The lovely lady from the Swansea valley.
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| Margaret Ann Michael (1890 - 1970) |
Margaret is my great grandmother, mother to my maternal grandfather, Sidney Hamilton (1910-1987). Margaret was born in the tiny village of Cwmgeidd, near Ystradgynlais, Brecknockshire in South Wales. She would later venture up north to the industrial town of Bolton with her husband and children. I would wonder why someone would move from a lovely little village in South Wales up to the grime of the North. But, as my research progressed, I would learn that Ystradgynlais, like Bolton, was quite the little powerhouse in the 19th century, being a prime mover and shaker in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, with hard times ahead for those that lived and worked there.
1890 Margaret is born and.....
- Stan Laurel and Agatha Christie were born.
- John Merrick (aka 'The Elephant Man') died.
- The Forth Bridge in Scotland opens.
- Preston North End win the football league...again.
- London's City & South London Railway, the first deep-level underground railway in the world, opens.
- Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Sign of Four' is published.
- Oscare Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' is also published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine.
- In Wales there were 2 major colliery accidents in Port Talbot and Pontypool causing the deaths of 262 miners.
- December - there was a 3 week period of severe winter weather causing deaths and disruption to many parts of Wales.
Childhood...
Margaret was born on 8th June, 1890 to Thomas Richard Michael and Mary Ann Davies in Cwmgiedd, Ystradgynlais, South Wales. Margaret had an older brother, William Lewis, who was born in 1888 and would later gain a step-brother, Rees Thomas and a half sister Mary Ann. I'm still searching for other possible siblings. Their father was a carpenter and much of their childhood was spent in Cwmgiedd, Ystradgynlais.
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| https://sites.google.com/site/oldystradgynlais/cwmgiedd |
Cwmgeidd is a tiny, picturesque village at the foot of the Brecon Beacons, within the town of Ystradgynlais which lies on the south edge of the Brecon Beacons. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Ystradgynlais was witness to major industrial developments due to the natural resources of iron and coal that were found to be prevelant in the Swansea valleys.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Gough family (local landowners) built houses for workers from the iron and coal pits that were growing in the area. Locally known as 'The Gough Buildings', houses were developed on a strip of land between the Swansea Canal and River Tawe. Prior to this, the area was mainly farms and pasture. The development of the buildings and the emergence of the Industrial Revolution led to a
significant population increase in the area and an influx of workers coming from outside the region. Today, the Swansea Canal has been replaced by a by-pass, but many of the 'Gough Buildings' still stand and it was in one of these houses where Margaret gave birth to my grandad in 1910.
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| The Gough Buildings today - Pelican St |
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| The Gough Buildings - development 19th Century |
An interesting fact about Cwgiedd - it was the location used for a 1943 propaganda film 'The Silent Village' made by Herbert Jennings. The film is a docu-drama based on the Nazi massacre of 170 miners in Lidice, Czechoslavakia. There's an interesting little snippet about it here on the BBC for anyone interested and you can get the whole 30 odd minutes on youtube (below).
And so back on track... In 1894, Margaret was living in Cwmgeidd when her mother, Mary Ann, died at the age of 28. Margaret would have been nearly 4 years old. Family stories say that Mary Ann was so overcome with grief at the death of a son, she died of a 'broken heart'. Anecdotal evidence says that Mary sent her young son out to the shop one very wet day. He had no shoes. He later got pneumonia and died. It is said the villagers openly blamed Mary for his death but not, it would seem, as much as Mary did. Following his death nothing else mattered to Mary, not even her living daughter. The death certificate states that Mary Ann died from 'enteritis exhaustion' (side note: exhaustion seems to have been used a lot in death certificates for the late 18th and early 19th centuries - I'm not quite sure if it's a euphemism).
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| Margaret Ann's mother - death certificate |
A few years later and Thomas, their father, went on to marry Elizabeth Thomas in 1898 thereby enabling Margaret to inherit a step-brother, 7 year old Rees Thomas (b.1891) a half-sister Mary Ann who was born in 1899.
By the 1901 census, Margaret and William were living with their
grandmother Rachel Michael in Cwmgeidd. Family rumours have it that Margaret's step mother did not take very well to her and that was reason enough for her and her to move in with their grandma before going into service at the age of 14.
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| 1901 Census - 14 Cwmgeidd - Now living with Grandma Rachel. |
The servant girl....
When she was around 14 years old, Margaret went in to 'service' working as a servant for
Madam Patti at her home of Craig-y-nos Castle. Margaret worked as general housemaid for Madam Patti. Thankfully, it is obvious from reading the existing literature about Madam Patti that she was someone who cared about the welfare and wellbeing of 'her' staff.
Madam Adelina Patti was a Spanish born Italian (New York raised), soprano, opera singer who was active in the 1880's and 1890's. She was said to be was extremely successful and travelled around the world to perform. Often demanding $5000 per performance to be paid in gold, she sang in the US, England, Russia, Europe and South America.
Madam Adelina Patti was a Spanish born Italian (New York raised), soprano, opera singer who was active in the 1880's and 1890's. She was said to be was extremely successful and travelled around the world to perform. Often demanding $5000 per performance to be paid in gold, she sang in the US, England, Russia, Europe and South America.
Madam Patti married three times and it was with her third husband, Baron Rolf Cedarstrom (1870–1947), that she spent the latter part of her life living in what she named as Craig-y-nos Castle (translated to The Rock of Night) near Ystradgynlais. She bought the castle in 1878 and lived in there until her death in September 1919.
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| Madam Adelina Patti |
She was also known for being extremely generous to her staff;
" Known as the Diva, she cared for her staff and continued to pay those who were ill, sending the doctor to them and their families. Adelina usually arranged a hamper of food for the household and would often take it herself. Those who served her long and faithfully were given a pension upon retirement and those with no alternative accommodation were given a room at the castle for the rest of their days." Source: http://history.powys.org.uk/history/ystrad/craig5.html
" Known as the Diva, she cared for her staff and continued to pay those who were ill, sending the doctor to them and their families. Adelina usually arranged a hamper of food for the household and would often take it herself. Those who served her long and faithfully were given a pension upon retirement and those with no alternative accommodation were given a room at the castle for the rest of their days." Source: http://history.powys.org.uk/history/ystrad/craig5.html
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| Madam Patti opening her own theatre at Craig-y-nos |
Marriage and children...
It was during her time working for Madam Patti that Margaret was to meet her future husband. It was possibly around 1908 after Frederick Hamilton (born in 1882....maybe..) moved into the area to work as a miner at one of the coal mines in Ystradgynlais. It is said that Fred would often spot Margaret walking through the town when he was on his lunch break.
Presently, Fred's early history remains something of a mystery to me. It was only recently I found out his birth date many thanks to the 1939 register. Rumour has it either he or his father changed their orginal name of Heal to Hamilton and so the search continues.... Anecdotal information tells of a man who was something of a charmer, a would be Broadway entertainer, a lady's man and philanderer. It would not have taken much courage for him to approach a pretty, young lady from the valley and ask her for a date.
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| Marriage - 17th July 1909 |
Marriage followed but not before Margaret became pregnant with their first child, Ena. Fred and Margaret got married on 17th July 1909 and over a week later Margaret would give birth to Ena on 26th July 1909. Interestingly, when Fred and Margaret married, the marriage certificate had aged Margaret by 3 years (stating she was 22 when she was had just turned 19). Those familiar with gealogy will no doubt be aware that the mis-documentation of ages, names and such likes is quite common and often done by accident. However, I can't help but wonder in this case, it really can't have been easy for Margaret being a heavily pregnant, young woman, getting married in the early 1900's in the Swansea valley.
Margaret and Fred had 8 surviving children. and all but their youngest child were born in Ystradgynlais. My granddad, Sid, was the second eldest, arriving on 31st December 1910 at 3 Pelican Street, Ystradgynlais. There was some evidence to suggest that a few months after his birth Fred went over to the States to perform on Broadway. My mum recalls much talk from the family about Fred's visits to the States (there may have been more than one occasion). Trawling through the Broadway database, I was able to find a Frederick Hamilton credited as being in the chorus of a show called 'The Kiss Waltz' which showed from Sept 1911-Dec 1911. I can't yet confirm if it's THE Frederick Hamilton but ten months after the show finished their 3rd child Mona was born in Oct 1912......
Seperated and reunited.... At some point, possibly around the early/mid 1920s, Fred left the family and returned back to Bolton. When her eldest daughter Ena was 16 and my grandad was around 15, Margaret decided to head up north to find Fred, leaving Ena and Sid in charge back in Wales. Margaret found Fred in Bolton, wanted all her family together and not long after the children moved up north to be reunited with their mum and dad.
For most of her years living in Bolton, Margaret lived at Darley Grove, Farnworth. On 20th April 1959, when he was 76, Frederick Hamilton died from a heart attack at their home. Margaret went on to live until 4th April 1970 when she too died at home from a heart attack.
My mum says Margaret was a lovely person, always smiling, always generous with family, friends and strangers. Recently video footage taken by her son Ken in the late 60s has been transferred onto DVD. From this footage I've managed to put together a clip showing Margaret Ann at home in Darley Grove. My nan (red hair) and older brother also appear in the video. Margaret Ann is the lady with the flowers, mad hat and broad smile.....
Known addresses:
1890 - Cwmgeidd, Ystradgynlais (Source: birth certificate).
1909 - Gough Buildings, Ystradgynlais (Source; marriage certificate).
1910 - 3 Pelican Street, Ystradgynlais (Source: Sid Hamilton, birth certificate).
1939 - 21 Darley Grove, Farnworth, Bolton (Source: 1939 register).
1942 - 21 Darley Grove, Farnworth, Bolton (Source; Sidney Hamilton, marriage certificate).
1959 - 21 Darley Grove, Farnworth, Bolton (Source: Fred Hamilton, death certificate).
1970 - 21 Darely Grove, Farnowrth, Bolton (Source; death certificate)
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