Lewis Jones (Patagonia)
Encyclopedia
Lewis Jones was one of the founders of the Welsh settlement
in Patagonia
. The city of Trelew
was named after him.
Jones was born in Caernarfon
and worked as a printer in Holyhead
, where he was co-editor of the Welsh
periodical Y Punch Cymraeg. Later he moved to Liverpool
and married Ellen Griffith in 1859. He became one of the main leaders of the movement which was set up to establish a Welsh settlement in a suitable location, where Welsh emigrants could stay together and preserve their language and way of life. In 1862 Lewis Jones accompanied Captain Love Jones-Parry to Patagonia to investigate whether it was a suitable area for the project. They first visited Buenos Aires
where they held discussions with the minister Guillermo Rawson
then having come to an agreement headed south. They reached Patagonia in a small ship named the Candelaria, and were driven by a storm into a bay which they named "Porth Madryn" after Jones-Parry's estate in Wales. The town which grew near the spot where they landed is now named Puerto Madryn
. They returned to Wales with a favourable report, which was further embellished by Lewis Jones in a series of speeches.
Lewis Jones and Edwyn Cynrig Roberts went to Patagonia ahead of the main party to prepare the ground, and were there to welcome the settlers when the Mimosa landed. However a quarrel broke out when some of the settlers complained that the land was by no means as suitable for settlement as Lewis Jones had claimed. Jones moved to Buenos Aires
to work as a printer for a period, but when he heard in 1867 that some of the settlers were planning to leave Patagonia he returned to persuade them to stay. He set up a printing press and published two Welsh newspapers, Ein Breiniad and Y Drafod. The Argentine government appointed him governor for a period, but he was also imprisoned for supporting the rights of the Welsh settlers against the government. In the 1870s he made a number of trips to explore the area beyond the Chubut valley.
Lewis Jones was the driving force behind the construction of a railway running up the Chubut valley from Puerto Madryn. In 1884 the Argentine Congress authorised the construction of the Central Chubut Railway by Lewis Jones y Cia. Raising funds locally to set up a company to build the railway proved difficult, so Lewis Jones went to the United Kingdom with his daughter Eluned to try to raise the money there. Initially he had little success, but on a train journey from London to Bangor
the fact that he and Eluned were chatting in Spanish aroused the curiosity of a fellow passenger, Asahel P. Bell, an engineer. It was Bell who assisted them to set up the company in Liverpool.
Work on the railway began in 1886, helped by the arrival of another 465 Welsh settlers on the steamer Vesta. The town which grew at the railhead was named Trelew
in honour of Lewis Jones ("Tre" is the Welsh for "town"). The town grew rapidly and in 1888 became the headquarters of the "Compañía Mercantil del Chubut" (Chubut Trading Company).
Lewis Jones died in 1904, the year in which Trelew elected its first municipal authority, and was buried in the Moriah cemetery by the River Chubut, facing Trelew. His daughter Eluned, later Eluned Morgan
, became a prominent figure in the life of the Welsh settlement, and is generally regarded as the finest Welsh language
writer produced by Patagonia.
Welsh settlement in Argentina
Y Wladfa refers to the Welsh settlement in Argentina, which began in 1865 and occurred mainly along the coast of Chubut Province in the far southern region of Patagonia...
in Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
. The city of Trelew
Trelew
-References:La Pasión según Trelew, Espejo de la Argentina, 1997, Editorial Planeta Argentina S.A.I.C.; Third Edition: April 2000, Buenos Aires, ISBN 950-742-859-3-External links:* * * *...
was named after him.
Jones was born in Caernarfon
Caernarfon
Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...
and worked as a printer in Holyhead
Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....
, where he was co-editor of the Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
periodical Y Punch Cymraeg. Later he moved to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and married Ellen Griffith in 1859. He became one of the main leaders of the movement which was set up to establish a Welsh settlement in a suitable location, where Welsh emigrants could stay together and preserve their language and way of life. In 1862 Lewis Jones accompanied Captain Love Jones-Parry to Patagonia to investigate whether it was a suitable area for the project. They first visited Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
where they held discussions with the minister Guillermo Rawson
Guillermo Rawson
Dr. Guillermo Rawson was a medical doctor and politician in nineteenth-century Argentina. As Interior Minister in 1862 he met Captain Love Jones-Parry and Lewis Jones who were on their way to Patagonia to investigate whether it was suitable for the creation of a Welsh settlement there...
then having come to an agreement headed south. They reached Patagonia in a small ship named the Candelaria, and were driven by a storm into a bay which they named "Porth Madryn" after Jones-Parry's estate in Wales. The town which grew near the spot where they landed is now named Puerto Madryn
Puerto Madryn
Puerto Madryn is a city in the province of Chubut in the Argentine Patagonia. It is the head town of the Viedma Department, and has about 57,571 inhabitants according to the last census in 2001....
. They returned to Wales with a favourable report, which was further embellished by Lewis Jones in a series of speeches.
Lewis Jones and Edwyn Cynrig Roberts went to Patagonia ahead of the main party to prepare the ground, and were there to welcome the settlers when the Mimosa landed. However a quarrel broke out when some of the settlers complained that the land was by no means as suitable for settlement as Lewis Jones had claimed. Jones moved to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
to work as a printer for a period, but when he heard in 1867 that some of the settlers were planning to leave Patagonia he returned to persuade them to stay. He set up a printing press and published two Welsh newspapers, Ein Breiniad and Y Drafod. The Argentine government appointed him governor for a period, but he was also imprisoned for supporting the rights of the Welsh settlers against the government. In the 1870s he made a number of trips to explore the area beyond the Chubut valley.
Lewis Jones was the driving force behind the construction of a railway running up the Chubut valley from Puerto Madryn. In 1884 the Argentine Congress authorised the construction of the Central Chubut Railway by Lewis Jones y Cia. Raising funds locally to set up a company to build the railway proved difficult, so Lewis Jones went to the United Kingdom with his daughter Eluned to try to raise the money there. Initially he had little success, but on a train journey from London to Bangor
Bangor, Wales
Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
the fact that he and Eluned were chatting in Spanish aroused the curiosity of a fellow passenger, Asahel P. Bell, an engineer. It was Bell who assisted them to set up the company in Liverpool.
Work on the railway began in 1886, helped by the arrival of another 465 Welsh settlers on the steamer Vesta. The town which grew at the railhead was named Trelew
Trelew
-References:La Pasión según Trelew, Espejo de la Argentina, 1997, Editorial Planeta Argentina S.A.I.C.; Third Edition: April 2000, Buenos Aires, ISBN 950-742-859-3-External links:* * * *...
in honour of Lewis Jones ("Tre" is the Welsh for "town"). The town grew rapidly and in 1888 became the headquarters of the "Compañía Mercantil del Chubut" (Chubut Trading Company).
Lewis Jones died in 1904, the year in which Trelew elected its first municipal authority, and was buried in the Moriah cemetery by the River Chubut, facing Trelew. His daughter Eluned, later Eluned Morgan
Eluned Morgan (author)
Eluned Morgan , was a Welsh-language author from Patagonia.Born aboard the ship Myfanwy en route from Britain to Patagonia in South America, she was the daughter of Lewis Jones who gave his name to the city of Trelew, in Argentina...
, became a prominent figure in the life of the Welsh settlement, and is generally regarded as the finest Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
writer produced by Patagonia.