Michael Daniel Jones (2 March 1822 – 2 December 1898) was a Welsh Congregationalist minister and principal of a theological college, but is best remembered as a founder of the Welsh settlement in

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

known as Y Wladfa and as one of the fathers of modern Welsh nationalism. Jones was born in

Llanuwchllyn Llanuwchllyn () is a village and Community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, Wales, near the southern end of Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid). It is one of the most sparsely populated communities in Wales. The electoral ward includes the small settlement ...

Merioneth Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is an anglicisation of the Welsh placename ''Mei ...

(

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

) in 1822. After training for the ministry at the Presbyterian College in

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 ...

and afterwards at Highbury College, London, he spent about eighteen months in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio, where he was ordained to the Christian ministry. He returned to Wales and in 1850 he was inducted minister at Bwlchnewydd and Gibeon in Carmarthenshire, before succeeding his father as the principal of Bala Independent College in 1855. His name is closely linked with the attempt to establish a Welsh settlement in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, in the 1860s where Welsh would be the language of religion, government, trade, and education. The 150th anniversary (28 July 1865) of this Welsh-Argentine settlement in Rawson, Chubut Argentina was celebrated in 2015. In

1889 Events January * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the Dakotas ...

, Jones became a member of the first Merionethshire County Council, although he had a majority of only eight votes over his Conservative opponent. Jones is recognised as the first to advocate a political solution to defending Welsh identity and therefore is seen as one of the most significant forerunners of Welsh nationalism.

References

Sources

* See also the collections of essays on his life and work, ''Michael D. Jones a'i Wladfa Gymreig'', ed. E. Wyn James and Bill Jones (Llanrwst: Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 2009). * * Dafydd Tudur, 'The Life, Thought and Work of Michael Daniel Jones (1822-1898)', University of Wales, Bangor, PhD thesis, 2006. * E. Wyn James, 'Michael D. Jones and His Visit to Patagonia in 1882', in ''Los Galeses en la Patagonia V'', ed. Fernando Coronato & Marcelo Gavirati (Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina: Asociación Punta Cuevas, Asociación Cultural Galesa de Puerto Madryn & Centro de Estudios Históricos y Sociales de Puerto Madryn, 2012. . In English and in Spanish. *

External links

Project-Hiraeth – Documents the stories of the Welsh colony in Patagonia, Argentina through film, text and illustration.
*
Michael Jones on Ceredigion County Council website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Michael D. 1822 births 1898 deaths People from Llanuwchllyn Welsh pioneer settlers in Patagonia Welsh nationalists Councillors in Wales Welsh Congregationalist ministers Welsh-speaking clergy