ROWLANDS, DANIEL (1827 - 1917), principal of the Normal College, Bangor

Born at Llangefni 21 February 1827. He received his elementary training at the National school, Llangefni. He began to preach in 1848, went to Bala C.M. College for three years, and then, in 1852, to Edinburgh University, where he graduated M.A. in 1856. In 1857 he was ordained, and from that time on until 1868, when he moved to Bangor as principal of the Normal College, he was minister of the Calvinistic Methodist church at Llanidloes. As principal of the college his main function was not to impart knowledge - the weekly Bible class was his only class - but to collect money for the maintenance of the institution and, for a time at least, to promote the establishment of British schools in North Wales. He resigned in 1891 but continued to serve the college as its secretary until 1907. He also devoted himself to the work of his denomination and was moderator of its North Wales Association in 1881 and of its General Assembly in 1890. In 1862 he undertook the editorship of the Traethodydd, an appointment he held for thirty years. He himself wrote numerous and lengthy articles on a variety of subjects - theological, scriptural, social, and political - but it must be confessed that many of these were heavy and laboured. He, too, was chiefly responsible for the 'literary notes,' and his careful reviews show how wide his reading was and how eager he was to keep his readers informed about the contents and value of the outstanding productions of the press in England and Wales. It must be admitted that, in his effort to maintain the standard of his periodical, he succeeded in obtaining valuable contributions from writers of distinction and that he dealt with Wales more directly than before by allotting more space for topics of the day. He also made a name for himself as an advocate of temperance. He married (1861) Bridget, daughter of G. J. Griffith of Aberystwyth, and by her had two sons and three daughters. He died 24 February 1917.

Author

• Thomas Roberts, (1885 - 1960)

Sources

• Y Traethodydd, 1817
• Y Drysorfa, 1918
• North Wales Chronicle, 1917
• Y Cymro, 1917
• Y Brython, 1917
• Y Tyst Dirwestol, 1899
• Monthly treasury: organ of the English Calvinistic Methodists, or Presbyterian Church of Wales, 1904
• Y Goleuad, 1917
• Bangor Normal College for the training of teachers for British schools in Wales Report
• J. Lloyd Williams, Atgofion tri chwarter canrif, iii
• Sir Henry Jones, Old Memories. Autobiography of Sir Henry Jones (London 1923)

Darllen Pellach

• The Rev. Daniel Rowlands, M.A., The Christian standard: the monthly magazine of the Cardiff Evangelistic movement, Vol. I, no.10, April 1892

Additional Links

• Wikidata: Q20732782

Published date: 1959

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