He wore copper-toed shoes and a lace collar

Cooper-toed shoe

Thomas James Llewellyn (1877-1949), the great-grandfather of Melissa Murphy Oliver (my daughter-in-law), arrived as an immigrant from Wales in 1888 at the age of ten. When his mother, Mary Jane Hayden Llewellyn (1858-1901), recently widowed, and he and his three brothers arrived in America, she dressed up the boys for their arrival in New York.  According to Barbara Jeanne Weyant (1929-2017), one of Thomas’ daughters, Mary Jane dressed the boys in Buster-Brown brown-colored suits with tan lace collars, copper-toed shoes, and black bowler hats. I am sure she, and the boys, were excited about their arrival to America and wanted to make a good impression. However, as Barbara relates, “When they stepped out on the dock, some boys who were there made fun” of them. Thomas “clenched his fists and knocked the boys who made fun of them down on their behinds.” John, Thomas, Wyndom, and William “came to America smiling, making a victory for themselves” in the new homeland.

Buster-brown Suit

Typical lace collar

It is not known what caused the death of Thomas’ father, John Llewellyn, in 1887, but shortly before his death, he asked his good friend Edward W. Jones (1855-1937) to take care of his family, which Jones agreed to do. John and Mary Jane married in 1887 and then emigrated to America with the four boys.

The family ended up in Garrett, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, for employment in the Ponfey Coal Mine. The Welsh were well-known for their mining skills, and they readily found employment in the coal fields.  In fact, by 1890 more than 100,000 Welsh-born immigrants resided in the United States. As skilled laborers, the Welsh miners had been recruited by American mining companies. According to Ronald Lewis, author of “Welsh Americans: A History of Assimilation in the Coalfields,” the Welsh immigrants, unlike the Irish and Eastern Europeans, were readily accepted and assimilated into the culture of America.

PA child coal-miner

Thomas joined his step-father in the coal mines when he was 12 years old and stayed until he was 19 years old at which time, according to his daughter, he struck out on his own.  According the U.S. census, in 1920 Thomas was a foreman in a glass factory and in 1930, a stationary engineer.* In 1942, according to his World War II draft registration card, he was an employee of the Monessen Lumber & Supply Company. He lived in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, about 34 miles south of Pittsburgh and directly west of Somerset County where he worked in the coal mines.

*A stationery engineer operates industrial machinery and equipment that provides energy in various forms. 
Note: All images are Google images

What's Your Family All About?

According to Webster’s Dictionary, “genealogy” is, among other things, “the study of family ancestries and histories.”  Most of us think of family as our mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and so on.  Many of these family members have different last names from the last name we bear either through birth or marriage or through other relationships. This last name business, which defines us as members of a certain family, intrigues me; and, I am always interested in what does something mean in my ongoing search of that family ancestry and history. 

Most of us when we think of last names can associate it with what it probably means.  For example, my maiden name is Newhouse, and the history of the name referred to someone who lived either next to or in a new house.  And, of course, Pederson, the son of Peder (today’s Peter).

There are a lot of Olivers in the family:  Take off the letter r and what do you have?  Olive:  More specifically, olive tree.  Oliver is considered to be English, Scottish, German, French, and Catalaan. (Ancestry.com)

My grandmother’s maiden name is the Dutch Swarthout, (derivations are Swartwood, Swartout, Swartwout) which translated means dark wood.  The English form for this last name is Blackwood.  But what about those names that are not as obvious? 

Because I always find the hunt to be fun and exciting, I decided to start searching around for the meanings of some of the non-obvious last names that I find in my “Family Ties and Connections”; and, I want to share some of what I found. 

The Irish and Welsh surnames seem to have unique historical connotations. So, here are some common ones found in my “family”:

·         Bryant—is a Gaelic term for dignity, honor. (searchforancestors.com)

·         Llewellyn—Welsh or Celtic?  No one knows for sure.  On one hand, it is thought to be a Welsh form for the Celtic name Lugubelenus (for the gods Lugus and Belenus who are gods of commerce and light, respectively).  On the other hand, it is thought that this name derived from the Welsh word llyw which stands for “leader.”  

·         Murphy—who knew the Murphys were originally sea warriors?  The name “Murphy” comes from the Gaelic name Ó Murchadha, which means “descendent of Murchadh,” which is turn means “sea warrior.”

·         Walsh—I found it interesting that it comes from referring to someone who was originally from Wales. You can see how the name Walsh somehow derived from Welsh:  a simple vowel change. Also, the Middle English word walsche meant "foreigner.” 

Next time, I’ll take a look at some of the French, English, and German names in the family.

For those of you who are interested in pursuing this further, the information above comes from Ancestry.com, searchforancestors.com, thinkbabyname.com, and 4crests.com.

Finally, I want to include old family photos in each of my blogs; so, if any of my readers want to share and have me post them for you, please contact me.

I wanted to post a picture today, but for some reason the server kept rejecting the submission; ah, technology. 

Until next time.

© Linda Oliver, 2017