| I have searched the marriage records of the surrounding counties, but have been unable to find any record of a legalized marriage between John Windmill and my great-grandmother. Such was not the case in 1892, when Margaret Melissa Griffiths married William H. Smith on November 9th. She first obtained a legal divorce from William Griffiths, who, of course, was not a resident of the United States (see William H. Smith and Maggie Griffiths marriage license). The Return of the Marriage answers some questions, but at the same time raises some others. She states that this is her third marriage, and that she is the widow of John Windmill. I can only guess that John Windmill had died, perhaps killed in a mining accident, but I have not been able to find any record of his death. William H. Smith was said to have been a very wealthy man, among his holdings were said to have been a soft drink bottling plant in Brazil, half interest in the Smith Jones Hardware store there, and much rental property. According to my father, Mr. Smith also owned and operated a grocery in Dugger, where he met my great-grandmother. He was 60 years of age at the time of their marriage and she was 44. My grandfather, John L. Griffiths, soon found work in Dugger, sinking new coal mines. He worked for William Dugger, who founded the town. Grandfather worked with another Welshman, whose name was also John Griffiths. |
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| John Lewis Griffiths Born Sept. 9 1870 - Died March 26, 1925 |
| John soon met and married Margaret Bain, who was four years older than him, on December 25, 1888. Margaret Bain was born May 24, 1866, the daughter of John and Margaret Young Bain. They had three children, William, born August 11, 1889; Desdemona, born September 9, 1891; and Mabel, born September 22, 1895. |
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| John L. and Margaret (Bain) Griffiths William and Desdemona |
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| William and Desdemona Griffiths Children of John & Margaret Griffiths |
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| Margaret (Bain) Griffiths' sister Elizabeth Bain (Aunt Lizzie) |
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| When Mabel was still a baby, Margaret died of pnuemonia. Mabel was sent to Margaret's sister, Elizabeth (Bain) Dial (Aunt Lizzie). Aunt Lizzie and her husband, Dan Dial, raised Mabel as their own. Dan Dial was an engineer on the railroad and operated a train called "The Spirit of St. Louis", a premier passenger train. William and Desdemona were sent to live with their grandmother, Margaret Melissa, who lived in Brazil at that time. But Margaret was a busy woman with her own life and sent the children back to live with their father after he married his new wife, Agnes Holmes Shattuck, a widow, on Sept. 28, 1899, in Clay County. She had one child, named Martha Margaret, who's nickname was Dot (see John. L. Griffiths and Agnes Shattuck marriage license with pictures of her family). |
| When William Smith died, he left Margaret Melissa a very wealthy woman. She later married N.J. Powell, who was also wealthy. Here they are at their Belle Vue Hotel, located in Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys, which they owned. William always said she purchased it after returning to Wales, but an old man my cousin, Marianne met, when she was over there, who remembered grandma and her husband N.J. Powell, was under the impression that N.J. Powell owned the hotel before he married Margaret Melissa. Margaret Melissa died in 1914. |
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| John & Margaret Griffiths |
| The song playing is my favorite Welsh song, "Cwm Rhondda", which is Welsh for Rhondda (Green) Valley, once one of the most beautiful places in South Wales. John Hughes composed the tune in 1907. The lyrics that are sung to the tune are "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah", and were written by William Williams in 1745, and translated by Peter Williams and the author in 1771. The song was sung in Welsh on the 1941 movie "How Green Was My Valley". The song is now the official Welsh rugby song. |
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