Amongst these pages you will find many of the names, dates and places featured 
in ?History of the Oshkosh Welsh Settlement,? originally written in Welsh by 
Reverend David Davies, M.A., D.D. (pub. 1897), and later translated to English 
by his son, Reverend Howell D. Davies, D.D. (pub. 1947).

 

?History of the Oshkosh Welsh Settlement? delves into how the first Welsh 
settlers came to be in Wisconsin, stopping first in Waukesha County, then 
later in Winnebago and Fond du Lac counties beginning in 1846.  It also gives 
us a glimpse into the everyday life of these settlers, touching on the 
geography and agriculture of the settlement itself, as well as their Sabbath 
meetings, various societies, conventions, the schools and churches, and most 
importantly, I feel, the people themselves.  Author Rev. David Davies looks 
deeply into the families, giving particular attention to detail.  He lists as 
many family members as possible, including children and the people they later 
married.  In addition, Rev. Davies includes mention of family members who had 
perished during their voyage to the settlement, their burial locations, and 
even those who only stayed a short time and decided to press on westward to 
Minnesota, the Dakota Territory and beyond.

 

I have used this book as my source point in conjunction with the outstanding 
collection of microfilmed newspapers at the Oshkosh Public Library to find 
obituaries, as well as HeritageQuest.com to obtain census images.  I have only 
begun to piece together the true genealogical history of this highly-
accomplished community.

 

Check back often for updates.  Please feel free to offer corrections and 
additions to any data found within.

 

Chad E. Goodrich

 

* Photos posted with the expressed permission and support of Frances Higgins-
Kent, great-granddaughter of Rev. David Davies, author