“Welsh in Coal Creek”
history lesson at Briceville School
(The acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree)
17 March 2005
|
| Briceville 4th and 5th grade students
learned about their Welsh roots during a history lesson at the school. The
Welsh were tolerant of all minorities because of the way they were
mistreated by the English before immigrating to America. They also
cherished education and built schools and churches when they arrived in the
Coal Creek watershed after the Civil War. The Welsh miners from Coal Creek
and many other states celebrated their heritage by participating in annual
eisteddfod cultural festivals and literary competitions. |
Briceville Church built by
immigrant Welsh coal miners |
|
Briceville 4th grade students,
Mr. Phillips and Miss Davis,
learned they have
Welsh surnames
|
When convict miners were brought to Coal Creek to work in
area coal mines, the Welsh miners were able to seek help from their fellow
miners in other parts of Tennessee and other states because they
communicated with them on a regular basis as part of their annual eisteddfod
cultural festivals. Their tolerance of all minorities explains why they
were so motivated to abolish the use of convict labor in area coal mines
during the Coal Creek War. By that time, the convict lease system had
become corrupted to the point where primarily African-Americans were being
arrested for petty crimes and sentenced to work in the mines. Such
treatment was reminiscent of the way the Welsh had been mistreated in Great
Britain. Their tolerance of all minorities also explains why the Welsh
allowed most of the African-American miners killed in the 1902 Fraterville
Mine disaster to be buried in Welsh Cemetery in the Wye Community of Coal
Creek. |
| Thanks to the schools built by the Welsh, all the children
in the community had the opportunity to learn to read and write. That’s why
when miners were trapped in the mines after the 1902 Fraterville Mine
explosion and the 1911 Cross Mountain Mine explosion, so many of them could
write farewell messages to their families before suffocating underground.
Those messages were printed in newspapers around the world, raising public
awareness of the dangers of early 20th century coal mining, and
starting us down the long road toward safer working conditions for miners
today. |
Farewell message of Jacob Vowell
|
|
Coal Creek miner David R. Thomas
who donated his father Rees R. Thomas' rare Welsh book collection to
Harvard University Library
|
We know so much about the Welsh and local Coal Creek mining
history due to the writings of the Welsh. As Dr. Eirug Davies from Harvard
University told students last year, the person recognized for preserving the
most Welsh books is Rees R. Thomas, a miner from Coal Creek, Tennessee. His
rare Welsh book collection was donated to Harvard University in the late
1800s by his son, David R. Thomas, also a miner from Coal Creek. |
| Our guest lecturer for the history lesson about the “Welsh
in Coal Creek” was Dr. John Kesterson, the great-great-grandson of Rees R.
Thomas, and the great-grandson of David R. Thomas. Dr. Kesterson graduated
from the University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt Medical School before
serving as a surgeon for the Army in Europe during World War II. He
practiced his profession in Knoxville for many years and was recognized as
one of the most respected surgeons in East Tennessee before retiring in
1991. |
Dr. John Kesterson tells his Welsh family's
Coal Creek
story while Barry shows the
New Testament with columns of Welsh and
English
writings to one of the students |
|
Page from the New Testament with
both the Welsh and English text |
Dr. Kesterson gave examples to students of the importance of
a good education, regardless of your chosen profession. He also told them a
story about how an African-American doctor was being considered for
recognition as a founding teacher at a local hospital. One of the other
doctors opposed including an African-American in the select group, but Dr.
Kesterson convinced the others to include him. Although 150 years separates
Dr. Kesterson from his roots in Wales, he still maintains the Welsh traits
of cherishing education and supporting all minorities. |
| Students also learned the details of the
2005 Eisteddfod
Literary Competition. They will be writing poems and essays about the Coal
Creek miners. The winner will receive a $100 cash prize and will be
recognized at a traditional Welsh ceremony to be held as part of the Coal
Creek Miners’ Festival in Lake City from May 19-21, 2005. |
| Click on image to enlarge: |
|
Dr. Kesterson's great grandmother
Prudence Levi Thomas |
Bible of Rees R. Thomas published
in 1804 written in Welsh language |
|
 |
Class instruction |
 |
 |
|
Ms. Carroll's 4th grade class |
Mr. Woods' 5th grade class |
