Richard Thomas (10 December 1753 – 1780) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

Anglican priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and antiquarian.

Life

Thomas, who was the younger brother of the priest and antiquarian

John Thomas John Thomas is the name of: Politics United Kingdom * John Thomas (c. 1490–1540/42), British Member of Parliament for Truro * John Thomas (c. 1531–1581/90), British Member of Parliament for Mitchell * John Thomas (British politician) (1 ...

, was born on 10 December 1753 in Ynyscynhaearn,

Caernarfonshire Caernarfonshire (; , ), previously spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, 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. Geography The county ...

, 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 ...

. Like his elder brother, he studied at the Friars School and

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 ...

before being ordained. His brother John died in 1769, bequeathing him his collection of manuscripts; the manuscripts were used by the editors of the ''

Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales ''The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales'' is a printed collection of medieval Welsh literature, published in three volumes by the Gwyneddigion Society between 1801 and 1807. Until John Gwenogvryn Evans produced diplomatic editions of the important me ...

''. Some of his genealogical manuscripts were sold to the

College of Heralds The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

. Thomas obtained his BA degree in 1775 and was

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

Llanegryn Llanegryn is a village and a community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It was formerly part of the historic county of Merionethshire (). It is located within Snowdonia () national park, south of the mountain range of the same name. Travelling by r ...

Merionethshire Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is a ...

, in late 1777, where he was also the schoolmaster. From there, he was able to reach the library at

Peniarth Peniarth is a village in the community of Meifod, Powys, Wales. It is 87.1 miles (140.2 km) from Cardiff and 156.9 miles (252.5 km) from London. It is represented in the Senedd by Russell George (Conservative). It is part of the Montgo ...

, which contained a number of important manuscripts; he said in a letter to the antiquarian

Owen Jones Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a left-wing British newspaper columnist, commentator, journalist, author and political activist. He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'', ''Tribune (magazine), Tribune ...

in 1778 that he had been asked to make a catalogue of the contents of the library. He died in 1780 in

Ruthin Ruthin ( ; ) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and Rhewl. The name comes from the Welsh ''rhud ...

, having been the curate there since at least 1779.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Robert 1753 births 1780 deaths 18th-century Welsh Anglican priests Welsh antiquarians People educated at Friars School, Bangor Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford People from Caernarfonshire