Thomas Jones (

1756 Events January–March * January 16 – The Anglo-Prussian alliance (1756)#Treaty, Treaty of Westminster is signed between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Prussia, guaranteeing the neutrality of the Electorate of Hanover, c ...

– 16 June

1820 Events January–March *January 1 – A constitutionalist military insurrection at Cádiz leads to the summoning of the Spanish Parliament to meet on March 7, becoming the nominal beginning of the "Trienio Liberal" in History of Spain (1 ...

), called "Thomas Jones of Denbigh" (in Welsh, "Thomas Jones o Ddinbych") to differentiate him from namesakes, was a Welsh Methodist clergyman, writer, editor and poet, active in North

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Life history

Thomas Jones was born in 1756 at

Aberwheeler Aberwheeler () is a village and community (Wales), community in the Wales, Welsh county of Denbighshire, located on the south bank of the River Wheeler (), north east of Denbigh, north west of Mold, Flintshire, Mold and north of Ruthin. At ...

in Denbighshire, but was educated at

Caerwys Caerwys is a town and community in Flintshire, Wales. It is just under two miles from the A55 North Wales Expressway and one mile from the A541 Mold-Denbigh road. At the 2001 Census, the population of Caerwys community was 1,315, with a tota ...

and

Holywell Holywell may refer to: England * Holywell, Bedfordshire * Holywell, Cambridgeshire * Holywell, Cornwall * Holywell, Dorset * Holywell, Eastbourne, East Sussex * Holywell, Gloucestershire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Ho-Hoo#Hol, location in ...

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

. In 1783 he became a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

preacher. At around the same time, he became acquainted with

Thomas Charles Thomas Charles (14 October 17555 October 1814) was a Wales, Welsh Calvinistic Methodist clergyman of considerable importance in the history of modern Wales. Early life Charles was born in the parish of Llanfihangel Abercywyn, near St Clears, Ca ...

of Bala, who influenced him greatly. Jones worked with Charles to devise the "Rules and Design of the … Welsh Methodists" (1801) and both edited the Welsh-language periodical, '' Y Drysorfa while the publication was still in its quarterly form.Davies (2008), pg 433. In 1795 he married Elizabeth Jones, but she died two years later. Inheriting her fortune, he remarried in 1804. His second wife also died, and he married a third time in 1806, to a Mary Lloyd. In 1811 he was ordained a Calvinistic Methodist minister. He wrote many hymns, and was highly active within his denomination. Jones was married three times, first to Elizabeth Jones, of Mold, in 1795; Elizabeth died in 1797. He married Ann Maysmor of Llanelidan in 1804, and following her death married Mary Lloyd of Llanrwst, in 1806. He died on 16 June 1820.

Works

Thomas Jones made significant contribution in content and style to Welsh theology. He was a strong opponent of Arminianism, which was prominent among the Wesleyans, and translated ''The Christian in Complete Amor'' (1655–1662) by Williams Gurnal into Welsh under the title The Cristian in Full Armor (1796–1820). His masterpiece is the huge volume he published in 1813 on the history of Protestant Martyrs Theologians, Martyrs, and confessors of the Church of England (or ''History of the Martyrs''). With

of Bala he was editor of the ''Spiritual Treasure'', which first came out in 1799 as a quarterly publication. He also wrote a number of hymns, including "I Know my Buyer is alive" and "Oh! Lead my soul into the waters". Jones wrote an autobiography (1814) and a memoir of his friend Thomas Charles. He published a fairly standard English and Welsh dictionary in 1800. He was also a poet; "To the Birds Thrush" (1773) is the best example of his poems. Jones printed a substantial part of his work on a press which he set up at his home in Ruthin in 1804. He sold the press to Thomas Gee the elder, father of the famous printer

Thomas Gee Thomas Gee (24 January 181528 September 1898), was a Welsh Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist preacher, journalist and publisher. Gee was born in Denbigh, Wales. At the age of fourteen he went into his father's printing office, Gwasg ...

, in 1813.

Works

*''English and Welsh Dictionary'' (1800)

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Thomas, of Denbigh 1756 births 1820 deaths Welsh-language writers Welsh writers Welsh Presbyterian ministers People from Denbigh 19th-century Welsh Methodist ministers 18th-century Welsh Methodist ministers 18th-century British Presbyterian ministers 19th-century British Presbyterian ministers