John Islan Jones (17 February 1874 – 28 May 1968) was a Welsh Unitarian minister, academic and writer.

Life

Jones was born on 17 February 1874 in

Cardiganshire Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a county in the west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Ab ...

, south Wales. He was educated locally in Cribyn and Llanwnnen, studying with the poet David Thomas ("Dewi Hefin") until he was about 10 years old. He then worked as a farm servant and a stonemason until 1896, when he attended a school in Cribyn run by a Unitarian minister called David Evans, leaving in 1898 with a scholarship to

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

. After graduating in 1901, he transferred to Manchester College, Oxford to study for ordination. He won a scholarship to

Marburg University The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protes ...

and

Jena University The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is c ...

, but illness meant that he had to leave Germany before his doctorate was complete. He was a Unitarian minister in

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

from 1906 to 1909,

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

from 1909 to 1917 and Hindley from 1917 to 1939. He then retired to Wales, but was asked in 1945 to become Principal of

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

Presbyterian College, a post he held until 1948. His writings included ''A brief history of the Unitarian Church, Accrington'' (1909), ' (1948), and a prize-winning volume of reminiscences, ' (1958). He died on 28 May 1968.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, John Islan 1874 births 1968 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Alumni of Harris Manchester College, Oxford Welsh Unitarians 20th-century Unitarian clergy Welsh non-fiction writers Welsh scholars and academics Welsh-speaking clergy