Hannon, in a discussion of Western Pennsylvania

cemeteries, notes the preference for indigenous, dark sandstone in that region up until

1840, when lighter colored, non-indigenous stone such as marble and limestone replaced

sandstone in popularity. He interprets this shift in preference in light of religious and

philosophical changes which occurred in the nineteenth century:

The harsh realities o f death represented by the dark sandstones of the early 1800s were transcended by the light and the hope and joy of resurrection, factors suggested by the white limestone and marble gravestones dominant in the years following 1840.77

The same shift from dark to light gravestone material occurs in many areas o f the country

at approximately the same time. Some scholars are reluctant to attribute the change in

material to religious causes, and instead point to fashion as the main factor. 78

Technological advances in quarrying and processing granite made that stone, in its

variety of shades (including black) a viable option only in the final quarter of the

nineteenth century. What is certain is that in areas known for extensive use not just of

sandstone but also o f slate gravemarkers m the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, such

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. as parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts, white marble and limestone markers had

almost completely supplanted their dark counterparts by the 1830s. Just as certain, then,

is the deliberate and significant nature o f choosing slate as the most appropriate substance

for one’s gravestone; in doing so, the Welsh immigrant chose cymreictod over fashion—

or assimilation—in the final activity of life in the New World: death.79

In Chapter 3 the painstaking nature of processing slate was discussed. Its

particular qualities influence not only the method o f extraction from the quarry but also

the style of carving that can be done in slate. Slate is a metamorphic rock formed of clay

minerals subjected to great pressure over millions o f years. As a result o f pressure, the

clay minerals first undergo a physical transformation into shale, and then a chemical

transformation into slate. During the chemical change, the newly-created mica and

feldspar minerals form along lines which cause cleavage planes. The cleavage planes in

slate allow for splitting it into roofing slates as well as other products. Slabs can be made

of any slate that will not split thinly enough for roofing slate.80 Because of slate’s very

close grain, it may be successfully carved in high relief and maintain crisp edges, unlike

coarse-grained rock such as sandstone.81 Slate is also relatively soft compared, for

example, to granite.

In order to fabricate a slate tombstone, a roughly-sized slab is sawn to shape,

using table saws for the straight sides and a frame saw for the more elaborate top or crest.

Before the 1850s and the introduction o f the “Jenny Lind” polishing machines, the

surface of the slate was polished by hand using graduating degrees o f abrasives. Unlike

marble or granite, slate cannot take a high, glossy finish, but the polishing process does

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. alter the appearance o f the stone and, perhaps more importantly, levels the surface so that

a craftsman’s chisel may travel smoothly and easily over it without hitting disruptive high

or low spots.

While many of the Welsh gravestones in the Slateville Cemetery assume simple,

rounded arch forms shared by the Scots-Irish stones, elaborate crests in an almost fanciful

variety of forms are a hallmark: of the Welsh stones. In particular, the scrolled pediment

was a favorite profile for the Welsh gravestones, accounting for 13% of the slate markers

(see Figures 24,26,31, 70, 72, and 74). Its use reveals an enduring preference for forms

popular in Europe and America one hundred years before the first Welsh immigrants

arrived in Delta in the 1840s. Even more than the use o f dark-colored stone, the use of

the scrolled pediment was badly outmoded in American cemeteries by the second quarter

of the nineteenth century. However, in cemeteries in North Wales the same tenacity of

antiquated forms occurred throughout the period of emigration to Pennsylvania (Figure

51). By persisting in the use of the scrolled pediment, the Peach Bottom Welsh were

keeping current with the fashions of their mother country, continuing to identify with

those fashions instead of the trends o f their adopted home.

Like the scrolled pediments, table tombs also make their unique - and antique -

appearance in the Slateville Cemetery, despite their demise in most Anglo-American

cemeteries by the early nineteenth century (Figure 52). Again, table tombs enjoyed

greater longevity in Wales than in America and were fashioned of slate in the quarry

areas throughout the nineteenth, century (Figure 53).

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. A handful of slightly quirky-lookmg monuments sprinkles the Slateville

Cemetery, reflecting in part a practice found in the mother country of bolting or

cementing together slabs o f slate into a larger, three-dimensional structure. Two o f the

best examples of these sculptural markers in Delta are the slate writing desk (Figure 54)

that memorializes members o f the Rowlands and Evans families, and the elaborate

obelisk with applied cartouche for young John Edwards (Figure 55; died I860 at the age

of two years and four months). Other monuments that seem unusual in form have been

altered over time from their original design due to vandalism or other accidents. For

example, the cartouche commemorating Ellen Evans (d. 1861), now mounted on a low

platform or plinth built up of several carved slabs, was at one time applied to a pieced

slate obelisk, but the obelisk no longer stands (Figure 56). Likewise, the low pyramidal

plinth marking the grave o f four-year-old Ann Jane Williams (died 1859) once supported

an urn, now gone (Figure 57).

The obelisk was at its most fashionable in American mortuary art around the turn

o f the nineteenth century, but maintained its popularity throughout the following hundred

years. In the Slateville Cemetery, many obelisks o f marble, limestone, and granite mark

the graves o f prominent non-Welsh Peach Bottom citizens such as James and Mary

McConkey (died 1861 and 1867, respectively), whose stone came from York,

Pennsylvania, and Thomas Steel Williamson (died 1862), whose stone was made by

“Reardon, Laurel Hill, Pa.” (Figure 58). The Evans and Edwards families’ use o f obelisks

might appear to be a nod toward the custom o f the new country or a desire to join the

ranks of the fashionable elite, but a visit to the cemeteries of North Wales yields similar

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. obelisks constructed of slate (Figure 59). The shapes and structures o f the slate

gravemarkers in the Peach Bottom quarry community, whether scrolled pediment or

O'* obelisk or simple arch, mirror contemporaneous slate gravemarkers in North Wales.

So, too, do the motifs that were carved upon them by the stonecutter.

The stonecutter typically marks out the design onto slate with a soft pencil or

piece of camwood before any carving begins. In the case of words, letters, or numbers

that run in a straight line, the characters themselves are not necessarily marked out but

instead scribe-lines are drawn at their base, top height, and three-quarter mark. The

visibility of these fine, shallow scribe lines, created by lightly dragging a chisel across the

slate, on stones exposed to the elements for more than a hundred years attests to the

exceptional weather resistance which is a feature of most slate (Figure 60).84 In the case

of geometric ornamental motifs such as stars or symmetrical flowers, a center-marking

point can usually be seen. An unusual application o f this method may be seen on the

stone of the Foulk children (Figure 61), in which the carver turned the center-marking

point of the round letters O, C, and G into an ornament of the font. Similar tactics are

used on stones in North Wales (Figure 62).

The crispness and visibility of even the lightest marks on slate, while useful to

scholars in understanding how work is executed, comprise simultaneously the downfall

of the stonecutter, for a slip o f the chisel or other careless scarring o f the stone surface is

almost impossible to erase, even with polishing. In the case of serious mistakes, the

stonecutter may resort to “erasing” the whole line by chiseling out a recessed panel in the

area of the mistake and then cutting the appropriate characters on the clean slate.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Recessed panels are so stylistically uncommon on Slateville’s stones that the stone of

William W. Morris, who died in 1898 (Figure 63), may be just such a case of

compensation for significant error. Recessed panels are necessary if the cutter wishes to

carve characters or motifs in relief but that was not the motivation behind the Morris

stone since the stonecutter simply carved intaglio letters within the panel. Other internal

evidence on the Morris stone, such as the way the slant o f the italics varies greatly from

letter to letter, suggests a hand prone to making mistakes.

When a name or other word was incorrect only by the omission of one letter, the

stonecutter merely inserted the neglected letter as a superscript. While it is doubtful any

American consumer today would accept an amended stone as the final testament to their

departed loved one, the Welsh in Delta were apparently more relaxed about it, regardless

of whether the inscription was in Welsh (Figure 30, Richiard E. Jones, died 1876) or in

English (Figure 64, Michael Prichard, died I860).

Intaglio carving on slate is admittedly not only faster than relief carving, but also oc results in highly legible characters. Pictorial elements and decorative motifs, which do

not demand acute “legibility” per se, are usually worked in relief on slate monuments

from the second half of the nineteenth century, both in Wales and in Pennsylvania.

Relief is the only method by which the carver can attain textural detail and dimensional

quality. The Delta stones of this era are typically quite thick—often three to four inches

thick—making it feasible to carve in high relief since there is ample rock to spare.

Earlier gravestone slabs in the Peach Bottom area, notably in the Slate Ridge cemetery,

are much thinner—often only an inch thick—due to less sophisticated saw technology in

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. the early decades of the century. Thus it was not structurally practical to carve in relief

on the earlier gravestones or on other forms o f slate decorative arts such as sundials,

miniature furniture, or mantels.86

One third of the slate stones in the Slateville Cemetery have no motif at all, only

an inscription. But for those stones with motifs, Welsh residents of the Peach Bottom

quarry community drew upon the standard repertoire of nineteenth-century mortuary art

popular both in the United States and in Wales, as well as a repertoire o f motifs much

more popular in Wales.

In the first category—devices popular across many ethnicities in America and

Wales—fall decorative motifs such as flowers of several descriptions, drapery, heaven-

pointing hands, and wreaths (sometimes distinctly floral, sometimes o f more abstract

components). One stone even sports a Masonic emblem. Wreaths predominate,

accounting for almost one quarter of the decorated stones. The wreath represents triumph

in both classical and Christian iconography, in this case the victory over mortality

through Christian faith. This symbol o f triumph is consistent with Welsh nonconformist

religious doctrine, though wreaths certainly adorn the gravestones o f non-Welsh

decedents as well. In Slateville Cemetery, the wreath typically takes the form o f two

floral sprays joined at the top or bottom by a strap-like ribbon. Most commonly the

sprays consist of roses and one or two other, variable flowers (Figures 23,28,33,42,65,

66).

Also consistent with religious doctrine is the next most popular motif on the slate

stones: the open book, representing the Bible and accounting for one fifth o f the stones

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. with motifs (see, for example, Figures 26, 30, 37, 38). With the strong nonconformist

emphasis on an individual's personal knowledge o f and connection with the Bible itself

rather than on the intermediary functions of church administrators, the portrayal of the

book makes a clear statement about the beliefs and religious strivings of the deceased, or

at least of the family members erecting the monuments. The open Bible is also commonly

found on Welsh gravemarkers in Granville, New York, and Waukesha County,

Wisconsin.87

Following close behind the Bibles in popularity are the willow trees. Here the

Welsh use of this motif departs strongly from the standard repertoire of the day because

of its timing. The weeping willow, a symbol of mourning used intensively on mortuary

art both in Great Britain and in North America during the neoclassical period, was on the

wane in most American cemeteries by the mid-nineteenth century. The extraordinary

conjunction o f black slate, willow rendered in fluid lines, and scrolled pediment profile

(which the majority o f willow-motif stones feature) as late as 1891 sets the Welsh-

American gravestone apart by its apparent antiquity (Figures 35,67). Most willow

motifs appear on stones carved before 1880, and it is possible that on some later stones

the willow was chosen primarily out of the desire to match the motif of the companion

stone of a relative. However, field work in North Wales confirms the continued

popularity of the willow motif at the turn of the twentieth century.

The nearly universal use ofthe willow and um motif in the first quarter of the

nineteenth century has caused many gravestone scholars to dismiss the form and its

application as mechanical and uninteresting.88 However, the willows cut on the Slateville

Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. stones are among the finest carvings in the cemetery (Figures 68, 69, 70). Their

naturalistic aspect sets them apart from the more abstract renderings typically found in

North Wales, suggesting perhaps the difference between the work o f the small-scale,

local carver most likely at work on a custom basis in Peach Bottom and the large-scale

production carver in North Wales who created ready-made gravestones as one part ofthe

out-put of the quarries (Figure 71).

No striking patterns o f motif preferences emerge along gender lines. Bibles,

willows, and wreaths are almost equally distributed among male and female decedents,

while miscellaneous flowers, buds, and branches are weighted slightly on the male side.

Patterns do emerge, however, along age lines. For example, the use o f the Bible motif is

largely restricted to older adults, especially people over fifty years old, presumably

because they would have had the years of committed Bible study necessary to be worthy

of the depiction. O f the sixteen stones with Bibles, ten of them mark the graves of

decedents older than age fifty. For the seventeen decedents over age sixty whose stones

featured any motif, the Bible was the clear favorite; it was used eight times as compared

to the once or twice that all other motifs—e.g. bouquets, willows, wreaths — were used.

William Roberts, who died in 1865 at age 27, was the youngest Welshman whose marker

was adorned with the book. Judging from the tour-de-force of the carving on his stone

and on his father John’s 1867 stone as well, restraint may not have been a valued quality

in the Roberts household (Figures 72, 73).89

For young children under age ten the preferred motifs were the budding branch,

simple floral sprig, or leaf (Figures 74,75). Emblematic of tender, undeveloped youth,

Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. these motifs correspond closely with the nature of epitaphs written for children as seen

above. O f the fifteen children under age ten whose stones had motifs, eleven were

commemorated with these simple florals. Two stones featured willows, one stone

featured a floral crest, and one stone—the elaborate, pieced obelisk of John Edwards

(Figure 55)— featured a floral wreath.

John Edwards’s obelisk: notwithstanding, wreaths were apparently culturally

sanctioned primarily for adults between ages twenty and sixty, with fourteen of the

nineteen wreaths on the Welsh stones in the Slateville Cemetery falling in that category.

Two other wreaths adorn the markers of Richard and Ann Jones, husband and wife who

were both 62 years old when they died, and one wreath ornaments the stone of I l-year-

old Hugh Hughes (d. 1861).

More is known about the identity of the stonecutters who worked the slate into

such unequivocal expressions of ethnicity than about the poets who wrote the inscriptions

on Slateville Cemetery’s gravemarkers. Local oral tradition in Delta has suggested that

one man, Robert E. Evans, was responsible for carving all the slate stones.90 His 1907

obituary in the Delta Times-Herald confirms his role as the primary carver for the slate

stones in the Peach Bottom quarry community:

Robert E. Evans Died at his home in South Delta on Sunday, May 19, 1907, from heart disease, aged 73 years, 9 months. His funeral took place on Tuesday, service being held in Bethesda church conducted by Rev. Wm. C. Rowlands, assisted by Rev. A. L. Hyde. Interment at Slateville. Pall bearers: H. R. Lloyd, Richard Roberts, John J. Williams, Thos. J. Williams, Wm. W. Roberts and Owen Hughes. S. W. Holden, funeral director.

Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Mr. Evans was a native o f Wales but came to America in 1851. He is survived by a wife, two sons and a daughter, as follows: George, Robert and Jennie Evans; also two grandchildren.

The deceased was an expert stone worker and for many years did all the lettering and carving upon the slate tombstones so much used by the Welsh people in this locality. For the past few years he had not worked at his trade, but gave all his time to the garden and about home. He was troubled with asthma, frequently getting up in the night and walk in the open air. On Sunday morning, when the family awoke and found him absent from the room, they thought nothing of it. Shortly afterward his son-in-law found him lying dead in the yard where he had expired from heart failure.91

Evans signed his work on a ten-sided slate cartouche he made as a sign for the

Bethesda Welsh Congregational Church, now in the collection ofthe Old Line Museum,

providing a modest yet useful key to assessing the work on the cemetery stones (Fig. 14).

Evans had the sad task o f carving the gravestone o f his young wife, Ellen Evans, in 1861

(Figure 56), and his hand is evident both in the replication of a ten-sided cartouche, in the

geometric underscore that parallels the style of the Bethesda plaque’s fleur de lis, and in

his lettering. While he inscribed the Bethesda church plaque in Welsh, he inscribed his

wife’s stone in English. Evans, whose graphic and sculptural abilities appear stronger

than his lettering ability, also carved an ornate, interlocking S-scroll below the underscore

on his wife’s stone. An effusive variation on that motif appears in the same year, 1861,

around the am on Griffith Jones’s stone (Figure 20).

Evans’ signature is not visible on any of the stones. Henry Glassie has pointed out

the tendency within folk cultures for signatures to be unnecessary if an artist is from the

community and everyone already knows and recognizes his or her work.92 hi the case of

gravestones, products made outside of the community are often signed, presumably

Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. because they are not immediately recognizable. In this tradition, perhaps, monument

makers Whitaker and Swope signed at least one slate stone in Slateville, the English-

language stone of Hugh Hughes, who died on August 25,1870 (Figures 76,77). That

stone demonstrates that the Evans obituary should not be taken too literally when it says

Evans did “all” the carving.

Even during the time when Evans was active (presumably from 1851 when he

first came to America until perhaps 1900, working backwards from his death in 1907 a

“few years” to the time when he stopped working at his trade), a few stones suggest other

carvers were also at work. For example, the utterly home-made look of the stone

commemorating Mary Williams, who died in 1858, could not be confused with the

practiced look ofthe majority ofthe Slateville stones (Figure 78). It is thinner than most

of the slate monuments and its arch profile is rather awkward. The text is miniscule,

bearing no relation to the amount of space available.

Certain stones reflect a hand seemingly shaky regarding the Welsh language.

When a Welsh inscription appears spindly or of questionable confidence of execution, it

often coincides with linguistic error. This suggests that in at least a few cases the

stonecutter’s first language was English, and either knew Welsh secondarily or not at all.

And it refutes the notion that alt the stones were carved by just one man. An 1892

Historical Review ofthe Industrial and Commercial Growth o f York County lists the LB.

8c T.H. Wheeler Marble Works in Delta as having been established in 1889. At their

yard on Main Street, “here is carried a line of stone for building and monumental

purposes, and every facility is at hand to further the demands of the trade. When

100

I ...... Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. occasion demands, competent assistants are employed. All kinds of building trimmings

are executed. A special feature however is made in monumental design.” The Historical

Review also includes the Chas. E. Hawkins Marble and Granite Works in Delta, “dating

its foundation back to 1887... Here is carried a line o f marble, brownstone and granite,

for building and monumental work... A special feature...is made of cemetery work, tomb

and head stones...To foster the demands of the trade, a skilled assistant is employed.”

Mr. Hawkins had spent eleven years at his trade.95 Although slate was not mentioned in

the inventory of either of these establishments, both worked in materials other than

marble despite their business names, and both employed assistants when necessary.

Perhaps they occasionally worked in slate, depending on “the demands o f the trade.”

Certainly after Evans stopped working, the quality ofthe stones dropped

precipitously, indicating that there was someone willing to work slate gravestones for the

Welsh but not as accomplished at it as Robert E. Evans. A comparison o f details on the

husband and wife stones of William M. Williams (the above-mentioned “Will Ty’n y

Maes,” who died in 1894) and Mary Williams (who died in 1902) illustrates this

phenomenon clearly (Figure 79). On William’s stone, the sunflower’s ten petals are

evenly distributed around an imagined central dividing line (five above the middle and

five below the middle), while Mary’s sunflower has nine petals poorly arranged so that

six of the petals fall above the imagined center line and three fall below (Figures 80, 81).

On William’s stone, the compass rose is neatly, geometrically executed and turgidly fills

up the whole space within the scroll terminus. On Mary’s stone, the corresponding rose

has a mere four petals executed in lackluster fashion, not filling the entire space evenly

101

Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. (Figures 82, 83), On William’s stone, the Bible sports a clear distinction between

binding and pages, while on Mary’s stone the motif is a simple abstraction (Figures 84,

85). As for the text, William’s Welsh lettering maintains a fairly consistent italic slant

and has no errors. The degree of slant in the italic lettering in Mary’s text, however,

alternates within each word. And the carver left out the “e” in the word “ gweddw”

(“widow”) and had to insert it above the space where it should have been (Figures 86, 87,

88). Missing letters appear on a few stones during Evans’ active time too, and slate’s

unforgiving nature means that even for the best carver mistakes were inevitable. But the

cumulative effect of differences between the Williams’ two stones—meant to be

identical—suggests that in this case an entirely different hand had taken over by 1902,

while Evans in his old age was tending to his garden. For half a century, Evans, perhaps

along with a few other stonecutters, had aided the Peach Bottom Welsh in expressing

their cultural identity by creating stones that merged key components—slate rock, antique

profiles and motifs, and a distinct poetry—in such a way as to be thoroughly,

unmistakably Welsh.

102

Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 45 Slateville Presbyterian Church.

103

Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 46 Rehoboth Welsh Church(Capel Rehoboth), Peach Bottom Township.

104

Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 47 Slateville Cemetery, with surrounding farmland.

105

Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 48 Slateville Cemetery and Church.

106

Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Figure 49 "White bronze" memorial, Slateville.

107

Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 50 Contrasting black slate and white marble stones, Slateville.

L08

Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 51 Gravestone with scrolled pediment, Llanberis, Wales.

L09

Reproduced with permission ofthe copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 52 Humphrey Lloyd table tomb, Slateville.

110

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 53 Table tomb, Llanberfs, Wales.

ILL

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 54 Evans and Rowlands family “writing desk” gravemarker, Slateville.

112

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 55 John Edwards obelisk, Slateville.

113

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 56 Ellen Evans cartouche, Slateville.

114

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 57 Ann. Jane Williams plinth, gravemarker, Slateville.

115

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 58 T. S. Williamson marble obelisk, Slateville.

116

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 59 Slate obelisk, Caernarvon, Wales.

LIT

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 60 Scribe lines evident on Griffith Jones gravestone, Slateville.

118

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 61 Foulk children's gravestone, Slateville.

LL9

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 62 Ornamental center-pomts on. gravestone, Llanberis, Wales.

120

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ) ''Til'Ll!'iii l-l. T!'urn

i: IT'i i V t'tu /. 71* th f ’/uii7t<<

Figure 63 William W. Morris gravestone, Slateville.

121

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 64 Michael Prichard gravestone, detail of superscript “e,” Slateville. A tiny was added to correct the spelling of “babe.”

122

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 65 Jane Thomas gravestone, Slateville.

123

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure66 Elizabeth Jones gravestone, Slateville.

L24

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 67 Jane Williams gravestone, Slateville.

125

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 69 69 Figure gravestone, Thompson Brown Slateville, Slateville, Figure 68 68 Figure gravestone, Foulks Ann Ellen

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 70 John Tyson gravestone, detail o f willow and um, Slateville.

1 2 7

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 7 L Willow motif on gravestone, Llanberis, Wales.

128

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 72 William Roberts gravestone, Slateville.

129

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 73 John Roberts gravestone, Slateville.

130

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission

Figure 75 75 gravestone, Figure Morris William Slateville, Slateville, Figure 74 74 Figure gravestone, Evans Maggie

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 76 Hugh. Hughes gravestone, Slateville.

132

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 77 Hugh Hughes, detail of “Whitaker & Swope” signature.

133

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Figure 78 Mary Williams (cL 1858) gravestone, Slateville.

134

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 79 Mary Williams (d. 1902) and William M. Williams gravestones, Slateville.

135

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 80 William M. Williams, detail of sunflower.

136

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 81 Mary Williams (d. 1902), detail of sunflower.

137

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Figure 82 William M. Williams, detail of rose.

138

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 83 Mary Williams (d. 1902), detail of rose.

139

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Figure 84 William M. Williams, detail o f Bible.

140

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Figure 85 Mary Williams (d. 1902), detail of Bible.

141

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Figure 86 William M. Williams, detail of inscription.

142

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Figure 87 Mary Williams (cL 1902), detail o f inscription.

143

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission Figure 88 Maiy Williams (d. 1902) gravestone, Showing superscript "e."

144

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Chapter 6

CONCLUSION

The early decades of the twentieth century marked a rapid decline of a vibrant and

coherent Welsh community in the Peach Bottom quarry area. Several entwined factors

contributed to this decline. The demand for human resources created by World War I

meant that job opportunities and service in the armed forces drained Delta and the

surrounding towns o f many Welsh men. Likewise, Welsh emigration to the Peach

Bottom area had ended in 1907, reducing the chance for direct infusion of the mother

culture. Intermarriage between Welsh and non-Welsh became more common, with the

frequent result that the Welsh marriage partner adopted his or her spouse’s language and

church. The reduction in critical mass of Welsh speakers in the community led to a

reduced need for church services in Welsh; in 1937 Welsh language services ended upon

the retirement of Rehoboth’s Reverend John Hammond.94 This in turn fed the language’s

decline, as it was largely in church and at Sunday School that children learned Welsh. In

the United States, the Calvinistic Methodist Church, represented in Delta by Capel

Rehoboth, merged with the Presbyterian Church in 1920, dealing yet another blow to a

distinctly Welsh cultural idiom.

At the same time, new, lighter, economical roofing materials began edging out

slate shingles, reducing demand from the quarries. The fact that so much of the slate

145

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. shingle-making process had never been mechanized spelled doom for an industry faced

with a diminished labor force and competition from factory-made products. The

Depression took its toll as well with its drop in construction, and in 1933 the last Welsh

quarry closed,95 With all three major outlets for Welsh expressive culture—language,

religion, and the slate industry—under siege, it is not surprising that the slate

gravemarkers so characteristic of the culture were no longer produced after 1919 in the

Slateville Cemetery,

The current interest in and expression of Welsh culture among Delta residents

today can be seen as part of a second phase of cymreictod, a phase independent of the

particular set of circumstances that existed in the Peach Bottom quarry community in the

second half of the nineteenth century. This phase, a phase of reflection and revival,

began at least as early as 1954, when according to resident Enid Lewis the first gymanfa

ganu was introduced to Delta by a man from Bangor, Pennsylvania, who “got it started

up” in order to help celebrate the church’s centennial. Enid Lewis, who wore the so-

called Welsh “folk costume” to the 1954 homecoming, attributed the notion of wearing

these costumes to a Welsh man who had “seen pictures of different things and different

styles ... I guess that originated in Wales... his wife made this dress. She wasn’t

Welsh.”96 Oral testimonies as well as photographs documenting Welsh residents o f the

Peach Bottom quarry community make it clear that Welsh women were wearing ordinary

clothing fashions of the era, no different from the clothing styles o f their non-Welsh

neighbors.97 Welsh “love spoons,” garnered as tourist artifacts during trips to Wales,

newly graced the walls o f Delta homes. These Welsh-American revival activities can be

146

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. linked to activities marking both the 1853 centenniaL o f the naming of Delta and the 1954

centennial of the founding of the community’s Calvinistic Methodist chapel in 1854.

Once again, residents are making choices about how they want to express the

ethnicity of themselves and their community. Capel Rehoboth remains the locus for

Welsh cultural activities today, in conjunction with the Old Line Museum. Courses in

Welsh are taught at the church, relationships have been cultivated with Welsh men’s

choirs in North Wales, and the church hosts the biannuaL gymanfa ganu. Recently it has

served as a sponsoring organization for the National Gymanfa Ganu which attracts

thousands o f participants to different locations around the country annually. And the

church is a key player in the Heritage Festival referenced in the introduction.

Through these means, the local community has ensured that its Welsh past is

remembered and celebrated. The purpose of commemoration is, of course, different from

the purpose of self-identification, which is one reason why expressions of Welshness

today in Delta differ from nineteenth-century expressions. The vehicles by which the

community has chosen to celebrate and assert the Welsh aspect o f its past are suitable to

its contemporary circumstances and values, and suitable to all interested residents

regardless of ethnic background. So too were the means of expression among the

nineteenth-century Peach Bottom quarry community suitable to their circumstances and

values.

In order to recognize the distinctly Welsh voice of the quarry community, it has

been necessary to look at both material and nonmaterial expressive culture. It has also

been necessary to gauge the quarry community's expressive culture according to the

147

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. underlying values carried to Pennsylvania by the Welsh immigrants, not the values of

their host culture. In doing so, the logic behind the choice of slate gravemarkers as the

primary material expression o f identity becomes apparent. No other material artifact so

aptly and proudly encompassed critical Welsh values of linguistic ability, skill at working

slate, and deep religious faith as the slate gravemarkers.

148

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPENDIX: SAMPLE INVENTORIES AND VENDUE LISTS

149

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INVENTORY 8c APPRAISEMENT David E. Williams

Articles $ 0 Articles $ 0 L One cook Stove I. 00 25. Wheeler & Wilson Sewing I. 00 machine 2. Table & cover (No. 1) 45 26. Lot o f window blinds 25 3. Settee & cushion 60 27. Bureau (No. 2) 1. 00 4. Small cupboard or sink 50 28. Small Table 8c oil cloth 75 cover 5. Comer Cupboard 1. 50 29. Bed-stead (No. 2) 75 6. Lot of Dishes 1. 00 30. Rag Carpet. 22 yds. @ 7 0 1. 54 7. Lot o f Pictures 25 31. Carpet. 12 yds. @20 25 8. One Arm Chair 25 32. One Bedstead (No. 3) 25 9. Four Kitchen Chairs (No. L) 20 33. Two Featherbeds, covers 5. 00 Bolsters 8c Pillows 10. One Dozen Dining Room 2. 00 34. Bed cord 20 Chairs (No. 2) 11. Lot Kitchen chairs (No. 3) 40 35. Map ofU . States 10 12. One Rocking Chair 50 36. One Wash Stand Pitcher & 1. 50 Bowl 13. Small wash stand 10 37. Two Baskets 15 14. Dining Room Table (No. 2) 1. 00 38. Three looking Glasses 50 15. One Fancy Table cover 10 39. Old Cook stove 25 16. One clock 1. 50 40. Lot Tinware 25 17. Two Lamps 30 41. Two Tubs & wash boards 20 18. One Lounge 1. 00 42. Wheelbarrow & Garden 25 Impliments fsicl 19. Lot of old Books 75 43. Lot of Trash 5 20. One piece Oil cloth 10 44. Stove wood 50 21. Old Rag Carpet. 10 yds. 10 45. Cloths [sic] line 5 @ 10 22. Rag Carpet. 18 yds @ 70 1. 26 14. 79 23. Parlor Stove 50 20. 36 24. Bed-room set viz. 5. 00 35. 15 Washstand. Bureau. Bedstead 8c Two Cane bottom chairs 20. 36

Inventory and appraisement made this sixth day of Aug. 1887 by the above named Thomas F. Morgan, Benjamin Ellis } appraisers

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INVENTORY & APPRAISEMENT Anne M. Norris

L bed and mattress .320 I horse blanket 3 2 I string of bells and whip .60 ingrain carpet .63 stair carpet .20 30 yd. rag carpet @ 10 $3.00 $5.67

I looking glass $0.12 Zz doz. cane bottom chairs .75 5 wooden chairs @ .05 2 5 I stand .20 I writing desk (new) 1.63 5 pictures .12 I cane rocking chair .12 I wooden ” .10 I lounge .62 I cherry table 1.00 I comer cupboard 1.50 I bureau .37 I room stove .87 I cook stove (new) 3.00 I " " (old) .25 I gasoline stove and oven .50 I Singer Sewing Machine .37 I pr. scales and weights .13 glassware and irons .10 I ironing board .02 I tub .12 I feed box .25 I feed chest .10 I bench table .15 $18.31

crocks and glass jars .10 2 lamps @ 5 .10 2 vinegar barrels .20 2 large stone jars .18 I chum .17

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. I Butter kettle and stand .37 1 wheel barrow 1.00 L scythe .05 L wheel .02 2 screen doors .17 L clothes basket .20______$20.87

Taken and appraised by us this 21st day of January 1899. James Poff, Price Whitaker } appraisers

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INVENTORY & APPRAISEMENT Griffith W. Hughes

Dollars Cents First Floor Room L Sewing Machine 5 00 Lounge 1 00 Table I 50 Glass 50 Room 2. 4 Chairs I 50 Bureau 2 50 Centre Table I 00 Room 3. Stove 2 50 Table I 50 Dishes I 00 Second Floor Room 1. Bed and Bedding 2 00 Room 2. Bed and Bedding 2 00 Room 3. Bed Room Suit Tsic] and Bedding 12 00

Carpets in house and tubs 5 00 39 00

Taken and appraised by us this 3 Ist day of August 1900. Edw. W. Evans, R. Warren Ramsay } appraisers

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INVENTORY & APPRAISEMENT Elizabeth Pyle

Dollars Cents 1 Cook Stove 3 00 I Coal Stove I 00 I Table 75 I Lounge I 50 Zl Chairs I 25 2 R Chairs I 00 I Sink 2 00 2 Stands 25 1 Mattress 25 I Bed Stead 25 15 Yrds Carpet 75 I Bureau I 00 20 Yrds Carpet 3 00 15 Yrds Matting I 50 I Sewing Machine 5 00 12 Window Blinds 25 22 75

2 Doz. Glass Cans 75 2 Lamps 50 Tin Ware 25 Crockery I 00 I Lot Dishes 50 I Looking Glass 75 3 Flat Irons 25 2 Tubs 50 I Washboard 10 I Set Knives & Forks 25 I Lot Pictures 25 27 85

Appraised by us this 30 day of December AD. 1902 James Poff, John L. Norris } appraisers

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. REFERENCES

1 While Peach Bottom slate may have been the best roofing slate in the world, it was not the only slate being quarried in the United States. Welsh immigrants established themselves in most locations where there were significant slate deposits, including Bangor, Pennsylvania, Granville, New York, Poultney, Vermont, and Arvonia, Virginia. In some aspects, the Peach Bottom Welsh community may be seen as representative of similar slate-oriented communities established in the nineteenth century. Unlike most slate locales in the United States, however, emigrants from other countries besides Wales never found a place working alongside the Welsh in the Peach Bottom quarries, with the exception of a small number of Italians in the early twentieth century. The Peach Bottom quarry community must be distinguished as well from other nineteenth-century communities of Welsh who settled in the United States to work in the iron and coal industries or in farming. The majority o f those workers emigrated from the southern part of Wales, a region that has historically experienced a much heavier degree of influence not only from England but from other parts of Great Britain than has North Wales.

2 Cardiff was called South Delta in the nineteenth century; it runs seamlessly into Delta, sharing a continuous Main Street. To avoid confusion I will refer to Cardiff by its twentieth-century name.

3 A pamphlet published by the Peach Bottom Slate Producers Association of Delta, PA, on the History and Characteristics o fthe Peach Bottom Roofing Slate, Manufactured in York County, Pennsylvania and Harford Countyr Maryland in December, 1898, makes clear that the illegitimate use o f the term “Peach Bottom” for slate produced elsewhere in Pennsylvania was a source o f frustration to producers of the genuine article.

4 My research concentrated on Delta, West Bangor, and the hamlet o f Coulsontown, all in Peach Bottom Township, Pennsylvania. The probate inventories, wills, deeds, vendue lists, and census records I drew on were all from Peach Bottom Township; other sources such as account ledgers, oral histories, architecture, and cemeteries also encompassed the communities over the state line in Maryland.

155

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. s Tom Davies cites “the frequency o f slate boats plying from Caernarvon, Portmadoc and other ports on the coast” as another impetus for emigration from North Wales in the 1840s and 1850s. Tom Davies, “The Arfbn Quarries,” Planet, 30 (1976), 7. Slate shingles—flameproof and durable—from the quarries of Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire are often said to have roofed the western world’s industrial revolution.

6 John Gibson, History o f York County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, 1886), 768.

7 Alma Orr, interview by Doug Dolan and Ellen Cannon (hereafter Dolan and Cannon). Tape recording. Delta, Pa., July 14, 1976. Pennsylvania State Archives, Harrisburg (hereafter PSA), MG 409, Tape 18.

8 Lester and Edith Jones, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Delta, Pa., July 7, 1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 9.

9 This study deals only with the cemetery of the Slateville Presbyterian Church. Other area cemeteries ripe for study include those of the Slate Ridge Church and the Mt. Nebo Church.

10 See, for example, Stewart G. McHenry, “Eighteenth-Century Field Patterns as Vernacular Art,” in Common Places: Readings in American Vernacular Architecture, ed. Dell Upton and John Michael Vlach (Athens, GA, 1986) 107—123.

11 A concise description of the cottages’ architectural pedigree may be found in a brief pamphlet, “Delta-Coulsontown: An Architectural Perspective” (York, Pa., 1981). More detailed Welsh architectural history is found in four important sources: lorwerth C. Peate, The Welsh House (Liverpool, 1946); Peter Smith, Houses o fthe Welsh Countryside (London, 1975); J. B. Lowe, Welsh Industrial Workers Homing 1775—1875 (Cardiff 1977); and J. and J. Penoyre, Houses in the Landscape: A Regional Study o f Vernacular Building Styles in England and Wales (1978).

12 In a strange reversal of fortune, as of March, 2002, developers were breaking ground for new housing to be built in West Bangor.

13 Originally, the two sides and the back of the house were shingled in slate and only the front of the house sported wood siding, but the slate on the back of the house has been replaced with different materials. Still, Valerie Griffith in a personal communication (March 23,2002) said it takes some getting used to living in a slate-shingled house: “When the wind blows, it just rattles.”

156

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 14 One o f the Coulsontown cottages owned by Garth Reynolds features quoins that project beyond the frame o f the house. This has been interpreted by architectural historian Thomas Schaeffer as a sign that row housing may have been intended but not implemented.

15 Marshall Heaps, personal communication, 1992.

16 The precise construction date for the Cardiff and Coulsontown structures has not been determined. Thomas Schaeffer believes they were constructed by quarry owners as a lure to attract workers (personal communication, 1993).

17 Don Robinson, personal communication, 2002.

18 U.S. Census, Peach Bottom Township, 1900. That there was no particular cultural attachment on the part of the Welsh settlers to the early, Welsh building form can be seen in the subsequent inhabitation of the stone cottages by other groups. Some of Delta’s African American families moved in to the cottages in Coulsontown in the early twentieth century and continue to live there today. Oral testimony suggests that some of the few Italian men who came to work in the quarries in the early decades of the twentieth century occupied the stone row-housing closest to the railroad tracks: “Maybe they’d rent a house, all live in it, probably you saw the stone houses down here towards the railroad? Why, they used, maybe they’d rent one of those and they’d all live together there, do their own cooking and things like that, and finally some o f the families came.” Milo Williams, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Cardiff, Md., July 14, 1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 13.

19 For example, see Margaret Hambly Watson, The Graham Affair: The Role o f Artifacts in the Definition o f Culture, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms, 1993.

20 Charlotte Erickson, Invisible Immigrants (Coral Gables, FLA, 1972).

111 examined thirty-seven probate inventories for decedents in Peach Bottom Township from 1860—1917. Register of Wills, York County Court House. I also examined fourteen public vendue lists for Peach Bottom Township for the years 1858—1910, and found in them an interesting and conspicuous social network based on ethnicity. Welsh people primarily attended the auctions only of other Welsh people, and Scots-Msh did likewise within their own ethnic group; thus, while categories of material goods did not differ between the groups, specific items were conserved within an ethnic group, thereby becoming, perhaps, a “Welsh” chair or a “Scots-Irish” table. This pattern may also suggest the type of social event a public vendue was. Register of Wills, York County Court House.

157

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. “ For a discussion o f the “ambiguities o f probate-based studies,” see Peter Benes, ed., Early American Probate Inventories (Boston, 1989). The introduction by Benes as well as articles by Anna L. Hawley and Kevin M. Sweeney are particularly helpful in understanding some of the challenges o f working with probate inventories.

23 Enid Lewis, interview by Doug Dolan. Tape recording. Delta, Pa., July 2, 1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 37. Lewis recalled a stool, a tea set, and a pair o f candlesticks as the only possessions brought from Wales. Also, Gwen Kilbum, personal communication, 1992.

24 For discussions of historic Welshness, see Jan Morris, The Matter o f Wales (London, 1984); for a modem anthropological perspective see Carol Trosset, Welshness Performed: Welsh Concepts o f Person and Society (Tucson, 1993).

25 Slate quarrying is an extremely wasteful extractive industry, yielding at best 25% usable slate and 75% waste, hence the tremendous tips.

26 Strangely enough, multicolored slate roofs are not common in Wales.

27 Information on West Bangor sidewalks comes from oral history: David O. McCreary and Hilda Kilbum, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Cardiff, Md., July 7,1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 7.

28 Gwen Roberts Kilbum, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Cardiff, Md., July 20,1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 22; Gertrude Bradley, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Bel Air, Md., July 27, 1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 34; David O. McCreary, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Cardiff, Md., July 7, 1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 8; Milo Williams, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Cardiff Md., July 14, 1976. PSA, MG 409, Tapes 13 and 14.

29 The Old Line Museum also has in Its collection several slate “fans.” In North Wales, these decorative showpieces were made by the most skilled slate splitters as undeniable proof of their ability to work the slate into incredibly thin pieces without breaking it. They are still made there today and sold as tourist pieces. Unfortunately there is no provenance for the fans in the museum.

30 See, for example, D. Ben Rees, Wales: The Cultural Heritage (Ormskirk, England, 1981). Jan Morris, in The Matter o f Wales, more or less dismisses Welsh visual arts in the course of a mere six paragraphs m a book of over four hundred pages. Indeed, she mentions in passing only four Welsh painters of international fame, and asserts that “the chief outlet for popular visual art in Wales has always been the tombstone.” Morris, 133-134.

158

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 31 R. Merfyn Jones, The North Wales Quarrymen, 1874—1922 (Cardiff L982) 59. lam indebted to Jones’ work for my understanding o f the link between Welsh identity and slate work.

32 Ibid, 76.

33 U.S. Census returns for Peach Bottom Township confirm this trend.

34 David O. McCreary, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Cardiff Md., July 7,1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 8.

33 Hazel Mathis, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Whiteford, Md., July 6, 1976. PSA, M G 409,T ape!.

36 T. J. Rhys Jones, Living Welsh (New York, 1979) 12.

37 R. Merfyn Jones, 78.

38 Caban is the word for both the activity and the place. In the underground slate mines, thecaban might be located within the mine itself and each gallery or level of the mine could have its own caban .

39 Merfyn Williams, The State Industry (Buckinghamshire, 1991) 28; Jones, 57, 58, 78-79.

40 Milo Williams, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Cardiff, Md., July 13, 1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 11.

41 Morris Hughes, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Whiteford, Md., July 9, 1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 32.

42 Male given names reflect a patriarchal naming tradition and are usually the same or slight variants of Welsh surnames. For example, William, Hugh, Owen, Evan, Richard, Robert, Rhys, Edward, Griffith, and Thomas are all given names that have correlative surnames (usually with the addition o f an “s” such as Williams, Roberts, or Owens).

43 Gertrude Bradley, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Bel Air, Md., July 27,1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 33. Mrs. Bradley also remembered “Bill Blackhead,” who had “real black hair,” and “Johnny Butter.”

159

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 44 Milo Williams, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Cardiff, Md., July L3,1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 11. Oral histories suggest that nicknames were spoken in both Welsh and English, but it is not certain from the taped interviews whether the informant is automatically translating the Welsh term into English for the benefit o f the interviewer or is providing the English word for the nickname because it was used that way by English speakers. Even if the Welsh made an effort at being inclusive of the community’s English speakers by maintaining the nickname custom in English, the practice itself never extended beyond the ethnic Welsh in terms of who bestowed the nicknames and to whom they were given. Non-Welsh oral informants bear this out in their testimony as well, recognizing the nicknaming as a peculiarly Welsh habit.

45 Enid Lewis, interview by Doug Dolan. Tape recording. Delta, Pa., July 2, 1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 37; Milo Williams, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Cardiff, Md., July 13, 1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 11. David O. McCreary also remembered “Davy Patagonia,” “Cabbage Hughes,” and “Raindrop Splitter” as other nicknames held by Peach Bottom quarriers (David O. McCreary, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Cardiff, Md., July 7, 1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 8).

46 Prys Morgan, “From a Death to a View: The Hunt for the Welsh Past in the Romantic Period,” in The Invention o f Tradition, ed. Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger (Cambridge, 1986) 43-100.

47 Morgan, 56-62.

48 The Delta Times, March 17,1892.

49 Wiley,Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia o f York Co., Pa. (Philadelphia, 1897) 302.

50 R. Merfyn Jones, 74.

51 For a thorough discussion of the dates and authorship attributions o f the bardic grammar, see Ceri W. Lewis, “Einion Offeiriad and the Bardic Grammar,” in A. O. H. Jarman and Gwilym Rees Hughes, eds., A Guide to Welsh Literature (Llandybie, Wales, 1984).

521 have drawn most of the information on Welsh poetic forms from two sources. Eurys Rowlands’ article, “Cynghanedd, Metre, Prosody,” in Jarman and Hughes (Llandybie, Wales, 1984) 202—217 provides a technical description of these aspects o f Welsh poetry. A more accessible explanation may be found in Gwyn Williams, An Introduction to Welsh Poetry (Philadelphia, 1952) 232-247. The two authors differ slightly on some details.

160

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 53 Englynion appear on the gravemarkers of Welsh emigrants in several communities I have studied, and are not restricted to use on slate stones. For example, in the Welsh Hills area of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, the Salem, Jerusalem, and Tabernacle cemeteries each feature marble gravestones with englynion . In the Elmwood Cemetery in Middle Granville, New York, the slate headstone of Welsh immigrant and poet Rhys Wynn Jones (d. August 4, 1883) bears an englyn composed in his honor by one Dewi Gian Dulas that actually refers back to itself as an englyn .

54 Some scholars view the sub-types as different enough to be considered distinct types, and thus would classify cynghanedd in four types.

55 A handful of Welsh stones made o f marble rather than slate also feature Welsh poems, but the marble has worn away to the extent that transcribing the poems is very difficult.

56 Other examples o f poems composed in Welsh but not with distinctly Welsh forms include those on the stones ofHugh Williams (1865) and Humphrey Evans (1890). Welsh poetry scholar Tegwyn Jones has suggested that these may be hymns, as they are typical hymn forms (personal communication, September I, 2000).

57 Pennsylvania did not start to maintain a register of deaths until 1893, making it difficult to gain information about cause o f death.

58 See Deborah A. Smith, ‘“Safe in the Arms o f Jesus’: Consolation on Delaware Children’s Gravestones, 1840-99,” in Markers 4 (1987) 85—106.

59 Translation by Maxwell Roberts and Tegwyn Jones.

60 Translation by Tegwyn Jones.

61 Classic texts on 17th and 18th century Anglo-American gravestones are Allan I. Ludwig, Graven Images (Middletown, Conn., 1966); Peter Benes, The Masks o f Orthodoxy (Amherst, Mass., 1977); and Edwin Dethlefsen and James Deetz, “Death’s Heads* Cherubs, and Willow Trees: Experimental Archaeology in Colonial Cemeteries,” in American Antiquity 31:4 (1966), 502—510.

62 The Welsh inscription—not an englyn —on the stone of Ellen Morris is graphic in its description of conditions in the grave. In translation it reads: “I rest here quietly/Among the small insects;/Because Christ my brother warmed/The earth bed before me.”

161

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 63For a discussion of this transition, see Thomas J. Hannon, “Western Pennsylvania Cemeteries in Transition: A Model for Subregional Analysis,” in Richard E. Meyer, ed., Cemeteries and Gravemarkers: Voices o f American Culture (Logan, Utah, 1989) 237— 257; Dickran and Ann Tashjian, Memorials fo r Children o fChange (Middletown, Conn., 1974); David E. Stannard, The Puritan Way o f Death: A Study in Religion, Culture, and Social Change (Oxford, 1977) 167—188. For the emergence of the related view o f death itself as something beautiful, see Philippe Aries, The Hour o f Our Death (New York, 1981).

64 Thisenglyn was also used on the stone o f Owen K. Thomas (died 1883); the word mhriod (nasal mutation of priod) means not just “wife” but more generally “spouse,” and the pronoun ei translates as “her,” “his,” or “him.” Thus the poem can be used interchangeably for either gender.

65 The last line is improper in form, having ten syllables instead o f the required seven.

66 The use o f the word “gravel” here may be a synecdoche, implying the grave which is made up o f earth and other matter; but it may also refer more literally to the very common practice in North Wales o f covering the gravesite with (usually white) gravel or pebbles. I have no evidence for the continuation of that practice among the Welsh in Pennsylvania.

67 The marble stone o f Rees T. Jones (died 1858) is in English except for Psalm 34, verse 22, “Yrarglwydda waredeneidiau ei weisionia 'rrhai’all aymddiriedantyn ddo e f nid anrheithir hwynt ” (“The Lord redeemeth the souls of his servants and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate”). This reflects the close association between Welsh language and religion—the belief in the suitability of Welsh for religious expression.

68 One phrase found only in English is also reserved for those who died young: “Gone (or Lost) but not forgotten.” The six decedents commemorated with this phrase range in age from 8 months to 24 years.

69 Approximately one sixth o f the slate markers feature places of origin; not surprisingly, almost all of them are stones that use the Welsh language.

70 A name was ascribed to the poem on the marble stone of William Morris (died 1869), but unfortunately the marble has weathered and made the inscription illegible.

71 In a brief conversation I had with CheryL Mitchell in 1993, she stated that there was only one poet in the community, whose name was Morgan. She suggested he had written all the poems and when he died, the poems on the stones ceased. However I was unable to find out more from her regarding Morgan’s identity.

162

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 71 Scott T. Swank, Arts ofthe Pennsylvania Germans (New York, 1983), ix.

73 U.S. Census, Peach Bottom Township, 1870.

74 David O. McCreary, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Cardiff Md., July 7, 1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 7.

75 Ibid. These “boxes” were probably the vaults that Milo Williams described: “Years back before they got the cement vaults for the cemetery they used to build a vault in the grave with slate, and then cover them over with these slate flags. Then there was a man named Timothy Morgan, he used to buy ‘em up at houses; he’d get them from fellows who’d make them on Saturday afternoon, then he’d come around and buy them up and haul ‘em down to the railroad, put ‘em in a box car, and...you’d buy ‘em...He’d build a brick wall, a brick border around it, and cover it over with these slate slabs, and cement the seams, and you’d have almost the same as a cement vault” ( Milo Williams, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Cardiff,Md., July 13, 1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 11). Gertrude Bradley, who was bom in 1900 and was a daughter of Will “the Store” Williams, recollected a “big tank outside” o f her grandfather Jones’ house that was “long enough to get into, just like those things down at the cemetery” (Gertrude Bradley, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Bel Air, Md., July 27, 1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 34).

76 There are certainly Welsh people who chose material other than slate for their gravestones, and the reasons for this vary to include, no doubt, social ambition, economics, availability, or even emotional reasons. One man I interviewed in Llanberis, North Wales, claimed that his relative, a quarry-worker, refused to have a slate gravestone because it was slate itself that was the cause of his death from silicosis. While I have not found specific information about the cost of slate gravestones relative to other materials, the use o f marble by some o f Peach Bottom’s poorest decedents — individuals whose quarry j'obs might have ensured access to the lowest rates o f purchase — would indicate that economy was not the primary factor guiding the choice o f material. It should be noted that some slate stones in the Slate Ridge Cemetery belong to non-Welsh decedents, but they predate the arrival of the Welsh by several decades (and thus date to an era before dark gravestones became unfashionable) and seem to reflect utilitarian exploitation o f local materials.

77 Thomas J. Hannon, “Western Pennsylvania Cemeteries in Transition,” in Richard E. Meyer, ed., Cemeteries and Gravemarkers: Voices o f American Culture (Logan, Utah, 1989), 249.

163

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 78 For an example o f the shift from sandstone to marble in another region, see Richard F. Welch, “The New York and New Jersey Gravestone Carving Tradition,” in David Watters, editor, Markers 4 (Lanham, MD, 1987), 1-54.

79 The use o f slate in the United States quarry areas including Granville and Arvonia well into the twentieth century is consistent with practice in the North Wales quarry areas.

80 Williams, The Slate Industry, 3, 13.

Personal experience gained in Ornamental Stonecutting workshop, taught by Allen Williams, Eastfleld Village, 1993. For more information on the qualities o f slate and sandstone, see Kevin M. Sweeney, “Gravestones” in William N. Hosley and Gerald W. R. Ward, eds., The Great River: Art and Society o fthe Connecticut Valley, 1635—1820 (Hartford, 1985), 485-523.

82 It should be noted that the gravestones of North Wales cemeteries typically stand several inches higher than those in the Slateville Cemetery.

83 In the case of one slate stone in Slateville Cemetery, the letters were marked out but then the stonecutter shifted everything to the left, presumably because in the process of marking out the words he discovered his original plan would not have left him enough room. The faint outlines o f the uncut letters are still visible on this stone (John R. Hughes, died 1852).

84 Not all slate is suitable for roofing or other outdoor usage; for example, slate with intrusions of other minerals will develop holes or depressions when those weaker parts are exposed to weather. Williams, The Slate Industry, 4—5.

85 In North Wales cemeteries it is common to see intaglio letters highlighted with white paint or gold leaf. I have found no evidence yet that such a practice was followed in the Slateville Cemetery.

86 The Museum o f Welsh Life at St. Fagan’s, Cardiff Wales, has in its collection several examples of slate miniature furniture such as a tall-case clock and a bureau. These are on view in the quarryworker’s cottage exhibit. An excellent survey of intaglio-carved mantels in the Ogwen Valley ofNorth Wales has been written by Gwenno Caffell, The Carved States ofDyffiyn Ogwen (Cardiff 1983); mantels o f this sort have been found in homes in many of the villages from which Peach Bottom’s quarriers emigrated, such as Llanrug, Bethesda, Deiniolen, and Llanllechid.

164

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 87 In Wales, the importance o f personal understanding of and closeness to the Bible is encapsulated in the enduring and universally known story of Mary Jones. Mary “in 1800 walked twenty-five miles barefoot to Bala from Llanfihangel-y-pennant to pick up her Bible from the Methodist preacher, Thomas Charles, thus somehow giving rise to the British and Foreign Bible Society.” Alice Thomas Ellis, A Welsh Childhood (London, 1991), 126.

88 See, for example, Diana Hume George and Malcolm A. Nelson, Epitaph and Icon: A Field Guide to the Old Burying Grounds o f Cape Cod, Martha V Vineyard, and Nantucket (Orleans, MA, 1983), 14—15.

89 The Roberts family may have been calling in general on a cultural vocabulary somewhat different from that of their Welsh neighbors; John Roberts’ inscription is the only one of the Welsh stones in Slateville to use the heading “Sacred to the memory of...” as opposed to “In memory of,” or, in Welsh, “£ r c o f am i' In other Welsh-American cemeteries such as those in Granville, NY and Waukesha County, WI, both the English “Sacred to the memory o f’ and the Welsh equivalent “Serchog” are common.

90 When asked whether there was “one particular person in town who did the slate gravestones,” Milo Williams replied “Mmmhmm. There was an old gentleman by the name of Robert Evans. He did all the carving. You’ve been up to Betty’s? Betty’s grandfather did all the carving. He had tools for that purpose, I don’t know what they did with them, but he used to make all that... You can see on some o f the stones where they used a yardstick and drew lines. A lot of the stones in the cemetery, if you look close you can see where he drew lines” (Milo Williams, interview by Dolan and Cannon. Tape recording. Cardiff, Md., July 13,1976. PSA, MG 409, Tape 11). Note: “Betty” is Betty Williams, nee Elizabeth Griffiths. Evans was actually her step-grandfather.

91 Delta Times-Herald, May 24,1907.

92 Henry Glassie, The Spirit o f Folk Art (New York, 1989), 184.

93 Historical Review ofthe Industrial and Commercial Growth o f York County, Including McSherrystown, Adams Co. (N.p., 1892).

94 Bob McLaughlin, “Welsh Immigrants — Slate Quarries Mark History of Three Communities.” The Aegis , Bet Air, MD, c. 1975,38-39. Photocopy on file at Old Line Museum, Delta, Pa.

165

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 95 Ibid, p. 39. McLaughlin notes that “after all o f the Welsh quarries closed, the R. J. Funkhouser Co. o f Hagerstown continued to process slate at its Delta plant, built in 1926. Funkhouse [sic] employed all of the former Welsh quarrymen who wished to continue working, cutting and splitting roofing slate there until 1941.” Local historian Ruth Ann Robinson recollects her grandfather splitting slates at Funkhouser as late as the 1950s, so apparently some special orders were still being processed (personal communication, 2002).

96 Enid Lewis, interview by Doug Dolan. Tape recording. Delta, Pa., July 2,1976. PSA, MG 409, Tapes 37 and 38.

97 Earlier in the twentieth century, posed photographs were taken circa 1902 o f women wearing the folk costume of Wales, but these tableaux may have related more closely to contemporary Welsh folk-revival activities in Wales than to a perceived need for a “Welsh revival” in Delta. The photos were taken by a professional photographer, Fiske, who, according to local historians Don and Ruth Ann Robinson, set up a temporary studio in the Williams Brothers’ Store (personal communication, 2002).

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aries, Philippe. The Hour o f Our Death. Translated by Helen Weaver. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1981.

Behre, Charles H., Jr.Slate in Pennsylvania. Harrisburg, Pa.: Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey, 1933.

Benes, Peter. The M asks o f Orthodoxy. Amherst, Mass.: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1977.

, ed. Early American Probate Inventories. Boston: Boston University, 1989.

Berthoff, Rowland Tappan. British Immigrants in Industrial America, 1790-1950. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1953.

Cafell, Gwenno. The Carved Slates ofDyffryn Ogwen. Cardiff: National Museum of Wales, 1983.

Conway, Alan, ed. The Welsh in America: Lettersfrom the Immigrants. Minneapolis University of Minnesota Press, 1961.

Davies, Tom. “The Arfon Quarries.” Planet (Aberystwyth, Wales) 30 (January 1976)

Deetz, James. In Small Things Forgotten: The Archaeology o fEarly American Life. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Anchor Press, 1977.

Dethlefsen, Edwin, and James Deetz. “Death’s Heads, Cherubs, and Willow Trees: Experimental Archaeology in Colonial Cemeteries.” American Antiquity 31, no. 4 (1966): 502-10.

Delta (Pa.) Times and Delta Times-Herald, 1893-1907.

Ellis, Alice Thomas. A Welsh Childhood. London: Mermaid Books, 1991.

Erickson, Charlotte. Invisible Immigrants. Coral Gables, Fla.: University of Miami Press, 1972.

167

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Ferguson, Leland. Uncommon Ground: Archaeology and Early African America, 1650- 1800. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992.

George, Diana Hume, and Malcolm A. Nelson. Epitaph and Icon: A Field Guide to the Old Burying Grounds o f Cape Cod, Martha s Vineyard, and Nantucket. Orleans, Mass.: Parnassus Imprints, 1983.

Gibson, John. History o f York County, Pennsylvania. Chicago: F. A. Batty, 1886.

Glassie, Henry. The Spirit o f Folk Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1989.

Hannon, Thomas J. “Pennsylvania Cemeteries in Transition.” In Cemeteries and Gravemarkers: Voices o f American Culture , edited by Richard E. Meyer. Ann Arbor, Mich.: UMI Research Press, 1989.

Hartman, Edward George. Americans from Wales. Boston, Mass.: The Christopher Publishing House, 1967.

Historical Review o f the Industrial and Commercial Growth o f York County. ..N.p., 1892.

Jackson, Kenneth T. Silent Cities: The Evolution o f the American Cemetery . New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1989.

Jarman, A. O. H., and Gwilym Rees Hughes, eds. A Guide to Welsh Literature. Llandybie, Wales: Christopher Davies, 1984.

Jenkins, J. Geraint. Traditional Country Craftsmen . London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978.

Jones, R. Brinley, ed. Anatomy o f Wales. Glamorgan, Wales: Gwerin Publications, 1972.

Jordan, Terry G. Texas Graveyards. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1982.

Jones, R. Merfyn. The North Wales Quarrymen, 1874-1922. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1982.

Jones, T. J. Rhys. Living Welsh. New York: David McKay, 1979.

Lewis, M .J.T. Slate. N.p.: Gwynedd Archives Service/Gwynedd County Council, 1976.

Lowe, J.B . Welsh Industrial Workers Housing, L775-1875. Cardiff: National Museum o f Wales, 1977.

168

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Ludwig, Allan L Graven Images. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 1966.

McKenna, Christopher D. “Welsh Gravestones in Pennsylvania: A Case o f Cultural Transmission.” University of Delaware.

Meyer, Richard E., ed. Cemeteries and Gravemarkers: Voices o f American Culture. Aim Arbor, Mich.: UMI Research Press, 1989.

, ed. Ethnicity and the American Cemetery . Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1993.

Morgan, Prys. “From a Death to a View: The Hunt for the Welsh Past in the Romantic Period.” In The Invention o f Tradition, edited by Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.

Morris, Jan. The Matter o f Wales. London: Oxford University Press, 1984.

National Slate Association. Slate Roofs. 1926. Reprint, Fair Haven, Vt.: Vermont Structural Slate Co., Inc., 1977.

Padarn Country Park Quarry Hospital Visitor Centre. N.p.: Gwynedd County Planning Department, n.d.

Peach Bottom Slate Producers Association. History and Characteristics o f the Peach Bottom Roofing Slate, Manufactured in York County , Pennsylvania, and Harford County, Maryland. York, Pa.: York Press, 1898.

Peate, lorwerth C. The Welsh House. Liverpool: Hugh Evans & Sons, Ltd., 1946.

. Tradition and Folk Life. London: Faber and Faber Ltd., 1972.

Penoyre, John, and Jane Penoyre. Houses in the Landscape: A Regional Study o f Vernacular Building Styles in England and Wales. London: Faber & Faber, 1978.

Prowell, George R. History o f York County, Pennsylvania. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1907.

Rees, D. Ben. Wales: The Cultural Heritage. Ormskirk, England: G. W. & A. Hesketh, 1981.

Roberts, Gwilym R. New Lives in the Valley: Slate Quarries and Quarry Villages in North Wales, New York, and Vermont, 1850-1920. Somersworth, N.H.: New Hampshire Printers, 2000.

169

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Roberts, Maxwell. “Englynion o f Slatesville [sic] Cemetery, Delta, Pa., U.S.A.” Paper presented at Capel Rehoboth, Delta, Pa., May 1991.

Seibel, Carter, ed. Delta, Pennsylvania: A Centennial Community. Delta, Pa.: Delta Centennial Committee, 1980.

Stannard, David E. The Puritan Way o f Death: A Study in Religion, Culture, and Social Change. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977.

Smith, David, ed. A People and a Proletariat: Essays in the History o f Wales 1780- 1980. London: Pluto Press Limited, 1980.

Smith, Deborah A. ‘“Safe in the Arms o f Jesus:’ Consolation on Delaware Children’s Gravestones, 1840-99.” Markers 4 (1987): 85-106.

Smith, Peter. Houses o fthe Welsh Countryside. London: Her Maiestv’s Stationery Office, 1975.

Sweeney, Kevin M. “Gravestones.” In The Great River: Art and Society o fthe Connecticut Valley, 1635-1820 , edited by William N. Hosley and Gerald W. R. Ward. Hartford, Conn.: Wadsworth Atheneum, 1985.

Swank, Scott T. et al. Arts o f the Pennsylvania Germans. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1983.

Tashjian, Dickran and Aim. Memorials fo r Children o f Change. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 1974.

Thomas, The Rev. R. D. A History o fthe Welsh in America. Translated by Philips G. Davies. Lanham, Md.: University Press o f America, 1983.

Trosset, Carol. Welshness Peformed: Welsh Concepts o f Person and Society. Tucson, Ariz.: University o f Arizona Press, 1993.

U.S. Bureau of the Census. Returns for Peach Bottom Township, York County, Pa., 1850-1880, 1900.

Watson, Margaret Hambly. The Graham Affair: The Role o f Artifacts in the Definition o f Culture. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms, 1993.

Welch, Richard F. “The New York and New Jersey Gravestone Carving Tradition.” Markers 4 (1987): 1-54.

170

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Wiley, Samuel T., ed. Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia o f Cumberland, York and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: C. A. Ruoff Company, 1897.

Williams, Daniel Jenkins. One Hundred Years o f Welsh Calvinistic Methodism in America. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1937.

Williams, Glanmor. Religion, Language, and Nationality in Wales. Cardiff: University o f Wales Press, 1979.

Williams, Gwyn. An Introduction to Welsh Poetry. Philadelphia: Dufbur Editions/Albert Saifer, 1952.

Williams, Jay G. Memory Stones: A History o f Wetsh-Americans in Central New York and Their Churches. Fleischmanns, N.Y.: Purple Mountain Press, 1993.

Williams, Merfyn. The Slate Industry. Buckinghamshire, England: Shire Publications, 1991.

Williams, Stephen J. A Welsh Grammar. Cardiff: University o f Wales Press, 1980.

York County Planning Commission. Delta-Coulsontown: An Architectural Perspective . [York, Pa.], 1981.

171

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.