JAMES, DANIEL (Gwyrosydd; 1847 - 1920), poet
Pseudonym: Gwyrosydd
Date of birth: 1847
Date of death: 1920
Spouse: Gwenllian James (née Morgan)
Spouse: Ann James (née Hopkin)
Parent: Mary James (née Morgan)
Parent: Daniel James
Gender: Male
Occupation: poet
Area of activity: Poetry
Author: David Myrddin Lloyd
Born 13 January 1847 at Tre-boeth, Swansea, the son of Daniel James, a stone mason, and his wife Mary (née Morgan). His parents belonged to Mynydd-bach Independent church, the subject of many poems by Gwyrosydd. Having lost his father at an early age, he became a puddler at Morriston iron-works, and afterwards worked at Landore tin-plate works. Mastering the prosodical textbook of Dafydd Morgannwg (D. W. Jones), he began to write verse over the pseudonym Dafydd Mynyddbach, but at D. W. Jones's suggestion he later assumed the name Gwyrosydd. His lyrics, and his pieces for recitation, became very well known. In his middle age the Landore works closed down, and he found work successively at Tredegar, Dowlais, and then Blaengarw by 1891, and eventually (for twenty years) Mountain Ash - fifteen years in one of Nixon's collieries, and then (in failing health) under the local authority. He returned to Morriston in 1918 to live with his daughter and son-in-law, died there 11 March 1920, and was buried at Mynydd-bach; a memorial tablet was placed on the Tre-boeth Public Hall in 1936. He was twice married, to Ann Hopkin, and then to a widow, Gwenllian Parry (née Morgan), in Swansea in 1888. She died in 1895. Gwyrosydd left two sons and two daughters. Much of his verse, unassuming and very popular, appeared first in periodicals and newspapers, but collections of it were also published: Caneuon Gwyrosydd (Plas-marl, 1885), Caniadau Gwyrosydd (Cwmafan, 1892) (this includes the extremely popular hymn 'Calon Lân'), and Aeron Awen Gwyrosydd (Mountain Ash, 1898); the first two were reprinted in 1909 (Cardiff), and a posthumous collection was compiled by the 'Mabinogion Society' of Swansea.
Author
- David Myrddin Lloyd, (1909 - 1981)
- O. T. Hopkins, Y Darian, July-August 1918
- 'Awstin' in Cambria Daily Leader, 12 March 1920
- South Wales Weekly Post, 20 February 1920
- H. Blackwell, NLW MSS 9251-9277A: A Dictionary of Welsh Biography
Sources
- Calon Lan Society: History of Daniel James Gwyrosydd
- Wikipedia Article: Daniel James
Further Reading
Published date: 1959
Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/
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