Thomas Jones (
1756
Events
January–March
* January 16 – The Treaty of Westminster is signed between Great Britain and Prussia, guaranteeing the neutrality of the Kingdom of Hanover, controlled by King George II of Great Britain.
*February 7 & ...
– 16 June
1820
Events
January–March
*January 1 – Nominal beginning of the Trienio Liberal in Spain: A constitutionalist military insurrection at Cádiz leads to the summoning of the Spanish Parliament (March 7).
*January 8 – General Maritime T ...
), called "Thomas Jones of Denbigh" (in Welsh, "Thomas Jones o Ddinbych") to differentiate him from namesakes, was a Welsh Methodist clergyman, writer, editor and poet, active in North
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 ...
.
Life history
Thomas Jones was born in 1756 at
Aberchwiler in Denbighshire, but was educated at
Caerwys and
Holywell
Holywell may refer to:
* Holywell, Flintshire, Wales
* Holywell, Swords, Ireland
* Holywell, Bedfordshire, England
* Holywell, Cambridgeshire, England
* Holywell, Cornwall, England
* Holywell, Dorset, England
* Holywell, Eastbourne, East Susse ...
in
Flintshire.
In 1783 he became a
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. At around the same time, he became acquainted with
Thomas Charles of Bala, who influenced him greatly. Jones worked with Charles to devise the "Rules and Design of the … Welsh Methodists" (1801) and both edited the Welsh-language periodical, ''
Y Drysorfa
was a Calvinistic Methodist publication produced in Wales and written in the Welsh language. Although published intermittently before 1830, it became a regular publication in 1831, when preacher John Parry became its editor.
Publication history
...
while the publication was still in its quarterly form.
[Davies (2008), pg 433.]
In 1795 he married Elizabeth Jones, but she died two years later. Inheriting her fortune, he remarried in 1804. His second wife also died, and he married a third time in 1806, to a Mary Lloyd.
In 1811 he was ordained a Calvinistic Methodist minister. He wrote many hymns, and was highly active within his denomination.
Jones was married three times, first to Elizabeth Jones, of Mold, in 1795; Elizabeth died in 1797. He married Ann Maysmor of Llanelidan in 1804, and following her death married Mary Lloyd of Llanrwst, in 1806.
He died on 16 June 1820.
Works
Thomas Jones made significant contribution in content and style to Welsh theology. He was a strong opponent of Arminianism, which was prominent among the Wesleyans, and translated ''The Christian in Complete Amor'' (1655 – 1662) by Williams Gurnal into Welsh under the title The Cristian in Full Armor (1796 – 1820). His masterpiece is the huge volume he published in 1813 on the history of Protestant Martyrs Theologians, Martyrs, and confessors of the Church of England (or ''History of the Martyrs'').
With
Thomas Charles of Bala he was editor of the ''Spiritual Treasure'', which first came out in 1799 as a quarterly publication. He also wrote a number of hymns, including "I Know my Buyer is alive" and "Oh! Lead my soul into the waters".
Jones wrote an autobiography (1814) and a memoir of his friend Thomas Charles.
[ He published a fairly standard English and Welsh dictionary in 1800. He was also a poet; "To the Birds Thrush" (1773) is the best example of his poems.
Jones printed a substantial part of his work on a press which he set up at his home in Ruthin in 1804. He sold the press to Thomas Gee the elder, father of the famous printer ]Thomas Gee
Thomas Gee (24 January 181528 September 1898), was a Welsh Nonconformist preacher, journalist and publisher.
Gee was born in Denbigh, Wales. At the age of fourteen he went into his father's printing office, Gwasg Gee, but continued to attend ...
, in 1813.
Works
*''English and Welsh Dictionary'' (1800)
Bibliography
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Thomas, of Denbigh
1756 births
1820 deaths
Welsh-language writers
Welsh writers
Welsh Methodist ministers
Welsh Presbyterian ministers
People from Denbigh