Sir Thomas Duncombe Love Jones-Parry, 1st Baronet (5 January 1832 – 18 December 1891) was a Welsh landowner and Liberal politician. He was one of the founders of the Y Wladfa settlement in

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

, South America. Love Jones-Parry inherited Madryn Castle and its estate from his father, Gen. Sir Love Jones-Parry. He owned about 7,222 acres of land in Wales. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, later becoming a high sheriff in 1854. He was a prominent figure in

eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, a ...

ic circles, where he had the

bardic name A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh language, Welsh term bardd ('poet') originally referred to the Welsh poets of the M ...

"Elphin". His uncle was Col. William Parry Yale, born Jones-Parry, heir of Plas-yn-Yale, and his cousin was Dept. Lt. William Corbet Yale. Jones-Parry rose to prominence in politics when he won the

Caernarvonshire Caernarfonshire (; , ), previously spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Geography The county ...

seat in the 1868 election, defeating the

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

candidate, George Douglas-Pennant (later Lord Penrhyn). The five year old

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. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

carried the Liberal banner at the head of the victory parade in

Llanystumdwy Llanystumdwy () is a predominantly Welsh-speaking village, community and electoral ward in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd in Wales. The village lies on the southern coast of the Llŷn Peninsula, with a beach facing Cardigan Bay, between Cricci ...

. He lost this seat at the next election, but won the Caernarvon Boroughs seat at a by-election in 1882 and held it until

1886 Events January * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...

. He was made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

for his services to the Liberal Party. Towards the end of 1862 Captain Love Jones-Parry, accompanied by Lewis Jones, left for

to decide whether it was a suitable area for Welsh emigrants. The trip was largely financed by Jones-Parry, who paid at least £750 from his own pocket. They first visited Buenos Aires where they held discussions with the Interior Minister

Guillermo Rawson Guillermo Rawson (24 June 1821 – 2 February 1890) was a medical doctor and politician in nineteenth-century Argentina. In 1862, when he was the Interior Minister of Argentina, he met Captain Love Jones-Parry and Lewis Jones, who were on ...

then, having come to an agreement, they headed south. They reached Patagonia in a small ship named the ''Candelaria'', and were driven by a storm into a bay which they named "Porth Madryn" after Jones-Parry's estate in Wales. The town which grew near the spot where they landed is now named

Puerto Madryn Puerto Madryn (; ), usually known as Madryn, is a city in the province of Chubut in Argentine Patagonia. It is the capital of the Viedma Department, and has about 103,175 inhabitants according to the last census in 2022. Puerto Madryn is pr ...

. Following a favourable report from Jones-Parry and Lewis Jones, a group of 162 Welsh emigrants departed for Patagonia in the ship ''Mimosa'' in 1865. Later there was criticism that the report had given too favourable an impression of the area, though the criticism was directed at Lewis Jones rather than Love Jones-Parry. Sir Love-Jones-Parry married Lady Elizabeth, who built in 1857 the gothic Plas Glyn-y-Weddw manor house in Llanbedrog, now the oldest art gallery in Wales.Oriel Plas Glyn-y-Weddw, Llanbedrog
Historypoints.org, Accessed February 24, 2024

References

*''

Dictionary of Welsh Biography The ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'' (DWB) (also ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940'' and ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941 to 1970'') is a biographical dictionary of Welsh people who have made a significant contribution to ...

'' * *

External links

Project-Hiraeth – Documents the stories of the Welsh colony in Patagonia, Argentina through film, text and illustration.
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones-Parry, Love 1832 births 1891 deaths People from Nefyn Jones-Parry, Thomas Duncombe Love, 1st Baronet Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 High sheriffs of Caernarvonshire Welsh pioneer settlers in Patagonia Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Caernarfon People educated at Rugby School Yale family Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford