The Reverend David Rees (14 November 1801– 31 March 1869) was a Welsh

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

minister of Capel Als chapel

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, Carmarth ...

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 ...

, and an editor of a radical

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 ...

Nonconformist periodical titled ''Y Diwygiwr'' (The Reformer). Known as 'Y Cynhyrfwr' ('The Agitator'), he held radical political views and opposed the relationship between the Established Church and the state.

Early life

Rees, son of Bernard and Anna Rees, was born and raised on the Gelli Lwyd farm in the parish of

Trelech Trelech (Welsh: ''Tre-lech'') is a village in the parish of Tre-lech a'r Betws, Carmarthenshire, in south-west Wales. It is also the name of the community. Trelech is located some 10 miles north-west of Carmarthen and 6.5 miles south of Newcastle ...

. Whilst a child he worked on his family's farm as well as spending some time with the local

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

, as an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

. Rees did not have any formal education as a child but was instructed at the Sunday school and participated in Christian worship regularly at home with his family. In 1818 he became a member of Tre-lech Congregationalist church under the ministry of the

Calvinistic Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

minister Morgan Jones, and in 1822 with the aim of becoming a

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...

, he enlisted as a student in a school in

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...

, Pembrokeshire and later studied for a time at

Carmarthen Grammar School Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Carmarthen was a selective secondary school in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire. It closed in 1978. Former students Among the school's former pupils were the educationalist Griffith Jones; the early Methodist leader an ...

. Rees started preaching in 1823 at the age of 22 and after spending some time at a school in Newtown,

Montgomeryshire , HQ= Montgomery , Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin= , Status= , Start= , End= ...

, in 1825 he joined the Congregationalist academy, also in Newtown. Rees studied at the academy for four years and became familiar with some of the most notable Welsh Congregationalists of his time. One of these was the young Samuel Roberts,

Llanbrynmair Llanbrynmair () is a village, community and electoral ward in Montgomeryshire, Powys, on the A470 road between Caersws and Machynlleth. Llanbrynmair, in area, is the second largest in Powys. In 2011, it had a population of 920. Description The c ...

(S.R.) who was later to become a Congregational minister and editor of another radical Welsh publication ''Cronicl y Cymdeithasau Crefyddol'' ("Chronicle of Religious Societies").

Personal life

Rees married Sarah Roberts, the daughter of a successful shop owner who was a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

with the Baptists, in 1832 and they had five children: Bernard, Elizabeth, John Calvin, Luther and Frederick. The last two drowned in a tragic accident when they were in their early teens. His wife Sarah also died in 1857, and Rees remarried in 1858, to Mrs Phillips, a widow from Carmarthen.

Ministry

After spending four years at the academy in Newtown, Rees accepted a call to be the minister of Capel Als in 1829 and remained there until his death in 1869. Shortly before he began his ministry, Rees purchased the freehold of the Capel Als site, together with the adjoining cemetery, from local industrialist Richard Pemberton. The sum paid was £65. As well as leading many campaigns to renovate and enlarge the chapel, Rees also had a big influence in establishing four other Congregationalist churches in the vicinity: Park English Chapel, Capel y Bryn, Capel y Doc and Siloa, Llanelli. At the start of Rees' ministry it is said that Capel Als had around 250 members. This number increased to 589 by 1850 even though many members had left to form the churches mentioned above. By Rees' own account in the 1851 Religious Census, the chapel was nearly always full for the Sunday night service, with the numbers present calculated to be around 850 on most Sundays.

''Y Diwygiwr''

Rees established the ''Diwygiwr'' in 1835 as a direct result of the Congregationalist ministers' disapproval of the increasingly

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

nature of the ''Efangylydd'' ("Evangelist"), another publication geared towards the Congregationalists of south Wales, edited by David Owen (Brutus) who was later to become Rees' arch-rival. Through his editorials in ''Y Diwygiwr'', Rees lucidly disseminated the principles of Nonconformity and his pseudonym was developed from a quote in which he paraphrased

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

's famous "Agitate! Agitate! Agitate!" quote by writing "Cynhyrfer! Cynhyrfer! Cynhyrfer!" ''Y Diwygiwr'' developed during his thirty-year editorship into a powerful voice in the battle against the alleged injustices felt by the Nonconformists, and was used to openly encourage Nonconformists to unite in protest against the oppressive power possessed by a combination of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

state and the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

. In addition to promulgating Nonconformist principles, the ''Diwygiwr'' also voiced its support for various political and social movements such as the

Rebecca Riots The Rebecca Riots (Welsh: ''Terfysgoedd Beca'') took place between 1839 and 1843 in West and Mid Wales. They were a series of protests undertaken by local farmers and agricultural workers in response to levels of taxation. The rioters, often me ...

, the

Chartists Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement, ...

, the

Liberation Society The Liberation Society was an organisation in Victorian England that campaigned for disestablishment of the Church of England. It was founded in 1844 by Edward Miall as the British Anti-State Church Association and was renamed in 1853 as the Soci ...

and the

Anti Corn Law League Anti may refer to: *Anti-, a prefix meaning "against" *Änti, or Antaeus, a half-giant in Greek and Berber mythology *A false reading of ''Nemty'', the name of the ferryman who carried Isis to Set's island in Egyptian mythology *Áńt’į, or c ...

, but did not always advocate the methods they used, especially the most violent. Rees' rise to prominence was also due to the long-standing feud between him and David Owen ("Brutus") who edited the Anglican publication ''Yr Haul'' ("The Sun"). In the literary exchanges between them, Brutus' satirical and vitriolic attacks on both Rees personally and Nonconformism in general were rebuffed by an unequivocal and passionate defence of the Nonconformists' Christian and political principles which were so prevalent in Rees' ideology.

Public life

Like many nineteenth century Welsh nonconformist ministers, Rees became active in public life and served on several bodies including the Llanelly Board of Guardians and the Llanelly Board of Health.

Bibliography

*''Y Diwygiwr'' (1835–1865) * Iorwerth Jones, ''David Rees y Cynhyrfwr'' (Swansea, 1971) * T. Davies, ''Bywyd ac Ysgrifeniadau y Diweddar Barch. D. Rees, Llanelli'', (Llanelli, 1871) (The life and writings of the late Rev. D. Rees) * R.T. Jenkins (ed.) '' Dictionary of Welsh Biography down to 1940'' (London, 1959) *

References

External links

Undeb Yr Annibynwyr Cymraeg/ Union of Welsh Independents

Welsh Biography Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, David 1801 births 1869 deaths People from Carmarthenshire Welsh Congregationalist ministers