Good News! The Prince Madoc Plaque Resolution passed in the House today, 10 March 2009. So... now comes the hard part again. We are back where we were at the end of the Legislation session last year when the Senate never voted on this so it died. We now need to get the HJR #309 put on the Senate calender and passed. I need all of you to call Senator Barron's office and request that HJR 309 be put on the calendar and passed. His office number is (334)242-7858. PLEASE take 5 minutes of your day and make this call. Send an email to all your friends and relatives in Alabama to ask them to do this one little thing. Thanks for all the support and help with this endeavor.

The Prince Madoc Plaque Resolution has returned to the Alabama Legislature inMarch 2009. The new Resolution number is HJR 309. Please contact yourHouse Rep. and Senator for support of this resolution! Urgent!

Prince Madoc Plaque to be restored!

The Prince Madoc Plaque is being restored for public viewing at the D.A.R.House in Mobile, Alabama. It is being cleaned, then D.A.R. will place it in the garden of the D.A.R. House. A job well done for all of us involved in getting it taken out of storage at Fort Morgan. The petition has over 1800 signatures which is a fantastic accomplishment for all those who worked tirelessly on a daily basis to spread the word about the petition. David Parry with the Chicago Welsh Tafia, Ceri Shaw with AmeriCymru, and Carwyn Edwards with the Welsh League of Arizona have all given so much of their time and energy towards this campaign. The AWA will always be grateful for their support. This campaign has been successful in more ways than one. It has brought together Welsh around the world making new and lasting friendships. The Alabama Welsh Association will continue to work towards broadening the awareness of Welsh contributions to Alabama, and the U.S. each and every day. We will continue to work towards having a Park name after Prince Madoc in Alabama as we feel whether he did or did not land on our shores in 1170, the Welsh have contributed so much to our great state that one of their oldest "Legends" should be honored, thus by doing so would honor ALL WELSH. Thank each of you for the part you played in making this happen!

The story of Madoc, a prince of Wales who, in the twelfth century, discovered America. This is not a story that most Americans have ever heard. We are told all about how Columbus discovered America in 1492, when in reality he never set foot in America. So the story of Prince Madoc (Madog) is never taught to our school children. If your one of those people who have never heard the story it goes like this. Prince Madoc, son of Owain Gwynedd, left Wales around 1169 due to the turmoil between his siblings after his father died. All fighting for their fathers possessions, lands, etc. It was not a nice place to live during this time. So in searchof land where he, his brother, Rhird, and many others could live in peace they departed Wales. A few yearslater he returned with tales of a land uninhabited and rich for farming convincing hundreds of others to return with him to this New World. It is said he departed the 2nd time with approximately 10 ships filled with people and supplies returning back to this new found land. It is believed he landed in Mobile Bay due to whathe had told during his return visit and fortifications found in Bon Secour which is near Mobile Bay.Some Welsh scholars have long been skeptical, especially since the Madoc story was promoted in the 19th century by the bar Iolo Morganwg, someone not renowned for his devotion to accuracy in the sphere of history. For many Welshmen, however, the story has long had a certain resonance. Below I will provide information easily accessible regarding Prince Madoc. I hope you enjoy it!

A Welsh Monk, St. Caradoc of Llan Cargren, Wales first wrote of Madoc's voyages in the 12th Century. Monkswere keepers of records centuries ago. On 3rd of October, 1580, Dr. John Dee made an oral presentation tothe English Council at Court where he summarized the Welsh Monks records: "The Lord Madoc, son of OwenGwynedd, Prince of North Wales lead a colony and uninhabited in Terra Florida or thereabouts."The story was first published in A True Reporte of the late Discoveries of the Newfound Landes, written by Sir George Peckham in 1583. This document supported the first Queen Elizabeth's claim to the New World. It was repeated in Humphrey Llwyd's, Historie of Cambria the next year. In 1600 Richard Hakluyt wrote"Principall Navigations, Voyages and Discoveries of the English Nation" which included the story of Prince Madoc.

Professor Hartmann tells us that "On January 13th 1804, an American President of Welsh ancestry, Thomas Jefferson, dispatched a letter to another Welsh-American, Meriwether Lewis, containing a map of the upper Missouri Valley. The map had been prepared by a third Welsh-American, John Evans.John Evans left his home in rural North Wales in 1792. He travelled to London and then across to remote parts of the USA.

The Bard has been created for those of you who would like to share your poetry with others.  Please email your work to be displayed. You do not have to be a member of the Alabama Welsh Assoc to have it displayed here.

Wales In Your Heart

Come Evans and Jones and Hopkins and Prices,
Come Prichard and Rees, Williams and Rices,
Come Jenkins and Roberts and Dvies and Powells,
Come Griffiths and Probert,  Owens and Howells.
Come Vaughan and Thomas and Richards and Pughs,
Come Protheroe and Morgan, Lloyd and Hughs.
Wales is your Land, Wales is your Heaven.
Myths and Legends and ancients dreams,
From crystal pools and restless streams.

You are Celts whatever your forebears role,
Wales in your heart, Wales in your Soul.
Your Celtic Spirit sets you apart,
Warrior of Wales true from the start.
In Merlin's land forever to dwell,
To tell your tales of a Celtic Farewell.

-John Frannis

.

PAUL 

A man, Black magnificent
the descendant of the Ibo
Whose ancestry,
made redundant by slave sodden greed

Stood alone in his dignity
Wordless against prejudice and dogma

His parents
transported to a foreign place

Bred him to respect his proud
heritage in a world possessed by
hatred of his colour


Singing!

Lyrically savage, stabbing heart and spirit
Spanning cultures and prejudice

His talent!  His torment!
Universal chords touching conscience
with anger and guilt

Such a Man,
Alone, and Black
Could provoke feelings of hate and cowardice
With convoluted simplicity and controversy
Exposing our tyranny and corruption

Hidden in the soft whispers of our poverty ridden
thoughts

BEE RICHARDS

The Flag of St David is associated with Wales and appears in a variety of forms, a gold field with a black cross or a black field with a gold cross. This flag was originally taken from the Coat of Arms of the Diocesan of St David. The black and gold (yellow) flag is flown in Wales as well as the Red Dragon.

Who was St. David? Why is he so important to the Welsh? How is St. David's Day celebrated in Wales today? St David's Day is celebrated in Wales on 1 March, in honour of Dewi Sant or St David, the patron saint of Wales. Little is known about him for certain. What little information we have is based on an account of his life written by Rhigyfarch towards the end of the 11th century.According to this Latin manuscript, Dewi died in the year 589. His mother was called Non, and his father, Sant, was the son of Ceredig, King of Ceredigion. After being educated in Cardiganshire, he went on pilgrimage through south Wales and the west of England, where it is said that he founded religious centres such as Glastonbury and Croyland. He even went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he was made archbishop.He eventually settled at Glyn Rhosyn (St David's), in south-west Wales, where he established a very strict ascetic religious community. Many miracles have been attributed to him, the most incredible of which was performed when he was preaching at the Synod of Llanddewibrefi - he caused the ground to rise underneath him so that he could be seen and heard by all.

How much truth is in this account of his life by Rhigyfarch is hard to tell It must be considered that Rhigyfarch was the son of the Bishop of St David's, and that the Life was written as propaganda to establish Dewi's superiority and defend the bishopric from being taken over by Canterbury and the Normans.From the 12th century onwards, Dewi's fame spread throughout South Wales and as far as Ireland and Brittany. St David's Cathedral became a popular centre of pilgrimage, particularly after Dewi was officially recognised as a Catholic saint in 1120. From this period on, he was frequently referred to in the work of medieval Welsh poets such as Iolo Goch and Lewys Glyn Cothi. In 1398, it was ordained that his feast-day was to be kept by every church in the Province of Canterbury. Though the feast of Dewi as a religious festival came to an end with the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, the day of his birth became a national festival during the 18th century.Now March 1 is celebrated by schools and cultural societies throughout Wales. It is the custom on that day to wear either a leek or a daffodil - two of our national emblems - and for young girls to wear the national costume.

Here are some ideas for St. David's Day:Read Rhys James Jones' excellent article  St. David and St. David's Day This article is based on a talk given at the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union Meeting Point on February 28, 1994.Help your Children make a St. David Doll or color some St. David's Day pictures. Visit our Family Activities Page Prepare a Welsh Meal and invite friends over to share it with you, Yn Y Gegin (In the Kitchen)  has a sample menu and plenty of recipes to help make it a great sucess.If you are a Welsh Learner try your hand at reading this short story about Dewi Sant  Fly the Y Ddraig Gochor The St. David's Cross, wear a daffodil, attend the Local Welsh Society's Activities.

It has always been my understanding thatthat flower (daffodil) was not used as a national symbol until it was promoted as such by the Welsh born Prime Minister, Lloyd George I don't remember where I obtainedthat information, but it may be Owen A. Harries.

Wales has a rich musical heritage, and although many of its traditional instruments are not commonly heard, there are still musicians keeping the folk traditional alive, arranging and performing melodies that have been popular for centuries. Celebrating its musical roots helps confirm Wales distinctive culture. As we enjoy the tunes, dances and instrumental forms that have delighted us for generations, we can become part of the tradition as it moves forward.

Wales has an unbroken tradition of harp playing. It was used as a dance instrument and for playing tunes and airs. The tradition owes its survival to the gypsy families of Wales who kept harp playing alive, and Nansi Richards, the famous harpist Telynores Maldwyn. In Wales the triple harp was popular, an instrument with three rows of strings as opposed to the conventional harp which has one row. It has been the tradition in Wales to play the harp on the left shoulder with the right hand playing the lower strings and the left playing the higher ones. This style of playing is possibly unique to Wales. The growth in popularity of the singly strung classical harp at the beginning of the 20th century had a negative impact on the popularity of the triple harp, with the result that today there are few triple harp players in Wales.

One of the oldest of traditional Welsh instruments. The crwth is a form of stringed lyre which uses a bow to play the strings. There is archaeological evidence to suggest that similar instruments were in use 5,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. The range of notes is limited, with a range of just a single octave, and all the strings are played at the same time. The sound created has a droning quality, which can be strange to the unfamiliar ear. There are a number of crwth players in Wales, including Cas Meurig, who continues to develop the crwth repertoire, and Robert Evans, who with vocalist Mary-Anne Roberts, recreates 'cerdd dafod', literally 'dance of the tongue'. Cerdd dafod was a form of singing with crwth accompaniment, which flourished in Wales from the beginning of the 14th century to the end of the 16th century.

The pibgorn is a simple reed instrument once popular with shepherds and cattle drovers. It is made up of a wooden pipe and the horns of a bull. One horn is used as a mouthpiece and another to form a bell end which helps amplify the sound. The pibgorn consists of six holes for the fingers and a thumb hole at the back, similar to a recorder, giving a range of 8 notes. It was used for playing dance music and passing the time on the cattle droves. Pibgorns are rare instruments, although they can be made to order by specialist instrument makers. The musician Stephen Rees, who plays with the folk group Crasdant, continues his work in bringing the pibgorn sound to new audiences.

The penny whistle or tin whistle has been a popular instrument with players through out the world owing to its low cost, ready availability and ease of construction. The oldest whistle found in Wales is believed to be 900 years old and was found at Chirk castle. It appears to have been made from the bone of an animal. Other historical evidence of its use in Wales includes the Nant Garw sunday school annual tea parties which took place during the 19th century when it was used to accompany the dancing when no harp was available. "And when you heard the tin whistle, the children ran to watch them practicing the dancing" - Margretta Thomas, 1880-1772 A close relation of the whistle is the flute. Until the late 1800s most flutes were made out of wood, although most are now made from metal. It was usually played with other instruments such as the harp and fiddle. The black wooden flutes we see traditional players using today were once orchestral instruments that were discarded when the modern metal version came into use.

Wales' other unbroken tradition, apart from harp playing, is its step or clog dancing. The dance was originally performed by farmers and slate quarry workers and often came in the form of a competition where dancers would show off their stamina and athleticism. The difference between Welsh clogging and other step dance traditions is that the performance will not only include complicated stepping, but also 'tricks'. For example, snuffing out a candle flame with the dancer's feet, 'toby stepping' - similar to Cossack dancing - and high leaps into the air.

Wales has a long tradition of fiddle playing and its music was popular with the great Romany familes of Wales. Three people who were renowned for playing both harp and fiddles were Cornelius, David and Adolphus Wood. Unlike the harp there is no unbroken tradition of fiddle playing in Wales, but because the players wrote down their tunes the repertoire has been preserved. We don't know how the fiddle actually sounded so have no idea of styles. Many manuscripts from 18th and 19th centuries contain tunes which appear very similar in style to contemporary classical or popular music.

The carving of lovespoons has been a part of Welsh Culture going back many centuries. Now though they are seen more as a memento of Wales, be that as a result of a trip to Wales, or for an exile longing for the green and pleasant land, still called Home. The carving and giving of lovespoons has not survived the test of time, and many of the love spoons bought today are machine made., Welsh Lovespoons are a unique Celtic Craft.

As their eyes met across the Welsh village square, he knew what was needed. He had to carve her a lovespoon. Any available time over the coming months, would be spent carving the spoon. He had his pen - knife, a scrap of sharpened metal to act as a scraper, and so his labor of love had begun. He would need to show her father that he was good with his hands. He hoped she love would see his carving as an indication of his desire to build a home with her. He would carve a heart on the spoon to show that his heart was hers, the keyhole to show his desire to share his home with her, and a vine to show them growing together. When the spoon was finished, he would then offer it to her in hope she would accept it and his heart as well. If she accepted his heart they would spend many happy years together, the lovespoon that had brought them together all those years before would take a place upon the wall of their living room. Now, it had passed through the many generations that followed, keeping their love alive and everlasting.

They share the Welsh name Ceninen.

The leek is known to have been displayed as a Welsh emblem in 1536 and in Henry V, Shakespeare acknowledged this as an ancient custom. One legend tells of a battle between the Welsh and the Saxons fought in a field of leeks. At some time in the past, the leek was an important part of the diet but it is not commonly eaten today. It is delicious when part of the traditional leek and potato soup.

The daffodil has no such claim to literary and historical distinction. It has become the more favoured emblem of late, however, since some people find that it makes a more attractive buttonhole on St. David's day . Daffodils and new-born lambs herald the summer in Wales.

Do you have a Welsh story with Alabama connections, a biography of a Welsh settler in Alabama or a Welsh ancestor who came to Alabama?  Share it with us for publication on this page. 

William Wyatt Bibb - 1st Governor of Alabama

Thomas Bibb - 2nd Governor of Alabama

Thomas Jones - Governor

David Lewis - Governor

James Allen - Senator

Seale Harris - Physician, Researcher was crowned by his recognition of spontaneous hypoglycemia

Mel Allen - Sportscaster for N.Y. Yankees

N. Jan Davis - Astronaut

J. F. Edwards - Astronaut

Linda Howard - Romance Writer

Annie Price - Attorney, 1st woman to serve on High Court in Alabama

Augusta Evans Wilson - Author, Civil war Nurse

Marie Owen - Author, Historian , Dir. of Al Dept of Archives & History

Dixie Bibb-Graves - Social & Political Services, First Alabama Woman Senator

Hank Williams  - Country Singer

Sonny James -  Country Singer

Sam Phillips - Singer

Emmylou Harris - Singer

Rick Hall - Singer

Rose Maddox - Singer

Randy Owen - Country Singer (Alabama Band)

Jesse Owens - Athlete

John Hunt Morgan was born in Huntsville, Alabama on June 1st, 1825.  He was a Confederate General and Calvary Officer in the American Civil War.  He led 2,460 troops in a daring raid, called Morgan's Raid, racing past Union lines into Kentucky, Indiana & Ohio in July of 1863.  This was the farthest north any uniformed Confederate troops penetrated during the war.

George A. Davis a native of Dowlais immigrated to America and settled in St. Clair, PA and in 1888 moved to Alabama.  He managed Belle Sumter mines, and erected the only known Welsh Church ever built in Alabama, where the Reverend D. M. Lewis preached in Welsh.  Mr. Davis built the church to serve a Welsh mining community.

Many towns, cities & counties in Alabama are named either by or for Welsh people.

Abernant, Adamsville, Allen, Berry, Bibb, Brownville, Cardiff, Clayton, Daviston, Dawson, Edwardsville, Fort Davis, Fort Morgan, Guntersville, Harrisburg, Jasper, Jefferson,  Jones, Matthews, Morgan, Morgan City, Montgomery,  Morris, Owens, Cross Roads, Pisgah, Priceville, Prichard, Powell, Reece City, Rehoboth, Rogersville, Taylor, Thomasville, Weaver, and Wilsonville.