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Description
Photography by John Ball - 4 January 2004 (with a Fuji FinePix S602 Zoom digital camera)
I recently decided to visit the tiny village of Bethlehem in the Carmarthenshire parish of Llangadog. The purpose of my visit was to explore and photograph the 200-year-old Bethlehem Independent Chapel and its graveyard.
The chapel is a few hundred yards south of Bethlehem village. A morning mist was still very much in evidence, but I decided the atmosphere was clear enough to allow photography.
Image 1:
Wall plaque indicating the chapel was first built in 1800 and rebuilt in 1834.
Image 2:
The south corner of the chapel. This end of the chapel, possibly a vestry and/or schoolroom, appears to be a later extension.
Image 3:
North corner of the chapel, viewed from the graveyard.
Bethlehem Chapel Graveyard
The pictures below show details of some of the interesting tombstones in the chapel graveyard.
Image 4:
General view of the graveyard from the northeast corner.
Image 5:
An unusual triangular tombstone
Image 6:
Ornate headstone of Henry Price (see transcription below, and translation below left)
Main surface:
Â
ER COF AM
HENRY PRICE
CWMDU YN Y PLWYF HWN
YR HWN A FU FARW ION. 10
1860
YN 60 MLWYDD OED.
HEFYD AM ANNE
GWRAIG Y DYWEDEDIG
HENRY PRICE - - - A FU
FARW MAI - - - 1862
YN -- MLWYDD
In Memory of
HENRY PRICE
Cwmdu in this parish
Who died January 10
1860
Aged 60
Also of ANNE
Wife of the said
HENRY PRICE - - - who
Died May - - - 1862
Aged - - years.
Minor surfaces:
Central shield
HEFYD MARY ANN EU MERCH
BU FARW EBRILL 29, 1892,
YN 16 MLWYDD OED.
Peripheral arch
HEFYD HENRY MAB H. AC E. PRICE,
CWMDU, BU FARW MEHEFIN 17, 1879
YN 16 MIS.
Image 7:
Two Thomas family graves (centre).
Image 8:
Tombstone of William Thomas (see also below left and right)
Image 9:
Tombstone of David Thomas (see further details later)
Image 10:
Shrouded urn on tomb of Wm Thomas
Image 11:
Inscription on tomb of Wm Thomas (see transcription below)
In Affectionate Remembrance
of
WILLIAM THOMAS
of Llwyndu in this Parish
who departed this life May 31st 1863
in the 75th year of his age.
ESTHER THOMAS
daughter of the above named,
died May 15th 1861, aged 21 years,
and RACHEL THOMAS, also
daughter of the above named,
died Feb. 3rd 1836, in her 13 year.
"The stars shall fade away, - the Sun himself
Grow dim with age, and Nature sink in years.
But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,
Unhurt amidst the war of elements,
The wreck of matter, and the crash of worlds.".
Llwyndu is a 100-acre farm a short walk from Bethlehem Chapel. After William Thomas died, his widow Elizabeth and several of their children emigrated to the USA. Elizabeth died in Emporia, Kansas. On her memorial stone in Greenwood Cemetery, Emporia Township, is the same verse as that shown above, on her husband's stone in Bethlehem Chapel graveyard. William Thomas is the 4 × great grandfather of Kate Rogers of Manitou Springs, Colorado, for whom I photographed the chapel and the Thomas gravestones.
At the time of the 1881 census, Llwyndu was being farmed by 60-year-old widow Sarah Griffiths and her son David.
The final pictures (below) illustrate the inscriptions on the three sides of the tomb of David Thomas which is shown standing next to the tomb of William Thomas in my earlier photograph. The proximity of the graves suggests these two Thomas families may have been related.
Image 12:
Tomb of David Thomas, died March 3rd 1875, aged 21 Son of Thomas and Mary Thomas of Llwynmendy Uchaf [sic]. Llwynmaendu Uchaf farm is situated close to Bethlehem Chapel and Llwyndu Farm.
Image 13:
Thomas Thomas, died August 4th 1885, aged 76. Father of David Thomas.
Image 14:
Mary Thomas, died April 3rd 1901, aged 83 Wife of Thomas Thomas (see 1881 census record below).
| Llwynmendy Uchaf, Llangadock, Carmarthenshire | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAME and Surname of each Person | RELATION to Head of Family | CON- DITION as to Marriage | AGE last Birthday | Rank, Profession, or OCCUPATION | WHERE BORN |
| Thomas Thomas | Head | M | 70 | Farmer of 122 acres employing 1 labourer | Llangadock, Carmarthen |
| Mary Thomas | Wife | M | 63 | Farmer's wife | Llanfynydd, Carmarthen |
| Michael Thomas | Son | U | 19 | Farmer's son | Llangadock, Carmarthen |
| Jane Walters | Servant | U | 22 | Dairymaid Domestic Servant | Llandebie, Carmarthen |
| Elizabeth Davies | Servant | U | 18 | General servant Domestic | Llangadock, Carmarthen |
| William Harris | Servant | U | 22 | Farm servant Indoor | Llangadock, Carmarthen |
| Rees Jones | Servant | 13 | Farm servant Indoor | Llanwrtyd, Brecknock | |
| John Emanuel | Servant | U | 33 | Farm labourer | Shrewsbury, Shropshire |
| David James | Visitor | U | 23 | Farmer's son | Myddfai, Carmarthen |
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