Document text
Fore A
CitcmstanceA of Interview No. 9
Vermont
C. F. Derven
Poultney
September 8, 1938
Subject----------
Welsh-American FAsteddvods
1. Interview on September 6, 1936 at 2;30 p. m.
2. At the Shell Gas Station on Beaman Street which is oper-
ated by the informant.
3. Informant-- Mr. Seth Roberts, Main and Beaman St., Poultney,
Vermont,
4. Paul G. Ross, Town Clerk of Poultney,advised me to visit
the informant.
5. Unaccompanied
6. The informant's place of residence is in part of the his-
toric Beaman house located at the corner of Main Street and
Beaman Street. The building was once an inn on the old
Turnpike route; and was one of the places where the stages
stopped to change horeee. The Turnpike, and the conveyances
were the property of a company organised by the original
owner of the aforesaid house, and his associates. The build-
ing is rather large, dull -green in color, and presents a
very dull front to the street. It is, of course, of historic
interest, but is not of unusual or attractive construction.
The gas station, where the interview took place, is a small
wooden structure of the familiar type. It reveals that the
location iS still advantageous to serving vehicles, and per-
forming the functions which were, in the same category, per-
formed in the past when horses were served.
Form B
Personal History of Informant
Vermont
C. F. Derven
Poultney
September 14, 1938
Subject--
Mr. Seth Roberts„ Main and Beaman Streets,
Poultney, Vermont
L. Welsh ancestry
2. Born in Poultney„ Vermont on March 13, 1880.
3. Single. He has twe sisters, and one brother living; another
brother deceased..
4. Lived in Poultney the majority of his life, but also lived in
Middle Granville, N. Y. for some time.
5. Education-- Elementary
6. Quarrying interests, in this region, have been in his family
f•r many years. The informant now owns part of a slate
quarry with other members of his family. He operates a
filling station at present, but has been a quarryman.
7. The informant has command of both the Welsh and the English
language. He subscribes to several Welsh publications.
He is quite interested in quarry operation. Interested
in horse -racing from the spectator point.
8. The informant is a man of medium stature, with good physical
proportions. He has a round type of face, heavy eyebrows, full
dheeks, brown eyes, and a rather wide mouth. He wears dark
horn -rimmed spectacles for reading purposes. He has always had
a checkered cap on his head when the interviewer has seen him.
He has a slight tendency to lisping when speaking perhaps due
to certain sounds in Welsh which demand lingual dexterity un-
like any other language that the informant has heard.). His
speech is slow and deliberate. The informant appreciates good
Form B
Personal History of Informant
Vermont
C. F. Derven
Poultney
September 14, 1938
Subject- Mr. Seth Roberts, Main and Beaman Streets, Peultney
Vermont
9. poetry, especially in Welsh. He has a well -developed sense of
humor, and ia a good conversatienaliat.
10. The informant's filling atation is often occupied by several
men who come in to have an evenings' conversation. It is a
sort of meeting place for a group of friends.
Farm C
Text of interview No. 9 Unedited)
Vermont
C. F. Derven
Poultney
September 8, 1938
Subject
Q..
Welsh- American Eieteddvods
Mr. Roberts, I was told that you subscribe to a Welsh- Am
6 r citn newspaper called, Y Drichn, Is that right?
A. I've been getting it for a good many years.
Was any of the Eieteddvods ever reported from Poultney to
that paper?
A. Certainly.
Q.
Do you happen to know when the first Eisteddvod was held
in Poultney? I know of one in 1889.
I wouldn't be able to tell you when they had the first one.
knd the men who would are all dead. If you had been trying to
find out ten years ao, it would have been easy. The first of the
Welsh people around here came to Middle Granville, N.Y. to work
in the quarries. Then quarries were opened in Jamesville, N.Y.,
and more came there. The quarries in Poultney were opened later.
The first big Eisteddvcds were held in Middle Granville. They
may have had festivals in Poultney at that time, but they were on-
ly small ones. It's just like the difference between the Rutland
Fair and the small carnivals that they have near here. Only the
local people compete in the small festivals. But at those that
were held in Middle Granville the competitors were from nearby
towns as well.
Q. I have found a record of one in Middle aranville on May 1,
of
1888. It was reported in an edition of the Poultney Journal for
year
that datte which Mr. Humphrey showed me. He told me that he was
in one of the Eisteddirods in 1889.
A. Yes. I knew that he played in them. You see, the early
Form C
Text of Interview No. 9 Unedited
Vermont
C. F. Derven
Poultney
Septemoer 8, 1938
Subject
A.
Welsh -American Eisteddvods (cont.)
Eisteddvods
in Middle Granville were larger than those
held in Poultney, and the people from Poultney competed in
the festivals there. It was only after years of small ones
that Poultney had a regular Eisteddvod. There hasn't been a
big Eisteddvod in Poultney for some time even now. They
have been Church affairs, but they used to be held in the
Town Hall.
Then it would be difficult to find the date of the firet
Eisteddvod here because they were wall affairs. I had bet-
ter try to find the date of the first all -day eession.
A. That would be the best idea. I think you will be able to
get that date from some of the older people.
Write3' Project 1
All material contained herein i complete for the datel,
and inforf-flanti named— However the -se informant3 may at 30Mt f-,;ture
time pre,lent me with more material which will be forwarled(with
proper reference -4 to the previoA4 interview inciu1.ed)e Other inter
(viewl
not included are in different 3ta6e,z of completion
C Fe De rye n