EVANS, JAMES (1866 - 1931), Calvinistic Methodist minister and author

Born 16 April 1866 at Ystalyfera; his parents were members of the Independent church, but on the father's death (when the boy was 13) the family moved to Tonna near Neath, and there joined the Calvinistic Methodists. After working at the Aber-dulais tin-plate works, Evans began preaching, and in 1891 went to Trevecka. He was pastor at Pontardulais (1895-1900), at Bethel, Brecon (1900-10), and from 1910 till his death (at Pontypool), 1 August 1931, at Suffolk Street, Birmingham; he was unmarried. Lethargic in outward appearance, he had a remarkably lively mind and a mordant wit. Despite his lack of academic advantages, he developed scholarship and a love of letters - and it may be added that despite his long association with Calvinistic Methodism, his childhood upbringing in Independency left the more permanent mark upon him. He graduated (1905) at Trinity College, Dublin, with honours (and a prize) in philosophy. Articles by him appeared in Y Traethodydd and the Hibbert Journal, and a small volume on ethics, 1928, by him was published by the University of Wales. While at Birmingham, he contributed many essays on literary and general topics to the newspapers of the city; a selection of these was published in 1934 under the title A Bookman in the Making, with a biographical introduction by J. Young Evans.

Author

• Emeritus Professor Robert Thomas Jenkins, (1881 - 1969)

Sources

• J. Young Evans's introduction in James Evans, A Bookman in the Making: And Other Essays on Mind and Life, Writers and Readers (1934)
• personal acquaintance

Additional Links

• Wikidata: Q20733315

Published date: 1959

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