A History Of The Welsh In America

IN DEVELOPMENT

A limited documentary series investigating the historical links between the countries of Wales and America. Over 2 MILLION people in the United States claim Welsh ancestry, with the Welsh Disapora contributing significantly to the formation and development of the USA. 

16 of the 56 Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 were of Welsh descent, with 11 US Presidents having Welsh heritage. Among the 194 memorial stones on the interior of the Washington Monument sits one bearing the Welsh inscription "Fy Iaith, Fy Ngwlad, Fy Nghenedl, Cymry am byth" (My language, My Country, My Nation, Welsh forever) as a testament to the familial links between our two nations. The legacy of the Welsh in America lives on in places names such as Bangor (Maine), Bryn Mawr (Pennsylvania), Pembroke (Massachusetts) and Swansea (California) and in the Welsh surnames such as Ellis, Evans, Jones and Thomas, and the Welsh patronymic surnames Powell, Price, and Pritchard.

Whilst these are all easily-identifiable markers of the Welsh cultural impact on the history of the United States,  less well-known examples are the work of the Welsh philosopher, mathematician and preacher Dr Richard Price of Llangeinor that influenced the Founding Fathers so much that he was offered full citizenship, and the salaried position of the first US Financial Regulator, and the Welsh industrialist Griffith Jenkins Griffith, born in Bettws in South Wales, who made such a great fortune in America that he donated the land that today forms Griffith Park in Los Angeles, as well as funding the construction of the city's Greek Theater and Griffith Observatory. 

A History of the Welsh in America is an investigative documentary series that aims to illuminate these and many other forgotten stories about the cultural impact of Welsh settlers in the United States. From the myth of "Prince Madoc and the Welsh Indians" to the possibility that the recipe for Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey originated in Llanelli, the series serves as a reminder of the strong cultural bonds between Wales and America, providing audiences from both countries with an insight into our shared history. The series is currently in development, seeking interest among broadcasters and streaming platforms on both sides of the Atlantic.