THE WELSH IN BEAVERCREEK ~ By Pat McKinney, 1984
During the 1840's and in the decades after, an ever-increasing number of Welshmen emigrated to the New World in search of fertile, workable farmland at a price they could afford. Welshmen had been coming to America for two centuries, but by the nineteenth century, increasing population, rising rents, and decreasing amounts of available land in Wales gave the impetus to many Welshmen to seek new opportunities in America.
One such Welshman, David W. Thomas, after turning his back on possible settlement in Patagonia, and after being disappointed in his attempt to settle in Nebraska, made his way to San Francisco, and then to Portland, Oregon, traveling by train. In a letter to a friend in Aberdare, Wales, dated 1884, Thomas reported that he saw ships from Liverpool, Cardiff, and Swansea anchored in Portland's Willamette River. Thomas wrote that he was delighted with the land he had purchased in Beavercreek, and urged his friend in Wales to join him. "If you ever come to these states, Oregon City is the best place." Thomas advised his friend that it cost twenty pounds for a ticket by ship from Liverpool to Portland, and from there he could take a train to Oregon City, five miles from Beavercreek. "Wild land" cost from fifteen shillings to three pounds an acre, he informed his friend, "depending on how near the land is to market." At that time Thomas found that there was employment in the area, also, for "carpenters, masons, plasterers, and laborers."
"Bring every seed you can think of," Thomas urged. He wrote that if his friend were to leave Wales at the beginning of September, he would arrive in time to plant winter wheat.
This letter, and another to the Welsh newspaper, Y Drych, published in America in Utica, New York, about the fertile land and farming and work opportunities in this part of Oregon, brought responses from Welsh people in Wales and America, and they began to settle in the area of Beavercreek. The rolling, green hills around Beavercreek reminded many settlers of their Welsh homeland, and the availability of fertile land and abundant water soon convinced them they had made the right choice.
Beavercreek had been settled in the 1840's; a school district with this name is recorded. For a time there was confusion about the name: Beaver Creek, Beaver, and Beavercreek were all used at one time or another, but by the 1890's the Post Office had settled on Beavercreek.
The Welsh families who had settled longed for a church where they could meet together and worship and sing in Welsh, so on January twenty-fifth, 1884, twenty-two Welsh people met and made the decision to raise funds and build Bryn Seion (Mt. Zion) church. "For a consideration of one dollar," David W. and Elizabeth Thomas donated the land that they had bought earlier from another Welsh couple, Griffith and Annie Williams. Members of Bryn Seion proudly claimed that their Welsh church had been built on Welsh land owned by Welsh people. Witnesses to the recording of the deed were: Humphrey Jones, John M. Jones, John Lewis, Richard M. Jones, C. E. Dye, David W. Thomas and Elizabeth Thomas.
The dream to have a Welsh language church to worship in and sing with family and neighbors became a reality when contractors William Young and John Lloyd completed the church. Dr. Atherson of Portland presided at the dedication ceremonies on June 14th and 15th, 1884, and Reverend William Young, one of the contractors, preached the first sermon. About ten years later, another small building was built near the church; this was called "The Tea House."
Today, church members and guests still meet in the The Tea House after Sunday morning service for a potluck dinner and to socialize and conduct church business.
The name of the church was first recorded as "The Welsh Evangelical Church," but after one year the name was changed to "The Welsh Congregational Church."
By 1891, William D. Davies, the traveling supervisor for Y Drych, visited the "Oregon Welsh," along with other Welsh settlements on the West Coast. Davies reported that at this time there were about thirty-five Welsh farmers and their families "scattered about an area of 6 or 7 miles." There was room for "scores of additional people to buy farms" in a land of good earth where one "can produce fruitful crops of grain and every sort of fruit trees." Davies commented on the tremendous effort that had first to be made to clear the "woody land" before a farmer could live on it. Davies wrote that he had visited the families of Thomas Davies, Morris Roberts, Daniel Williams, D. F. Harries, H. Rees, and John G. Jones.
THE CHURCH BUILDING
Bryn Seion is a small, white, wood structure with simple furnishings. Paneling and wainscoting overlay the inside walls and "Gothic" cut-outs frame the glass-paned windows. Typical of many country churches built in Oregon at that time, it is unpretentious in its setting of green fir trees and green lawn. Originally, the church did not have a cupola, but after a tree fell on the roof in 1928, plans for repair and restoration included a steeple as well as a new entrance and stairs. Jack Medrich was in charge and completed repairs by 1931. When the congregation celebrated its 50th birthday in 1935, the building looked much as it does today.
At the front of the church is a wooden armchair with the words “EISTEDDFOD TALAETH WASH 1890” [translation: Washington State Eisteddfod 1890] carved into the back. Six years after the church opened, singers at Bryn Seion were entering choral singing competitions, and were winning. The Chair of the Eisteddfod is an honor a Welshman holds in highest esteem. According to one writer: "Singing to the Welshman was, and still is, a natural means of expressing his emotions; therefore, it became a part of his daily life, particularly group-singing, where he could harmonize his voice with others.”
Eisteddfod means "sitting of learned men." It is a term used for a competition dating back over one thousand years in Wales. Welsh bards would compete in poetry, music and playing on the Delyn, the Welsh harp; poets would study the complex verse forms for years until they were allowed to compete in an Eisteddfod. Eisteddfods were always held in varying locations; today the National Eisteddfod in Wales alternates annually between North and South Wales, in August.
THE GYMANFA GANU
The words Gymanfa Ganu literally means "sing gathering." The tradition of part singing hymns was brought to North America with the nineteenth century Welsh emigration. The Gymanfa Ganu was an outgrowth of the religious awakening in the previous century.
The small village churches nestled in the valleys of the green mountains were centers of religious and social life in Wales. After morning services, members would linger to sing old hymns and learn new ones.
Gradually, there began to be special meetings of the congregations, especially for hymn singing. Since mountains separated many of these village churches from others, gradually one church would plan a special meeting with another church so the congregations could sing together. Everyone was included in this part-singing, which was non-competitive, unlike an Eisteddfod, and the public was always welcome, whether church members or not.
These Gymanfa Ganu’s were becoming increasingly popular during the 1840's during the time of increasing Welsh emigration to America, and this custom of part singing hymns was brought along as part of the Welsh tradition.
Bryn Seion's Gymanfa Ganu was begun in 1935; the first director was William Park Pritchard, a Welshman who lived in Seattle and who traveled up and down the West Coast, leading Gymanfa’s. Soloists often will travel great distances to participate in a Gymanfa: Park Pritchard's grandson, Bronn Journey, keeps three generations of Pritchard ties with Bryn Seion by traveling from Seattle each June to play Welsh music on his concert harp. Other well-known sopranos and tenors are invited to sing solos, and sometimes the song leader will recognize an especially good singer from the congregation and invite him or her to sing spontaneously.
Spontaneity and joy are an integral part of the Gymanfa, and soon, as part of the singing, there begins to be felt Hwyl, a kind of divine exaltation, a calm ecstasy, an elevated feeling of patriotism: the word is untranslatable, but anyone who has participated in a Gymanfa knows the feeling.
There is a unique and indefinable quality about Welsh music and Welsh part-singing. This was noticed very early by listeners and commented upon. Giraldus Cambrensis, in the year 1188, wrote about the Welsh school of music: "The Britons (Welsh) do not sing in unison like the inhabitants of other countries, but in many different parts. So that when a company of singers among the common people meet to sing, as is usual in this country, as many different parts are heard as there are performers, who at length unite in consonance with organic sweetness."
One such Welshman, David W. Thomas, after turning his back on possible settlement in Patagonia, and after being disappointed in his attempt to settle in Nebraska, made his way to San Francisco, and then to Portland, Oregon, traveling by train. In a letter to a friend in Aberdare, Wales, dated 1884, Thomas reported that he saw ships from Liverpool, Cardiff, and Swansea anchored in Portland's Willamette River. Thomas wrote that he was delighted with the land he had purchased in Beavercreek, and urged his friend in Wales to join him. "If you ever come to these states, Oregon City is the best place." Thomas advised his friend that it cost twenty pounds for a ticket by ship from Liverpool to Portland, and from there he could take a train to Oregon City, five miles from Beavercreek. "Wild land" cost from fifteen shillings to three pounds an acre, he informed his friend, "depending on how near the land is to market." At that time Thomas found that there was employment in the area, also, for "carpenters, masons, plasterers, and laborers."
"Bring every seed you can think of," Thomas urged. He wrote that if his friend were to leave Wales at the beginning of September, he would arrive in time to plant winter wheat.
This letter, and another to the Welsh newspaper, Y Drych, published in America in Utica, New York, about the fertile land and farming and work opportunities in this part of Oregon, brought responses from Welsh people in Wales and America, and they began to settle in the area of Beavercreek. The rolling, green hills around Beavercreek reminded many settlers of their Welsh homeland, and the availability of fertile land and abundant water soon convinced them they had made the right choice.
Beavercreek had been settled in the 1840's; a school district with this name is recorded. For a time there was confusion about the name: Beaver Creek, Beaver, and Beavercreek were all used at one time or another, but by the 1890's the Post Office had settled on Beavercreek.
The Welsh families who had settled longed for a church where they could meet together and worship and sing in Welsh, so on January twenty-fifth, 1884, twenty-two Welsh people met and made the decision to raise funds and build Bryn Seion (Mt. Zion) church. "For a consideration of one dollar," David W. and Elizabeth Thomas donated the land that they had bought earlier from another Welsh couple, Griffith and Annie Williams. Members of Bryn Seion proudly claimed that their Welsh church had been built on Welsh land owned by Welsh people. Witnesses to the recording of the deed were: Humphrey Jones, John M. Jones, John Lewis, Richard M. Jones, C. E. Dye, David W. Thomas and Elizabeth Thomas.
The dream to have a Welsh language church to worship in and sing with family and neighbors became a reality when contractors William Young and John Lloyd completed the church. Dr. Atherson of Portland presided at the dedication ceremonies on June 14th and 15th, 1884, and Reverend William Young, one of the contractors, preached the first sermon. About ten years later, another small building was built near the church; this was called "The Tea House."
Today, church members and guests still meet in the The Tea House after Sunday morning service for a potluck dinner and to socialize and conduct church business.
The name of the church was first recorded as "The Welsh Evangelical Church," but after one year the name was changed to "The Welsh Congregational Church."
By 1891, William D. Davies, the traveling supervisor for Y Drych, visited the "Oregon Welsh," along with other Welsh settlements on the West Coast. Davies reported that at this time there were about thirty-five Welsh farmers and their families "scattered about an area of 6 or 7 miles." There was room for "scores of additional people to buy farms" in a land of good earth where one "can produce fruitful crops of grain and every sort of fruit trees." Davies commented on the tremendous effort that had first to be made to clear the "woody land" before a farmer could live on it. Davies wrote that he had visited the families of Thomas Davies, Morris Roberts, Daniel Williams, D. F. Harries, H. Rees, and John G. Jones.
THE CHURCH BUILDING
Bryn Seion is a small, white, wood structure with simple furnishings. Paneling and wainscoting overlay the inside walls and "Gothic" cut-outs frame the glass-paned windows. Typical of many country churches built in Oregon at that time, it is unpretentious in its setting of green fir trees and green lawn. Originally, the church did not have a cupola, but after a tree fell on the roof in 1928, plans for repair and restoration included a steeple as well as a new entrance and stairs. Jack Medrich was in charge and completed repairs by 1931. When the congregation celebrated its 50th birthday in 1935, the building looked much as it does today.
At the front of the church is a wooden armchair with the words “EISTEDDFOD TALAETH WASH 1890” [translation: Washington State Eisteddfod 1890] carved into the back. Six years after the church opened, singers at Bryn Seion were entering choral singing competitions, and were winning. The Chair of the Eisteddfod is an honor a Welshman holds in highest esteem. According to one writer: "Singing to the Welshman was, and still is, a natural means of expressing his emotions; therefore, it became a part of his daily life, particularly group-singing, where he could harmonize his voice with others.”
Eisteddfod means "sitting of learned men." It is a term used for a competition dating back over one thousand years in Wales. Welsh bards would compete in poetry, music and playing on the Delyn, the Welsh harp; poets would study the complex verse forms for years until they were allowed to compete in an Eisteddfod. Eisteddfods were always held in varying locations; today the National Eisteddfod in Wales alternates annually between North and South Wales, in August.
THE GYMANFA GANU
The words Gymanfa Ganu literally means "sing gathering." The tradition of part singing hymns was brought to North America with the nineteenth century Welsh emigration. The Gymanfa Ganu was an outgrowth of the religious awakening in the previous century.
The small village churches nestled in the valleys of the green mountains were centers of religious and social life in Wales. After morning services, members would linger to sing old hymns and learn new ones.
Gradually, there began to be special meetings of the congregations, especially for hymn singing. Since mountains separated many of these village churches from others, gradually one church would plan a special meeting with another church so the congregations could sing together. Everyone was included in this part-singing, which was non-competitive, unlike an Eisteddfod, and the public was always welcome, whether church members or not.
These Gymanfa Ganu’s were becoming increasingly popular during the 1840's during the time of increasing Welsh emigration to America, and this custom of part singing hymns was brought along as part of the Welsh tradition.
Bryn Seion's Gymanfa Ganu was begun in 1935; the first director was William Park Pritchard, a Welshman who lived in Seattle and who traveled up and down the West Coast, leading Gymanfa’s. Soloists often will travel great distances to participate in a Gymanfa: Park Pritchard's grandson, Bronn Journey, keeps three generations of Pritchard ties with Bryn Seion by traveling from Seattle each June to play Welsh music on his concert harp. Other well-known sopranos and tenors are invited to sing solos, and sometimes the song leader will recognize an especially good singer from the congregation and invite him or her to sing spontaneously.
Spontaneity and joy are an integral part of the Gymanfa, and soon, as part of the singing, there begins to be felt Hwyl, a kind of divine exaltation, a calm ecstasy, an elevated feeling of patriotism: the word is untranslatable, but anyone who has participated in a Gymanfa knows the feeling.
There is a unique and indefinable quality about Welsh music and Welsh part-singing. This was noticed very early by listeners and commented upon. Giraldus Cambrensis, in the year 1188, wrote about the Welsh school of music: "The Britons (Welsh) do not sing in unison like the inhabitants of other countries, but in many different parts. So that when a company of singers among the common people meet to sing, as is usual in this country, as many different parts are heard as there are performers, who at length unite in consonance with organic sweetness."