JONES, MOSES OWEN (1842-1908), schoolmaster, musician, and eisteddfodwr

Born 31 October 1842 at Gallt-y-foel, Dinorwig, Caernarfonshire, son of Owen and Ellen Jones. After a period as pupil-teacher in Deiniolen British School he went, in 1861, to the Borough Road training college. He became assistant master at Carneddi school, Bethesda, in January 1862, and, in May 1863, headmaster of a school at Treherbert, Glamorganshire, where he spent the rest of his life. When he was at Borough Road he came to know the Tonic Solfa system of musical notation; in 1868 he became precentor of Carmel Congregational chapel, Treherbert; he also acted as the chapel organist. He composed and published a large number of anthems, part-songs, songs, and hymn-tunes. Some of his hymn-tunes are in Y Caniedydd Cynulleidfaol; he was one of the editors of the 1895 edition of that hymnal, as also of Caniedydd yr Ysgol Sul; he also edited the Solfa section of Cronicl y Cerddor, under the general editorship of D. Emlyn Evans. A choir which he conducted performed oratorios, etc., and succeeded in winning prizes at several eisteddfodau. He was also in demand as an adjudicator and as conductor of singing festivals.

M. O. Jones was also a local historian and an essay-writer who was successful several times in national and other eisteddfodau. His best known treatise, probably, is that which won for him the prize at the London national eisteddfod of 1887 and was published (under the editorship of David Emlyn Evans) in 1890 as Bywgraffiaeth Cerddorion Cymreig; Jones had written a biographical and critical history of Welsh musicians for an eisteddfod held at Aberdare in 1885 (NLW MSS 4374-5E ). He compiled a bibliography of Welsh music (up to 1896) for the Cardiff national eisteddfod of 1899 (NLW MS 4384E ). For the Cardiff national eisteddfod of 1883 he had written a history of eisteddfodau held in the 19th century (NLW MS 4376E ); he also prepared, for the eisteddfod held in connection with the Chicago World Fair, 1893, a historical handbook of the chief eisteddfodau up to 1892 (NLW MS 4377E ). All the above are in Welsh, as also are an essay on the folk-lore of Wales (NLW MS 4371E ) and one on 'The Welsh Triads' (NLW MS 4372D ). English essays include 'The History of the Development of the Coal Industry in the Rhondda Valleys for the last 50 years,' written for an eisteddfod at Treorchy, 1895 (NLW MS 4378E ), 'A History of the Parish of Ystradyfodwg, Glamorgan,' written for the Bangor national eisteddfod, 1902 (NLW MS 4383E ), and 'Biographies of Penry Williams, artist, Hugh Hughes, engraver, and Joseph Edwards, sculptor, with a critical estimate of their work,' written for the Mountain Ash national eisteddfod, 1905 (NLW MS 4373D ). He died 27 July 1908.

Author

• Robert David Griffith, (1877 - 1958)

Sources

• Y Cerddor, July 1897, September and October 1908

Published date: 1959

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