A Brief History of the Welsh in the USA Mining Industry

By Derry Eynon

The first Welsh to emmigrate to what became the United States were Quakers who helped colonize the Delaware River Valley between 1675 and 1715. And though Welsh were influential in the founding of the country (Thomas Jefferson was Welsh), it wasn't until 1840 that the major flow of Welsh immigrants began, an influx that lasted until 1900. What called the Welsh to cross the Atlantic was the birthing of the American coal industry. The bituminous coal fields in eastern Ohio and along the James River in Virginia were the first destinations.

In the 1850's a tourist in Wales noted that it seemed most every collier he met had a relative in the U.S. coal industry. At that time, primarily British money funded new mines and the American coal regions were almost exclusively occupied by foreigners, mostly from Wales and England. Miners in Ohio's Mahoning Valley conducted their meetings in Welsh. By the 1860's, half of all American mine workers were born outside the United States. The bituminous industry grew, as did the anthracite region of northeast Pennsylvania which, by 1890, had a population of 70,000 Welsh. By this time, the Welsh also were well represented in America's Midwestern coal fields in Illinois. During the Civil War period, the Welsh (and Scottish) miners, for the most part, were Republicans because they objected to inequalities, especially slavery. So they strongly supported Abraham Lincoln (of Welsh descent) and the Republicans who, of no lesser importance, supported high tariffs.

By this time, the Irish had begun their great immigration. They tended not to sympathize with blacks, supported Democrats and resisted the Civil War draft. Such issues, among others including labour-management problems, prompted ethnic conflicts in the coal fields. Though the specifics are lost to history, a group of Irish and Scottish miners in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania shunned the Welsh, claiming them to be a class of human beings who should never be allowed to associate with peaceable and law-abiding citizens. Out west in Wyoming, Welsh joined Irish and others in a rampage, prompted by a mining labour-management dispute, through a Chinese neighbourhood that resulted in 28 dead.

The Welsh (and English) had an advantage over other immigrant miners especially Italians and Russians who were the first non-British foreigners to enter the mines as the U.S. industry grew. The Welsh spoke English, were skilled in their craft and practiced a non-conformist Protestantism with its emphasis on hard work that fit well in the dominant ethos of American society. As a result, Welsh often rose to supervisory and management positions in the mines and were more quickly assimilated into American society than many other European groups, especially those from eastern Europe.

Nineteen hundred was the peak year for Welsh immigration to the U.S. Soon after, mine owners turned to Slavs and other eastern Europeans for cheaper labour. The Welsh left the industry rather than compete and moved into the mainstream of American society. Those Welsh who remained in the coal industry occupied positions of power both with the coal companies and the miners' union. The renowned John L., Lewis, born of Welsh parents in Illinois, headed the United Mine Workers union from 1920 to 1960. By this time, most miners supported the Democrats because they embraced union objectives.

The latest U.S. census reveals that 1.98 million Americans have Welsh ancestry. That's 0.6% of the population, though 3.8% have Welsh names, many of African-Americans. (See data-wales.com for an essay on that subject.) Ohio and Pennsylvania still have large Welsh populations. Utah has a significant Welsh contingency, thanks to the conversion of Welsh during the nineteenth century to Mormonism (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) and subsequent emigration to be near church headquarters in Salt Lake City. As a notable percentage of the population, Welsh also are found in Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, New York, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington state, Malad City, Idaho claims the largest percentage of people with Welsh heritage of any city in the world outside Wales, though some people in Patagonia might disagree.

Organizations celebrating Welsh heritage and traditions are found throughout the United States. The Welsh National Gymanfa Ganu Association, was founded in 1929. The University of Rio Grande in Rio Grande, Gallia county, Ohio, houses the Madog Center for Welsh Studies. Gallia county and adjacent Jackson county often are called Little Cardiganshire. Welsh left their mark in the names of many American places. In Pennsylvania, for example, there is Cambria county and the towns of Bala Cynwyd, Narbeth and Nanti Glo to name a few. The census shows that people of British ancestry are spread across the United States. But only three states have a plurality of citizens claiming English ancestry. German is claimed by a plurality in 23 states followed by African (9 states), Mexican, Italian and American with four each, Irish (2) and Japanese (1).

Most demographers believe the ancestry of folks who note American ancestry is British. More nationalities emerge as pluralities when the country is broken down by county (a division of a state, called parishes in Louisiana). In addition to Welsh, pluralities were noted for Czech. Danish, Dutch, French Canadian, French, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Jewish, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Scottish, Scots-Irish, Slovak, Swedish and Ukrainian ethnicities. By the next census, some believe southeast Asians may become a plurality in a number of places. Though a small percentage of the population, from the creation of the country to building the coal industry, Welsh immigrants and their descendants played and continue to play a significant role in the history of the United States.

Further reading:
1. Welsh Americans: A History of Assimilation in the Coal Fields by Ronald L. Lewis. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN#978-0-8078-3220-2. 2. Where the Sun Never Shines: A History of America's Bloody Coal Industry by Priscilla Long, Paragon House. 1991. ISBN#1-50778-465-5. (A comprehensive history covering all ethnicities in the mines.)
3. data-wales.com has a number of essays on the Welsh in America including a piece on the Welsh in the American anthracite coal industry and one about Welsh names in the African-American population.