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WILLIAMS, MARIA JANE (Llinos; 1795? - 1873), musician
Pseudonym: Llinos
Date of birth: 1795?
Date of death: 1873
Child: Fanny Jones (née Baker)
Parent: Ann Williams (née Jenkins)
Parent: Rees Williams
Gender: Female
Occupation: musician
Area of activity: Music; Performing Arts
Author: Robert David Griffith
Born (according to her gravestone) in 1795 at Aberpergwm in the Neath valley, Glamorganshire (see Williams family of Aberpergwm). She received a good education; she also inherited her father's love for what was best in the life of Wales. A good vocalist, with a fairly extensive acquaintance with music, she became an accomplished player on the guitar; she also was given lessons in harp-playing by the famous harpist Parish-Alvars. In the Abergavenny eisteddfod of 1838 she was awarded the prize offered by lady Llanover for the best collection of Welsh airs, this being the collection published in 1844 under the title of The Ancient National Airs of Gwent and Morgannwg. She assisted John Parry (Bardd Alaw) to produce the Welsh Harper, whilst John Thomas (Pencerdd Gwalia) also consulted her before he published his two volumes of Welsh airs. During her last years she lived in a house called Ynys-las, near Aberpergwm, and died there 10 November 1873 (press notices at the time of her death gave her age as 79, thus giving the date of her birth as 1794). She was buried in Aberpergwm churchyard.
Author
- Robert David Griffith, (1877 - 1958)
- M. O. Jones, Bywgraffiaeth Cerddorion Cymreig (1890)
- T. R. Roberts, Eminent Welshmen: a short biographical dictionary of Welshmen... from the earliest times to the present (1908)
- Y Cerddor, April 1891
- Robert Williams, Enwogion Cymru. A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Welshmen (1852)
- D. Rhys Phillips, The History of the Vale of Neath (Swansea 1925), 368-70, 372-3
Sources
- Daniel Huws, Ancient National Airs of Gwent and Morganwg, The National Library of Wales Journal, Vol. 15, no.1, pp. 31-54
- Wikipedia Article: Maria Jane Williams
Further Reading
- NLW Archives: Aberpergwm Estate Records 1308-1317: Diaries with manuscript entries by Maria Jane Williams
- VIAF: 21418326
- Wikidata: Q6761282
Additional Links
Published date: 1959
Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-RUU/1.0/
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