Thomas Evans (Tel; 1861–1929)

You may have heard of Telynog but here is his nephew Tel. Born in Mwldan Upper in 1861. His father John (Telynog’s brother) was a bootmaker and precentor at Bethania (1864–76). Thomas moved to Aberdare in 1888. He was employed as a miner and underground fireman. He also was a fine poet and often competed at local eisteddfodau. His wife Ruth died in 1908. In 1909 he won his first chair in Llwynypia eisteddfod. He won the chair for ‘Angladd ar y Môr’ (Funeral on the Sea) in Cardigan’s Semi-National Eisteddfod of 1909, in front of a crowd of 8, 000. He won 10 bardic chairs. He was also a fine musician, as a choirmaster and he led many Singing Festival across Wales. Tel was also active in the mining community and played an important role on the local miners’ Sliding Scale Committee. He had 8 children, two of them Taliesin (ap Tel) and Ceridwen (Telferch) were also poets.