ROBERTS
,
JOHN
(‘
J.R.
’;
1804
-
1884
),
Independent minister and author
;
b. in the
Old Chapel chapel-house
,
Llanbryn-mair
,
5 Nov. 1804
, second son of
John
Roberts
(
1767
-
1834
) (q.v.)
. In
1806
the family went to live at
Diosg
farm close by, and he spent some time
working on the land
. He was nearly 25 years of age before he started to
preach
. In
March 1831
he was admitted to the Academy at
Newtown
, which at that time was in charge of
Edward
Davies
(
1796
-
1857
) (q.v.)
, a
Tory
and a
Calvinist
. He does not appear to have been at all happy there, and within three years had accepted the invitation of his mother-church to assist his father and his brother
‘
S.R.
’ (q.v.)
. After his father's death he was ordained,
8 Oct. 1835
, as joint
minister
with his brother. He spent a year (
1838-9
) as
minister
of
Llansantsiôr
and
Moelfre
near
Abergele
, but returned to
Llanbryn-mair
, where he remained until
1848
when he went to
Ruthin.
He then went to
London
to take charge of the
Welsh
church at
Aldersgate Street
and stayed there until
1860
, when he came to
Conway
, where he d.
7 Sept. 1884
; he was buried in
Conway
cemetery.
Although early in his career he had come into prominence as a
preacher
, it was as a
controversialist
and
editor
that he chiefly distinguished himself. After his brother
‘
S.R.
’
had left
Wales
he took over the editorship of
Y Cronicl
, which he continued to
edit
until his death. He succeeded in maintaining this periodical's popularity although his interests were not as wide as those of his brother. He tended to make it a field for discussion and recrimination on denominational affairs. His style of writing was rhetorical and fluent, and he could write a good poem; the late
Professor
W. J.
Gruffydd
considered his lyric, ‘
Eisteddai teithiwr blin
,’ one of the best in the language. A testimonial was collected for him at
Conway
and he made over the money to the building of a
new chapel
, which is still known as ‘
Capel y Dysteb
’ (the
Testimonial Chapel
). He published
Traethodau, Pregethau ac Ymddiddanion
,
1854
;
Y Gyfrol Olaf o Bregethau
,
1876
;
Hanesion y Beibl ar Ffurf Ymddiddanion
,
1880
;
Dadleuon a Darnau i'w Hadrodd
.
Bibliography:
-
E. Pan Jones
,
Cofiant y Tri Brawd o Llanbrynmair a
Conwy
, Bala, 1892
;
-
R. Williams
,
Montgomeryshire Worthies
, second ed.,
1894
, 284-5;
-
Hanes Eglwysi Annibynnol Cymru
, v, 308-10;
-
Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography
;
-
Glanmor Williams
,
Samuel Roberts, Llanbrynmair
, Cardiff,
1950
.
Author:
Rev. Richard Griffith Owen, M.A., (1890-1973), Bangor
