ROBERTS, JOHN (Minimus; 1808 - 1880), Calvinistic Methodist minister, and author

Second son of Richard Roberts, a ship's chandler, of Liverpool. He became elder (1827?) of Bedford Street C.M. church, began to preach in 1830, and was ordained in 1857 at the Dolgellau Association. He married, in 1849, Elizabeth Milnes, of Oswestry (died 1865). His youngest sister, Ann, became the second wife of the Rev. David Charles (1803 - 1880). While continuing in the employ of sail shipping company, he became, in 1840, the unpaid secretary of the newly-formed C.M. Foreign Missions Society (see Thomas Jones, 1810 - 1849); from 1861 till his wife's death he lived near Mold.

In 1866 his connection with the C.M. Missions was severed, and he removed to Edinburgh, as secretary of the 'Scottish Sabbath Observance Society'. He died there 6 January 1880, and was buried in S. James's cemetery, Liverpool. A daughter survived him.

Minimus wrote much for the C.M. periodicals, e.g. Y Traethodydd and Y Drysorfa - he edited the latter in 1846, and afterwards, jointly with Roger Edwards, till 1852. With Richard Williams (1802 - 1842) he edited Y Pregethwr, 1835-8. He collaborated with John Jones (1790 - 1855) in a biography of John Elias, and wrote two other biographies; he also wrote hymns, one of which, beginning 'Bywha dy waith …' which first appeared in Y Drysorfa in 1840, is still sung.

Author

• Derwyn Jones

Sources

• Y Drysorfa, 1840 and 1880
• Y Goleuad, 17 January 1880
• J. Hughes Morris, Hanes Methodistiaeth Liverpool (Liverpool 1929-1932), i
• J. Hughes Morris, The history of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists' foreign mission to the end of the year 1904 (1910)
• John Roberts, Lizzi Milnes; a Memoir of a Beloved Wife, with selections from her letters (Edinburgh 1876)
• J. Thickens, Emynau a'u Hawduriaid (1945)

Works

• John Roberts, John Jones, Cofiant y Parchedig John Elias, o Fôn (Liverpool 1850)

Additional Links

• Wikidata: Q56710503

Published date: 1959

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