b.
3 April 1832
at
Tŷ'r Agent
near
Ynys-ddu
, a village in the
Sirhowy valley, Mon.
His two brothers,
David
Thomas
and
John
Thomas
, were
surveyors
and
engineers
and
Islwyn
began to learn the rudiments of their profession, but his brother-in-law, the
Rev.
D.
Jenkyns
(‘
Jenkyns y Babell
’) saw that he had the making of a
preacher
and he was sent to schools at
Tredegar
,
Newport
, and
Cowbridge
, and to
Dr.
Evan
Davies
's (
1826
-
1872
) (q.v.)
academy at
Swansea
. At
Swansea
he fell in love with a young girl,
Ann
Bowen
, but before they could be married she died, and this profoundly affected both his life and his poetry. At the
Twyncarno
(
Rhymney
) monthly meeting,
3 and 4 Jan. 1854
, a request was received from
Babell chapel
that
William
Thomas
be allowed to
preach
and at the monthly meeting held at
Gelli Groes
,
16 Aug. 1854
, after the usual probation, permission was given ‘to begin preaching according to the normal dispensation.’ He was ordained in
1859
, but never had charge of a church. In
1864
he m.
Martha
, daughter of
William
Davies
, who had m. the widowed mother of
Ann
Bowen
; they lived at ‘
Green Meadow
’ near
Babell chapel
until, in
1871
, he built ‘
Y Glyn
’ for himself and his wife. According to
Daniel
Davies
(
1840
-
1916
) (q.v.)
,
Islwyn
‘edited the
Cylchgrawn
, the
Ymgeisydd
, the
Glorian
, the
Gwladgarwr
, and the poetry columns of the
Baner
and
Cardiff Times
,’ but it is difficult to know how much truth there is in this. At any rate, he
edited
the
Welsh
column in the
Cardiff Times
, and
Glasynys
(
Owen Wynne
Jones
, q.v.)
and he were leader
writers
for the
Glorian
, but it was
Llew Llwyfo
(
Lewis William
Lewis
(q.v.)
who was appointed its
editor
.
Islwyn
d.
20 Nov. 1878
, and was buried in
Babell chapel burial-ground
.
Islwyn
was taught poetry by
Gwilym Ilid
and
Aneurin Fardd
(q.v.)
, and there were at that time several literary circles in
Monmouthshire
, particularly at
Abergavenny
. He constantly
competed in the eisteddfodau
— for the most part unsuccessfully. In
1853
he won the prize at
Cefn-coed-y-cymer eisteddfod
for a poem, ‘
Abraham yn aberthu Isaac
,’ and another at the last eisteddfod of the
Abergavenny Cymreigyddion Society
for an elegy on
Carnhuanawc
; he won the
chair
at
Rhyl eisteddfod
,
1870
, for his
awdl
, ‘
Y Nos
’; at
Holyhead
,
1872
, for an awdl, ‘
Moses
’; at
Caerphilly
,
1874
, for an
awdl
, ‘
Cartref
’; and at
Treherbert
,
1877
, for an
awdl
, ‘
Y Nefoedd
.’ He never succeeded in winning the chair at the national eisteddfod, although he competed for it on many occasions. Towards the end of his life he formed the opinion that his urge for competing had caused him to neglect the preaching of the gospel.
His books and collected works were:
Barddoniaeth, gan Islwyn
,
1854
;
Ymweliad y Doethion a Bethlehem. Y bryddest fuddugol yn Eisteddfod Ivoraidd LIanelli
,
1867
(
Aberdare
,
1871
);
Caniadau gan Islwyn
(
Wrexham
, undated);
Pregethau y Parch. William Thomas (Islwyn). Gan y Parch. Edward Matthews
,
1896
;
Awdl ar y Nefoedd
,
1878?
;
Cymru, gan Islwyn
(
Cyfres Blodau'r Grug
, undated);
Islwyn, pigion o'i waith
,
1897
;
Islwyn
(
Llyfrau Urdd y Delyn
,
1897
);
Gwaith Barddonol Islwyn
(
Owen M.
Edwards
),
1897
;
Gwaith Islwyn
(
Cyfres y Fil
,
1903
);
Perlau Awen Islwyn, gan J. M. Edwards
,
1909
;
Islwyn's English Poems
,
1913
.
