PALMER, HENRY (1679 - 1742), Independent minister

Born at Llwyndrysi, Llan-gan, Carmarthenshire. He was a farmer, and a member of Henllan Amgoed congregation; but in the revolt against Jeremy Owen there, in 1711, he followed Mathias Maurice into the rival camp at Rhydyceisiaid, where he became a teaching elder. But with all Palmer's zeal for Calvinist and congregationalist principles, he was personally a kindly and greatly-liked man, and it is noteworthy that both Jeremy Owen and Maurice, fierce as are their denunciations of other folk, concur in expressing the highest esteem for Palmer. When the dust of the conflict had settled, and the pastorate of Henllan again fell vacant, Palmer was invited to return there, and in 1721 was ordained pastor of his old church. There he remained for the rest of his life. When the Methodist Revival began to affect the district, Palmer again gave proof of his good will; Howel Harris stayed under his roof on the night of 10 March 1740; and Palmer was one of the signatories of a letter (Trevecka Letter 231) inviting Harris to return to the neighbourhood. Palmer died 12 December 1742. One of his sons, GEORGE PALMER (died 1750), became a minister at Swansea; another, JOHN PALMER, was for many a long year an influential elder at Henllan - he died 1 January 1800, aged 86. Henry Palmer's successor (1746) in the pastorate at Henllan was Thomas Morgan (1720 - 1799).

Author

• Emeritus Professor Robert Thomas Jenkins, (1881 - 1969)

Sources

• Hanes Eglwysi Annibynnol Cymru, iii, 340, 341, 347, 351-2
• A History of Carmarthenshire, ii - consult index
• [And see now Y Cofiadur, 1957 ]

Additional Links

• Wikidata: Q20733155

Published date: 1959

Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/