|
First Organized Welsh Settlement in East Tennessee |
|
|
|
|
Page 2 of 6
Conway continues with these observations:¹
"The attempt of the Welsh to settle themselves [in Tennessee] just before the Civil War was unfortunate and contrary to the whole trend of Welsh settlement in the United States" (p. 94).
"The 1850's witnessed the unfortunate attempt of Samuel Roberts and William Bebb to create in Tennessee, with emigrants brought directly from Wales, a settlement strong enough to withstand American assimilation. As a practical instrument for the establishment of a farming community the scheme was excellent but the unforeseen difficulties of disputed titles, the inability of many of the would-be settlers to meet the financial demands involved, the attraction of other states with no system of slavery to bother their consciences, and the Civil War itself made of the venture a noble failure. Without doubt, even if it had been possible to make a good start, the failure of its primary aim would have been the ultimate, if less sudden, result" (p. 96).
"To a few the dream of an exclusive Welsh settlement remained of primary importance and would do so until the 1870's wherever the Welsh settled in sufficient numbers and in sufficiently virgin territory to justify the possibility. The majority, however, were content if places of worship could be set up and maintained and a minister capable of preaching his sermons in the Welsh language secured. In this way the dearly cherished form of worship brought from Wales could be kept up and the Welsh language saved from complete decay" (p. 96).
Come along, come along, make no delay,
Come from every nation and come from every way,
Our lands they are broad enough, don't feel alarm,
For Uncle Sam is rich enough to give us all a farm."
[a poem used for recruiting immigrants (p. 112).¹]
|
Sadly, many Welsh immigrants neither wrote nor spoke their native language for years at a time. History records that deplorable immigrant conditions existed for many years, especially in the post-War Reconstruction South. Western European immigrants were extremely prejudiced against the Eastern Europeans and Asians. Additionally, British and Welsh immigrants of that period were still filled with the memories of the strikes and political/social upheavals that occurred in the coal mining industry in Wales during the preceding quarter-century.
|
