PUGH, FRANCIS (1720 - 1811), early Welsh Methodist and Moravian
Date of birth: 1720
Date of death: 1811
Spouse: Elizabeth Pugh (née Keach)
Gender: Male
Occupation: early Welsh Methodist and Moravian
Area of activity: Religion
Author: Robert Thomas Jenkins
Born 10 September 1720 'in Brecknockshire ' according to Moravian records; it would be interesting to know precisely where, for it is clear that Pugh was a neighbour and friend of Howel Harris at a very early date - so confidential a friend that Harris used him as a go-between when he was courting Anne Williams. He appears to have been in 1741 teacher of a Griffith Jones school at Trevecka itself; but in 1742 he left for London, becoming a member of Whitefield's Tabernacle, but also attending the Welsh Methodist society at Lambeth. In 1744-5, when Cennick was in charge of the Tabernacle, Pugh was a recognized Methodist itinerant; but soon after this, Cennick became a Moravian, and Pugh, increasingly unable to co-operate with Herbert Jenkins, was expelled (March 1746), and in his turn joined the Brethren. After a probationary period of mission-work, he was formally admitted to Fetter-lane congregation on 9 March 1748; on 12 May 1757 he was ordained deacon by bishop John Gambold, but was never priested. He was in charge of Leominster congregation for two periods, 1755-9 and 1763-8, and in 1768 was sent to take charge of the societies at Laugharne and Carmarthen. His tenure there was long and troubled. He and his wife (Elizabeth Logg, died 1793) were irritable and stiff-necked, and got on badly with their superiors at Haverfordwest; and after her death junior ministers sent down to Laugharne to assist Pugh in his growing infirmities found him quite impossible to work with. In the end, he was induced to retire to Haverfordwest, where (at Portfield) he died 22 November 1811. Pugh was one of the very few preachers in Welsh among the Brethren.
Author
- Emeritus Professor Robert Thomas Jenkins, (1881 - 1969)
- Y Traethodydd, July 1936
- Cylchgrawn Cymdeithas Hanes y Methodistiaid Calfinaidd, June and September 1936
- Er Clod Saith Bennod ar Hanes Methodistiaeth yng Nghymru (ed. T. Richards), 1934, chapter iii, especially 78-81
- [ The Trevecka Letters, or the unpublished MSS. correspondence of Howell Harris and his contemporaries (1932) 1021]
Sources
- Wikidata: Q20733058
Additional Links
Published date: 1959
Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/
The Dictionary of Welsh Biography is provided by The National Library of Wales and the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. It is free to use and does not receive grant support. A donation would help us maintain and improve the site so that we can continue to acknowledge Welsh men and women who have made notable contributions to life in Wales and beyond.
Find out more on our sponsorship page.