Anne Griffith (1734–1821) was a Welsh practitioner of folk medicine who was an early user of

foxgloves ''Digitalis'' ( or ) is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and biennials, commonly called foxgloves. ''Digitalis'' is native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwestern Africa. The flowers are tubular in sha ...

to treat heart conditions.

Life

Griffith was born in

Aberdaron Aberdaron () is a community (Wales), community, electoral ward and former fishing village at the western tip of the Llŷn Peninsula in the Wales, Welsh county of Gwynedd. It lies west of Pwllheli and south-west of Caernarfon; as of 2021, it h ...

in 1734. She spent all of her adult life at a small cottage, Bryn Canaid, in the area of the parish called Uwchmynydd. She was known for herbal recipes. Notable amongst of which was her use of foxgloves for heart conditions. This was before it had been formally "discovered" by the British scientist

William Withering William Withering Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (17 March 1741 – 6 October 1799) was an English botanist, geologist, chemist, physician and first systematic investigator of the bioactivity of digitalis. Withering was born in Wellington, S ...

. She also acted as a midwife and among the children was Richard Robert Jones otherwise known as the linguist Dic Aberdaron. Griffith died at her home in 1821. She was buried in

St Hywyn's Church, Aberdaron The Church of St Hywyn, Aberdaron, Gwynedd, Wales, is a parish church dating from the 12th century. Its origins are earlier, as a ''clas'' church from the 5th to the 7th centuries. Further building, including the construction of the second nave, ...

. Information is known about her work due to studies of William Jones (Gwilym Daron) who lives in Aberdaron.

References

1734 births 1821 deaths People from Aberdaron {{GB-bio-stub