Welsh Newspapers and Journals in the United States of America

Idwal Lewis, National Library of Wales Journal, Summer 1942, Vol II/3 & 4

Extracted onto the pages of GENUKI with the kind permission of the National Library of Wales

This is a complete extract of this article by Gareth Hicks [3 July  2002].

See also Welsh American Newspapers and Periodicals

One sign of the vitality of a nation is its ability to maintain a periodical press. That the Welsh people in the United States have achieved this is evident from the list of newspapers and periodicals which follows. There has been no Welsh daily newspaper published in the United States. Probably the Welsh population was too scattered to make this a practical proposition and the Welsh community at any one centre too small to secure a sufficient number of subscribers. There were eleven newspapers devoted to welsh interests. The Druid (Scranton) and The Welshman (Jackson, Ohio) were published in English. Y Drych, the oldest of all Welsh newspapers published in the United States, was first issued in 1851 and is still being published.

The periodicals were mainly devoted to denominational interests and some are known to have had a wide circulation. The English periodicals relating to Welsh affairs, such as The American Celt (Scranton) The Cambrian (Cincinnati), and Cambrian Gleanings (New York), were of a general or literary character. On the other hand, The Day Light (Utica), was a Baptist monthly magazine. Of the Welsh periodicals, the majority were published by the Presbyterians (Calvinistic Methodists) and the Baptists. The earliest of all Welsh American periodicals was Cyfaill o'r Hen Wlad yn America (New York etc), the first number appearing in 1838. It was continued with slightly modified titles until December 1933 and was mainly concerned with the affairs of the Calvinistic Methodists. In fact its secondary title after Vol XXXIII was Cylchgrawn y Methodistaid Calfinaidd yn America. This denomination, or at least the Wisconsin Assembly of the Calvinistic Methodists, also issued a periodical entitled Y Lamp (Oshkosh) specially for young readers.

The Baptist denomination issued a number of periodicals in Welsh, including Y Beread (New York), Y Glorian (Youngstown), Haul Gomer (New York), Y Seren Orllewinol (Pottsville), Y Wasg (Scranton), and Y Wawr (Utica). Some of these had only a very brief existence, but others had fairly long careers. Y Glorian, for example, was issued from 1872 to 1894, and Y Seren Orllewinol from 1844 to 1866.

Apart from the denominational publications the young Welsh readers in the United States had their own periodicals, mostly of a religious flavour such as Blodau yr Oes a'r Ysgol (Utica), Y Lamp (Oshkosh and Utica), Yr Ysgol (New York), and Y Trysor, but their existence was brief.

Literary pursuits, especially poetry, were not neglected. Y Bardd (Minersville), and Y Ford Gron (Scranton), for short periods made some provision for those with literary interests.

Seren Oneida, Cyfaill yr Undeb, and Yr Amserau were published to further the cause of the Democratic Party amongst the Welsh people in the United States but these too survived for only a very short period.

What is important in connection with the following list is that, apart from the immediate purpose of their appearance, the files of the newspapers and periodicals are indispensible to any student making research into the history of the Welsh in the United States.

The number of newspapers in the list is 11, printed at the following places;

• Scranton; 2
• Uitica; 2
• Emporia, Kansas;  1
• New York; 4
• Pittsburg; 1
• Jackson, Ohio; 1

The number of periodicals is 33 and the following list shows (i.e counting their first imprints only) how widely they were distributed;

• Brooklyn, NY; 1
• Chicago; 1
• Cincinnati, Ohio; 2
• East Palestine, Ohio; 1
• Hyde Park, Luzerne Co; 1
• Minersville, Pa; 1
• New York; 8
• Oshkosh, Ohio; 1
• Pittsburg, Pa; 2
• Pottsville, Pa; 1
• Remsen, NY; 2
• Rome, NY; 1
• Scranton, Pa; 3
• Utica, NY; 7
• Youngstown, Ohio; 1

In the following list the periodicals are arranged according to the date of the first issue of each periodical;

• 1834 Cyfaill o'r Hen Wlad yn America
• 1840 Y Cenhadwr Americanaidd
• 1842 Y Beread
• 1843 Y Dyngarwr
• 1844 Y Seren Orllewinol
• 1848 Haul Gomer
• 1850 Y Detholydd
• 1853 Y Cylchgrawn Cenedlaethol
• 1856 Y Golygydd
• 1857 Y Traethodydd yn America
• 1858 Yr Arweinydd
• 1858 Y Bardd
• 1864 Y Pwlpud Cymraeg
• 1867 Y Ford Gron
• 1868 Y Wasg
• 1870 Yr Ysgol
• 1871 Y Negesydd
• 1871 Yr Ymwelydd
• 1872 Blodau yr Oes a'r Ysgol
• 1872 Y Glorian
• 1876 Y Wawr
• 1880 The Cambrian
• 1881 Yr Eryr
• 1881 Y Pregethwr a'r Esboniwr
• 1889 The Daylight
• 1894 Yr Ymdrechydd
• 1897 The American Celt
• 1897 Y Lamp
• 1901 Pwlpud y Bobl
• 1910 The Messenger
• 1914 Cambrian Gleanings
• 1929 Welsh American Magazine
• 1938 The Celtic Digest

In the alphabetically-arranged list which follows the size of the periodicals has been indicated where possible, but as some of the publications are not represented in the National Library of Wales this has not been done in every case. An asterisk indicates those periodicals which are in the National Library.

Periodicals

• #The American Celt. A monthly magazine for the Welsh and other Celts in America, edited by John Grifiths. Vol 1 (1897), no 1. Continued as;- The American Kelt. Vol 1 (1897), Nos 2-6
  • Scranton, Pa; No's 1-3 published by F H Gerlock & Co., 4-6 by John Griffith. 8vo

• #Yr Arweinydd. A gyhoeddir ar y 10 fed a'r 25 ain o bob mis, dan olygiad Thos T Evans, Floyd. Cyf III dan olygiad William Hughes, Utica. Cyf 1 (1858).
  • Rome, NY; argraffwyd a chyhoeddwyd gan R R Meredith.  8vo.

• #Y Bardd. Pythefnosolyn llenyddawl. T Gwallter Price, Golygydd. Cyf 1. (1858)
  • Minersville, Sir Schuylkill, Pa. T Gwallter Price, 'Cuhelyn'. 8vo

• #Y Beread; neu, Drysorfa y Bedyddwyr, (misolyn) dan olygiaeth D Phillips. Cyf 1 (1842).
  • Caerefrog Newydd: argraffwyd gan W Osborn. 8vo. Ceased publication, March 1843

• #Blodau yr Oes a'r Ysgol. Cyhoeddiad misol at wasanaeth ieuenctyd Cymreig America. Cyf 1-III cyhoeddedig gan W ap Madoc a T Solomon Griffiths, Utica, NY: Cyf IV cyhoeddedig gan M A Ellis a T C Edwards ('Cynonfardd'). Cyf I (1872).
  • Utica, NY: T J Griffiths. 8vo . Ceased publication, Dec 1875.

• #The Cambrian. A bi-monthly journal devoted to the history, biography, literature and general intelligence of the Welsh people in the United States. Vols I-VI edited by D I Jones; Vold VI-XVIII edited by E C Evans. Vol I (1880-1)
  • Cincinnati, Ohio; D I Jones, 1881-85
  • Utica, NY; T J Griffiths, 1887-1917. large 8vo

• #Cambrian Gleanings. A monthly magazine on Welsh matters for the Welsh people the world over. Edited and published by Henry Blackwell. Vol I (1914). Nos 1-9.
  • New York; Henry Blackwell. 12mo

• #The Celtic Digest. Vol I (1938). No 1.
  • New York; Celtic Society, Columbia University, New York. 8vo

• #Y Cenhadwr Americanaidd. Cyf 1. (1840).
  • Utica, NY: R W Roberts, 1840-2; Remsen, NY: arg. gan J R Everett, 1847-54; R Everett, 1855-74; arg. gan R Everett, 1875; cyh. gan Mrs E Everett, 1876; cyh. gan L Everett, 1877-80; arg. a chyh. gan E Davies, 1882-96; Waterville, NY; E Davies, cyhoeddwr, 1898-1901. large 8vo

• #Cyfaill o'r Hen Wlad yn America: sef, Cylchgrawn o wybodaeth fuddiol i'r Cymry, dan olygiad William Rowlands. Cyf 1 (1838)
  • (continued as) Cyfaill o'r Hen Wlad, neu Cylchgrawn Misol y Methodistiaid Calfinaidd yn America.
  • (continued as) Y Cyfaill: cylchgrawn misol y Presbyteriaid Cymreig Unol Daleithiau America.
    • Caerefrog Newydd: argraffwyd gan Wm Osborn, 1838-40; Utica, NY: arg. gan E E Roberts, 1841-2; Caerefrog Newydd: cyhoeddwyd gan Baker, Godwin & Co, 1848-53; Rome : argraffwyd gan R R Meredith, 1854-57; Utica, NY: argraffwyd gan D C Davies & Griffiths, 1858-60; argraffwyd gan T J Griffiths, 1861-80, 1991-1901; argraffwyd gan Y Cymric Printing Co, 1902-10; argraffwyd gan Evan W Jones & Co, 1911-13; argraffwyd gan Utica Printing Co Inc, 1914-19. large 8vo   Ceased publication in 1933.

• #Y Cylchgrawn Cenedlaethol. Cyf 1 (1853)
  • Efrog Newydd: cyhoeddwyd yn Swyddfa Y Drych gan J M Jones, 1853. large 8vo

• #The Day Light. A Baptist monthly magazine edited by the Rev Owen Griffith (Giraldus). Vol I (1889). Nos 1-12 all published.
  • Utica: T J Griffiths, printer. 8vo

• #Y Detholydd. (Golygydd: R Everett). Cyf I (1850)
  • Remsen, NY; R Everett, 1850-1. large 8vo

• #Y Dyngarwr.  Golygydd : R Everett. Cyf I (1843)
  • Remsen, NY: arg. gan J R & R Everett, 1843. Incorporated with Cenhadwr Americanaidd. 8vo

• Yr Eryr. (Fortnightly). Vol I (1881).
  • East Palestine: Ellis Roberts. 4to

• #Y Ford Gron. Cylchgrawn llenyddol, dan olygiaeth Thos Gwallter Price ('Cuhelyn') a W Aubrey Powell. Cyf I (1867). Nos 1-3 (? all published)
  • Scranton: argraffwyd yn Swyddfa Y Republican. 8vo

• #Y Glorian. Cylchgrawn misol at wasanaeth eglwysi Bedyddwyr Cymreig America, dan olygiaeth D J Nicholas (Ifor Ebwy), a J Aubrey ('Cynval'). Cyf I (1872).
  • Youngstown: argraffwyd yn Swyddfa Y Register dros y Pwyllgor. 8vo. Ceased publication, August 1894.

• Y Golygydd. (Cyhoeddiad misol). Golygydd : John Jones ('Llangollen'). Cyf I (1856).
  • Cincinnati: John Jones

• Haul Gomer. (Published fortnightly and edited by Evan E Roberts ('Ieuan o Garedigion'). Cyf I (1848).
  • Utica, NY: E E Roberts.

• #Y Lamp. Cyhoeddiad misol i ieuenctyd America, yn Gymraeg a Seisoneg......cyh. gan Fethodistiaid Calfinaidd Cymanfa Wisconsin. Cyf I (1897)
  • Oshkosh, Ohio: Cwmni Argraffu Y Globe, 1898-1901; Utica, NY: Publ & pr by T G Griffiths, 1902-3. 8vo

• #The Messenger. A magazine devoted to the interests of the Oakland Welsh Presbyterian Church.  Vol I (1910).
  • Pittsburg: American Printing Co. 8vo

• Y Negesydd. Cyhoeddiad misol dan olygiaeth R T Daniels. Cyf I (1871).
  • Pittsburg: R T Daniels.

• #Y Pregethwr a'r Esboniwr. Cyhoeddiad dau-fisol. Cyhoeddwyd gan Thos R Jones, Randolph, Wis. Cyf I (1881). Ion-Tach.
  • Utica: T J Griffiths, 1881. 8vo

• #Y Pwlpud Cymreig, sef, cyfres o bregethau yn wreiddiol a detholedig. Cyhoeddedig gan T R Jones, Rome, NY. Cyf I (1864).
  • Utica, NY: arg. gan (1) E E Roberts a (2) T J Griffiths. 8vo

• #Pwlpud y Bobl, Tabernacl, Brooklyn. Cyf I (1901).
  • Brooklyn, NY: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Soc, 1909. small folio.

• #Y Seren Orllewinol, neu, Gyfrwng Gwybodaeth i Hil Gomer yn America. (Baptist monthly). Cyh. gan R Edwards. Cyf I (1844).
  • Pottsville, Pa: arg. a chyh. gan R Edwards, 1845-66. 8vo

• # Y Traethodydd yn America, dan olyg. y Parch Wm Roberts, Efrog Newydd.  Cyf I (1857).
  • New York: Richards & Jones, argraffwyr, 1857. 8vo. Ceased publication in 1860.

• #Y Wasg. Cylchgrawn misol at wasanaeth y Bedyddwyr Cymreig a'r Ysgol Sabbathol wedi ei olygu gan A J Morton.  Cyf I (1868). Ion-Medi. (1876) Ebr- (1896) Awst.
  • Scranton: Crandall a'i Gyf. 8vo; Utica: T Griffiths.

• #Y Wawr, sef, cylchgrawn misol y Bedyddwyr Cymgreig yn America, dan olygiaeth Own Griffith ('Giraldus'), Utica. Cyf I (1876-7)
  • Utica: NY: T J Griffiths. 8vo

• #Welsh American Magazine. Vol I (1929).
  • New York City: Welsh American Publ. Co, 1929. 8vo

• #Yr Ymdrechydd (The Endeavorer). Devoted to the interest of Welsh Christian Endeavor Societies, etc.  Cyf I (1894-5).
  • Chicago: Endeavor Office, 1895. 8vo

• Yr Ymwelydd. Cyhoeddiad misol. Golygydd: Henry M Edwards. Cyf I (1871).
  • Hyde Park, Luzerne Co, Pa: Henry M Edwards.

• #Yr Ysgol. Cyhoeddiad misol i blant ac ieuenctyd Cymry America, dan olygiaeth H J Hughes. Cyf I (1879).
  • New York: H J Hughes.

Newspapers

• Baner America. Cyhoeddiad wythnosol. Golygwyr: M A Ellis a Fred Evans, a David Parry. Cyf I (1867)
  • Scranton: Thos B Morris

• #Columbia. Newyddiadur wythnosol at wasanaeth y Cymry yn America.  Cyf I (1888)
  • Emporia, Kansas: Columbia Publishing Co. Incorporated with Y Drych.

• #Cyfaill yr Undeb. The Friend of the Union. Cyf I (1860)
  • Utica: 1860. 4to

• Cymro America. Cyf I (1832). Dan olygiaeth J A Williams.
  • New York: 1832

• #Y Cymro Americaidd.  (In Welsh & English, the second title being The Cambro American).
  • Efrog-Newydd: 1855-1860. folio

• #The Druid. Vol I (1907).
  • (continued as) The Welsh American.
  • (continued as) The Druid.
    • Scranton, Pa : 1907. folio

• #Y Drych. Newyddiadur cenedlaethol at wasanaeth cenedl y Cymry yn y Talaethau Unedig. Cyf I (1851)
  • Efrog-Newydd & Utica, NY: 1867.
    • Incorporating Y Wasg in 1890 and Columbia in 1894. folio

• #Y Drych a'r Gwyliedydd. Cyf I (1855).
  • Efrog-Newydd : 1855-6. folio

• #Gwyliedydd Americanaidd. Cyf I (1854)
  • Utica, NY: 1854. folio

• #Y Wasg. 1876, Mawrth 11.
  • Pittsburg: 1876. folio

• #The Welshman. The organ of the Welsh in America. Edited by D W Williams. Vol I (1895)
  • Jackson, Ohio: Welshman Publishing Co

Idwal Lewis