Finding the Past

A little while ago I found this book - Through the Linn by Agnes Giburne - in an old cupboard. It may have been my mother's or my auntie's, but how they got it, nobody can remember. The book itself though, is far older than either of them (I have to point this out - they are not as old as this book! If I implied otherwise I'd be in big trouble.)

Ok, so there it is, in my hands, this slightly odd old book, and when I open it there's a label inside the front cover. The label tells me that the book was once owned by Annie Long, and that it was presented to her for attendance at Sunday school in the Cymmer and Porth parish of St. Paul's. For those who aren't familiar with the area, this is a Rhondda Church in Wales parish. Annie was nothing to do with my family, but my great-gran lived in the area and was always buying things from chapel second-hand sales (guess bargain hunting runs in the family,) so it's possible she picked it up that way. I haven't been able to find Annie Long (there are a couple of possibilities, but none I'm sure about,) in historical records, so if anyone out there knows about her please let me know. The book was presented to Annie on May 16th 1915, by Mr and Mrs E. S. Williams. As books would have not been cheap at the time, I certainly hope that she enjoyed it - she definitely took good care of it, because despite a few loose pages, it's still in one piece ninety-nine years later.



I have been able to track down some of the other people named on the label - William Hutchings, the Church's superintendent was a Railway Inspector who was loving at 107 Birchgrove, Porth, in 1911, and was originally from Bishop's Lydeard, Somerset. David A Collier, one of the treasurers, would have been one of two men (a father and son, David and David Arthur Collier,) who were also working in the railway industry - at a wagon works. Fellow treasurer Samuel Pugh would've been one of two men, both born in Shropshire. One was a miner living in Trebanog, just outside Porth and not far from Cymmer in 1911; the other was a carter of wine and spirits who lived on the same street as William Hutchings in 1911 - at 76 Birchgrove.


So, what is this book, Through the Linn? It's an evangelical, moral tale, that would've been seen as a way of teaching children right from wrong and the importance of faith in God. Very appropriate for a book presented by a Sunday school, but it would probably be seen as more than a little dour today. Agnes Giburne, who wrote the novel, was born in Belgaum Town, Bombay Presidency, India - presumably while her father, who lived into his 90s, was an East Indian Service Major. Eventually Agnes and father Charles moved to Eastbourne, Suffolk, where Agnes lived with her father until his death; in 1911 she is renting rooms, and living alone, at 2 The Avenue, Eastbourne. She herself lived from 1845 to 1939 (The Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in English.)

Still, it is a beautiful old book, with lovely illustrations, and one I'm happy I now own.