David Stephen Davies (14 February 1841 – 29 October 1898)
was a Welsh writer, preacher, and emigrant. He was born in the Plas-Marl area of
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe).
The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
. His father was minister John Davies (1803 - 1854), of Mynydd-bach, Llangyfelach. Following the death of his father in 1854, he ended his schooling, and moved to
Aberdare
Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...
to work as an engine-driver. During a strike in 1857 he decided to emigrate to the United States, where he began preaching in
Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania
Hollidaysburg is a borough in and the county seat of Blair County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located on the Juniata River, south of Altoona and is part of the Altoona, Pennsylvania, metropolitan statistical area. In 1900, 2,998 ...
. He attended theological training courses at
Wyoming Seminary,
Kingston
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** Kingston, Ontario, Canada
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, and the
Western Theological Seminary,
Allegheny. In 1862 he was ordained minister of
Emmet and
Ixonia.
By 1872 he was living in
New York
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* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
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* '' ...
, where he formed a company promoting emigration, which purchased the ship 'Rush' on which twenty-nine emigrants were sent off to
Patagonia. They made it no further than Montevideo, where they dispersed. A number of further failed voyages followed, although a few are known to have managed to reach Patagonia, despite shipwreck, though penniless including D. S. Davies himself. He returned from the colony to Wales just four months later, being invited in 1875 to become minister of Ebenezer,
Bangor.
In 1886, he transferred to Union Street church,
Carmarthen, remaining there until his death, in 1898.
His writings include ''Ystyr Bedydd'' (The Meaning of Baptism) (1891), and ''Adroddiad'' (1875), which provided information about
Patagonia. He also edited ''Y Celt''.
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References
1841 births
1898 deaths
Welsh writers
American Protestant ministers and clergy
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary alumni
People from Swansea
19th-century American clergy
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