JONES, WILLIAM (1814? - 1895) ' Wesleyan Reformer,' afterwards Independent minister
Date of birth: 1814?
Date of death: 1895
Spouse: Jane Jones (née Davies)
Gender: Male
Occupation: Wesleyan Reformer,' afterwards Independent minister
Area of activity: Religion
Author: Robert Thomas Jenkins
Born in 1814 or 1815 at Bodedern, Anglesey. He joined the 'Little Wesleyans' (see Owens, Owen ), and was one of their preachers in 1837; in 1841 he was a missioner of theirs at Liverpool, and in 1842 editor of their short-lived (one year) periodical, Blaguryn y Diwygiad. By 1846, however, he was pastor of a church there belonging to the parallel movement, the ' Wesleyan Methodist Association '; in 1849 he married Jane Davies, of Bala (died 1853). In 1850 he moved to Moriah, Broughton (which had once been a 'Little Wesleyan' church); in November 1852 he took charge of the 'Association' church at Aberystwyth, but in 1853 left that connexion and joined that of the ' Wesleyan Reformers.' This movement was a revolt against the 'autocracy' of the Wesleyan Conference, and in particular against Jabez Bunting; unlike the ' Little Wesleyan ' movement it took little root in North Wales (where Thomas Aubrey, was strong enough to check it), but in South Wales it was more successful, and received the benediction of Independents and Baptists, but not Calvinistic Methodists, save for individuals like David Charles III. William Jones was pastor of four 'Reformer' churches : Elim (Tredegar, Monmouth), Merthyr Tydfil, and two at Aberdare, one of the latter subsequently had Hugh Hughes, (1805 - 1864), as its pastor. In 1853, too, he began to publish a periodical for the 'Reformer' connexion, Gedeon, of which four volumes appeared. In 1857, however, the 'Reformers,' as a connexion, decided to amalgamate with the old ' Wesleyan Methodist Association,' but the Welsh 'Reformers,' in their dislike of any kind of synodical authority, stood out. In 1858, Jones decided to confine his ministry to Elim, and advised his three other churches to become Independent churches, which they did. And in 1861 he and his church followed this example. He married again in 1867; and died 7 September 1895.
Author
- Emeritus Professor Robert Thomas Jenkins, (1881 - 1969)
- A. H. Williams, Welsh Wesleyan Methodism, 1800-1858 its origins, growth and secessions (1935), chapters vi-viii (and consult index)
- Hanes Eglwysi Annibynnol Cymru, ii, 359, v, 54
Sources
- Wikidata: Q20734657
Additional Links
Published date: 1959
Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/
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