Josiah Towyn Jones (28 December 1858 – 16 November 1925) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

clergyman and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician. He was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for Carmarthenshire East and later for

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

. He was born in

New Quay New Quay ( cy, Cei Newydd) is a seaside town (and electoral ward) in Ceredigion, Wales, with a resident population of around 1,200 people, reducing to 1,082 at the 2011 census. Located south-west of Aberystwyth on Cardigan Bay with a harbour a ...

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 began work as a farm labourer aged 11. A year later he went to sea as a

cabin boy ''Cabin Boy'' is a 1994 American fantasy comedy film, directed by Adam Resnick and co-produced by Tim Burton, which starred comedian Chris Elliott. Elliott co-wrote the film with Resnick. Both Elliott and Resnick worked for '' Late Night with Dav ...

, later working as a ship's cook and steward. In 1876 he entered the

Presbyterian College, Carmarthen Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. In 1880 he became a Congregationalist minister at

Dowlais Dowlais () is a village and community of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. At the 2011 census the electoral ward had a population of 6,926, The population of the Community being 4,270 at the 2011 census having excluded Pant. Dowlai ...

near

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

. In 1884 he began a 22-year spell as minister at

Cwmamman Cwmamman is a community in Carmarthenshire, about 12 miles north of Swansea in southwest Wales. Literally meaning "Amman valley", it takes its name from the River Amman which runs through the area. Cwmamman was the original name of the area but ...

in the

Amman Valley Amman Valley may refer to: *The valley of the River Amman * Amman Valley Hospital *Amman Valley Railway The Amman Valley Railway Society ( cy, Rheilffordd Dyffryn Aman) is situated near the former Gwaun Cae Gurwen branch line, that runs alongsid ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

. At this time he was a close political associate of leading Welsh Liberals Tom Ellis and

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

. He married Mary Howells of Plas Cadwgan in the

Swansea Valley The Swansea Valley ( cy, Cwm Tawe) is one of the South Wales Valleys. It is the valley from the Brecon Beacons National Park to the sea at Swansea of the River Tawe in Wales. Administration of the area is divided between the City and County of Sw ...

in 1885 and they had two daughters. In the late 1880s he emerged as a critic of local Liberal MP David Pugh. For twenty years he acted as agent for

Abel Thomas Abel Thomas (1848 – 23 July 1912) was a Welsh Liberal politician and lawyer. Family Thomas was the son of a Baptist Minister, the Reverend Theophilus Evan Thomas JP of Trehale in Pembrokeshire. In 1875, he married Bessie Polak. They had a s ...

, Liberal MP for Carmarthenshire East. When Thomas died in 1912, Towyn Jones replaced him at the ensuing

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

. Under the

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The Act extended the franchise in parliamentary elections, also ...

the East Carmarthenshire seat was abolished, and he was instead elected as MP for the new seat of

at the general election of that year, retiring at the 1922 election. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he opposed

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

, but nevertheless took office in the coalition government, becoming a Whip and Junior Lord of the Treasury. When the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V ...

were formed during the war he enthusiastically helped in recruiting for the new regiment.

References

*
Welsh Biography Online

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Towyn 1858 births 1925 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies Welsh Congregationalist ministers UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Carmarthenshire constituencies People from Cardigan, Ceredigion