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Some Special Interests => Occupation Interests => Topic started by: tornado on Friday 05 February 21 11:10 GMT (UK)
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Please can anyone help with the social history of the lead miners in Llanferres Denbigh around 1815?. I have an ancestor who was a miner then and i am looking to gain insight into his life back then. I appreciate any support here thank you.
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Historical background:
"...Mold in the centre of the main distribution of mines, from Halkyn Mountain, through the Alyn Valley to Llanferres & Maeshafn."
http://moldcivicsociety.org.uk/lead-a-backdrop-to-mold-by-diane-johnson/
Tony
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Have a look at this interesting site:
https://sites.google.com/site/flintshireleadmining/02-flintshire-lead-mining-history
Although primarily about Flintshire it will give you an insight into lead miners working conditions, housing, illness & accidents and also interviews with miners in the 1840's
Fisherman
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thank you both for the advise and websites . this is appreciated and i will go online for this info .
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Hello Tornado, My family were lead miners in Llanferres at the same time as you are researching your family, so we may have a connection. George Williams (1784 - 1858) was a lead miner and then parish clerk and he married Elizabeth Parry (1783 - 1882) in 1813 and they went on to have 6 children, including my G.G. Grandfather George Williams (1815 - 1864). Any connection?
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Hello Nigel , thank you for replying . Regarding my ancestor , let me tell you some more . My 2 x G Grandfather was a Robert Parry b 1826 in Llanferres Denbigh . Now he Married an Elizabeth Williams in 1849 . Robert was a 2nd generation lead Miner and he worked at this around 1851. I have many Elizabeths in my Tree , but not sure if your ancestor is here?. Maybe you could look into your records a bit and give me more info ?. Then we could compare notes. Thanks again.
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For anyone interested in social history it's worth reading the testimonies on working conditions in the 1842 reports into child labour. They cover lead and coal mines as well as some iron works. You can download for various parts of the country from here, and may even find an ancestor was interviewed. I found it very informative regarding my lead miners from Co.Durham, and one of mine (Jacob Crawhall)was interviewed.
https://www.cmhrc.co.uk/site/literature/royalcommissionreports/index.html
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I don't have much on Elizabeth Parry as the marriage record shows her parish as being Mold at the time (1813), but on subsequent censuses she is recorded as born in Llanferres, so perhaps she had moved to work in Mold? There are 2 baptisms for Elizabeth Parry in Llanferres in 1785, one to parents John and Mary and the other Thomas and Barbara. Normally children are named after parents and of the 6 children that George and Elizabeth had the oldest daughter was named Mary, but another was Barbara, so not sure that confirms anything. The 2 boys were named George (paternal grandfathers name) and Edward, so again no connection to the Thomas/John from 1785. Therefore I can't confirm if either of these couples are Elizabeths parents etc
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thanks Nigel for the recent info . I am sorry but after having checked on my F History files , i don't think we have any Family links .
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Purely as an aside, during my misspent youth I spent a lot of time exploring the old lead mines around Maeshafn. Later I wrote an article for the Ninnau, the North American newspaper for Welsh ex-pats. Here is a section of that article:
"....The sign shown on the top of the page shows a Miners Arms at Maeshafn. This is in Denbighsire near the border with Flintshire in the far North East of the country. It marks the center of a huge lead mining area which extends from the northern coast down to Caergwrle with Halkyn Mountain being its centerpoint. There is a Miners Arms for sale in Meliden if anyone is interested! Walking in the countryside around Maeshafn and Gwernymynydd can be quite tricky as there are dozens of open airshafts for the old lead mines.
Sometimes it is not appreciated how old these mining areas are. OK we know that Parys Mountain in Anglesey was mined for at least a thousand years before the Romans came, likewise the copper mines on the Great Orme in Llandudno, but the Maeshafn area was also mined before the Romans.
Several lead ingots from Roman times have been discovered stamped with a code and the name “Decangi”, which is the Roman term for the Celtic tribe that lived in the North East between the Clwyd and the Dee.
Lead was very important in those days. The Romans were really into bathing so they needed lead water pipes and lead lined baths so they could soak. Roman women used lead pigments for makeup. Lead acetate, being quite sweet, was added to wine in huge quantities. But, lead is quite poisonous with long term exposure and it is no wonder that the Emperors went mad.
As an aside and in spite of all the evidence, it is common to find these old lead mines dammed up near their entrances with iron waterpipes serving to supply drinking water to the local rural population. Much of this was financed by the Ruabon District Council within their area!
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Ian , thank you so much for the "social history" background into the lead mines in my ancestors area. It is an engaging piece of writing. I can just about picture my miner in the Family working in such a mine . Hard toil but a great community spirit. I must visit the area sometime and ponder on it all. Thanks .
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My thanks also for the link, 'Lead a backdrop to Mold'.
As a child together with my family we spent many happy hours exploring the Loggerheads area. The Tea rooms, Boating lake, Amusement machines and of course climbing the rock faces and paddling in the Leete.
'One of the lasting legacies of all this investment was the construction in 1823 of a major watercourse channel, known as the Leete'.
I had never realised before the important connection between the Leete and the Lead Mining Industry