LLEWELYN
,
THOMAS DAVID
(
Llewelyn Alaw
;
1828
-
1879
),
musician
;
b.
25 June 1828
at
Llwydcoed
,
Aberdare, Glam.
, the son of
David
and
Martha
Llewelyn
. He had learnt to
play the harp
by the time he was 8. At 11 he started work with his father, a
collier
, but left the coalmine in
1851
and devoted his whole time to
music
,
poetry
, and
literature
. He became the official
harpist
to the
Williams
family of
Aberpergwm
(q.v.)
, in the valley of the
river Neath
, and to
lord Aberdare
. In
Gardd Aberdâr
there is an essay by him on the history of
Aberdare
. At the
Llangollen national eisteddfod
,
1858
, he won the prize for the best collection of unpublished
Welsh
airs, this collection is now in the
N.L.W.
He was considered an excellent
harpist
, and a very good instructor; he also won
several eisteddfod prizes
. He d.
13 Aug. 1879
, and was buried in the
Hên Dŷ Cwrdd
burial ground,
Aberdare
.
Bibliography:
-
Nicholas Bennett
,
Alawon fy Ngwlad
, and , 1896
;
-
M. O. Jones
,
Bywgraffiaeth Cerddorion Cymreig
. National Eisteddfod Association publication,
1890
;
-
R. Griffith
,
Llyfr Cerdd Dannau
. [1913.]
.
Author:
Robert David Griffith, M.A., (1877-1958), Old Colwyn.
