Mr. Crawshay, of the Cyfarthfa Works, at a dinner given to him in 1847,
by the people of Merthyr, related the following account of the rise of
his family of "Iron Kings," as they are called.
"My grandfather was the son of a most respectable farmer in Normanton,
Yorkshire. At the age of 15, father and son differed. My grandfather, an
enterprising boy, rode his own pony to London, then an arduous task of
some fifteen or twenty days' travelling. On getting there, he found
himself perfectly destitute of friends. He sold his pony for 15_l._; and
during the time that the proceeds of the pony kept him, he found
employment in an iron warehouse of London, kept by Mr. Bicklewith. He
hired himself for three years for 15_l._, the price of his pony. His
occupation was to clean the counting-house, to put the desks in order,
and to do anything else that he was told. By industry, integrity, and
perseverance, he gained his master's favour, and was termed 'the
Yorkshire Boy.' He had a very amiable and good master; and, before he
had been two years in his place, he stood high in this just man's
confidence. The trade in which he was engaged was only a cast-iron
warehouse, and his master assigned to him, 'the Yorkshire Boy,' the
privilege of selling flat irons--the things with which our shirts and
clothes are flattened. The washerwomen of London were sharp folks; and
when they bought one flat iron, they stole two. Mr. Bicklewith thought
that the best person to cope with them would be a man working for his
own interest--and a Yorkshireman at the same time. That was the first
matter of trading that ever my grandfather embarked in. By honesty and
perseverance, he continued to grow in favour. His master retired in a
few years, and left my grandfather in possession of his cast-iron
business in London, which was carried on on the very site where I now
spend my days--in York Yard. My grandfather left his business in London,
and came down here; and my father, who carried it on, supplied him with
money almost as fast as he spent it here; but not quite so fast. What
occurred subsequently, this company knows perfectly well. Who started
with humbler prospects in life than my grandfather? No man in this room
is so poor but that he can command 15_l._ Depend upon it, any man who is
industrious, honest, and persevering, will be respected in any class of
life he may move in. Do you, think, gentlemen, there is a man in England
prouder than I am at this moment? What is all the world to me, unless
they know me?"
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