Dafydd Cadwaladr (1752 – 9 July 1834) was a Welsh Calvinistic

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

preacher. He grew up in Llangwm,

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

, where his family had lived for generations. By noting the letters on sheep's backs and then picking his way through the Prayer Book he was able to teach himself to read, and enjoyed reciting works such as the '

Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a progenitor of ...

' at the local 'knitting meetings'. For a while he worked as a farm boy, but c. 1771 he took the position of servant at Fedw Arian,

Bala, Gwynedd Bala ( cy, Y Bala) is a town and community in Gwynedd, Wales. Formerly an urban district, Bala lies in the historic county of Merionethshire, at the north end of Bala Lake ( cy, Llyn Tegid). According to the 2021 Census, Bala had a population ...

, working for the

preacher William Evans. Dafydd knew his bible by heart, and about 1780 himself began preaching. He also enjoyed walking, and thus became a popular preacher throughout

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He died in 1834, and is buried at Llanycil. His daughter was the nurse,

Betsi Cadwaladr Betsi Cadwaladr (24 May 1789 – 17 July 1860), also known as Beti Cadwaladr''Welsh National Heroes'' by Alun Roberts, Y Lolfa, 2002 and Betsi Davis, was a Welsh nurse. She began nursing on travelling ships in her 30s (1820s) and later nursed in ...

, who worked in the Crimea.

References

Welsh religious leaders Methodist ministers 1752 births 1834 deaths People from Llanycil People from Denbighshire {{UK-Christian-clergy-stub