America Discovered by the Welsh in 1170 A.D Part 10

George Catlin, who spent years of patient investigation into the language of the Mandans and of other Indians, has given a table of Mandan and Welsh words, with their p.r.o.nunciations. Those who have any acquaintance with the Moquis and Mohave tongues declare that they contain Welsh words. Relics with Celtic inscriptions have been unearthed. Aztec and Spanish chroniclers confirm more recent researches respecting the presence of Celtic words in the old Aztec language. The speech of Montezuma discloses their eastern origin, and that their astounding civilization was due to white men.

What then?

Why, that such a ma.s.s of testimony under such a variety of circ.u.mstances, precluding the idea of preconcert, interest, prejudice, or downright ignorance, establishes the fact that the Welsh were on this continent prior to its discovery by Columbus, and that those Welsh were led thither by Prince Madoc in 1170 A.D. Many historical facts to which the world has given implicit credence are far less supported than the above. Hereafter let not American historians pa.s.s over these facts in contemptuous silence.

CHAPTER XVI.

THE WELSH OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

The Welsh have claims for recognition and patriotic grat.i.tude by the American people, because of the prominent part taken by some of their descendants in founding the American Republic. The Welsh mind and heart have contributed no small share, in common with the good, the n.o.ble, and the enlightened of other lands, to mould its inst.i.tutions and to make possible a country where the highest conditions of a Christian civilization may be enjoyed.

That little vessel of one hundred and eighty tons' burden, the Mayflower, embryo of a free republic, was commanded by a Welshman, Captain Jones. Among those who came as pa.s.sengers were several of Welsh origin,--Thomas Rogers, Stephen Hopkins, John Alden, and John Howland.

The last one named was attached to Governor Carver's household. So the Welsh have a share in the celebration of the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers. What must have been the thoughts of that band of forty-one men (one hundred and one souls in all) as they stood on Plymouth Rock and looked into the vast forests before them, so soon by their st.u.r.dy energy and that of their descendants to be transformed into fruitful farms and splendid cities and towns!

Roger Williams was born in Wales in 1599. He was a relative of the Protector, Oliver Cromwell. Banished from Ma.s.sachusetts in 1635, he penetrated the forests in mid-winter till he came to the country of the Narragansets,--where the chief sachem, Canonicus, gave him a grant of land, which, in token of "G.o.d's merciful providence to him in his distress," he called Providence. Here he established a pure democracy, all equally sharing the dignity and privileges of the government. He was so kind in his treatment of the surrounding Indians that he was much beloved by them, and it was by his great power over them that he saved his white persecutors from destruction. Yet his enemies did not revoke his sentence of banishment. The city government of Providence is honoring his memory by the erection of a bronze statue.

Of that immortal band of men who composed the Continental Congress, and were signers of the Declaration of Independence, eighteen were Welshmen:

John Adams Ma.s.sachusetts.

Samuel Adams "

Stephen Hopkins Rhode Island.

William Williams Connecticut.

William Floyd New York.

Francis Lewis " "

Lewis Morris " "

Francis Hopkinson New Jersey.

Robert Morris Pennsylvania.

George Clymer "

John Morton "

John Penn North Carolina.

Arthur Middleton South Carolina.

b.u.t.ton Gwinnett Georgia.

Thomas Jefferson Virginia.

Benjamin Harrison "

Richard Henry Lee "

Francis Henry Lightfoot Lee "

Notwithstanding abler pens have sketched them all, it may not be uninteresting to touch upon a few facts in the biography of the above list. Commencing with New England, where so many of Welsh blood came after the Restoration, having been the followers of Cromwell, it will be in order to notice John and Samuel Adams.

John Adams was born at Quincy, Ma.s.sachusetts, in 1735. His services were distinguished in the American Revolution; he was a member of the committee which made the draft of the Declaration, and a signer of the doc.u.ment. He was President and Vice-President of the United States. He died at the age of ninety-one, in 1826, just half a century after the Declaration.

Samuel Adams was born in Boston, in 1722. He was a fearless patriot and a stirring orator. He was educated for the ministry at Harvard College, but became so engrossed in politics that he relinquished that profession. He was in the Continental Congress, was Governor of Ma.s.sachusetts, and left the impress of his power on the Const.i.tution of his State, which he helped to frame. He died at the age of eighty-one, in 1803.

Stephen Hopkins was born in Providence, and was a self-taught man. He wrote and acted against the oppression of the colonies by the home-government long prior to the Revolution. He filled important offices in his State, became a member of the Continental Congress, and signed the Declaration. He died in July, 1785.

From Connecticut came William Williams. He graduated at Harvard College, at the age of twenty, in 1751. He became a lawyer, but afterwards chose the profession of arms, and was aide to his brother who fell at Fort George in 1755. He died at the age of eighty-one, in 1811.

New York furnished three Welshmen out of her four delegates,--the fourth, Mr. Livingston, being of Scotch origin, though the family came from Holland. William Floyd was born in the year 1734, on Long Island.

He was possessed of large means. He was in the first Continental Congress in 1774, and signed the Declaration in 1776. His losses of property by the English were large. He died at the age of eighty-seven, in 1821.

Francis Lewis was born in South Wales, in 1713. His education was partly acquired in Scotland and in Westminster, London. He was in business in that city, came to New York, and conducted business for English merchants. He was taken prisoner in the French War and carried to France; after his return to New York he was sent to Congress, and signed the Declaration in 1776. His property on Long Island was destroyed by the English. He died at the age of ninety, in 1803.

Lewis Morris, the fourth and last from New York, was born of a Welsh family, in 1726. He was a graduate of Yale, and afterwards settled on his father's farm, now known as Morrisania, Westchester County. Lewis's father was the son of an officer in Cromwell's army, and first royal governor of New Jersey, in 1738. Lewis was sent to the Continental Congress in 1775, and served till 1777. His losses by the Revolution were immense. He died at the age of seventy-two, in 1798.

Francis Hopkinson, a delegate from New Jersey, was from a Welsh family.

He was born in Philadelphia, in 1737. He was noted as a lawyer, wit, and poet. He wrote several political pamphlets, and was the author of many poetical _jeux-d'esprit_, one of the best-known of which is "The Battle of the Kegs," which begins,--

"Gallants, attend, and hear a friend Trill forth harmonious ditty; Strange things I'll tell, which late befell In Philadelphia City."

Mr. Hopkinson signed the Declaration, afterwards was eminent as a judge, and died at the age of fifty-three, in 1791. His son, Joseph Hopkinson, was the author of the national song "Hail Columbia," the origin of which was as follows. It was in 1798. The country was excited in antic.i.p.ation of war with France. Mr. Fox, a theatrical singer and actor, called upon Mr. Hopkinson and remarked, "To-morrow evening is appointed for my benefit at the theatre. Not a single box has been taken, and I fear there will be a thin house. If you will write some patriotic verse to the tune of the 'President's March,' I feel sure of a full house." Mr.

Hopkinson went to his study, wrote the first verse and chorus, then submitted them to Mr. Fox, who sang them to a harpsichord accompaniment.

The song was completed, the next morning the placards announcing that Mr. Fox would sing a new patriotic song. The theatre was crowded, the song was sung, and the audience thrilled with patriotic delight.

The name of George Clymer indicates his Welsh origin. Thomas Jefferson boarded in the house of Mrs. Clymer, on the southwest corner of Seventh and High Streets, Philadelphia, where he drew the original draft of the Declaration.

John Morton, although a resident of Pennsylvania, was born in Delaware, and was descended from a Welsh family on his mother's side. His father was of Swedish descent. He was on the committee which reported the Articles of Confederation.

John Penn, of a Welsh family, was born in Virginia. He studied law with Mr. Pendleton, and subsequently settled in North Carolina. From there he was sent as delegate, and signed the Declaration.

Arthur Middleton, from South Carolina, was a Welshman. He was a graduate of Cambridge University, England, and arrived in America in 1773. He was taken prisoner when Charleston surrendered to the British. He lost most of his fortune by the Revolution. He died in January, 1789, aged forty-four.

b.u.t.ton Gwinnett was a native of Wales. He was born in 1732, was well educated, entered mercantile life, went to Georgia and purchased a large tract of land. He signed the Declaration, aided in framing the State Const.i.tution, was Governor, and fell in a duel which he fought with General McIntosh, aged forty-six.

Thomas Jefferson's ancestors came from the foot of Mount Snowdon, Wales, to the colony of Virginia. He boasted of his Welsh blood. He stands in the front as a defender of civil and religious liberty, and had engraved upon his seal, "_Resistance to tyrants is obedience to G.o.d_."

As the author of the Declaration, of the abolition of the connection between Church and State, the laws of primogeniture, the restrictions upon the Federal Const.i.tution respecting the States, so as forever to prevent a centralized and an aristocratic government, he must be recognized as one of the most valuable men this country has ever had. By a strange coincidence--shall it be called that?--at the age of eighty-four, he breathed his last on the same day that John Adams did, July 4, 1826. They were life-long personal friends, with a brief interruption, but political opponents. On a plain marble slab at Monticello is the following inscription:

HERE LIES THOMAS JEFFERSON: _Author of the Declaration of Independence; of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom; and Father of the University of Virginia._

Benjamin Harrison, chairman of the Committee that reported the Declaration, was descended from the Welsh. He was related to General Thomas Harrison, one of the regicides, the Commonwealth men of Cromwell, and who was executed at Newgate. When he was approaching the scaffold, one of the king's scoffers stood by and tauntingly asked, "Where is your good old cause now?" The brave Harrison, with a cheerful smile, replied, clapping his hand on his breast, "_Here it is, and I am going to seal it with my blood_." Some of that grand stuff was afterwards found in his descendants. Benjamin Harrison filled various positions, and was Governor of the State from 1782 to 1784. He died on his farm in 1790.

His son, William Henry Harrison, served in the War of 1812, and was elected President of the United States in 1840, but died on the 4th of April, 1841, precisely one month after his inauguration.

Richard Henry Lee was from a Welsh family, as, in fact, were all the Lees of that period. He was born in 1732, educated in England, and after his return to America in 1757 was elected a member of the House of Burgesses.

He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1774, and in July, 1776, he had the honor to offer the resolution declaring the colonies free and independent. The day before the appointment of the committee to draft the Declaration, Mr. Lee was called away to the bedside of a sick wife, or he would doubtless have been appointed chairman. In 1773 he, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry had a serious consultation in the old Raleigh Tavern, at Williamsburg, Virginia, in respect to submitting a resolution to the Virginia House, recommending the appointment of a Committee of Vigilance and Correspondence, and expressing the hope that the other colonies would do the same. It was pa.s.sed; and from that time the Revolution began to a.s.sume organic form, and prepared the way for 1776. Mr. Lee was United States Senator under the Const.i.tution, which office he held with signal ability. He died June 14, 1794, in his sixty-second year.

Francis Henry Lightfoot Lee was of Welsh origin, and a signer. He was born in Virginia on the 10th of September, 1734. He was educated at home, and from 1765 to 1775 served his State as a member of the House of Burgesses. He died in April, 1797, in his sixty-third year.

Many of the facts given above concerning these signers are not found in their usual biographies, and therefore they are inserted here.