hen forgot about him.
Some time later, whilst researching the Morgan family of Gelliwarog farm on the Gwrhyd mountain in Llangiwg, I came across a reference which rang a bell. My ancestor, Moses Morgan had an older brother, Thomas of Bryndu, Gwaun-cae-gurwen, whose eldest daughter, Margaret (born 1841) married a Hopkin W. Hopkin of Waun Leision in 1858. I traced the young family through the censuses up to 1871, but was unable to find any of them after this time. Suspecting they may have emigrated, I recalled the Hopkin W. Hopkin, I had previously read about and realised they were one and the same. With renewed interest, I set about looking for them again.
Knowing that they had arrived in America in 1879, the first port of call was the national census of 1880. It took some time to realise that the Indian Territory, where the family relocated in April 1880, wasn't actually included in this census. At that time, this region was in a state of flux, seeking to accommodate the many Indian nations who had been forced to congregate there to escape the advance of European settlers. With undefined boundaries and no official recognition as an organised territory, there were few formal government processes in place. From 1889 however, the federal government began to exercise some control in the area and after many adjustments, by 1907 the Indian Territory was reduced in size and organised to become part of Oklahoma, the new, 46th State of the Union.
The Hopkin family were enumerated for the first time in the federal census of 1900. Their home town of McAlester was recorded as Township no. 5 in the Choctaw Nation County of the Indian Territory. McAlester had been founded at the "crossroads" where the California (stage and mail) Trail met the emigration and trade route of The Texas Road. The settlement was named after Colonel James J. McAlester, who after buying some land, discovered coal and managed to persuade the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway to build a track locally. As a result, the coal industry flourished and this is what had drawn Hopkin and his family to the area, on the advice of Elias Thomas.
There was no sign of Hopkin in the 1900 census. In fact, he had died, aged about 49 in 1882 and was buried at North McAlester Cemetery. His wife, Margaret, now 59, was recorded as the widowed head of a family of 5 unmarried children who included a 17 year old, American born daughter, Jennie. 2 Welsh born boarders, employed as a miner and a musician respectively, completed her household. In total, Hopkin and Margaret had had 11 children - 7 sons and 4 daughters. Their 2nd son, Joseph had died aged only 9, before they emigrated from Wales. The passenger list of the ship, "Nurnberg" which brought them to America, records that 9 children travelled with their parents. In one of his early letters home, Hopkin had described the family as being alive and in excellent health and this had probably stood them in good stead for the trials that had faced them. In 1900, Margaret was recorded as being the mother of 11 children, of whom 8 were still living. Alongside the unmarried children, Daniel, Margaret, Gwenllian, Morgan and Jenny; 3 sons, John, David and Moses were married with families living locally. 2 remaining children, their eldest daughter, Mary Ann and 6th son, William cannot be identified in this census and along with the previously mentioned Joseph, probably account for the 3 deceased children.
Of the children at home, Daniel (32) was a miner and Morgan (21) was a salesman. Margaret (25) and Gwenllian (23) had no recorded occupation while Jennie was still at school. The next 3 censuses reveal that of these 5 children, only Morgan and Jennie had married by 1930. Eldest son, John (described as Ioan in the letters), aged 40 in 1900, was recorded as being a "mine boss". He and his Texan wife, Tennie had, by then, been married for 13 years and had 4 children. 3rd son, David (34) was a "business manager" and with his wife of 8 years, Illinois born, Georgia Amanda (nee Mason), had 2 daughters. 5th son, Moses (30) was a miner and he and hi