JOHNES, ARTHUR JAMES (1809 - 1871), county court judge
Date of birth: 1809
Date of death: 1871
Parent: Mary Johnes
Parent: Edward Johnes
Gender: Male
Occupation: county court judge
Area of activity: Law; Public and Social Service, Civil Administration
Author: Thomas Iorwerth Ellis
Born 4 February 1809, the son of Edward Johnes of Garthmyl, Montgomeryshire, and Mary his wife, who was a Davies of Llifior, and thus connected with the family of Owen of Cefn-hafodau. He was educated at Oswestry grammar school and University College, London, and called to the Bar from Lincoln's Inn in 1835. In 1847 he was appointed a county court judge in North Wales and part of South Wales, and at one time his district extended from Holyhead to Hay. He devoted himself to his work with great earnestness, but his interests were by no means confined to his professional duties.
He was associated with such literary clerics as Walter Davies (Gwallter Mechain), John Jenkins (Ifor Ceri), and Thomas Richards, and was one of the promoters of the Cambrian Quarterly Magazine (1830-3). In 1831 he won a prize offered by the Cymmrodorion Society for an essay on The Causes which in Wales have produced Dissent from the Established Church. A second edition (expanded) appeared in 1832, and a third in 1870. In 1834 he published some translations of poems by Dafydd ap Gwilym.
Johnes took an active part by voice and pen in resisting the scheme (c. 1838) to unite the sees of Bangor and S. Asaph and appropriate part of their revenue for the new diocese of Manchester which lasted from 1837 until 1846. In this his efforts were successful. He also interested himself in other aspects of the social life of Wales. Retiring in 1870, he died at Garthmyl, 23 July 1871, and was buried at Berriw. See also A. C. Humphreys-Owen.
Author
- Thomas Iorwerth Ellis, (1899 - 1970)
- D. L. Thomas, Johnes, Arthur James (1809–1871), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 1891
- Collections Historical and Archaeological relating to Montgomeryshire, xv, 41-6
- Marian Henry Jones, The Letters of Arthur James Johnes, 1809-71, The National Library of Wales Journal, Vol. X, 233-64
- Marian Henry Jones, The Letters of Arthur James Johnes, 1809-71, The National Library of Wales Journal, Vol. X, 329-64
- Marian Henry Jones, Additional Letters of Arthur James Johnes, 1808-1871, The National Library of Wales Journal, Vol. XIV, 129-82
Sources
- ODNB: Johnes, Arthur James [pseud. Maelog] (1809–1871)
- Wikipedia Article: Arthur James Johnes
Further Reading
Published date: 1959
Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/
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