The Life And Ministry Of Harold Emanuel Griffiths Part 5

If this is the first post you are reading about Harold Griffiths, or if you want to remind yourself about his life and ministry up to and through World War 2, then please take the time to read these older blogs. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

In 1946 Harold's church in Milton celebrated 15 years since Harold began his ministry there in the Stoke on Trent area. (1)

I wish I had pictures to go along with this, but unlike later celebrations, there are none with this particular article. The Y.P mentioned here simply stands for young people. It seems that rather than just use the Sunday morning service, they added events to the usual ministry. Visiting missionaries, such as Mrs Boyd and special presentations from the young people rounded out the events.

These services were held in February. I don't know whether this means that Harold's ministry began in the beginning of 1931, or whether this was just the month chosen to honour him. If I find this out from any family member then I will edit this blog to reflect the discovery.

The following year, 1947, Harold is presented as part of the NorthWest Midlands District Council for the Assemblies of God.

The scan quality of this image is not the best since it was taken from an old magazine. Harold is sat on the front left. The picture is taken in Crewe. I've included a link to a pdf version in case it allows for better viewing. (2)

A couple of other events happened later in 1947.

Firstly, a note in the Sept edition of the Redemption Tidings magazine has Harold Griffiths playing piano at the Pentecostal Fellowship Camp. "...in his own inimitable way, Bro. H. Griffiths guided the meetings into blessing and liberty by his skilful use of the piano." 

It's another reference to Harold's musical ability. One that I love to read about because so many in the family are musically inclined. Even in my own immediate family, Dad sings, so does my younger brother, while my older brother also plays the guitar. (3) 

Finally, in the same month (3) there's a report publishing in Redemption Tidings about what's happening with the ministry in Milton.

"The Lord has been gracious in pouring out his blessings within the past few months. A good number of precious souls have found Jesus as their saviour. God also has been gracious in filling quite a few with His Holy Spirit. (4) Others have been faithful unto God by following him through the waters of baptism. Approximately six young men and six young ladies obeyed God by this act. 
On June 29th was the children's anniversary where again everyone present was blessed, both by the Gospel in word which was given by Rhys Griffiths (S.Wales) and in song which was given by the children.
On July 15th a farewell service was held on behalf of our dear Bro. I. Davis (son-in-law to our pastor H. E. Griffiths) who sailed for South Africa."

There are a few things worth noting in this small article. Firstly, Rhys Griffiths is Harold's brother. He was pastor of a church in Blackwood, South Wales. At some point I will post a few blogs about him and the small amounts I have gleaned about the ministry in Blackwood.

Secondly, I am not 100% sure what is meant by June 29th being the children's anniversary, except that we already know 1946 was the anniversary of Harold's ministry in Milton. Perhaps then, this event in 1947 is referencing the beginning of a children's ministry in Milton.

Thirdly, and most importantly to me personally, Brother. I. Davis is actually "Brother I. Davies", my grandfather Idris Davies, who left for South Africa in 1947. You can read elsewhere on my blog about his adventures.

Next, we'll explore the events of 1950 and the grand opening of a new church building in Milton.
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(1) Redemption Tidings magazine VOL 22, April 1946.
(2) Redemption Tidings Magazine VOL 23, July 1947.
(3) Redemption Tidings Magazine VOL 23, Sept 1947.
(4) Pentecostals differ to many other Christian denominations by believing that Christians, though already saved, can receive a separate 'baptism of the Holy Spirit' which enables the believer to use the gifts of the Holy Spirit as described in both the book of Acts and the epistles of the New Testament. It's where Pentecostals get their name from - Pentecost - the moment in Acts when the disciples and followers of Jesus received the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages.  

The Life And Ministry Of Harold Emanuel Griffiths. Part 1

There is much about Harold's life that I don't know yet but there is much that I do. For instance, I don't have his birth certificate, but I do know a great deal about how many churches he pastored and where. As I start blogging about Harold it's good to remember that family history and genealogy is always about filling in the gaps. Some gaps will undoubtedly be filled as I continue my research, others may not.

He was born, as best as I can tell, around 1894(1). The son of Thomas and Elizabeth Griffiths. According to his marriage certificate(2) he became a miner, following in the footsteps of his father. He was given music lessons as a child. I don't know if this was through a Sunday school or neighbor, or whether it was paid for. They were not a well off family, being a family of miners so I don't expect that they paid for lessons. Due to being so musical Harold would also play(3) piano for the silent movies at the local theatre. This brought in some more income when he was younger.

On July 31st 1911 he married Annie Simpkins at St. Paul's church in Cwmtillery, in the presence of James Simpkins and Emma James.

Between 1914 and 1918 he saw service during World War 1. Whether he was conscripted or volunteered I do not know but he served in the British Navy. (5) When he returned his wife Annie had become a Christian. I believe this was through believers who were converted during the Welsh Revival of the early 20th century. I make this assumption because Harold converted some time after and became a Pentecostal minister. The Pentecostal church was birthed primarily from the Welsh Revival. I don't have any other details about his conversion but his daughter Ruth assumes he must have started going to the local chapel with Annie. You can tell about what time he converted by studying the family tree. After he became a Christian his children were named after people in the bible. His children Steven, Thomas, David, Ruth and Naiomi were all those named after people in the bible. So it was after 1916. 

After his conversion he still worked as a miner but he also became a minister. As with most pentecostal ministers from the early to mid 20th century, a second job was necessary to pay the bills.

The early Pentecostal magazine, Redemptions Tidings records some of Harold's earlier ministry in 1927.

The pertinent information from this article which records a Revival meeting in Ystrad, Rhondda is "Revival meetings were held at Mount Zion Church, Ystrad on March 12th to 21st. The speaker was Bro. W. Lewis, Cross Keys, assisted at the weekend by Bro. Harold Griffiths, Blackwood, who sang the gospel."(6)

It took me a while to make sure this was my great grandfather Harold Griffiths but all the facts fit. First I confirmed with some of my own family members who remember stories of the Griffiths doing ministry with the Davies. My great great uncle David John Davies and his with Julia were pastors at Mount Zion Church in Ystrad during this period. I then spoke with Ruth, Harold's daughter and she confirmed that Iris had told her our two families sometimes did ministry together before she was born. I also found out that Harold's parents and several of his brothers lived in Blackwood during the 30's. They probably lived there during the 20's and it makes sense that Harold did as well before he moved. I know he was a gospel singer and a minister so it all seems to fit.

Later in the year Redemption Tidings records a mission that Harold was a part of. It is found under a section on the work of the church in South Wales and Monmouthshire.

"Many strangers came to the meetings in the chapel and what a surprise they had. Instead of seeing the ridiculous things that people sad was in our meetings they found a band of young men and women praising and worshipping God, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at the might power of God. Bro. Harold Griffiths, Blackwood, rendered valuable assistance at the organ. He also sang at each service, which was an added interest to the mission. - T. J. English." (7)

There is one last recorded detail from 1927 before Redemption Tidings goes silent for a decade on the ministry of Harold. In a future post I will explain what he was doing during that decade.

It reads, "Christmas Convention in ROCKFIELD ST, ASSEMBLY, NEWPORT, MON DEC 25th - 28th (inclusive.) Speakers:- Mr Geo. Vale, Mr. Howell Harrison, Miss Philpotts, Mr. H. Griffiths, Gospel Soloist. Applications for apartments to Mr. A. J. Campbell, 65, Corelli Street, Newport." (8)

Christmas Day and Boxing Day (25th-26th) were public holidays in England so evidently it was a good time for a convention with most people being able to secure that time off work. This ones looks to be attended by people outside of the local area as there is a contact person for those seeking apartments to stay in. Often these apartments were at the house of those residents who were also church goers in the area.

These articles provide a small glimpse into some of the ministry of Harold E. Griffiths. There are many more to look at later in this life. Lastly I would like to another short paragraph about what happened next.

After 1927 he left to minister in Ireland for a few years at the request of some Pentecostal evangelists. With much of Ireland being catholic there was some conflict and there is an interesting story passed along in the family of one such incident. (9) Harold was a church planter and often a street preacher. He would preach on the streets of Ireland. Sometimes the Catholic population would become angry at his preaching and begin to threaten him. Harold was also a gospel singer, and the Irish love their song. When the crowd became angry he would start to sing. He became quite famous amongst churches for his rich tenor voice and often sang for renowned evangelists. In this instance it is said that the crowd would begin to break down crying at the sound of his voice and all violence and anger would leave them.

Whether you believe God's ability to change a hostile situation or not, Harold could be extremely charismatic and from everything I have learned there is no doubt in my mind he had the ability to win people over.
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(1) According to the 1911 census. His daughter Ruth records that it was September 1895 or 1894.
(2) The marriage certificate is in my possession and has been transcribed in a previous post. The certificate lists his profession as collier. 
(3) (5) Information came courtesy of an informal interview with his daughter Ruth Salmon.
(6) Taken from Redemption Tidings Vol 3 May 1927
(7) Taken from Redemption Tidings Vol 3 Nov 1927
(8) Taken from Redemption Tidings Vol 3 Dec 1927
(9) This story is recorded in an interview with one of Harold's grand children.

New Photographic Discoveries of Great Grandfather Harold E Griffiths

Early last week I dived into researching the old Redemption Tidings of the Assemblies of God, Great Britain. I did not expect to discover anything more than some history on my great great uncle, D J Davies. Instead, I found a treasure trove of history as I discovered many more details about my families involvement in the early history of the Pentecostal movement in Great Britain, particularly as it pertained to the establishment of the Assemblies of God denomination. Amidst the magazines there were several photographs of varying degrees of quality.

Here's the photographs I discovered of my great grandfather Harold E Griffiths. All photographs are used with permission of the Donald Gee Foundation and the Assemblies of God in Great Britain. 

Harold E Griffiths, first left on the front row. 1947

Harold E Griffiths, front center, fourth from the left. 1950. His brother Rhys Griffiths is at the door. 

Harold E Griffiths. 4th from the right at the back. Next to the door. 1953

Harold Griffiths, center - playing the piano accordion. 1953

Harold E Griffiths at the very back - Prestatyn. 1967 

The stories behind the photographs will have to wait for a future blog post. 

The Healing of Annie Griffiths Part 1

This week I decided to go through some old posts and start citing sources I have used. So with the best of intentions I opened an envelope my parents had left me at Christmas. Within were several birth certificates and a copy from a 1905 "Christian Herald" a religious newspaper published in the United Kingdom. I glanced at it and realised it cites several Welsh daily newspapers in recording the healing of my great Grandma Annie Davies nee Griffiths. [There are two sets of Griffiths in my Dad's family tree and so it becomes confusing very quickly.]

The article states:

"Under the title of 'A Modern Miracle at Merthyr,' the daily papers report: "An unusual occurrence has taken place at Penydarren, near Merthyr. A young lady, twenty four years of age, named Annie Griffiths, living with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Griffiths, at 74 Brynhyfryd Street, who had been laid up with an affliction of the hip for some weeks, and who it was thought would not recover the use of her limbs without the aid of crutches, got up completely cured as the result, it is claimed, of faith-healing. Two ministers, the Revs. Mr. Owen, of Elim Baptist Chapel, and MR. Francis, Aberdu, Cabdiganshire [Possibly reads Casdiganshire], visited her, and prayed earnestly for her recovery on the Saturday evening, , and shortly afterwards she got up, dressed herself without assistance, and came downstairs. The following day she took part in all the chapel services, and is evidently completely cured, for she can walk about the neighbourhood, to the astonishment of the residents, without assistance, and looks in better health than ever. She is a young lady of a religious turn of mind, and regards her recovery as having been brought about by the intervention of the Divine will. She says her faith was strengthened owing to the reading in a pamphlet of a similar recovery. Miss Griffiths, although deeply interested in the revival, did not take an unusually prominent part, but in the course of the year her interest in religious matters has become more intense, and her pastor had been much distressed at the fact that she was so very ill."

It is followed by another short article:

"The Doctors Testimony

Dr. Morrison, of Merthyr, said that he diagnosed the case as one of tubercular disease of the hip-joint. His opinion was confirmed by his chief, Dr. Cresswell, and he last saw Miss. Griffiths on Friday, Sept. 15. On September 18 he was astonished to see her walk into his surgery without the trace of a limp (see picture below). "I am cured now," said Miss Griffiths, in reply to the doctor's question. "You have been very kind to me and done all you could for me, but of course you are only an earthy physician and I took my case before the heavenly physician, and here I am well." Dr. Morrison added: "There is no humbug about it. She walked into the surgery apparently well."

The picture supplied is here:

There are other newspapers that record this. I believe my great uncle Roy did the research to discover that 'The Western Mail', 'South Wales Echo', 'South Wales Daily News', 'Merthyr Express', and the Welsh language newspaper 'Tarian Y Gweithwyr' printed accounts of the event. I know my Aunt Norma has a copy of the article from 'The Western Mail' and I am inquiring with the British Library about the others. I hope to post them here when I have received them.

All of these confirm what my Great Grandfather Price Davies [Annie's husband] recorded in his personal testimony shortly before he died. He wrote in a document entitled,

A TESTIMONY, and a brief record of the of the BEGINNING of the PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT in the MERTHYR BOROUGH, BEDLINOG AND THE ABERDARE VALLEY by PASTOR PRICE DAVIES

"...In 1904-1905, at number seventy four Brynhyfryd Street, [i] Penydarren, Merthyr Tydfil, where Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Griffiths lived with their family, their daughter Annie Griffiths was bedridden with a Tubercular Hip (Hip disease) a large growth on her hip and the one leg shorter than the other, she was a helpless, hopeless cripple.  The doctors gave no hope of her ever being able to walk again.  The family were members of Elim Baptist Chapel, Penydarren, where Mr. Thomas Griffiths was a deacon, the minister was the Rev. O. M. Owen [ii] who had been wonderfully blessed of God during the early days of the Welsh Revival, and he was for many years the Secretary of the Keswick Convention at Llandrindod Wells.  Mr. Owen was very friendly with the family and used to visit Miss Griffiths often and was very much grieved and burdened at seeing her sad plight and suffering as she was.  He was spending much time in prayer with God on her behalf and also on behalf of the family as a whole.  On one of his visits he asked Miss Griffiths if she believed God could work a miracle in our time and heal her.  She said “Yes Mr. Owen, I believe God can do all things.”  “Well Annie,” he said, “I don’t believe it is the will of God for you to be lying there suffering like that.”  He gave her a tract to read that told of a young woman that had been healed in answer to prayer of Spinal Trouble.  He also asked her to read some Scriptures especially James 5: 14-16 which she gladly did. 

            One Saturday night, Miss Griffiths was in fact due to go into hospital the following Monday so that she could be made more comfortable on an Air Bed and also that her mother might be relieved a little; that evening another Baptist Minister from Aberduar, West Wales called.[iii]   His name was Mr. Francis and he was on his way to Fochriw to preach but lost his connection at Dowlais Top and so called at Mr. Owen’s house.   During their conversation Mr. Owen asked Mr. Francis if he believed God could perform a miracle today in answer to prayer.  “Of course I do, why not?” said Mr. Francis. So Mr. Owen told him about Miss Griffiths.  They decided there and then to visit the home and have a definite time of prayer with her father for her, so they came.  After a little talk with Miss Griffiths the three of them knelt and prayed that God would touch and heal her. 

            These are Annie's own words to me, (after the ministers and her­ father had prayed for her and as she was about to ask the dear Lord to heal her), she felt the Lord was there by her bedside and laid His Hand on her head and the Power of God came upon her and went right through her whole body and took the disease away, the bed itself shaking with the Power of God.  Glory be to God she was Wonderfully and Miraculously Healed.  She told the ministers and her father that if they would leave the room she would get dressed.  Praise the Lord for ever.  One minute a helpless, hopeless cripple unable to move without help, the next minute Gloriously Healed by the touch of God.  Hallelujah.

            She asked her mother for her clothes and then got up and dressed; then she walked from the front room where her bed was, through the middle room to the kitchen.  When her father saw her, he leaped for joy shouting “Hallelujah” with a loud voice.  Mr. Owen asked her if he would see her in the meeting, the following, Sunday.  Her father said “You tell Mr Owen that you will be there before him tomorrow morning” ... and she was.  Praise God.  Oh what a stir that miracle caused in the Borough.  Elim chapel was thronged with people night after night for weeks, Open Air meetings were held on the bottom of the street. [iv]  I remember Dai Ruth (D. R. Williams) taking his coat off in one of those meetings and laying it on the ground for people to kneel on it and get converted.[v]  That miracle was published in the Daily Papers and the Christian Herald.[vi]  I remember reading the report in the South Wales Echo September 1905.  Some may ask “Are healings permanent?” Annie Griffiths was healed of a Tubercular Hip when she was twenty one years of age, she passed out of this life to her reward in heaven at seventy eight years of age with never a return of the complaint.  Diolch Iddo Bendigedig."

Roy [A second cousin I believe] made some annotations to describe more of the historical settings and facts concerning the comments in this part of Price's testimony. Where these annotations were made has been indicated in the text. I'll be sharing those in part 2.

Celebrating - and considering another benefit to blogging family history.

Today the pages viewed on my blog passed 3,000. I missed the early celebratory marks of one and two thousand. I'm truly thankful to the family members and fellow genealogy bloggers that have commented on and followed my blogging. It's an honor to have such great friends in the family history blogging community and to know that many in the family feel my research has, as it were, 'brought the family closer together.'

I wanted to celebrate this landmark by re publishing the most popular post. It was a surprising one but the page with the most hits is one which talks about the hymn my great grandfather wrote his own music for; "I fell in love with the Nazarene." I think it's popular because there's very little information on the web about this song. In fact if you google the song title my website is often in the top 5 hits. This led me to realise another side benefit to blogging about family history. Sometimes it's just possible that what you write adds to the history and knowledge of the world.

The stories you type and the interviews you conduct are all valuable in more ways than to just your family. They contribute to a growing body of information that when pooled together increases the richness of society and the uniqueness of your families smaller or larger role in it. It seems even more fitting to re-post this again having now found out that Idris Davies also sang this version of the song.

- - - - -
This is the first in a series of blogs that will endeavor to capture the heart of some old hymns. They are not just any hymns but those which I know my ancestors sang. I will post the lyrics with some information about who crafted the hymn and why. Sometimes I may explore the words and lyrics of a tune and sometimes there may also be a family story behind them. I hope you enjoy reading about this as much I will sharing them with you.

Harold Emanuel Griffiths

There are many things to write about Harold but for the purpose of this blog it is enough to say this: He was a man of great conviction who became a Christian sometime after World War 1. He became a Pentecostal minister who planted churches around the United Kingdom and Ireland in partnership with the Jeffreys' brothers who started the Elim and Assemblies of God churches on the European side of the Atlantic. Many of the churches he planted bare the name "Bethel" today. As well as a preacher he was a pianist and a singer. He composed a new tune to the formerly well known hymn of "I fell in love with the Nazarene." The words are as follow:

Verse 1

"The Master stood in the Judgment Hall of Pilate great and strong,

He stood there silent and alone for all his friends were gone.

They had scattered far and near, and left him with the throng,

No voice of love his heart to cheer, thro' all the morn' so long."

Chorus

"I fell in love with the Nazarene, "The beautiful Nazarene." 

Whose face with glory was a-light, the fairest I have seen.

Near his side I would abide, with ne'er a veil between,

Since I fell so deep in love with Jesus "The Nazarene."

Verse 2

"His face was fair as lilies white, a halo round his head,

While all around was black as night, their souls thro' sin were dead.

See his hands all bound with thongs, the thorn crown on his brow,

Hark! The Angels mournful song, "All heav'n in sorrow now."

Verse 3

"The angry mob cried out in wrath, "Crucify him now!"

And so he trod Golgotha's Path, The life blood on "His brow."

On on he trod and bear the Cross, But never made a moan

Weak and falling from the loss, of blood yet not a groan."

Verse 4

And when they nail'd him to the Cross, with cruel spikes and deep,

His face diviner grew to me, And I began to weep.

All His anguish quite forgot, I heard him gently pray:

"Father forgive, for they know not the wrong that they have done."

I must confess, I don't know the original tune, and I haven't yet heard the tune my Great Grandfather composed for it. I have however convinced my Mum that when my parents are over to visit at Christmas she will play the tune for me. How do we know the tune? Harold's granddaughter sent me these images via email:

They came with the following message:

"I think it is an appropriate song to remember Harold by as he never got over the love of God, the wonder of his salvation and he had a deep love for the Lord. It is a moving song and anything Harold played was moving and congregations would laugh, cry or worship depending on what Harold did on the piano as he sang. When you hear this song you can imagine the power of God at work when Harold ministered in music.

I remember hearing Harold (tenor) and Nance (alto) singing it. I also remember hearing David singing it. He had a lovely voice, as did all of them. I suppose you know the whole family sang song items together at services."

History

It has taken me a while to track down the origins of this song. I searched some of the books about old hymns from the 19th and early 20th century but couldn't turn anything up. Eventually however I found a site online that contained "The Weekly Evangel Issue 169, Dec 16th 1916." I believe this was a tract that was given out in the beginning of the Pentecostal movement to people and churches connected with it. In it is the story of Sarah Payne, a former song writer for 'the world' as she said herself. This was the first song she created after "Giving her life to Jesus." It was written within moments of this commitment and nearly burned to ashes a few days later. Fortunately for my Granddad and many many others, it wasn't.

Family History Blogging - A Good Thing!

This weekend I received some priceless photographs. They are digitalized. They are not worth millions of dollars but they are priceless to me. Firstly, Gerald Griffiths emailed me some.

Who is Gerald Griffiths?

Gerald is the nephew of my Great Grandfather Harold Griffiths. I've never met him and until just a few weeks ago I didn't know he existed. I started this blog back in June 2012. I haven't been incredibly consistent due to other pressures, such as attempting to write a novel and Holidays etc.

But I kept the blog.

My Great Aunt Ruth Griffiths-Salmon connected me with Gerald. For many months Ruth had mentioned that we had extended family members who lived in Australia. Due to my blog, which Ruth has contributed to, my aunt knew that I would love to connect with Gerald. Gerald has published his own family history book in memory of his mother.

Without the blog Ruth and I may never have connected and the facebook conversations that are now so dear to me would not have taken place. Without the blog I would not have met Gerald over Facebook. I would not have connected with that side of the family at all.

Without the blog there would be no pictures from Gerald.

My Uncle Glyn and Aunt Norma have also been following my blog. They sent me pictures over the weekend as well. We met up with them over Christmas while my parents and brothers were in town. Norma mentioned the photographs of family that they kept and I asked for them. My Aunt, being the amazing lady that she is, has kindly begun to scan and send them to me via email.

Glyn and Norma know I love the family photographs because of the blog.

My friend Bill West is a proponent of publicly blogging the family research he discovers and the family tree. This is one of the reasons why I concur with him. It's important and it connects! There are exceptions. When I know that my blog will affect or concern those still alive I give them a chance to read the blog and make changes. They also have permission to ask me to edit any previous blog post that I've written if they notice changes that need to be made.

My Mum and Dad brought an envelope full of photographs and birth/death certificates when they visited me this past December. They said that I could keep them. They know I will look after them and that they are priceless to me. They know because despite living in Bulgaria, the best part of two continents and one ocean away; they read my blog.

The point is, blogging family history is a good thing.

And now to the grand finale; my photographs!

[Below my Great Grandfather Harold Griffiths and my great grandmother Annie Simpkins Griffiths]

[Below my Grandfather (Grampy) Idris Davies with my Grandmother (Grammy) Iris Davies and my Aunt Norma Davies]

[Below my Dad with my Grampy and Grammy Davies]

[Below my Grampy Idris Davies standing by the grave of Iris Davies. This is particularly dear to me because we did not think we had a picture of this and now here it is! Since both Idris and Iris were buried in Zimbabwe you can imagine the difficulty of getting back there at this time to search for their graves to take a photograph of it]

[Below my Great Grandfather Harold Griffiths is on the right. Then from left to right are: Ernest, Rees(Rhys) and Will.]

[Below - I believe this is Ernest, brother of Great Grandfather Harold]

[Below - I believe this is Morgan Griffiths, another of my Great Grandfather Harold's brothers and Gerald's father.]

[Below - Front left and right are my Great Great Grandfather Thomas Griffiths and his wife my Great Great Grandma Elizabeth Emanuel Griffiths. I believe Gerald said the man in the middle is Morgan on his wedding day. This photograph is another that is really important to me because I had begun to doubt I might find another picture of my Great Great Grandparents.]

These pictures will no doubt be presented again as I write about each of my ancestors in greater detail. I think this all goes to show, there are always family members or artifacts, or letters or photographs just waiting to be discovered.

A Family Story

For Christmas 2012 I wanted to do something special for my Dad. I had spent alot of time during the year researching the life of his Mum and writing a series on my blog called "The Grandma I Never Knew." In fact, that particular research has been the main emphasis of this particular genealogy blog for the past year. As I talked with my wife about Christmas presents we decided to put together a 'family book' that contained the photographs I had collected of my Dad's Mum and collected the research into one piece.

I am sure many family genealogists would like to produce a book of some kind to keep a hard copy of the information. Here's just one very simple way you can do it.

Here are some of the pages:

This was the front cover, as designed by my beautiful wife.

This is an example of one of the pages with a picture of my grandma's family. Below are a few more.

I think my favourite is the one which contains the hymn 'Whispering Hope' that my Grandma used to love to sing.

In the coming year I hope to add a couple of pages as I find out new information and to add iris' husband Idris' story to it.

The Grandma I Never Knew Part 5: In Sickness And In Health

[There are once again a great many people to thank for the information given here. Rosemary, Ruth, Angela, Glyn, Wendy, Norma, Merthyn and Christine. This blog is not possible without all of their input and willingness to allow me to quiz them on family history.]


Iris suffered some hardships while living in Africa. In the early 1950’s they lost a child. Her name was Bronwyn. There were blood complications and she was born with Down Syndrome. She did not survive long after her birth. Two years later Iris would have to sit in a nursing home, praying and waiting while their new born son was rushed to a hospital in Salisbury. His blood was rhesus negative and required a complete blood transfusion which was not possible in Umtali. 150 miles, two blow outs , a borrowed car and one police escort later, Merthyn Davies reached the hospital and one of the first ever full blood transfusions for a child in Africa was completed. Iris could thank God that this child was saved. [1]

In 1965 Iris eldest son Glyndwr returned from working in Salisbury to celebrate his 21st birthday. He brought home a young woman named Norma. Iris and Norma took to each other quickly. In fact, the first night after meeting her Iris took her son Glyn aside, shook him and said, “You better marry this girl.” Even after marriage Iris would still introduce them as, “This is my daughter Norma and my son Glyn” which often caused some confusing looks to pass between the listeners.

Both Norma and Iris enjoyed gardening; it was one of the many things they shared in common. The latter particularly loved growing an English rose garden and made sure to teach her daughter in law just how to do so.

In 1966 Iris had the joy of her little brother David Griffith moving over to Southern Rhodesia1 with his family. One can only imagine what it would mean to see someone after so long apart. David was a pastor within the A.O.G. and at their church in Umtali. The families grew close together and there was much love between them. David’s daughter recalls how Idris would lead the songs but that many were duets between Iris and her husband. Iris herself sang in a high soprano voice.

Idris and Iris Davies at Christmas Pass in Umtali.

There were a great many places to see in Southern Rhodesia and at times Iris would go with her husband up to Christmas Pass in Umtali and see the Kingsley Fairbridge Memorial[3]. Iris loved the outdoors and no doubt enjoyed walks like this immensely.

Occasionally they were able to visit their home land and then they would be able to catch up with family such as Ruth, Iris younger sister. Ruth remembers that at one such time they spotted an old three wheel car. They were popular in the 70’s and 80’s in England. Iris loved it and always thought it would be nice to drive one in Rhodesia.

Below, Iris and Idris Davies with their youngest son Merthyn Davies. Christmas 1978

Iris suffered with bad health most of her life. She had severe anemia and internal shingles in her back. This would cause her great pain and the only way the doctors knew how to deal with it at the time was to give her medication which would knock her out for days on end. During this time she was reliant on her daughter Wendy to look after the younger children.

It was impossible to say when an attack of this nature would occur and sometimes they would be traveling when the pain suddenly came over her and she would have to be treated there and then. It did cause some anxiety when taking the car or a form of transport that she would need to be in control of. Eventually doctors tried to sever Iris nerves to relieve it but this was not successful and caused more complications. They offered to do another surgery but Irish would not take it since the first had not gone very well. Sometimes at night Iris would use a hot water bottle to help soothe the cold her shingles caused but because the nerves were damaged it would burn her skin and leave scars.

Despite all of this she complained little. There was another sickness Iris struggled with and that was poor kidneys. This was made worse by the amount of tea she drank. When asked to cut back from the 30 cups she drank a day Iris would stew the tea on the oven top to make it stronger. It was the one thing in the world she couldn’t live without! As her kidneys grew progressively worse they tied one of them off and she lived a while on the remaining good kidney. Eventually the doctors discovered that this kidney had also died but the one which they had formerly tied off had somehow come back to health and was keeping her alive.

Her struggles did not go on for much longer however and in April,1982 Iris Davies died. She died of Septicemia which set in after an operation to remove stomach ulcers. The news reached her son Glyn while he was conducting a church service in Maine. He took the call behind the pulpit and was caught somewhat off guard for he did not know just how severe her condition had been. He flew back to Zimbabwe for the funeral, and was met there by Merthyn, Christine and their son John.

Iris had lived a full life and lived in multiple continents while doing so. Though she left many behind who loved her dearly, the words of her favourite song were undoubtedly echoing through her soul as she departed.

“Hope, as an anchor so steadfast,
Rends the dark veil for the soul,
Whither the Master has entered,
Robbing the grave of its goal.
Come then, O come glad fruition,
Come to my sad weary heart;
Come, O Thou blest hope of glory
Never, O never depart.”

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1. An earlier version of this post stated there was a 6 year gap between Bronwyn and Merthyn being born. I have since discovered the death record and know for certain it was 2 years.

2 Southern Rhodesia has had many names. As a colony of the British Empire it was Southern Rhodesia, but briefly "The Republic of Rhodesia" between 1970-1980 before finally being recognized as its own independent state by the British Government in 1980.

3 From what I understand Kingsley Fairbridge built a series of ‘fairbridge’ schools and did a great deal towards helping emigrate children to the British Colonies for their education. This particular memorial was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother on July 8th 1953.

The Grandma I Never Knew Part 4: In Africa

[There are countless people that contribute to this blog. For the information contained in this I would like to specifically thank Uncle Glyn and his wife Auntie Norma, my Auntie Wendy, my Dad and my Great Aunt Ruth.]

Iris and her son Merthyn at their house in Umtali, Southern Rhodesia.

Iris and Idris started their life in Africa together, living in a suburb of Salisbury named Hatfield. Later, sometime in the 1950’s they moved to Rainbow Ranch in Inyanga, this is in the eastern highlands of Southern Rhodesia. They were only here briefly however and later that year the family moved to Umtali where Idris would eventually build a house that they all enjoyed for quite some time. Before it was finished they had already moved three times, just in Umtali itself.

The house was designed by Idris, based on the home they had in Birmingham, England before they first moved to Africa. It cost around 3,500 British pounds which was borrowed from the Central African Building Society, or CABS for short. Idris did the labor himself. It had three bedrooms, was two storeys tall and contained one and a half bathrooms. In Africa when they had bathrooms they separated the bath from the toilet.

The front room of the house at 4 Taylor Avenue. Looking out into the yard as the cat eyes the pet Budgerigar.

They had servants that did all of the house work while they were in the house on Taylor Avenue. Iris concerned herself mostly with her garden and her work at the local library. As her eldest son remembers; “She had a green thumb and could grow anything.” So she did; especially flowers and particularly roses. One of the trees which grew was a Frangipangi1 when this bloomed it is described as having the “most amazing white flowers.”

The Assemblies of God South Africa planted a church at their house in Taylor Street and Idris was one of the elders. It was pastored by Don Normand. The first ever service of the church occurred in this house on a Sunday morning and a proud Iris watched as the pastor asked her son Glyndwr to lead communion. In Communion it is customary to serve the bread first, followed by the wine. This is based in the passage of 1 Corinthians 11 from the Bible. Iris pride turned to horror as Glyn served the emblems the wrong way around.

There were other incidents during their time in Africa. They used to own a 1941 Plymouth and on one occasion Iris ended up driving it into the large wooden posts that held up the car port. No one was injured and fortunately her husband and pastor were able to re paint and fix it up so that it could be used by their daughter Wendy at a later date.

Iris was a woman who loved life and if her children wished to get away with something there was no doubt in their mind that they had to ask their mother and not their father. When the movie “The Dam Busters” was released Glyn wanted to go see it. He knew that to his Dad, cinemas were off limits. So he asked Iris. She gave him some money to see the movie but it remained a secret kept between the two of them for quite some time. It was only years later that Glyn heard the many occasions that Iris would sneak out of the house to dance when she was young.

Working in the Umtali library Iris would find herself reading often. She would bring book after book home to continue one of her favourite past times. Her children were surrounded with them. No doubt Iris would sit down to reading while drinking that quintessential English drink, Tea. She loved tea and once, when asked by the doctor to count how many cups she had a day Iris stopped the count at thirty six! On doctors2 orders this was reduced to no more than six!

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Notes


1: The scientific name for this plant is a Plumeria.

2: There were health reasons behind this order

Hymns Of My Fathers - "I fell in love with the Nazarene"

This is the first in a series of blogs that will endeavor to capture the heart of some old hymns. They are not just any hymns but those which I know my ancestors sang. I will post the lyrics with some information about who crafted the hymn and why. Sometimes I may explore the words and lyrics of a tune and sometimes there may also be a family story behind them. I hope you enjoy reading about this as much I will sharing them with you.

Harold Emanuel Griffiths

There are many things to write about Harold but for the purpose of this blog it is enough to say this: He was a man of great conviction who became a Christian sometime after World War 1. He became a Pentecostal minister who planted churches around the United Kingdom and Ireland, in partnership with Edward Jeffrey's who started the Bethel movement. These churches later joined the Elim and Assemblies of God churches on the European side of the Atlantic.[1] Many of the churches he planted bare the name "Bethel" today. As well as a preacher he was a pianist and a singer. He composed a new tune to the formerly well known hymn of "I fell in love with the Nazarene." The words are as follow:

Verse 1

"The Master stood in the Judgment Hall of Pilate great and strong,

He stood there silent and alone for all his friends were gone.

They had scattered far and near, and left him with the throng,

No voice of love his heart to cheer, thro' all the morn' so long."


Chorus

"I fell in love with the Nazarene, "The beautiful Nazarene."

Whose face with glory was a-light, the fairest I have seen.

Near his side I would abide, with ne'er a veil between,

Since I fell so deep in love with Jesus "The Nazarene."


Verse 2

"His face was fair as lilies white, a halo round his head,

While all around was black as night, their souls thro' sin were dead.

See his hands all bound with thongs, the thorn crown on his brow,

Hark! The Angels mournful song, "All heav'n in sorrow now."


Verse 3

"The angry mob cried out in wrath, "Crucify him now!"

And so he trod Golgotha's Path, The life blood on "His brow."

On on he trod and bear the Cross, But never made a moan

Weak and falling from the loss, of blood yet not a groan."


Verse 4

And when they nail'd him to the Cross, with cruel spikes and deep,

His face diviner grew to me, And I began to weep.

All His anguish quite forgot, I heard him gently pray:

"Father forgive, for they know not the wrong that they have done."

I must confess, I don't know the original tune, and I haven't yet heard the tune my Great Grandfather composed for it. I have however convinced my Mum that when my parents are over to visit at Christmas she will play the tune for me. How do we know the tune? Harold's granddaughter sent me these images via email:








They came with the following message:

"I think it is an appropriate song to remember Harold by as he never got over the love of God, the wonder of his salvation and he had a deep love for the Lord. It is a moving song and anything Harold played was moving and congregations would laugh, cry or worship depending on what Harold did on the piano as he sang. When you hear this song you can imagine the power of God at work when Harold ministered in music. 

I remember hearing Harold (tenor) and Nance (alto) singing it. I also remember hearing David singing it. He had a lovely voice, as did all of them. I suppose you know the whole family sang song items together at services."

History

It has taken me a while to track down the origins of this song. I searched some of the books about old hymns from the 19th and early 20th century but couldn't turn anything up. Eventually however I found a site online that contained "The Weekly Evangel Issue 169, Dec 16th 1916." I believe this was a tract that was given out in the beginning of the Pentecostal movement to people and churches connected with it. In it is the story of Sarah Payne, a former song writer for 'the world' as she said herself. This was the first song she created after "Giving her life to Jesus." It was written within moments of this commitment and nearly burned to ashes a few days later. Fortunately for my Great Grandad and many many others, it wasn't.

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[1] An early version of this blog said he campaigned with the Jeffrey's brothers. This might be true, but I have changed it to Edward Jeffrey's because there is evidence of this in a pamphlet created to commemorate the building and commissioning of Bethel Church at Milton Hall in 1950. This church was built by Harold E. Griffiths.