Edward Lloyd
A Memory of Blaenau Ffestiniog.
My great grandfather, Edward Lloyd, emigrated to the United States from Ffestiniog. He was a famous tenor in his day and had high ranking with the Eisteddfod both in Wales, and later, in upstate, NY. I am told by a cousin, Dr. Alwyn Jones, that Lloyd descendants still reside in Teddy's boyhood home on 152/153 Manod Road. Teddy's mother, Mary (née Williams) Lloyd managed a farm/butter-making operation even after her husband had died of TB in 1879, which was unusual for a woman of her time. She was also known as Mary Tomen y mur, although I have not been able to uncover the significance of this moniker. Why are the women of Tomen y mur "famous?"
Teddy married Jane Williams of Amlwch, Anglesey. Jane's sister, Bessie, married Rev. H.K.Jones who inherited Inigo Slate works. I have a picture of " Auntie Bessie" taking tea with Queen Victoria. My grandmother recalled dining with Prime Minister David Lloyd George at Ten Downing Street and also having tea with a queen. I suspect the Prime Minister, as a great patron of the Eisteddfod, was eager to associate himself with my very talented and handsome grandfather who shared the Lloyd name. Teddy's stage name, by the way, was Iorwerth Merioneth.
I have several old pictures from this era taken both in Festiniog and in Amlwch. My great grandparents made many return visits to Wales before the onset of the Great Depression and WWII.
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The Welsh have always referred to people according to where they (or their family) have come from. Surnames are a relatively "new" thing for us!
Look up Tomen y Mur on Wikipedia-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomen_y_Mur