William Abraham, 1842-1922

Correspondence written by William Abraham collected by Anneira Bevan.

Abraham was born in 1842 at Cwmafan and worked as a tinplater and then a miner before being elected as a miners' agent. He was the miners' chairman of the Joint Sliding Scale Association until it terminated in 1903. Abraham was elected MP for the Rhondda division in 1885 and represented Rhondda West 1918-1922. However he is better known as a trade-union leader and in 1898 became the first President of the newly-formed South Wales Miners' Federation. He remained President until 1912.

The letter concerned is signed `Mabon' and this was the nom de plume of William Abraham, a name he first adopted when he became a well known poet and singer. He died in 1922.

From the guide to the Anneira Bevan collection, 1889-, (Swansea University)