This is a bilingual post.
Mae mynwent Macpelah ym mhentre’ Dinas yn llawn cerrig beddau sy’n datgelu straeon diddorol.Mae’r mwyaf diddorol o bosib, yn perthyn i’r nifer fawr o deuluoedd morwrol oedd yn byw yn y pentre. Yn union o flaen yr iet, yng ngwaelod y fynwent, gwelir carreg sydd â siâp diddorol iddi. Dyma garreg fedd Capt John Howell a’i deulu. Yr oedd John yn ‘second mate’ ar y ‘Fleur de Lis’ rhwng 1872-8, yn hwylio rhwng San Francisco, Melbourne a Sydney. Dyrchafwyd ef yn ‘First Mate’ ar llong y ‘Rhuddlan Castle’ yn 1878-9. Hwyliodd wedyn ar y ‘Tenby Castle’ rhwng 1879-81 a’r ‘Malleny’ o 1881-3. Symudodd ymlaen wedyn i’r ‘Raglan Castle’ rhwng 1883-7. Mae’r erthygl isod yn datgelu sut y bu iddo gael ei gymryd yn sâl yn Chile, ond cafodd ei gladdu ym Macpelah. | Macpelah cemetery in the village of Dinas is full of gravestones that reveal interesting stories.Possibly, the most interesting are those which belong to the many seafaring families of the village. Directly in front of the gates, at the bottom of the cemetery, a stone of an intriguing shape stands. This is the gravestone of Capt John Howell and his family. John was ‘second mate’ on the ‘Fleur de Lis’ between 1872-8, sailing between San Francisco, Melbourne and Sydney. He was promoted to ‘First Mate’ on the ship ‘Rhuddlan Castle’ in 1878-9. He then sailed on the ‘Tenby Castle’ between 1879-81 and the ‘Malleny’ from 1881-3. He then moved on to the ‘Raglan Castle’ between 1883-7. The article below reveals how he was taken ill in Chile, but was buried at Macpelah. |
THE COUNTY ECHO – APRIL 28TH 1896.
The sad news of the death of Capt Howells of the above place was received on Monday. He was Captain of the barque “Raglan Castle” and homeward bound from Iquique for Falmouth, and on Sunday the vessel passed the Lizard and signalled that the captain had died that morning. The greatest sympathy is felt for Mrs Howells.
FUNERAL OF CAPT J HOWELLS OF DINAS CROSS. In our issue of April 20th it was announced that the beloved Capt John Howells of Rose Place, Dinas was dead. He suffered from pleurisy at Iquique, the port of loading on the coast of Chile before the vessel started on its homeward voyage. Under good medical care and good nursing, he recovered from that illness, but having been at sea for about a week, signs of dropsy shewed itself and he grew worse during the passage, until, when in sight of Old England on the morning of Sunday April 26th, he suddenly expired when off the Wolf Rock. The body was landed at Falmouth in the afternoon of the day of his death. The Chief Officer, who is also a Welshman, gave directions that if no one claimed the body before Tuesday afternoon, it was to be buried at Falmouth with due respect and solemnity as behoved the burial of a Christian gentleman. The body was claimed and brought home to Dinas by Capt B Harries, Bay View on Wednesday April 29th. On the following Friday, May 1st, an interment took place at Macpelah and the funeral was one of the largest as well as one of the most respectable ever seen in Dinas.
Capt Howells was the oldest son of the late John and Ann Howells of Trewrach. Until, about twenty years or more, he worked on the farm with his parents and promised to become one of the most useful men in the whole place. He was a good singer and an eminently good member of the Church at Tabor. He married Miss Winifred Davies of Rose Place who was then well known as a poetess of some repute. After his marriage, he took to the sea as is generally the case with the young men of the place. Having served the required time, he passed all his exams for his certificates and in due time he was appointed to the command of the Barque “Raglan Castle” belonging to a Liverpool firm and on board of which he died on the Sunday morning in question. We are glad to say, though Capt Howells was a seafaring gentleman, he took his religion with him on all his voyages and held a religious service on board his ship always when convenient. His death is greatly lamented by a large circle of friends, by the Church in which he was a member and especially by his dear family, for whom the greatest sympathy is felt and may the Great Comforter be with Mrs Howells and her daughters in a special manner and their relatives and friends.”
| Roedd y barque haearn ‘Raglan Castle‘ yn pwyso 1086 tunnell, ac roedd ganddi dri mast uchel. Adeiladwyd hi yn 1876 gan R &J Evans and Co., Lerpwl ar gyfer Richards, Mills & Co., cofrestredig yn Lerpwl, Gwerthwyd hi wedyn i JG Evans. Ar gyfrifiad 1861, gwelwn fod John yn un o 16 o bobl oedd yn byw yn Nhrewrach. Roedd ganddo ddwy chwaer yn hŷn nag ef ei hun, a thri brawd iau. Roedd ei rieni yn ffermio 210 erw ac yn cyflogi labrwr a morwyn tŷ. Roedd chwe tenant yn byw mewn bythynnod yn Nhrewrach – sawl un yn hen forwr. Bu farw Mrs Winifred Howells, gwraig John ym Mis Mawrth 1906 yn 66 oed yn Rose Place. Merched iddi oedd Myfanwy (Mrs Capt Jenkins, Orielton); Eleanor (Mrs Mendus, Maeshyfryd) a Miss Rebecca Howells. Yn ystod yr Ail Ryfel Byd, tra’n gwasanaethu fel ail mêt ar yr SS “Wearpool”, trawyd ei mab, John Llewellyn Howell yn sâl. Yn yr ysbyty yn Gibraltar, bu farw ar 1 Chwefror 1918 o fethiant y galon. Yr oedd mab arall i deulu Trewrach, (brawd i’r Capten John Rose Place), yn llwyddianus iawn yn ei yrfa. Bu William G Howell yn arolygydd ysgolion ac yn gyfarwyddwr addysg ym Morgannwg- ond stori arall yw honno. Saif Rose Place at ganol pentre’r Dinas, i’r chwith o siop Kiel House. | The iron barque ‘Raglan Castle‘, weighed 1086 tons, and had three tall masts. She was built in 1876 by R&J Evans and Co., Liverpool for Richards, Mills & Co. registered Liverpool. She was then sold to JG Evans.
On the 1861 census, we see that John was one of 16 persons living at Trewrach. He had two sisters older than himself, and three younger brothers. His parents were farming 210 acres and employing a labourer and housemaid. There were six tenants living at cottages in Trewrach…. several being retired sailors. Mrs Winifred Howells, John’s wife, died on March 1st 1906 aged 65, at Rose Place. Their daughters were Myfanwy (Mrs Capt Jenkins, Orielton); Eleanor (Mrs Mendus, Maeshyfryd) and Miss Rebecca Howells. During WW2, while serving as second mate on the SS “Wearpool”, her son, John Llewellyn Howell was taken ill. In hospital in Gibraltar, he died on 1st February 1918 of heart failure. Another son of the Trewrach family, (brother of Captain John Rose Place), was very successful in his career. William G Howell was an inspector of schools and director of education in Glamorgan – but that is another story. Rose Place stands in the center of Dinas village, to the left of Kiel House. |
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