Jane ‘Jennie’ Williams
(c1875 - 1919)
a theulu Plas Coch, Llanberis
Scroll down for English
Merch, Chwaer a Nyrs: Ymchwil a stori gan Elin Tomos
Ganed Jane, neu Jennie Williams tua’r flwyddyn 1875, y ieuaf o ddeg o blant i John ac Ellen Williams, Plas Coch, Llanberis. Bu farw eu plentyn cyntaf yn ifanc iawn ac fe’i claddwyd yn hen fynwent y plwyf yn Nantperis. Yna, daeth gweddill y plant: Elizabeth, Ellen, Evan, Mary Kate, William, John, Morris (neu Orwig), Robert ac yn olaf, Jane – ‘Jennie’.
Yn y Cyfrifiadau Cenedlaethol, rhestrwyd galwedigaeth John, ei thad fel ‘Slate Quarrier.’ Roedd ei thad yn enedigol o Nantperis, bu ei rhieni yn rhedeg tafarn Ty’n Llan (Vaynol Arms) yn y pentra’ am flynyddoedd. Dilynwyd John i’r Chwarel gan ei feibion Evan, William, a John (Jnr.) ond mae’n ymddangos nad oedd prysurdeb ponciau Chwarel Dinorwig yn ddigon i gadw’r hogia yn Llanber. Mudodd Evan i Wiscosin yn yr Unol Daleithiau, lle y bu farw ar 20 Gorffennaf 1886 yn 24 mlwydd oed. Gadawodd John (Jnr.) yr ardal er mwyn ‘ymddyrchafu i fod yn gadben llong farsiandod fawr’, bu farw yntau yn ifanc ‘o glefyd poeth ar dueddau Affrig a chladdwyd ef yn y wlad hono.’[1] Arhosodd William yn yr ardal, priododd Catherine Ann Jones, 1 Well Street, Llanberis ym 1906.
Mae’n ymddangos bod teulu Plas Coch wedi bod yn deulu cerddorol iawn. Yn y Cyfrifiadau Cenedlaethol, rhestrwyd galwediaeth dau o’i brodyr, Robert a Morris fel ‘Organist.’ Mudodd Robert i Lerpwl tua’r flwyddyn 1899 lle bu’n gweithio fel organydd yn Eglwys Dewi Sant, Lerpwl. Dychwelodd Robert i Lanberis am gyfnod ym 1902 er mwyn priodi merch leol, Jane Hughes, Glasfryn, Cwm-y-glo. Arhosodd Morris yn gymharol leol bu’n organydd yng Nghapel Moriah yng Nghaernarfon am flynyddoedd maith. Ar ddechrau ei yrfa gerddorol, cynhaliwyd Cyngherdd er ei fudd yn y Concert Hall Llanberis, ‘er cynorwytho Morris Williams, Plas Coch i gael addysg gerddorol.’[2] Mae’n amlwg na anghofiodd Morris am garedigrwydd yr ardal: mae ei enw, Morris Williams, Plas Coch (neu Orwig Williams fel y gelwir ef o’r 1890au ymlaen) yn enw cyffredin iawn ym mhapurau newydd y cyfnod gan mai ef a fyddai’n cyfeilio yn ystod nifer fawr o gyngherddau elusennol er budd chwarelwyr mewn gwendid. Roedd cyngherddau lles yn rhan annatod o ddiwylliant y bröydd llechi, yn draddodiad a barhaodd hyd yr 1930au ac yn gyfle i ddoniau lleol fagu profiad ac ennill poblogrwydd. Er mwyn sicrhau’r elw mwyaf posib roedd disgwyl i unigolion a grwpiau roi eu gwasanaeth yn rhad, os nad am ddim.
Plas Coch
Does dim sôn ym mhapurau newydd y cyfnod am allu cerddorol Jennie ond, yn fwy rhyfeddol efallai, mae’n amlwg y bod ganddi lygaid dda, fe ddaeth i’r brîg yng nghystadleuaeth ‘taro hoelen’ yn ystod gŵyl er budd Eglwys Sant Padarn ym 1909.[3]
Bu farw ei rhieni Owen ac Ellen Williams, ill dau ym 1907 yn dilyn cyfnodau hir o salwch, manylyn sy’n esbonio pam efallai na briododd Mary Kate hyd nes 1908 a pham na briododd Jennie o gwbwl. Mae’n amlwg bod y ddwy ohonynt – fel yr unig blant a oedd yn dal i fyw ar yr aelwyd ym Mhlas Coch – wedi gorfod cynnig gofal dwys i’w rhieni. Ym mis Ionawr 1907, roedd cyflwr John eu tad yn gwaethygu, adroddwyd ym mhapur newydd Gwalia bod ‘anwyldeb ag oedd arno’ bellach ‘wedi cymryd cyfeiriad peryglus.’ Roedd ei wraig, Ellen, ‘yr hon sydd yn ddiymadferth, heb allu symud oddigerth iddi gael ei chario’ hefyd yn dioddef.[4] Bu farw John ar 26 Ionawr 1907 yn 74 blwydd oed, ymhen chwe mis bu’n rhaid i’r plant wynebu cynhebrwng arall, bu farw Ellen ar 24 Awst 1907 yn 75 mlwydd oed.
Am flynyddoedd roedd Jennie wedi bod yn aelod brwd o gangen Red Cross Llanberis, ac wedi mynychu dosbarthiadau ymarfeol o dan arweiniad Dr. R. H. Mills-Roberts, Prif Lawfeddyg Ysbyty Chwarel Dinorwig. Yn nhrymder y Rhyfel Mawr ym mis Tachwedd 1916 adroddwyd yn Yr Herald Cymraeg
‘[nad] oedd neb fawr feddwl wrth weled y merched hyn yn myned yn gyson flynyddau yn ol i ddosbarth y Red Cross, dan ofal Dr. Mills Roberts, y byddai galw byth am eu gwasanaeth… Rhaid bod rhyw law ddirgel yn paratoi dwylaw ein boneddigesau ar gyfer y gwaith tyner roddant heddyw.’[5]
Ym 1915, ymunodd Jennie â’r ymdrech ryfel. Fel aelod o’r Red Cross ymunodd Jennie â’r Voluntary Aid Detachment, neu’r VAD. Roedd y VAD yn uned gwirfoddol a ddarparodd ofal i filwyr ar draws y D.U. a’r Ymerodraeth Brydeinig. Treuliodd gyfnodau yn gweithio mewn ysbytai milwrol yn Birmingham ac yn Brighton. Ym mis Medi 1916 cafodd ddychwelyd i Lanber am gyfnod, ‘yr oedd llawenydd’ gan ohebydd Y Genedl ‘ei gweled yn edrych mor dda a siriol.’[6] Ym mis Hydref 1916 symudwyd Jennie i ysbyty yn ardal La Havre yng ngogledd Ffrainc lle bu hi trwy gydol y rhyfel.
Goroesodd i weld diwedd y rhyfel, er gwaetha’ pwl ‘peryglus o wael’ o salwch ym mis Mawrth 1917.[7] Erbyn mis Ionawr 1919, roedd Jennie yn dioddef o niwmonia wedi iddi ddal Influenza neu’r Spanish Flu yn fuan ym 1919. Ar 31 Ionawr anfonwyd ‘brysneges’ i Plas Coch, lle’r roedd chwaer Jennie, Mary Kate a’i gŵr David yn byw, i ddatgan fod ‘Nyrs Jennie Williams yn beryglus wael mewn ysbyty lle’r oedd hi’n gwasnaethu yn Ffrainc. Ar 5 Chwefror 1919 claddwyd Jennie ‘mewn mynwent perthynol i’r ysbyty – gwasanaeth “military funeral.” Ar ei bedd mae’r adnod
‘Hyn a allodd hon hi a’i gwanaeth’ (Marc 14.8)
Adroddwyd bod Jennie
‘yn gymeriad disglair iawn, a gresyn ydoedd iddi gael ei thorri i lawr ar ganol ei gyrfa yn 44 mlwydd oed. Coffawyd am dani nos Saboth diweddaf yng Nghapel Coch, lle’r roedd yn aelod selog ac ymroddgar.’
Quarryman’s daughter and sister, champion ‘nail hitter’ and WW1 nurse: Research and story by Elin Tomos
Jane, or Jennie Williams, was born c. 1875, the youngest of ten children to John and Ellen Williams, Plas Coch, Llanberis. Their first child died at a very young age and was buried in the old parish cemetery in Nantperis. Then, came the rest of the children: Elizabeth, Ellen, Evan, Mary Kate, William, John, Morris (or Orwig), Robert and finally Jane - 'Jennie'.
In the National Censuses, Jennie’s father's occupation was listed as 'Slate Quarryier.' Her father was raised in Nantperis; his parents ran the Ty'n Llan (Vaynol Arms) pub in the village for many years. John’s sons, Evan, William, and John (Jnr.), also worked at the Quarry. But it seems that the Dinorwig Quarry did not offer enough to keep the lads in Llanber. Evan emigrated to Wisconsin in the United States, where he died on 20 July 1886 at the age of 24. John (Jnr.) also left the area to 'rise to the command of a large merchant ship', he too died young 'of hot disease of African tendencies and was buried in that country.' William stayed in the area and married Catherine Ann Jones, 1 Well Street, Llanberis in 1906.
The Plas Coch lot seem to have been a very musical family. In the National Censuses, two of Jennie’s brothers, Robert and Morris, are listed as 'Organist(s).' In 1899, Robert moved to Liverpool where he worked as an organist at St David's Church. Robert returned to Llanberis for short while in 1902 to marry a local girl, Jane Hughes, Glasfryn, Cwm-y-glo. Morris remained relatively local and worked as an organist at Moriah Chapel in Caernarfon for many years. At the start of his musical career, a benefit Concert was held at the Concert Hall Llanberis, 'to raise funds for Morris Williams, Plas Coch to receive musical education.' Morris did not forget the kindness that the Llanberis area had shown him: his name, Morris Williams, Plas Coch (or Orwig Williams as he was known from the 1890s onwards) was a very common name in the newspapers as he would accompany many charity concerts for the benefit of ill quarrymen. Welfare concerts were an integral part of the slate-quarrying communities’ culture; a tradition that lasted until well into the 1930s. They were an opportunity for local talents to gain experience and popularity. In order to maximize profits individuals and groups were expected to offer their services cheap, if not, free of charge.
Plas Coch
There is no mention in the newspapers about Jennie's musical ability but, perhaps more surprisingly, she won 1st place at a 'nail-hitting’ competition during a festival in aid of St. Padarn's Church in 1909.
Her parents Owen and Ellen Williams, both died in 1907, they both suffered from long, painful illnesses, a detail that explains, maybe, why Jennie’s sister Mary Kate did not marry until 1908 and why Jennie never married at all. It is clear that both of them - as the only children still living at Plas Coch – were obliged to care for their elderly parents. In January 1907, Jennie’s father's condition was deteriorating, it was reported in the Gwalia newspaper that his illness was heading in 'a dangerous direction.' His wife, Ellen, 'who [was] helpless, could not move [unless] she was carried’ was also clearly suffering. John died on 26 January 1907 at the age of 74, Ellen on 24 August 1907 at the age of 75.
For many years Jennie had been an active member of the Red Cross Llanberis branch, participating in practical nursing classes under the guidance of Dr. R. H. Mills-Roberts, Chief Surgeon of Dinorwig Quarry Hospital. In the midst of the Great War in November 1916 it was reported in The Herald Cymraeg
‘No one ever thought, thinking back, seeing those girls attending the Red Cross classes under the care of Dr. Mills Roberts, that their services would ever be called for.'
In 1915, Jennie joined the war effort. As a member of the Red Cross Jennie joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment, or VAD. The VAD was a volunteer unit that provided care to soldiers across the U.K. and the British Empire. Jennie spent periods working in military hospitals in Birmingham and Brighton. In September 1916 she returned to Llanber for a while, the reporter for Y Genedl was 'glad to see her looking good and cheerful.' Within a month Jennie was moved to a hospital in the La Havre area of northern France where she remained throughout the duration of the war.
She survived to see the end of the war, despite a 'dangerously bad' episode of illness in March 1917. But, by January 1919, Jennie was suffering from pneumonia following a bout of Influenza or the Spanish Flu. On 31 January ‘an emergency message’ was sent to Plas Coch, where Jennie's sister, Mary Kate and her husband, David lived declaring that ‘Nurse Jennie Williams was dangerously ill in a hospital where she was serving in France.’ On 5 February 1919 Jennie ‘was buried in a cemetery belonging to the hospital - a “military funeral service.”’
It was reported that Jennie was
'A very bright character, and it was with regret that she was broken down mid-career at 44 years of age. She was remembered last Sunday evening at Capel Coch, where she was a devoted and dedicated member. '