WILLIAMS, DANIEL (1878 - 1968), minister (Meth.) and author

Born 17 June 1878, son of Richard Williams, a worker in the Penmaen Quarries, and his wife Anne, at Bodnant, Llanfairfechan, Caernarfonshire. He was educated at the village National School and spent two years at the Cynffig Davies School in Menai Bridge, before being accepted in 1901 as a ministerial candidate in the Methodist church. He served a pre-college year at Llanbedr, Meironnydd, before starting his studies at Headingley, Leeds. After completing a successful period there, he was sent to Penisa'r-waun in the Caernarfon circuit, where he stayed for three years. Apart from two years, 1907-08, in the Manchester circuit, he spent all his time ministering to districts in north Wales, including Aberffraw, Corwen, Dolgellau, Llanfyllin, Llangollen, Penmachno, Rhydyfoel and Mold, where he stayed seven years. He retired from full-time work and became a supernumerary in 1943, making his home at Prestatyn, but returned to the regular ministry in 1948, and was superintendent of the Llangollen circuit for a year, retiring again and living there until he moved to Old Colwyn in 1952.

He was a gifted and popular preacher and in 1934 published Gwerslyfr ar Efengyl Marc. In addition to his considerable contribution to the religious life in Wales, Daniel Williams was well known as a writer and a historian of standing. He published five children's books, Cario'r post a storïau eraill (1932), Dyrnaid o yd (1924), Llwyn y brain (1930), Pant y gloch (1932), and Plant y pentre (1925); he regularly contributed to antiquarian journals. He was a keen eisteddfod supporter and in 1927 won a chair for a poem at the Whitsun eisteddfod in Penybont-fawr, Montgomeryshire. He also won the first prize on the principal essay, ' Teithi meddwl Ann Griffiths ' at the 1932 Powys Regional Eisteddfod. He had considerable literary success at the National Eisteddfod and between 1939-47 won seven prizes for essays or articles on a wide variety of subjects. In 1952 he was invited to deliver the annual lecture at the Methodist Assembly held in Llandeilo.

In 1909 he married Annie Bartley Griffith, granddaughter of the Archdruid ' Clwydfardd ' (David Griffith, 1800 - 1894), at Ebenezer chapel, Llandudno and they had three sons and a daughter. He died 17 March 1968 at his home, Bronygarth, Wynn Avenue, Old Colwyn, and following a private service at Bethesda Chapel, Old Colwyn, his remains were cremated at Colwyn Bay Crematorium.

Author

• Richard E. Huws

Sources

• Dyddiadur yr Eglwys Fethodistaidd, 1969, 29-30
• Y Gwyliedydd Newydd, 4 April 1968
• The Liverpool Daily Post, 19-20 March 1968
• The Minutes of the Annual Conference Methodist Church, (1968), 194-5
• J. Henry Martin and J. Bernard Sheldon, Ministers and Probationers of the Methodist Church, formerly Wesleyan, Primitive and United Methodist, with the Appointments … revised to Sept. 1st 1963 (London 1964), 331
• Daniel Williams, 'Fy ngalwad i'r weinidogaeth', Y Winllan, 107 (1954) 201-5
• Mairwen and Gwynn Jones, Dewiniaid Difyr (Llandysul 1983)
• information from Alun W. Francis, Caernarfon

Additional Links

• Wikidata: Q20732783

Published date: 2001

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