John Davies (1860–1939) was a Welsh bibliographer and genealogist. He was from the Llandysul area of

Cardiganshire Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

, and as a boy attended Capel Dewi National School. He then worked as a farm labourer, and as a collier for a while, before opening his own boots and clogs business in Lampeter. For some time he had held an interest in Welsh books and in genealogy, especially

and west Wales families, and in 1908, he was appointed to a position on the staff of the newly founded

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million boo ...

, assisting research workers on genealogical and bibliographical matters. He remained in the position until his retirement in 1927. He died in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

in June 1939, and was buried in Aberystwyth cemetery. His surviving works include, in collaboration with Mrs Lucy E. Lloyd Theakston, a compilation of 'Some Pedigrees of the Lloyds of Allt yr Odyn, Castell Hywel, Ffos y Bleiddiaid, Gilfach Wen, Llan Llyr, and Waun Ifor' (Oxford, 1912), and a number of essays, such as, ‘Ymchwiliad Hynafiaethol a Thraddodiadol am Ellen Wyn o Ddyffrynllynod ynghyd a Theuly y Wyniaid Plwyf Llandyssul’ (1900), and ‘Hen Feirdd Plwyf Llandyssul’ (1906).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, John 1860 births 1939 deaths Welsh writers 19th-century Welsh poets 20th-century Welsh poets 19th-century Welsh writers 20th-century Welsh writers