John Thomas (22 October 1736 – 27 March 1769) was a Welsh

Anglican priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and antiquarian.

Life

Thomas was born in Ynyscynhaearn,

Caernarfonshire , HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon , Map= , Image= Flag , Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd) , year_start= , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caerna ...

, in north

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, on 22 October 1736. After studying at the

Friars School Friars School is a school in Bangor, Gwynedd, and one of the oldest schools in Wales. History 1557 Establishment The school was founded by Geoffrey Glyn who had been brought up in Anglesey and had followed a career in law in London. A fria ...

in Bangor, he went to the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

matriculating Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

as a member of Jesus College in 1755. He was ordained in 1760 and became a curate in Holyhead,

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

. He did so after spending some time as the under-keeper of the museum in Oxford before finding that his wages were inadequate to match his drinking. In 1761, Thomas became usher at his old school, Friars, thereby also becoming curate of

Llandygai Llandygái (; ; ; also Llandegai) is a small village and community on the A5 road between Bangor and Tal-y-bont in Gwynedd, Wales. It affords a view of the nearby Carneddau mountain range. The population of the community taken at the 2011 ...

. In 1766, he was appointed as deputy to the master of Beaumaris grammar school, with curacies in

Llansadwrn Llansadwrn (; ; ) is a small village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is located in the countryside above the valley of the River Tywi, about halfway between Llandovery (Welsh: Llanymddyfri) to the north-east, and Llandeilo to the ...

and Llandegfan. He died on 27 March 1769 and was buried in Llandegfan. Thomas was well respected by his contemporaries as a scholar of Welsh and as an antiquarian. He copied old

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the 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 Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...

manuscripts, but his collection was dispersed after the death of his brother ( Richard Thomas) who inherited them. He was the author of the anonymously-written ''History of the Island of Anglesey'' (1775). His genealogical account of the Penrhyn and Cochwillan families was used by William Williams in his 1802 ''Observations on the Snowdon Mountains''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, John 1736 births 1769 deaths 18th-century Welsh Anglican priests Welsh antiquarians People educated at Friars School, Bangor Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford