INNES
,
JOHN
(
1853?
-
1923
),
accountant and antiquary
;
was b. at
Campbelltown
,
Argyleshire
. His father,
Robert Vertue
Innes
, was appointed
collector of the South Wales District of Customs
at
Llanelly, Carms.
, and
played a prominent part in the foundation of a higher grade school in the town
c.
1863
.
Innes
was an
accountant
in the service of
Messrs. Nevill Druce
at
Llanelly
. On
9 Aug. 1883
, at
All Saints church
,
Llanelly
, he m.
Alice Ann Mary
, only child of the
Alfred C. G.
Rees
of
Oystermouth
, and
between 1884 and 1887
three sons were born to them. In
July 1913
, for health reasons, he removed to
Whitchurch
, near
Tavistock
,
Devon
, where he d.
7 May 1923
, aged 70. He was a pioneer of the
Mechanics’ Institute
which was later taken over by the borough as the
Llanelly Public Library
. He rendered good service as
chairman of the library committee
for some years before his departure from the town. After delivering a number of
lectures on the local history
of the
Llanelly
district, he was persuaded to expand them into book form; and in
1902
, with the co-operation of
Arthur
Mee
,
Innes
published his
Old Llanelly
, a work of considerable literary merit containing interesting anecdotes and lighter touches as well as historical facts.
Innes
was also interested in
photography
and
geology
and
possessed a fine collection of fossils obtained from local mines and quarries
. (
See the preceding article.
)
Bibliography:
-
South Wales Press
, especially
14 Aug. 1883
,
June-July 1913
, and
9 May 1923
;
-
Llanelly and County Guardian
,
10 May 1923
;
- Records of the Church in Wales at N.L.W.
Author:
Hywel David Emanuel, M.A., (1921-70), Aberystwyth
