JONES, EDWARD (1834-1900), medical practitioner and local government leader
Date of birth: 1834
Date of death: 1900
Gender: Male
Occupation: medical practitioner and local government leader
Area of activity: Medicine; Politics, Government and Political Movements; Public and Social Service, Civil Administration
Author: Rhidian Griffiths
Born Dolgellau 21 January 1834 and educated at Dolgellau Grammar School and Glasgow University. He established a medical practice in Dolgellau in 1860 and served a wide area from Corris to Trawsfynydd: on New Year's Day 1883 he and his son were among those called to assist following a fatal train crash on the Friog.
He played a leading part in the public life of Dolgellau and became the leading light of the Liberal Party in the town and surrounding area. He was the first President of the Merionethshire Liberal Association and supported the county's Liberal Members of Parliament, becoming a close friend of T. E. Ellis. He was the first Chairman of Merionethshire County Council on its formation in 1889; he also served as a Justice of the Peace and was chairman of Dolgellau water and gas companies. Jones fought to establish the free library which was opened in 1893. He was also medical adviser to local friendly societies.
Jones fought hard on behalf of education in the area. He played a leading role in the establishment of Dr Williams's School for girls, and served as chairman of governors. At the same time he gave enthusiastic support for the development of the Boys' Intermediate School at Dolgellau. He also supported the English Calvinistic Methodist cause founded in 1878.
Jones died on 5 February 1900, leaving a widow and seven children - six sons and one daughter. Two of his sons, Hugh and John, also served as doctors in Dolgellau.
Author
- Rhidian Griffiths
- Y Dydd, 9 February 1900
- C. C. Green, The Coast Lines of the Cambrian Railway: Dovey Junction to Barmouth Junction and the Dolgelley Branch (1996), p. 188-9
- W. Gareth Evans, '“An oasis in the wilderness”: the establishment of Dr Williams' School, Dolgellau', Journal of the Merioneth Historical and Record Society, XII (2), 1995, 155-76
- Information supplied by his family
Sources
- NLW Archives: The Liberal Cause in Merionethshire
Further reading
- Wikidata: Q20821119
Additional Links
Published date: 2012-05-02
Article Copyright: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
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