Sunday, January 10, 2016

Tradition? Traditionless? Starting a tradition?

I had to laugh when a read a blog, hopefully called "Eating with my ancestors," that said this: 

"There is NO cookbook on Wales [in her library]. I mean, yes, they *exist* but they don't *exist* here, which is weird because there are a lot of Welsh descendants here. Heck, there is a Cardiff right down the road. You think they pulled that name out of their asses? No! They were Welsh!" -- (You go, girl!)

Her subtitle is: "Learning about the foodways of my ancestors, one plate at a time." I had thought of this the other night, and tonight found Gina's blog, which amused me enough to read it aloud to the disinterested *the sound of a lead balloon falling*

Our family didn't pass down any ethnic foodways, Welsh, English, Prussian, Polish, German, nuttin. But it doesn't mean I can't come up with something as a family tradition. Tradition starts somewhere! Traditions are adapted, right? Sing with me like Fiddler on the Roof: "Tra-di-SHUNNNN!"

I want to start when the sub-Arctic blast leaves us in the 30-plus temperature range, not this minus-zero malarky.

But here, these are Glamorgan sausages. No meat. Don't get too excited, men. They are shaped like sausages, but are leek and cheese patties rolled in breadcrumbs and panfried. I think I could do that.


Saturday, January 9, 2016

Dave from Wales

I recently found some really nice photos of some of my relatives on Ancestry.com, and whoever you are (descendants of this little girl), thanks for posting these valuable bits of history! This is the first time I've ever seen a picture of this man.

This is David H. "Dave" Davies, who was born in Wales in 1833. He joined two sisters, and another sister joined the family when he was six. (And yes, his father's name was David.) (Have I mentioned how you cannot swing the proverbial dead cat through the Davieses in Wales without hitting multiple David Davieses?) (I really do mean multiple!)

He married Elizabeth Ann Thomas in 1854 and had two daughters and a son, but the 2nd and 3rd children died young. He himself worked in the coal mines until purchasing a butcher shop in his village. They had a fourth child in 1860, and by the time the family had grown to seven children, he and Elizabeth had decided to emigrate to the United States. They were Baptists, raised small livestock, and felt strongly about family and education. Elizabeth died in an accident in 1885. 

Once in the US, his fourth child, daughter Sib, married another immigrant, Samuel Mahood of Ireland, and this is a photo of David H. and his granddaughter, Mary Elizabeth Mahood. It was probably taken in Columbus, Nebraska. He was about 63 in this photo, taken about 1895.

A few years later, he died at age 66, of pneumonia.