DAVIES, JOHN (1843 - 1917), 'of Pandy,' Calvinistic Methodist minister and antiquary

His father was Rees Davies (1804 - 1891), a minister, who was born at Ysgubor Fawr, Myddfai, Carmarthenshire, while Jeffery Davies of Llangammarch was his uncle. John Davies was educated at the school kept by Morgan Jones at Myddfai and at the British school, Cefnarthen. He had a year's schooling at Brecon and then went to Merthyr Tydfil grammar school, where he came under the influence of Thomas Stephens, about whom he later wrote several articles to Y Geninen. When he was about 19 years of age he began to preach at Y Babell church in the Beili-du circuit of Brecknock. In September 1865 he went to Trevecka College, which had just been opened for the second time. He left Trevecka at the end of 1865 and received a call to the churches at Pandy and Forest coal pit near Abergavenny, where he began his ministry in January 1870. He was ordained at Llandilo, August 1870. He was an outstanding figure in all the public life of the Pandy district: chairman of the parish council, an alderman of the Monmouthshire county council, J.P., and F.S.A. He was elected moderator of the South Wales Association in 1905 and of the General Assembly in 1916. He assisted Sir Joseph Bradney in the preparation of his History of Monmouthshire and wrote extensively for Y Geninen, Y Traethodydd, Y Drysorfa, Y Lladmerydd, Y Goleuad, Archæologia Cambrensis, The Hereford Times, Red Dragon, Old Welsh Chips, The History of Brecknockshire (Edwin Poole), etc. He died 6 February 1917 and was buried in Pandy chapel graveyard.

Author

• Reverend Tom Beynon, (1886 - 1961)

Sources

• Y Drysorfa, April 1905
• Y Goleuad, 16 February 1917

Additional Links

• Wikidata: Q20733380

Published date: 1959

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