David Davis (mining pioneer)
David Davis Sr. (* 1797 in Llanddeusand ; † May 19, 1866 ) was a Welsh mining pioneer and entrepreneur.
Davis was born in Carmarthenshire to William David Jeffrey Davis and Margaret Lewis . He apprenticed to his uncle Lewis Lewis, a grocer in Merthyr Tydfil , and then opened his own grocery store in Hirwaun in the Cynon Valley . His business was so successful that he was able to acquire a small coal mine in nearby Cefn Rhigos near Aberdare . He sold this mine in 1847 together with the associated loading point in Briton Ferry , but before that he had leased the rights to coal mining in Blaen-gwawr near Aberaman , where he dug a first shaft in 1843. In 1845 he began to transport the coal extracted there on the Aberdare Canal and from 1847 with the new Taff Vale Railway to Cardiff . He was able to hand over the business in Hirwaun to his second eldest son Lewis , while his oldest son David initially took over a business in Trecynon near Aberdare. In 1850 he helped build a Wesleyan chapel in Aberdare. From 1851 he began building a mine in Aber-cwmboi near Aberdare. In order to better monitor operations, he moved from Hirwaun to Blaen-gwawr. His sons subsequently sold their businesses. David took over the operation of the mines while Lewis took over the sale of the coal in Cardiff. Davis now turned his attention to the undeveloped valley of the Rhondda Fach . From 1857 he began digging for coal there, for which material and machines had to be transported on pack horses from Aberdare over the mountains into the valley. His first digs were unsuccessful, but he eventually found rich coal deposits and began building the Ferndale Colliery . Together with other mine operators, he opened a loading port in Penarth in protest against the high fees they had to pay to the Marquess of Bute for using the port facilities in Cardiff . In early 1866 he handed over his business to his sons David, Lewis, Frederick and William, who continued the business as Davis and Sons .
He married Mary Lewis, who was believed to be a daughter of his uncle Thomas Lewis and thus his cousin. He had five sons and five daughters with her. He was buried in the churchyard of St John's Church in Aberdare.
Web links
- Watkin William Price: Davis, David, Sr. In: Dictionary of Welsh Biography, online
Individual evidence
- ^ Rhondda Cynon Taf Library Service “Our Past”: Ferndale. Retrieved September 10, 2015 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Davis, David |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Davis, David Sr. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Welsh mining pioneer and entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1797 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Llanddeusand |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 19, 1866 |