JONES
,
DAVID STANLEY
(
1860
-
1919
),
Congregationalist minister
;
was b.
28 June 1860
at
Pantrasol
,
Llanarth, Cards.
; one of the four children of
Abraham
Jones
, of the
Llandysul
neighbourhood, and his wife
Elizabeth
, who hailed from near
Llangeitho
. The father had to seek work in
Glamorgan
, and the upbringing of the children fell to the mother, on the small homestead of
Tŷ-rhos
.
David
(known as ‘
Dafi Tŷ-rhos
’) had little schooling, mostly at
Talygarreg
, under
John
Thomas
, a grandson of
Thomas
Phillips
of
Neuadd-lwyd
(q.v.
on p. 761). He was received into church membership at
Pisgah
,
Brynrhiwgaled
. Apprenticed to a
tailor
when not yet 12, he afterwards worked at
Cwrtnewydd
, and later
in a shop
at
Lampeter
, but found neither place congenial; nor did a move to
Ffestiniog
in
North Wales
prove auspicious. He returned to
South Wales
, settling down at
Deri, Glam.
; there, towards the end of
1880
, he was encouraged to start
preaching
. Later, he underwent instruction at private grammar schools at
Pencader, Carms.
, and
New Quay, Cards.
He had become an acceptable
preacher
, but felt that his knowledge of
English
was defective, so he put in two years at the
Western (Congregational) College
,
Bristol
, where his
English
preaching improved to such an extent that he was offered the pastorate of a small church nearby. But he preferred the
Welsh
ministry; and after spending some time at
Cardiff University College
he was ordained
pastor
of
Porth
(
Rhondda
) church in
Oct. 1887
; there he m.
Florence
, daughter of
Idris
Williams
, a prominent
Congregationalist
at
Porth
; they had four children. In the summer of
1891
, he accepted a call to the churches of
Bethesda
and
Llantysilio, Pembs.
His renown as a
preacher
grew rapidly, and in
1895
he was called to succeed
E. Herber
Evans
(q.v.
on p. 233) at
Salem
,
Caernarvon
. He was very successful at
Caernarvon
, and remained there till his death on
7 Feb. 1919
; he was buried in
Llanbeblig new cemetery
.
As is customary,
Stanley
Jones
's published sermons give little idea of his power in the pulpit. He had become — and continued to be — one of the greatest
preachers
in his denomination; a
preacher
first and foremost, for he took little part in the councils of the denomination, and eschewed civic and political activities. He did, however, contribute articles to
Y Geninen
, chiefly recollections of his native countryside; and he published a selection of these under the title
Myfyrion ar fin Afonydd
(
1904
). He had a handsome presence; his delivery was deliberate; and his sunny and unassuming personality made
him most attractive to his hearers in all parts of the country.
Bibliography:
-
Ben Davies
,
Stanley a'i Bulpud sef Cofiant a Phregethau
y Parch. David Stanley Jones, Caernarfon
, Merthyr
Tydfil, 1920
(
1920
);
- personal knowledge.
Author:
Rev. Richard Griffith Owen, M.A., (1890-1973), Bangor
