"A while ago I did some research on the first owner of my house in Deganwy in North Wales. The lady in question was a Margaret Roberts and after a bit of research I found out that she was the niece of Samuel Roberts of Llanbrynmair, a well known preacher and social reformist written about in a few books

It was whilst reading about him and his efforts to set up a Welsh 'Utopia' settlement I realised that Margaret as a young child had gone with her uncle and father to the States to found this settlement.

However their efforts were doomed from the start, then the American Civil War broke out and they found themselves in the thick of the war.

Eventually the Roberts family returned to Wales and settled in Conwy with another brother, John, a minister in Conwy. Margaret's young life had been fraught with danger!

Article written by Fiona Richards