MORGAN, DAVID JENKINS (1884 - 1949), teacher and agricultural officer

Born at Blaendewi, Llanddewibrefi, Cardiganshire, 23 September 1884, the second child and eldest son of Rhys Morgan, minister of Bethesda church (CM) in the village, and Mary his wife (née Jenkins). On the last day of August 1887 he entered the local board school, six days after his sister who was fourteen months his senior; he remained there until 14 May 1897. Tregaron county school was opened in the town hall three days later. His mother was one of the governors of the new school, and he started there on the first day. From Tregaron he went to college at Aberystwyth. He was appointed science master in his old school but returned to college to pursue a course in agriculture; he graduated B.Sc. in 1907. Afterwards he was appointed agricultural officer for Cardiganshire, a post which he occupied during the two World Wars. During his period as a teacher in Tregaron he co-operated with Samuel Morris Powell in writing, producing and acting in plays which depicted the history of the district; he usually played the part of the hero. After his appointment to the agricultural post, he settled in Lampeter and from there travelled to all parts of Cardiganshire, acquainting himself with its history and traditions. He gained the deep affection and trust of farmers. His vehicle, a Morgan three-wheeler, was a familiar sight along the highways and most remote by-ways of the county. His influence on the county's agriculture was enormous. His weekly essays in The Welsh Gazette under the title ' Pant a bryn ' are a valuable source on the development of agriculture and social life in Cardiganshire during the first half of the twentieth century. They were written in a lively style. A selection of these essays was published in Pant a bryn (1953).

He married 7 July 1915, Annie, daughter of John and Jane Jones, Tŷ-llwyd, Brynmawr (originally from Swyddffynnon). He died suddenly on 18 May 1949 at Charing Cross Hospital, London. His body was cremated at Golders Green and his ashes were returned to Llanddewibrefi for burial.

Author

• Evan David Jones, (1903 - 1987)

Sources

• The Welsh Gazette, 26 May 1949
• information from Mair Livingstone

Additional Links

• Wikidata: Q20821415

Published date: 2001

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