COAL CREEK SCHOLARS
|
East Tennessee History Center
|
||
See below for photos of
scholars who spent their Saturday morning at the East Tennessee History
Center
|
|||
For whatever reason, the English viewed the Welsh as second-class citizens. In 1847, British Parliament even went so far as to ban the use of the Welsh language, attributing all the ills and backwardness of Wales to its language and culture. When it became a crime to worship in their native tongue, thousands of Welsh families left Great Britain. |
|||
Britain’s loss was Tennessee’s gain, for the American Civil War had wrought devastation. East Tennessee saw the development of its coal, iron, zinc, and copper reserves as the way to rebuild, but lacked the skill to do so. Welsh miners and industrial workers provided that expertise and they taught native Tennesseans those skills. The Welsh, or y cymry (‘e come-ree’) as they called themselves, found the freedom in America to practice and preserve their native language, traditions, and culture at a time when those in Wales could not, and they wrote extensively about what they saw and experienced in their new home. |
|
||
Engineers Barry Thacker, (L) and Welshman Dr. Eirug Davies (R) celebrating after finding the headstone of the old Welsh coal miner, Rees R. Thomas
|
Dr. Eirug Davies of Harvard University is writing a book about the Welsh miners and iron workers who came to Tennessee after the Civil War. He has translated into English an array of Welsh narratives preserved from post-Civil War Tennessee which offers a fresh, contemporary account of the times from the viewpoint of coal miners, iron workers, ministers, and farmers who cherished education, abhorred mistreatment of minorities, and knew how to communicate and celebrate at their eisteddfod cultural festivals. Key figures in his book are the Welsh miners David R. Thomas and his father Rees R. Thomas of Coal Creek who donated a large collection of those Welsh language books and newspaper articles to Harvard University’s Widener Library. |
||
The contributions of the y cymry in preserving their native language while helping Tennessee rebuild from the Civil War have been forgotten both in America and in Wales, but how were they perceived by native Tennesseans in the mid- to late-1800s? Your assistance is needed to help answer that question by researching Knoxville newspaper articles from that time period and compiling documentation. |
|
||
Click on image to see photos of scholars who spent their Saturday morning helping with the research: |
|||
Barry Thacker gathers books off shelves for review by scholars | Jennifer and Cassie Phillips assist with research | Coal Creek Scholar Ricky Bailey reads through old news stories | |
Kyle Leinart and Tyler Vandergriff gather microfilm for review | (L to R) Jenna Bullock, Lori Bullock Njeru, Kimberly Carroll, and Jessica Hayes work the microfilm stations | Tyler and Kyle check for articles on microfilm | |
If you are interested in volunteering to help, please contact Carol Moore at 865-584-0344 or clmoore@geoe.com. |
Jessica, Kimberly and Jenna check out one of the great displays at the East Tennessee History Center in Knoxville |
[Home]
[SCHOLARSHIPS]
[RESTORING THE GREAT AMERICAN CHESNUTS]
[Master
Plan] [Map] [Photo
Gallery]
[Bank Stabilization Projects]
[Deadwood Removal Days] [Discovery Day 2000] [Scrape,
Paint
& Clean Day 2000]
[Historic Fraterville Mine Disaster Field Trip
2001] [Fraterville Mine Disaster 100th
Anniversary]
[Coal Creek War and Mining Disasters] [Mine
Reclamation Lessons]
[CMD] [Economic Benefits]
[Motor Discovery Trail] [Historic
Cemeteries]
[Partners] [Schools in Watershed]
[Mark the Trail Day]
[Awards]
[Coal Creek Health Days]
[Briceville School History Field
Trips] [Ghost Stories]
[Trout Stuff] [Join
Us] [Eastern
Coal Region Roundtable]
[Articles in the News] [Dream Contest]
Copyright© Coal
Creek Watershed Foundation, Inc. 2000 through 2021
CELEBRATING OUR 21st YEAR!!