Osweo
06-08-2009, 01:11 AM
Just came across this, some interesting bits...
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Why do Welsh names seem to be so common within the African American community ? Some time ago Mr. David Evans of Australia drew our attention to this topic with the following e-mail :
"As an aside to your interesting website: I have been trying to track down the reason for what I consider to be a preponderance of "Welsh" surnames among black Americans. I find it curious that again and again among various subjects of interest to me, e.g. jazz and tennis, the names Williams, Evans, Jones, Thomas come up again and again ... "
Mr. Evans thus raised several interesting issues. If we accept the widely held notion that slaves tended to adopt the surnames of their masters, a high modern incidence of Welsh surnames would indicate that Welsh immigrants formed a large proportion of the slaveholder class. For reasons discussed below I believe this concept to be quite wrong. In fact, it seems to me that the Welsh can be quite proud that their names survive to such an extent within the black population of America. My access to the literature has been largely limited to British sources. However, many American visitors to the Data Wales website have contributed their insights, advice and encouragement. I hope that, between us, we have managed to offer a balanced picture.
That widely held notion ...
George F. Nagle of Pennsylvania has carried out valuable research on naming practices in his state. He writes: "Although it is true that slaves in the south did sometimes adopt the surname of the slaveholders (or were assigned that name for tax or legal purposes), they almost never did so in the north. Prior to the 1780's, northern slaves were almost always identified only by a given name. Beginning in the 1780's, as Pennsylvania began its long process of gradual emancipation, some slaves began to be identified with surnames as well as given names. I have collected data on more than 3,000 slaves in Pennsylvania, and have found only one instance where the surname of the slave matches the surname of the slaveholder."
First of all, is it true that Welsh surnames are over-represented among African Americans or have some famous people with Welsh names simply distorted our view?
Most agreed that Welsh names are unusually common within this community. I am not aware of any published research in this area but none of our correspondents disputed Mr. Evans' observation. In fact, I might add another Welsh name to his list. I wonder if many people are aware that the name "Floyd" has a Welsh origin. This was originally a descriptive element in early Welsh names, in the form "Llwyd" meaning "grey" or sometimes "brown". Medieval scribes not of Welsh origin had trouble spelling this and it was often written as "Lloyd", or in an attempt to reproduce the singular "Ll" sound of Welsh as "Floyd".
Regional variations.
I am a substitute teacher in the Sacramento California area. I always look down the roll sheet for Welsh names. When I call the roll, I find that about 80% of the students with Welsh names are African American. I have always wondered how this came to be. It was very interesting to read your analysis.
David L.
Here in Philadelphia I reside in Mount Airy, a largely African American working-class neighbourhood (with the most warm and wonderful neighbours I've ever known), but I haven't any neighbours with Welsh names. My local Unitarian parish is about 50% black, and right now I'm skimming our church directory... With the possible exception of Morrison (an older widow -- that's her married name) and possibly Thomas, I don't see any names of Welsh origin borne by black members.
Sandy F.
Does the (albeit regional) high proportion of Welsh names necessarily mean that the Welsh were especially prominent as slave holders in early America? I think that this is unlikely. Several correspondents, while tracing their family history had been uncomfortably surprised by evidence that their Welsh ancestors had kept slaves but there are several reasons to suppose that the Welsh would have been under represented in the slave holding class. Consider the some of the so-called "waves" of emigration from Wales. The first of these, the flight of Welsh Quakers in the late 17th century, consisted of people with a philosophy somewhat opposed to slavery. (Although Priscilla S. of Phoenix has drawn my attention to the fact that some prominent early Quaker immigrants were slaveholders and that it was only in the mid to late 1700s that Quaker leaders and ministers began to actively campaign against the evil of slavery). The industrial emigrants in the 19th century came to America to exercise their skills as furnacemen and miners, they also would have been far removed from the slave owning economy. (In this connection see a note by Ivan Hild, The Welsh and Anthracite Coal Mining in America.)
Before 1840, Welsh emigration to America had been sporadic and limited. The Welsh squire was more likely to be attracted to the plantations of Ireland. "...why tear up one's roots and cross the Atlantic to wrest a home from the primeval forest when land-hunger could be appeased across the Irish Sea without the preliminary pioneering and without the pain of permanent exile from all that was dear and familiar?" (A. H. Dodds, writing in 1953). That many Welsh families settled in Ireland but later (perhaps in times of famine) left for America is attested by the number of American visitors to the Data Wales website who ask why they have names denoting Welsh ancestry although family records indicate emigration from Ireland. (Names like Walsh and Vaughan come to mind).
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The rest here:
http://www.data-wales.co.uk/plantations.htm
*****************
Why do Welsh names seem to be so common within the African American community ? Some time ago Mr. David Evans of Australia drew our attention to this topic with the following e-mail :
"As an aside to your interesting website: I have been trying to track down the reason for what I consider to be a preponderance of "Welsh" surnames among black Americans. I find it curious that again and again among various subjects of interest to me, e.g. jazz and tennis, the names Williams, Evans, Jones, Thomas come up again and again ... "
Mr. Evans thus raised several interesting issues. If we accept the widely held notion that slaves tended to adopt the surnames of their masters, a high modern incidence of Welsh surnames would indicate that Welsh immigrants formed a large proportion of the slaveholder class. For reasons discussed below I believe this concept to be quite wrong. In fact, it seems to me that the Welsh can be quite proud that their names survive to such an extent within the black population of America. My access to the literature has been largely limited to British sources. However, many American visitors to the Data Wales website have contributed their insights, advice and encouragement. I hope that, between us, we have managed to offer a balanced picture.
That widely held notion ...
George F. Nagle of Pennsylvania has carried out valuable research on naming practices in his state. He writes: "Although it is true that slaves in the south did sometimes adopt the surname of the slaveholders (or were assigned that name for tax or legal purposes), they almost never did so in the north. Prior to the 1780's, northern slaves were almost always identified only by a given name. Beginning in the 1780's, as Pennsylvania began its long process of gradual emancipation, some slaves began to be identified with surnames as well as given names. I have collected data on more than 3,000 slaves in Pennsylvania, and have found only one instance where the surname of the slave matches the surname of the slaveholder."
First of all, is it true that Welsh surnames are over-represented among African Americans or have some famous people with Welsh names simply distorted our view?
Most agreed that Welsh names are unusually common within this community. I am not aware of any published research in this area but none of our correspondents disputed Mr. Evans' observation. In fact, I might add another Welsh name to his list. I wonder if many people are aware that the name "Floyd" has a Welsh origin. This was originally a descriptive element in early Welsh names, in the form "Llwyd" meaning "grey" or sometimes "brown". Medieval scribes not of Welsh origin had trouble spelling this and it was often written as "Lloyd", or in an attempt to reproduce the singular "Ll" sound of Welsh as "Floyd".
Regional variations.
I am a substitute teacher in the Sacramento California area. I always look down the roll sheet for Welsh names. When I call the roll, I find that about 80% of the students with Welsh names are African American. I have always wondered how this came to be. It was very interesting to read your analysis.
David L.
Here in Philadelphia I reside in Mount Airy, a largely African American working-class neighbourhood (with the most warm and wonderful neighbours I've ever known), but I haven't any neighbours with Welsh names. My local Unitarian parish is about 50% black, and right now I'm skimming our church directory... With the possible exception of Morrison (an older widow -- that's her married name) and possibly Thomas, I don't see any names of Welsh origin borne by black members.
Sandy F.
Does the (albeit regional) high proportion of Welsh names necessarily mean that the Welsh were especially prominent as slave holders in early America? I think that this is unlikely. Several correspondents, while tracing their family history had been uncomfortably surprised by evidence that their Welsh ancestors had kept slaves but there are several reasons to suppose that the Welsh would have been under represented in the slave holding class. Consider the some of the so-called "waves" of emigration from Wales. The first of these, the flight of Welsh Quakers in the late 17th century, consisted of people with a philosophy somewhat opposed to slavery. (Although Priscilla S. of Phoenix has drawn my attention to the fact that some prominent early Quaker immigrants were slaveholders and that it was only in the mid to late 1700s that Quaker leaders and ministers began to actively campaign against the evil of slavery). The industrial emigrants in the 19th century came to America to exercise their skills as furnacemen and miners, they also would have been far removed from the slave owning economy. (In this connection see a note by Ivan Hild, The Welsh and Anthracite Coal Mining in America.)
Before 1840, Welsh emigration to America had been sporadic and limited. The Welsh squire was more likely to be attracted to the plantations of Ireland. "...why tear up one's roots and cross the Atlantic to wrest a home from the primeval forest when land-hunger could be appeased across the Irish Sea without the preliminary pioneering and without the pain of permanent exile from all that was dear and familiar?" (A. H. Dodds, writing in 1953). That many Welsh families settled in Ireland but later (perhaps in times of famine) left for America is attested by the number of American visitors to the Data Wales website who ask why they have names denoting Welsh ancestry although family records indicate emigration from Ireland. (Names like Walsh and Vaughan come to mind).
*********************************
The rest here:
http://www.data-wales.co.uk/plantations.htm