
John Jones, Talysarn (1 March
1796
Events
January–March
* January 16 – The first Dutch (and general) elections are held for the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic. (The next Dutch general elections are held in 1888.)
* February 1 – The capital ...
– 16 August
1857
Events January–March
* January 1 – The biggest Estonian newspaper, ''Postimees'', is established by Johann Voldemar Jannsen.
* January 7 – The partly French-owned London General Omnibus Company begins operating.
* Janua ...
), 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 ...
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 Calv ...
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 ...
minister, regarded as one of the greatest preachers in the history of
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 ...
. Because the name "John Jones" was one of the most common in Wales at the time, he is usually differentiated by
others of the same name by the use of the suffix "Talysarn", denoting the village where he lived.
Life
John Jones was born in a house called Tanycastell, in
Dolwyddelan, and brought up in a farming family but which also had many connections with
Nonconformist
Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to:
Culture and society
* Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior
*Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity
** ...
religion. He was a monoglot
Welsh language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, 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 P ...
speaker, and the only formal education he received was at the
Sabbath school.
As a young man around 1820 he was engaged as a labourer building
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotla ...
's road
from
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
to
Holyhead
Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...
(now known as the
A5), and was heard by his fellow workers preaching on religious matters as he walked to work. In 1822 he moved to
Talysarn
Tal-y-sarn () is a village in the slate quarrying Nantlle Valley in Gwynedd, Wales, next to Penygroes. It is part of the community of Llanllyfni and includes some of Llandwrog. The ward had a population of 1,930 at the 2011 census, the built- ...
to find work in the quarry, but was increasingly devoting himself to preaching. He was ordained in 1829,
and would become widely known by the name "John Jones, Talysarn", after his adopted home village.
He married Frances (Fanny) Edwards
[ around this time and left the quarry as they kept a shop together - although in practice it was she who understood business and kept the shop, so that he could devote time to matters of religion.
Between 1850 and 1852 he was a joint owner of the ]Dorothea Quarry
Dorothea quarry is a disused slate quarry in the Nantlle Valley area in North Wales. It covers a large area near the village of Talysarn and contains three flooded deep lakes.
History Turner family
The quarry commenced working in the earl ...
[ but did not like this occupation.
He died on 16 August 1857 and was buried at the parish graveyard in Llanllyfni. In the funeral procession were 8 doctors, 65 ministers, 70 deacons, 200 choristers and around 4,000 others with a further 2,000 who joined en route.
]
His work
In an age when Nonconformist
Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to:
Culture and society
* Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior
*Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity
** ...
preaching had been riven by doctrinal differences, John Jones spoke plainly on matters that concerned the common people. They considered him one of their own, which was the foundation of his widespread appeal. Martyn Lloyd-Jones described him as "a thorough gospel man", and found him very influential.
He was also a singer, and composed the hymn tune
A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...
''Llanllyfni''.
Genealogy
John Jones was a member of a large family which has gone to some trouble, before and since, to record its genealogy. Both his father and mother were descended from the poet Angharad James.[ In the mid-nineteenth century several of his brothers and sisters and their offspring emigrated to the area around ]Cambria
Cambria is a name for Wales, being the Latinised form of the Welsh name for the country, . The term was not in use during the Roman period (when Wales had not come into existence as a distinct entity). It emerged later, in the medieval period, a ...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, United States.
References
Bibliography
* W. R. Ambrose (1871), ''Hynafiaethau, Cofiannau a Hanes Presennol Nant Nantlle, y Traethawd Buddugol yn Eisteddfod Gadeiriol Pen-y-groes''
* Cledwyn Jones (2003), ''Mi Wisga'i Gap Pig Gloyw, John Glyn Davies, 1870-1953'' Gwasg Pantycelyn
* O. Llew Owain (1907), ''Cofiant Mrs Fanny Jones, gweddw y diweddar Barch. J. Jones, Talysarn'' cyhoeddwyd gan Mrs Jones, Cambrian House, Machynlleth.
* Griffith Owen (1896), ''Cadwaladr Owen'', Hughes and Son, Wrexham
* G. T Roberts, ''John Jones Tal-y-Sarn (1796-1857)'', Trafodion Cymdeithas Hanes Sir Gaernarfon, cyfrol 18 (1957)
* Owen Thomas, D.D. (1874), ''Cofiant y Parchedig John Jones, Talsarn'', Wrexham
External links
Online Translated Extract of Biography
Portrait at the National Library of Wales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, John
1796 births
1857 deaths
Welsh Methodist ministers
19th-century Welsh clergy
19th-century Methodists