Letter from David Evans to
Children
Dowlais July 14 - 1873
Dear Children Ve)
I have taken the opportunity once more of writing these few
lines to you in hope of finding you all in a comfortable state of health at
present as it leaves my old corporation as good as ever when I am writing this
letter, thank God for his Mercy in preserving the old shoemaker this long on
his Earth more than 74 years, and in so good a health now as ever----
I received your letter last Christmas and I was very glad to
have it and to see that you were all well and happy and indeed I should be more
happy than I am if I had the means of coming to see you all rather than hearing
from you now and then in a letter as I am now and that because I have no means
to come and see you all at once-----
I have been very long in writing to you this time and now I
shall tell you the reason that I have been so long in writing to you, this time
a general Strike have been with the Coliers through all the iron Works in South
Wales when all the following great Iron Works have been at a stand still for
three months the greatest strike that ever was known in this country before and
I hope that never will will be known in this again, the only thing that
did support the coliers was that the coliers of the sea was all at work all the
time and now you can Judge what sort of time it was here, all that time when
you could see hundreds about the country begging with their bags or baskets,
the coal is here sold now at 1/2 or 1/3 per hundred as house coal and how will
it be next winter upon poor people for fire; I can not tell if the wages have
rose, provisions have rose a great deal more, the mutton is 11 lener a pound,
veal at and lamb at 1/ and other things have rose in the same proportion
especialy in clothing and you may know that it is worst upon poor people now
than was before the strike, and I hope that things will not remain long as they
are now before they will begin to turn back again, the iron have lowered
already 3 pounds a ton and I hope that the coal will not continue long as it is
now because the coliers nor any other workmen is nothing the better of their
high wages only to have more drinking and disorder in the country--
I have omited the names of the works that did stand all the
time of the strike - Nant Y Glo, Penyca Tredegar, Rumy Dowlais, Pendaran
Gyfartha and Pentreback and by this you may know what sort of time it was here
than for more than three months together, when you see hundreds of men and
women with bags and basquets or begging about the country in every direction
all the time and it did require a couple of months before things could be
brought to any order as it was before, but everything have come by this time
and I hope that never such time will be known here again, neither Hirwaun Works
did work all the time without no hinderance and that was good for some hundred
to crowd there for that time to get something for their families to keep them
from starvation-- we the shoemakers and the cobliers had to work a little all
the time and I did have no trouble all the time to get my living as usual and
most of us the same, but I was at Hirwaun for a fortnight and they wanted to me
to remain there all the time but I had no occasion while I had work to go on
with and my health as usual and no more on that subject----
And so after all them things terminated and order restored
again my brother Thomas had a lingering illness on him for near a twelfth
months and he died on the fifth of last month June; and so we are left now only
three of us remaining out of 9 of us and we shall not be very long before we
shall go from this world all of us according to the course of nature in our age
Thomas was 67 years of age- All the rest of your family here are all well and
on the increase very fast four of Timothy's children have been married this
long time and his daughter have been, now lately he got only one boy again
unmarried 13 years of age, a week ago I have been seeing my sister Ann's
children and their father and they or doing well, two of them have been married
and so they are on the increase most of them-- And now I have no more to write
to this time again I hope that you and all your family are well as well as your
father is in his old age when he is writing this letter, I told you the reason
why I have been so long in writing to you this time it have been a very
troublesome time here since I had your writing to you this time it have been a
very troublesome time here since I had your letter last christmas for the
strike began very soon after--I have wrote to Morgan Evans my nephew about the
death of Thomas my brother for Morgan brother-and thats the whole. I got now
write direct as before.
Mon; July 14/ And this from your old affecinate Father David
Evans
