John Bryan (1776 – 28 May 1856) was a Welsh Wesleyan Methodist minister. He was born, and lived, in Llanfyllin until he was about 12 years of age. He spent a number of the subsequent years living in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

, and in other areas of North Wales, before moving to

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

in 1798 to work as an assistant in Misses Williams' (daughters of Richard Williams) drapery business. Whilst in

he initially attended the Welsh

Calvinistic Methodist Calvinistic Methodists were born out of the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival and survive as a body of Christians now forming the Presbyterian Church of Wales. Calvinistic Methodism became a major denomination in Wales, growing rapidly in the 1 ...

church, but later joined the Methodists at the Octagon, the Wesleyan Methodist chapel. Soon after, he began preaching as local preacher, before, in 1801 becoming an ordained Wesleyan Methodist minister, touring various circuits in

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 ...

until 1815, when he began touring on circuits in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1824 he left the ministry for a period, to run a grocery and tea-merchant business in the

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

area. The worsening health of his wife influenced his decision to subsequently return to

, to continue with his grocery business in the Caernarvon area, and where he again served as a local preacher, until within a few weeks of his death. Bryan was responsible for translating some of John and Charles Wesley's hymns into the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

. He died on 28 May 1856.

References

1776 births 1856 deaths Welsh Protestant religious leaders Wesleyan Methodists {{UK-Christian-clergy-stub