The Welsh in Iowa

Cherilyn Walley

Description

The Welsh in Iowa is the history of the little known Welsh immigrant communities in the American Midwestern state of Iowa. Dr. Walley’s book
identifies what made the Welsh unique as immigrants to North America, and as migrants and settlers in a land built on such groups. With research rooted in documentary evidence and supplemented with community and oral histories, The Welsh in Iowa preserves and examines Welsh culture as it was expressed in middle America by the farmers and coal miners who settled or passed through the prairie state as it grew to maturity in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
This work seeks to not only document the Welsh immigrants who lived in Iowa, but to study the Welsh as a distinct ethnic group in a state known for its ethnic heritage.

Sujets

• Midwest
• Histoire
• USA
• State
• United States
• États-Unis
• History
• Local
• Iowa

Informations

• Publié par: University of Wales Press
• Date de parution: 01 juillet 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783165919
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 39 Mo

Extrait

THE WELSH IN IOWA
THE WELSH IN IOWA
Cherilyn A. Walley
 
 
 
© Cherilyn A. Walley, 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London, EC1N 8TS. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the University of Wales Press, 10 Columbus Walk, Brigantine Place, Cardiff, CF10 4UP .
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-7083-2222-2
e-ISBN 978-1-78316-591-9
The right of Cherilyn A. Walley to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77, 78 and 79 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The publishers wish to acknowledge the financial support of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales in the publication of this book.
Jacket photograph: Getty Images Jacket design: Dalen (Llyfrau)
Acknowledgements
This book has been more than a decade in the making and is the result of not only my own efforts, but also the assistance of more people than I could possibly acknowledge here. However, I do need to mention a few people by name. I am in academic debt to my major professor, Dorothy A. Schwieder, without whose support and encouragement I would not have pursued this topic. She unquestioningly accepted my reasoning for choosing to study the Welsh in Iowa – because they were there. As the grande dame of Iowa history, she also laid much of the groundwork for the study. I must also thank the rest of the history professors who guided me through my graduate career at Iowa State University; without their patience and advice, this book would be less than it is in many ways: Doug Hurt, Andrejs Plakans, Amy Bix, George McJimsey, James Whitaker, Christie Farnham Pope and Pamela Riney-Kehrberg. My fellow graduate students also contributed their criticism and encouragement, as well as some much needed laughs in the T.A. office. I especially need to thank ‘Henry’ Peter Hoehnle for his perspective and enthusiasm for Iowa history, as well as his incredible impressions of old movie stars. Thanks also go to the History Department itself, as well as the Graduate College, for providing me with enough assistantships, grants and scholarships to ease my financial way through two advanced degrees. At least as valuable as the financial support was the knowledge and experience I gained first as a teaching assistant and then as an inde- pendent instructor. Though none of them are likely to read this, I would also like to thank the hundreds of ISU undergraduate students I was lucky enough to teach; their willingness to be engaged by history fed my own interest in the past and their insights into their home state were invaluable. The Iowa Welsh Society welcomed me with open arms and treated me as one of their own. I am particularly indebted to Phillips G. Davies for all of his scholarship and translation work on the Welsh in Iowa.
On a more personal note, I need to thank my family (Mom, Dad, Glynne, Joanna, Lorien and Taryn, more recently Akiko, Mike and Eric) for their unfailing confidence that I could not only finish my doctorate, but excel at my studies. Though usually unspoken, I knew that they knew that I could do it. I am grateful to my friend Wendy Nielsen for her patient support throughout this whole dissertation/book process. I am also indebted to the ISU Judo Club for providing me a physical and mental outlet during my graduate years. Finally, I have to thank my dogs Reese and Anne for their help; Reese loyally kept me company as I spent hour upon hour at the computer and Anne diligently kept squirrels and geckos from invading the house while I was distracted.
Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
List of Tables
Introduction
1   The Welsh
2   Iowa
3   The Welsh in Iowa
4   Demographic Profile
5   Welsh Coal Miners
Conclusion
Appendix A. Welsh Agricultural Communities
Appendix B. Welsh Mining Communities
Appendix C. Iowa Welsh Community Settlement Timeline
Appendix D. Iowa Welsh Church Organization Timeline
Bibliography
Figures
  1 Distribution of the Welsh in the United States, 1890
  2 Iowa, 1856: predominating state of origin for each county
  3 Latitudinal migration patterns from eastern states to Iowa
  4 Iowa, 1885: ethnic distribution as proportion of foreign born in each county
  5 Welsh agricultural communities in order of settlement
  6 Distribution of people born in Wales, Iowa, 1856
  7 Distribution of people born in Wales, Iowa, 1885
  8 Distribution of people born in Wales, Iowa, 1890
  9 Distribution of people born in Wales, Iowa, 1900
10 Distribution of people born in Wales, Iowa, 1905
11 Distribution of people born in Wales, Iowa, 1910
12 Distribution of people born in Wales, Iowa, 1915
13 Distribution of people born in Wales, Iowa, 1920
14 Distribution of people born in Wales, Iowa, 1925
15 Distribution of people born in Wales, Iowa, 1930
16 Old Man’s Creek Welsh community in 1900
17 Map indicating Welsh land ownership, 1889: Douglas Township, Clay County
18 Age distribution graph, Des Moines County, 1850, Welsh
19 Age distribution graph, Des Moines County, 1850, non-Welsh
20 Age distribution graph, Johnson County, 1860
21 Age distribution graph, Sharon and Union Townships, 1860, non-Welsh
22 Age distribution graph, Sharon and Union Townships, 1860, Welsh
23 Age distribution graph, Sharon and Union Townships, 1870, non-Welsh
24 Age distribution graph, Sharon and Union Townships, 1870, Welsh
25 Age distribution graph, Sharon and Union Townships, 1880, non-Welsh
26 Age distribution graph, Sharon and Union Townships, 1880, Welsh
27 Age distribution graph, Foreston/Lime Springs Welsh, 1880
28 Age distribution graph, 1880 Forest City Township non-Welsh native-born
29 Age distribution graph, 1880 Forest City Township non-Welsh foreign
30 Welsh population in Iowa coal-mining counties
31 Coal-mining counties ranked in descending order of Welsh population
32 Welsh-coal mining communities in approximate order of settlement
33 Welsh agricultural communities in order of settlement
34 Map of Johnson County, Iowa, 1875
35 Map of Union Township, Johnson County, 1870
36 Map of Sharon Township, Johnson County, 1870
37 Map of Union Township, Johnson County, 1889
38 Map of Sharon Township, Johnson County, 1889
39 Map of Old Man’s Creek Welsh community, 1900
40 Map of Louisa County, Iowa, 1875
41 Map of Des Moines County, Iowa, 1875
42 Map indicating Welsh land ownership in Des Moines County, 1873
43 Map of Iowa County, Iowa, 1875
44 Map of Monroe County, Iowa, 1875
45 Map of Howard County, Iowa, 1875
46 Map of Montgomery County, Iowa, 1875, showing Welsh land ownership and Welsh churches
47 Map of Clay County, Iowa, 1875, showing Welsh churches
48 Map of Buena Vista County, Iowa, 1875
49 Map indicating Welsh land ownership, 1889: Douglas Township, Clay County
50 Map of Carroll County, Iowa, 1875
51 Welsh coal-mining communities in approximate order of settlement
52 Map of Appanoose County, Iowa, 1875
53 Map of Appanoose County, Iowa, 1896
54 Map of Appanoose County, Iowa, 1915, with mines marked
55 Map of Boone County, Iowa, 1875
56 Map of Jasper County, Iowa, 1875
57 Map of Keokuk County, Iowa, 1875
58 Map of Lucas County, Iowa, 1875
59 Map of Mahaska County, Iowa, 1875
60 Map of Des Moines Township, Mahaska County, Iowa, 1884
61 Map of Monroe County, Iowa, 1875
62 Map of Polk County, Iowa, 1875
63 Map of Wapello County, Iowa, 1875
Tables
  1 Welsh-born in Iowa, by county and census year
  2 1850 Des Moines County family and household statistics
  3 1850 Des Moines County agricultural statistics
  4 Fertility rates, Sharon and Union Townships, Welsh and non-Welsh
  5 Household and family size: Welsh and non-Welsh
  6 Household and family composition: Welsh and non-Welsh
  7 Foreston/Lime Springs Welsh and Forest City Township, Howard County: birthplace statistics
  8 1880 Foreston/Lime Springs Welsh and Forest City Township, Howard County: family and household statistics
  9 1880 Cleveland Welsh, Lucas County: family and household statistics
10 Welsh communities: family and household statistics summary
Introduction
Iowa is well known as a home to immigrants. The state’s German and Norwegian heritage is familiar, as are the state’s numerous immigrant colonies, such as Orange City, Elkhorn, Decorah and Swedesburg. Ethnic celebrations abound; Story City holds Scandinavian Days, the Amana Colonies sponsor Oktoberfest and Pella’s Tulip Time festival attracts visitors from around the region. The state is home to four ethnic museums; the Norwegians have one in Decorah, the Germans in Davenport, the Danes in Elk Horn and even the Czechs have a museum, in Cedar Rapids. Less well known, however, is the fact that Iowa was also a popular destination for smaller immigrant groups, such as the Welsh. Though not as numerous as the Germans or Norwegians, or as well known as even the Czechs, many Welsh did choose to make their homes in Iowa. This is their story.
Other histories have told small portions of the story of the Welsh in Iowa, concentrating on the Welsh in certain occupations or as members of specific communities. This book gives a more complete account of the Iowa Welsh experience, placing it in the context of both the Welsh immigrant experience and Iowa history. The story begins first b