Carmarthenshire 
Contents
Parish based
sketch map
of the
hundred"BETTWS, a parish, in the union of LLANELLY, hundred of ISKENNEN, . . . 8 mile (S.) from Llandilo-Vawr; comprising the upper and lower divisions, and containing 1109 inhabitants. . . situated within a short distance of the turnpike-road leading from Llandilo-Vawr to Swansea . . . A considerable part of the surface is mountainous and barren, and the level portion contains some tracts of woodland . . . a small quantity of grain is grown, but the chief produce is cheese and butter. The river Amman runs through the parish, and two brooks called Cathan and Nantyfin. Slate is quarried, and coal and iron-mines are in operation, a rail-road having recently been made. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Llandebie , , . The church, dedicated to St. David . . . contains 250 sittings, of which 40 are free. A Sunday school affords instruction gratuitously in the Welsh language to about 110 children of both sexes." [From A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (S. Lewis, 1844).]
1841 census of Bettws - transcription by Rina Callingham
Some church and chapel data from The Religious census of 1851 : A Calendar of the returns relating to Wales, Vol 1, South Wales. Ed. by I.G Jones, & D. Williams. UWP, Cardiff, 1976. The names are those of the informants
See Cwmgors & Gwauncaegurwen for a history database of local chapels and churches
Cwmamman Auxiliary of the British & Foreign Bible Society. Subscribers' List from the 1931-1932 report, compiled by Rina Callingham
The Parish of Betws with Ammanford
Parish entry for Bettws with Ammanford from The Welsh Church Year Book, 1929 (Cd by (Archive CD Books)).
Parish entry for Cwmamman from The Welsh Church Year Book, 1929 (Cd by (Archive CD Books)).
Dyfed FHS have photographs and data relating to various churches and chapels on their site
Parish registers prior to 1706 were lost when the place they were kept caught fire.
Parish registers: Christenings and Marriages (1706-1973), Banns (1823-1964) and Burials (1706-1909) are at the Carmarthenshire Record Office.
Bishops' Transcripts, covering the period (1702, 1707-8, 1716-22, 1728-84, 1786-7, 1789-90, 1793-6, 1798, 1800, 1802-3, 1805-65) are at the National Library of Wales, and have been microfilmed by the LDS.
Marriage index for this parish - see Dyfed Marriages, 1813-1837, Vol. 18 - Iscennin Hundred (Dyfed Family History Society, c1989)
Nonconformist Chapels:
The parish Vestry Minutes for the period 1706-1894 are held at Carmarthen Archives.
Dave Michael's Amman Valley site
Betws - on Wikipedia
Place names from the C19th Tithe Apportionment schedules. Contributed by Darris Williams
Places, villages, farms etc within Betws parish as shown on the parish map on the CD of Historic Parishes of England and Wales: an Electronic Map of Boundaries before 1850 with a Gazetteer and Metadata [computer file]. (Kain, R.J.P., Oliver, R.R.). (Extracted by Rina Callingham)
Gittins, R & Spencer Davies, D. The Illustrated Heart of Wales Line. Llandysul, 1985, 143 pp. Its 110 mile route from Swansea to Shrewsbury takes it through the heartland of Wales inc. the towns and hamlets of Pantyfynnon, Ffairfach, Llandeilo, Llangadog, Llandovery, Cynghordy etc, and describes each halt and station in detail.
- Kelly's Directory South Wales 1895 for Betws parish
- Kelly's Directory of South Wales, 1910. Here are Extracts relating to Brynamman, Cwmllynfell and Quarter Bach
- Kelly's Directory of South Wales, 1910. Here are Extracts relating to Betws, Garnant and Glanamman
- Kelly's Directory of South Wales, 1910. Here are Extracts relating to Ammanford
- Kelly's Directory South Wales 1923 Private Residents and Commercial for Ammanford
- Kelly's Directory South Wales 1923 for Betws parish
From the Amman Valley to Kansas By Rina Callingham "Daniel Thomas Morgan was born on Tuesday 28th April 1835. He was the 5th known child of David and Mary Morgan (nee Griffiths) of Brynhynydd farm in the Carmarthenshire parish of Betws.............................."
A database of Hicks Names names found in the BTs/IGI and censuses for Llandeilo fawr, Betws and [some] Llangadog parishes which have been collated into specific (probable) family groups.
Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;
See Not everyone knows this.. and Cwmgors & Gwauncaegurwen for random snippets about this parish
Evans DA & Walters H. Dyffryn Aman 'Slawer Dydd [The Amman Valley Long Ago: A Collection of Photographs];Gomer 1987. Bilingual. Here is the book's introduction and an index by Gareth Hicks
Lewis, Brian The Amman Valley: A Photographic Portrait. 1996. Here is an index by Gareth Hicks.
Lloyd, Sir John E., (Ed.). A History of Carmarthenshire (2 vols.), Cardiff, London Carmarthenshire Society (1935, 1939). Extracts from this book can be accessed on some parish pages
Locksmith, W T H. Ammanford: Origin of Street Names and Notable Historical Records. Cultural Services Department, County Hall, Carmarthen, 2000 ?.
Murphy, Carol/Dixon,Chris. Betws Mas o'r Byd. Betws History Group, 2000 . Here is a contents listing and index by Gareth Hicks.
Here also is a brief Betws related extract from this book re the Llyfrau Gleision (The Report of the Commission of Enquiry into State Education in Wales, 1847)Trumor Thomas, D. Old Characters of Bettws. Glanamman, 1894. (Translated from the original Welsh by Ivor Griffiths, Gorseinon.) Here is an Index by Gareth Hicks. See here also for an extensive summary of the book .
Walters, Huw [Dr]. Canu'r Pwll a'r Pulpud. Cyhoeddiadau Barddas, Swansea; 1987, 397 pp. A study of the Welsh culture of the anthracite coalfield before 1914 - particularly Brynaman, and the Aman Valley areas. There are chapters on folk-lore, growth of industry and population, nonconformity, the eisteddfod etc. It brought the author the Welsh Arts Council Prize for the best work of literary criticism in 1988, the Board of Celtic Studies Prize and the Sir Ellis Jones Ellis-Griffith Prize in 1989.
Here is a translation of the Preface by Professor Caerwyn William, list of Contents and brief Introduction.
Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;
Betws Deep Mine on the Miners' Advice site
Betws Drift on the Welsh Coal Mines site
Davies, Ifor. History of Coal Mining in the Amman Valley . Bi-lingual. Published by the author, 2001. Here is a list of chapter headings and photographs.
Evans, William John. Pit Memories [Up and Under] 1989. Dinefwr Press, Llandybie. Or in Welsh "Atgofion y Pwll " [ Lan a Lawr]. The book is bi-lingual although the 2 sections are not identical. Here is an index by Gareth Hicks. with a list of contents. There is coverage of Betws[Ammanford] Colliery but also some on the villages and mines of Brynamman in Carmarthenshire and Tairgwaith, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen and Cwmgors in Glamorgan.
Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;
Davies, Howard G. The Centenary History of Amman United Rugby Football Club, 1903 - 2003. (Roll Along, Amman United, Roll Along) 2003. Here is a Contents listing and a listing of the photographs - by Gareth HicksWalters, Huw. Cynnwrf Canrif : Agweddau Ar Ddiwylliant Gwern. Cyhoeddiadau Barddas, Abertawe, 2004. ISBN: 1900437678. Paperback, 372p.
A comprehensive collection of eight interesting and informative essays reflecting various aspects of the rich folk culture of the Aman and other south Wales valleys in the 19th century, written by a thorough researcher. Here is a review of the book by Tegwyn Jones (in Welsh)
[Gareth Hicks: 7 Nov 2008]
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