Request for information:

Pantcrwyn farm and Thomas Williams, poet and slate merchant of Rhostryfan

 
 
 
 

14.11.2008

Hello, I have two questions - quite unrelated.

Firstly I am trying to locate the farm where my grandfather was brought up. I was told it was called Pantcrwyn but can't find this on any map. I believe it was near Llanllyfni or Nebo. He left the area to work in the South Wales coalfields in his youth probably around 1910. He died when was very young so I never visited the area as a child although I have walked the Nantlle mountains in later years and felt very much at home! I have just retired so have time now to delve into these things and would love to see where he lived one day.

My second query relates to a local story from the Duddon Valley in Cumbria where I now live and coming from Wales it interests me. In the late 1800’s a Thomas Williams moved here –he was a slate merchant from Rhostryfan who died in a tragic drowning accident at the local quarry in 1880. He is buried here in Ulpha churchyard and his obituary reveals him to have been highly respected man who wrote poetry under the pseudonym of Ap Gwyrfai. His funeral was attended by a large number of people from Wales including his brother rev William Williams, Methodist Minister at Bala at that time. Hymns were sung in Welsh. I would love to know more about him and his poetry. Maybe he still has descendants in Rhostryfan although no doubt there were many people with a similar name who moved away to work in quarries in other parts of Britain at that time.

I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has information about these queries.

Diolch yn fawr,
Elizabeth Wallis.

lizwallis2@hotmail.com

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