Charles Wilkins (writer)

Charles Wilkins (bardic name: Catwg, 16 August 1830 – 2 August 1913) of Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorganshire, was a prolific writer of historical accounts of Wales and its industries. He produced pioneering reference works on the histories of Merthyr Tydfil and Newport; the coal, iron, and steel trades of South Wales; and Welsh literature. He was also founding editor of The Red Dragon: The National Magazine of Wales.

Charles Wilkins

FGS
Born(1830-08-16)16 August 1830
Stonehouse, Gloucestershire
Died2 August 1913(1913-08-02) (aged 82)
Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorganshire
OccupationPostmaster, librarian
Known forHistorical accounts of Wales and its industries
Notable work
• The History of Merthyr Tydfil (1867,[1] 1908[2])

• The History of the Literature of Wales from 1300 to 1650 (1884)[3]
• The South Wales Coal Trade and Its Allied Industries (1888)[4]
• The History of the Iron, Steel, Tinplate and Other Trades of Wales (1903)[5]

• The Red Dragon (1882–1887, writer and founding editor)

Background

Charles Wilkins was born on 16 August 1830[lower-alpha 1] in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, the second of nine children of William Wilkins, a Chartist bookseller then postmaster, and Anna Maria Wilkins (née Jeens). From 1840 the family lived in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorganshire.[6][7][8] Leaving school at the age of fourteen,[9] Wilkins worked first as postmaster's clerk to his father, then as postmaster from 1871 until his retirement in 1898. From 1846 to 1866 he was also librarian of the Merthyr Tydfil Subscription Library of which Thomas Stephens was secretary.[10][11][12][13]

Wilkins married Lydia Jeens in Stonehouse in 1859. She died giving birth to their third child in 1867.[14][15][16] The following year, Wilkins married Mary Skipp in Topsley, Hereford; they had two children.[17][18]

Wilkins was Glamorganshire secretary of the Cambrian Archaeological Association, a fellow of the Geological Society of London,[lower-alpha 2] and a member of the Aberystwyth College committee.[10] He was also a member of the Loyal Cambrian Lodge, No. 110, of Freemasons, Merthyr Tydfil, from 1872 to 1885.[19]

Historian, writer, editor
The Red Dragon cover page, July 1883
Motto: Y Ddraig Goch a ddyry gychwyn – "The Red Dragon will lead the way"

Wilkins' major works included the first histories of Merthyr Tydfil and Newport, a history of Wales, a history of Welsh literature, and histories of the coal, iron, and steel trades of South Wales.[10][11][12]

From age fourteen, Wilkins wrote extensively over many years for the Merthyr Tydfil, Cardiff, and Swansea newspapers, including serialized versions of his books.[10][12][20]

In 1877, Wilkins was "initiated into the mysteries of the Druidic lore"[21], and at the 1881 National Eisteddfod, held in Merthyr Tydfil, he won a £21 prize (approximately equivalent to £2,100 in 2019) and gold medal for the best "History of the Literature of Monmouthshire and Glamorganshire from the earliest period to the present time."[22] His bardic name was Catwg.[10][12]

In 1882, it was reported that, "after careful examination of the various works written by Mr. Wilkins", he was "unanimously elected to the super graduate Degree of Literature (Lit. D.)" by the Druidic University of America and its affiliate in Maine.[23] However, at the time of his retirement in 1898 the degree was described as PhD, though he "never permitted the title to be made any use of".[10][lower-alpha 3]

From 1882 to 1885, Wilkins was editor and writer for the monthly periodical The Red Dragon: The National Magazine of Wales. This English language magazine published articles on Welsh history, biography, and poetry, and was a "calculated attempt to reach out to a new public literate in English but unschooled in a knowledge of Wales".[31] Though traditional and conservative, it included women writers and displayed a "sense of admiration and affection for working people in Wales".[9]:22

Death

Wilkins died on 2 August 1913 at his home in Merthyr Tydfil and was buried at Cefn Cemetery, Merthyr Tydfil.[8][12][32]

Legacy

Except for his 1867 history of Merthyr Tydfil,[33][34][35][36] reviews of Wilkins' major works were generally glowing, though not necessarily disinterested as they were published in newspapers for which Wilkins also wrote.[37][38][39][40][41][42][43]

On his retirement in 1898, Wilkins was described as "a literary postmaster: successful editor, prolific writer, and sound historian – an Englishman with a Welshman's enthusiasm"[10] and "a genuine Cymro by adoption".[10] It was asserted "with great confidence that there are very few men indeed who have 'put in' more work for Wales than Charles Wilkins".[10] He was described as "the first to write the history of Merthyr and Newport, the first to gather together the facts about the coal, iron, and steel trades of South Wales, and the first to set forth in due order the story of [Welsh] literature from 1300 to 1650."[10]

In a wide-ranging survey of the literary associations of Merthyr Tydfil, given before the Merthyr Naturalists' Society in 1909, local scholar A. J. Perman highlighted "the veteran historian of Merthyr" Wilkins' work as particularly noteworthy among contemporary writers. "It is safe to say he has laid all future writers under immense obligation to his laborious efforts. They show doubtless less power of selection than of accumulation, but the facts are there in abundance, ... and it is this patient gathering of local annals which makes the wide generalisations of national history possible."[44]

Malcolm Ballin's modern study of Welsh periodicals notes that during Wilkins' editorship of The Red Dragon the magazine displayed a "sustained awareness of the pressures on the poor and a clear-sighted appreciation of the realities of working life"[9]:19 and treated the lives of working people in Wales "respectfully and with real interest".[9]:22 Wilkins' magazine continues to be valuable as a historical resource, created in the context of the "urgent need to rescue and record such traditional lore which was then rapidly fading from memory".[45]:119

Wilkins was a prolific pioneer in his field and later research has demonstrated some errors and imbalances in his writings. For example, Wilkins was the chief architect of Lucy Thomas' fame as "the mother of the Welsh steam coal trade". His 1888 account gives the impression of Thomas as an enterprising woman who actively went after new markets, whereas evidence now suggests that this work was mainly conducted by her agents, particularly George Insole.[46] Later authors have also commented on the "notorious unreliability"[47] of some of his work. Nevertheless, Wilkins' labours have "smooth[ed] the paths of all future writers on these subjects"[10] and his works have continued to be referenced in later academic studies.[48][49][50][51]

Literary editor Meic Stephens concluded that Wilkins "endeavoured, not least in the pages of The Red Dragon, ... to create in the English language a readership with sympathies like his own, and for that attempt, some fifty years before it became feasible, he deserves to be remembered".[11]

Works

Wilkins' major historical works are:

  • The History of Merthyr Tydfil (1867,1908)[52][53]
  • Wales, Past and Present[54] (1870) (The History of Wales for Englishmen[10])
  • Tales and Sketches of Wales (1879,1880)[10][55]
  • The History of the Literature of Wales from 1300 to 1650 (1884)[25]
  • The History of Newport (1886)[10]
  • The South Wales Coal Trade and Its Allied Industries (1888)[56]
  • The History of the Iron, Steel, Tinplate and Other Trades of Wales (1903).[57]

Wilkins' other writings include:

  • Storm and Calm (1870, fiction)[10]
  • Old John: John Bull's Father and the Green Island Far Out at Sea: Being the Welshman's Reply to "The Times" (1877, pamphlet)[10][58][59]
  • Buried Alive: A Narrative of Suffering and Heroism, Being the Tale of the Rhondda Colliers, with Further Details (1877)[39] (The Inundation of Tynewydd, booklet[10])
  • A Relic of Roman Catholic Days in Wales (1877)[60]
  • Robert Fitzhamon: An Historical Romance of Glamorgan (1880, fiction)[61][62]
  • To be Sold by Auction (1881, fiction)[63]
  • A Memorial Sketch of the Visit of the Marquess of Salisbury to Newport, Mon. (1886)[64] (The Salisbury Memorial: Gwent in the Old Days, The Morgan Family[59])
  • Ivor Bach: A Tale of the Twelfth Century (c. 1890)[59]
  • Kilsanos: A Tale of the Welsh Mountains (1895, fiction)[10][65]
  • Merthyr Tydfil Illustrated: (including Aberdare, Dowlais and the Beacons) (1903, Edward J. Burrow ed.)[66]
  • Historical sketches of the Bute family,[67] Noteworthy Men and Women of Wales (newspaper series),[68] Welsh Industries (newspaper series),[69][70] and Health and Holiday Resorts (newspaper series)[10][71]
  • numerous Red Dragon articles (1882–1885) such as: biographies of notable Welsh people,[10] Summer Holidays in Wales,[72][73] Shakespeare in Wales,[74] The Shipping of Wales,[75] Pioneers of the Welsh Iron Ore Industry.[76]

Notes
  1. Some sources incorrectly give 1831.
  2. Some accounts incorrectly state Royal Geographical Society.
  3. Some use of the title (including the incorrect degree) was made, for example: "Charles Wilkins PhD"[24][25][26] and "Dr Charles Wilkins".[27][28] The Maine institution associated with the degree was closed in 1887 due to fraudulent transactions.[29][30]
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References
  1. https://books.google.com.au/books?id=FWk1AQAAIAAJ
  3. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015028798067
  4. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015036673278
  5. https://archive.org/details/historyofironste00wilkrich/page/n5/mode/2up
  6. "Well-Known Litterateur. Tragic Death of Late Merthyr Postmaster". Western Mail. 4 August 1913. p. 6.
  7. Parish Baptism Register. Stonehouse, Gloucestershire. 1830. Baptism 12 September 1830.
  8. Wilkins, John (2003). "Attraction and Dispersal. One Family's Story as an Example of the Merthyr Diaspora". Merthyr Historian. 15: 8–11. ISBN 0-9544201-1-X.
  9. Ballin, Malcolm (2013). Welsh Periodicals in English: 1882–2012. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. pp. 10–22. ISBN 978-0-7083-2615-2.
  10. "Ap Ffarmwr" (27 January 1898). "Career of a Literary Postmaster". Evening Express. p. 2.
  11. Stephens, Meic, ed. (1986). Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 640. [Republished as (1998) The New Companion to the Literature of Wales. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192115867]. ISBN 0-19-211586-3.
  12. Williams, Edward Ivor (1959). "Wilkins, Charles (Catwg; 1830–1913), writer". The National Library of Wales: Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  13. "The Merthyr Post Office". The Merthyr Telegraph. 27 October 1871. p. 2.
  14. "Marriage". The Merthyr Telegraph. 27 August 1859. p. 3.
  15. "Marriages". The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian. 20 August 1859. p. 5.
  16. "Merthyr. Sudden Death". The Cardiff Times. 8 June 1867. p. 7.
  17. "Marriages". The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian. 25 January 1868. p. 8.
  18. 1911 Census of England and Wales. Public Record Office. Census Reference RG14PN32427 RG78PN1855 RD590 SD2 ED3 SN9 (Springfield, Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorganshire, Wales)
  19. Fraser, James (1914). Illustrated History of the Loyal Cambrian Lodge, No. 110, of Freemasons, Merthyr Tydfil. 1810 to 1914. Merthyr Tydfil: H. W. Southey and Sons. pp. 148–149.
  20. "Weekly Mail". Western Mail. 1 January 1879. p. 2. Advertisement of second weekly series of Tales and Sketches of Wales.
  21. "Druidic Ceremony at Pontypridd". The Merthyr Telegraph. 29 June 1877. p. 3.
  22. "The National Eisteddfod. The Competitions". South Wales Daily News. 2 September 1881. p. 3.
  23. "American Honours to the Editor of the 'Red Dragon'". The Western Mail. 7 December 1882. p. 3.
  24. "Literary Notices. The 'Red Dragon' ". Weekly Mail. 30 August 1884. p. 3.
  25. Wilkins, Charles (1884). The History of the Literature of Wales, from the Year 1300 to the Year 1650. D. Owen.
  26. Wilkins, Charles, ed. (1885). "Red Dragon Advertiser". The Red Dragon: The National Magazine of Wales. VII: vi.
  27. "The National Eisteddfod". South Wales Echo. 24 August 1885. p. 2.
  28. "Eisteddfod Dowlais". Baner ac Amserau Cymru. 23 December 1891. p. 4.
  29. Transactions of the New Hampshire Medical Society at the Ninety-Seventh Annual Session. Manchester, New Hampshire: John B. Clarke. 1887. p. 10.
  30. Acts and Resolves of the Sixty-Third Legislature of the State of Maine. Augusta: Sprague & Son. 1887. p. 384.
  31. Mathias, Roland (1984). The Lonely Editor: A Glance at Anglo-Welsh Magazines. Cardiff: University College Cardiff Press. p. 9, cited in Ballin (2013). p. 12.
  32. "Funeral of Late Mr. C. Wilkins, Merthyr". Western Mail. 7 August 1913. p. 6.
  33. "Original Correspondence. Addressed to the Editor. Literary Flunkeyism". The Merthyr Telegraph. 13 April 1867. p. 3.
  34. "Church and Chapel". The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian. 19 April 1867. p. 8.
  35. "Review. The History of Merthyr Tydfil, By Charles Wilkins: Merthyr, 1867". The Merthyr Telegraph. 11 May 1867. p. 3.
  36. "Literature. Wales: Past and Present. By Chas. Wilkins". Cardiff Times. 12 March 1870. p. 7.
  37. "Literature. Wales, Past and Present. By Charles Wilkins". The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian. 5 March 1870. p. 6.
  38. "Storm and Calm; or the History of a Life". The Merthyr Telegraph. 21 July 1871.
  39. "Reviews. Buried Alive. A Narrative of Suffering and Heroism, Being the Tale of the Rhondda Colliers, with Further Details By Charles Wilkins". South Wales Daily News. 30 May 1877. p. 4.
  40. "Review. 'Tales and Sketches of Wales.' By Charles Wilkins". The Merthyr Telegraph. 7 March 1879. p. 3.
  41. "The Rector of Merthyr on Charles Wilkins's 'History of the Literature of Wales'". Western Mail. 18 September 1884. p. 3.
  42. "Mr. C. Wilkins' 'Kilsanos.'". Merthyr Times. 31 January 1895. p. 8.
  43. "South Wales Industries. Important Historical Work by Mr. C. Wilkins, F.G.S.". Western Mail. 11 May 1903. p. 6.
  44. Perman, A. J. (17 April 1909). "Literary Associations of Merthyr Tydfil". The Merthyr Express. p. 8. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  45. James, Brian Ll (2003). "John Howells of St Athan". Morgannwg. XLVII: 119–121.
  46. Morgan, W. T. (1958). "A Note on Lucy Thomas of Waunwyllt". The National Library of Wales Journal. 10 (4): 416.
  47. Riden, Philip (1992). "Early Ironworks in the Lower Taff Valley". Morgannwg. 36: 77.
  48. Addis, John P. (1957). The Crawshay Dynasty: A Study in Industrial Organisation and Development, 1765–1867. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
  49. Wilks, Ivor (1984). South Wales and the Rising of 1839: Class Struggle as Armed Struggle. London: Croom Helm. p. 270. ISBN 070992772X.
  50. Ollerton, Richard L. (2012). "Hereford Cider, Worcester Leather, Birmingham Iron, Rhondda Coal: Foundations of a Welsh Coal Mining Dynasty". Morgannwg. LVI: 62–83.
  51. Merthyr Tydfil: Understanding Urban Character (PDF). Cardiff: Cadw. 2015. ISBN 9781857603231.
  52. Wilkins, Charles (1867). The History of Merthyr Tydfil. H.W. Southey.
  53. Wilkins, Charles (1908). The History of Merthyr Tydfil. Joseph Williams & Sons.
  54. "Wales, Past and Present". Western Mail. 21 January 1870. p. 3.
  55. Wilkins, Charles (1879). Tales and Sketches of Wales. D. Owen and Company.
  56. Wilkins, Charles (1888). The South Wales Coal Trade and Its Allied Industries, from the Earliest Days to the Present Time. D. Owen and Company.
  57. Wilkins, Charles (1903). The History of the Iron, Steel, Tinplate and ... Other Trades of Wales: With Descriptive Sketches of the Land and the People During the Great Industrial Era Under Review. Joseph Williams.
  58. "Old John, John Bull's Father, and the Green Island Far Out at Sea. Being the Welshman's Reply to 'The Times'". The Western Mail. 14 December 1877. p. 2. Advertisement.
  59. "Catalogue". National Library of Wales. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  60. Wilkins, Charles (n.d.). "Correspondence: A Relic of Roman Catholic Days in Wales". Archaeologia Cambrensis. 4. VIII: 318.
  61. "Weekly Mail. Preliminary Notice". Weekly Mail. 14 August 1880. p. 4.
  62. "Robert Fitzhamon: An Historical Romance of Glamorgan". Weekly Mail. 11 September 1880. p. 3.
  63. "The Christmas Number of the 'Weekly Mail'". Western Mail. 19 December 1881. p. 2.
  64. "Lord Salisbury's Recent Visit to Newport". Weekly Mail. 9 October 1886. p. 5.
  65. "By the Way". Merthyr Times. 17 January 1895. p. 5.
  66. "Books". The Public Library Journal: Quarterly Magazine of the Cardiff and Penarth Free Public Libraries, and the Welsh Museum. 4: 53. 1904.
  67. Wilkins, C. (11 March 1893). "Noteworthy Men and Women of Wales. The Marquess of Bute and Cardiff". Weekly Mail. p. 7.
  68. "Noteworthy Men and Women of Wales". Weekly Mail. 4 March 1893. p. 9. Advertisement of weekly series.
  69. Wilkins, Charles (27 March 1897). "Welsh Industries. The Steel Age". Weekly Mail. p. 9.
  70. Wilkins, Charles (11 December 1886). "The Industries of Wales and their Notable Men. No. 1 Cyfarthfa, and William Crawshay, the Iron King". Weekly Mail. p. 5.
  71. Wilkins, Charles (27 August 1887). "The Industries of Wales and Their Notable Men. Health and Holiday Resorts. The Road to the Well and Seaside". Weekly Mail. p. 5.
  72. Wilkins, Charles (1882). Wilkins, Charles (ed.). "Summer Holidays in Wales". The Red Dragon. The National Magazine of Wales. I: 540–541.
  73. Wilkins, Charles (18 August 1882). "Summer Holidays in Wales. Aberystwyth". The Cambrian News. p. 3.
  74. Wilkins, Charles (1883). Wilkins, Charles (ed.). "Shakespeare in Wales". The Red Dragon. The National Magazine of Wales. III: 170–173.
  75. Wilkins, Charles (1883). Wilkins, Charles (ed.). "The Shipping of Wales". The Red Dragon. The National Magazine of Wales. III: 242–245.
  76. Wilkins, Charles (1883). Wilkins, Charles (ed.). "Pioneers of the Iron Ore Industry". The Red Dragon. The National Magazine of Wales. IV: 138–140.

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