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Wales (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Wales => Monmouthshire => Topic started by: tsumi on Wednesday 21 June 06 17:57 BST (UK)
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My grt grandfather was a baptist minister circa 1870-1930,and I believe he studied at Pontypool University .Has anyone any ideas how I could find out more about his life and studies while there ,he was born 1843 in Swansea ,but moved to Cardiff 1850,s .I don,t live anywhere near so travel would be a factor .
Many thanks for your time .
Tsumi
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Hi Tsumi
Not very helpful of me, but there definitely wasn't a Pontypool university! :)
There was certainly a lot of Nonconformity in that area, however and I have no idea how you "train" to be a Baptist minister - I wonder if it could be done "on the job"?
Do you have him on censuses - that would be a start?
kind regards, Arranroots ;)
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This site looks as though it accepts enquiries by mail:
http://www.walesontheweb.org/cayw/collections/en/699771
Welsh Baptist Union Collection
The Library of the Welsh Baptist Union is located at the Union's Headquarters at Mansel Street, Swansea. There are over 1,000 books in the Library including Bibles, hymn books, sermons, ministers' biographies and the history of the Baptist Church. There are also programmes of services celebrating Baptist chapel and church centenaries, memorial volumes, reports of Baptist Unions, and council programmes from the end of the eighteenth century onwards. There are complete sets of the periodicals 'Seren Gomer: Cylchgrawn Undeb Bedyddwyr Cymru' (1814-1983) and 'Seren Cymru', and some runs of other Welsh religious periodicals. Although some recent materials are kept, the collection is mainly a historical one reflecting the development of the Welsh Baptist Union.
A ;)
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There are references here to a Baptist training college in Pontypool - sounds promising!
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0lg/
A ;)
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Many thanks you have given me a lot to go on ,plenty of reading and writing,
Cheers Tsumi
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It might be worth putting a question on the Occupations board.
Link to this thread by pasting the URL at the top to save typing!
Let us know what you find out, please - very interesting!
kind regards, Arranroots ;)
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Thank you very muchFor all your help and knowledge , I have done what you suggest, and will put a posting if and when I find out more
Cheers Tsumi
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The Pontypool Seminary/Training College, was the Baptist Training College for Wales until about 1891 when it moved to Cardiff, where it still is, at
54-58 Richmond Rd
Cardiff, CF24 3UR, Wales, United Kingdom
+44 29 20256066 www.swbc.org.uk .
If you contact them, they have a full list of the yearbooks, and should be able to find Samuel Davey Thomas and also the churches where he subsequently was a minister. The college is in fact department of the Unversity of Cardiff, with whom it shares lecturers and staff
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Have sent them an email,fingers crossed.
Thank you so much for your time.
Tsumi :)
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Hi Tsumi,
I've tried to record all the ministers who have served baptist Churches in this area and the info I have on S D Thomas is:
THOMAS SAMUEL DAVEY
PONTYPOOL location of the Baptist College which moved to Cardiff
Ministries in:
Waterford 1868-1871
Wrexham 1874-1877
Walton Suffolk 1877-1882
Union King's Lynn 1882-1889
Aberdeen 1889-1901
Earlstown 1901-1906
Lliswerry Newport 1911-1926
b30.6.1841 d 1.4.1930
This information comes from various Baptist Union Handbooks.
Hope it all helps,
Regards
Rev Bob Evans
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Hello Rev Bob - welcome to Rootschat! :)
We always give an extra special welcome to people who come bearing gifts! I hope you stick around, though and that we can help you in return.
Kind regards, Arranroots ;)
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Many thanks for your time and help Rev Bob.
I did contact the Pontypool Training College,about getting details of Rev Sam D Thomas, education,but to date I have heard nothing from them .
Maybe time to ask them again.
Cheers Tsumi :)
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The Pontypool Seminary/Training College, was the Baptist Training College for Wales until about 1891 when it moved to Cardiff, where it still is, at
54-58 Richmond Rd
Cardiff, CF24 3UR, Wales, United Kingdom
+44 29 20256066 www.swbc.org.uk .
If you contact them, they have a full list of the yearbooks, and should be able to find Samuel Davey Thomas and also the churches where he subsequently was a minister. The college is in fact department of the Unversity of Cardiff, with whom it shares lecturers and staff
Tsumi - if you wrote to Pontypool Baptist Training College, then you're over 100 years too late - as I said, it moved to Cardiff about 1891. However, I think Rev Bob Evans has already done your work for you - the list thta he provides looks like the information one would get from the annual handbooks, which, as I said are all held at the cardiff Baptist Training College. The only other information which might be added to it is by looking at the handbook for the year after his death, when the college generally produced an obituary which summarised all his previous career. Otherwise, I would look for information in the local papers and Public Record offices of the areas where Bob Evans says he ministered
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Hi Tsumi
Please find attached the obituary of Rev S D Thomas from the 1931 Baptist Union Handbook.
Hope it helps.
Blessings
Rev Bob
Moderator comment: image cropped to fit page.
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Hi all,
Sorry I should have said Cardiff ,when I put Pontypool College,as the one I contacted a while ago.
Many, Many, thanks Rev Bob for your kindness and time.
Good luck with your own research.
Cheers Tsumi
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Rev Bob, you're a real star!
The only thing I can add is that Lliswerry Baptist Church , which is near Newport, South Wales, has a web-site which can be contacted at
http://www.lliswerrybaptist.org.uk/
They probably have some written information about S D Thomas, and maybe a photograph, though of course, there are unlikely to be any of the members alive there now who remember him
Bob - since you clearly have access to the Baptist College library, do you have anything on the Rev Alexander Evans, my great, great uncle,who was brought up as a member of Ramoth Baptist Chapel Hirwaun, ( and wrote a history of Ramoth). He was minister at St Mellons,near Cardiff then King St, Blaenavon, and finally Builth Wells? He died on April 20th 1938 ansd I belive that his obituary is in the Baptist Handbook of 1939.
Diolch yn fawr
Alwyn
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Hi Alwyn21,
Please find attached the required obituary. Whilst I have access to the small Baptist College archive, I have most of the directories at home. However, the Library at South Wales baptist College contains a large number of individual church histories, and there is usually a review of their ministers in them. There is no mention of Al;exander Evans in Huw Matthews recent history of the College, nor in Brynmor Pierce-Jones "Sowing Besides All Waters, but there may be something about him in Caersalem Baptist, St Mellons, Church History 1794-1984 by Russell Williams.
Happy hunting - Blessings
Rev Bob
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Alwyn21 - Here is a photo of the pastor and deacons of Caersalem Baptist in St Mellons from
the period 1910-1920 and the central figure may well be the pastor Rev Alexander Evans
who would have been 48 in 1920. Do you recognize him ?
Rev Bob - My greatgrandfather Samuel Williams of Hermon, Nantyglo was a
Baptist minister and died in November 1876. I am told he is
mentioned in the Baptist Union handbook of 1878. Any chance of a copy ?
thanks,
Robert
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Hello All,
I bet those of you, that can identify a relation on those photographs can,t believe their good luck!
Thanks Alwyn for the link.
I had contacted the Pastor Harry Place,at Lliswerry, some time ago ,unfortunately he was unable to help me.
I then got in contact with Glamorgan archives and they very kindly sent me a 4/5 page piece on The Little Church of Lliswerry.
It was quite informative about the Church,s early years ,but stopped at 1911,when my Grt Grandfather began his Ministry there.
Cheers Tsumi
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Thanks for the photo Graff,
I don't have many directories before 1900, just a few bits & pieces.
They show me that Samuel Williams was the minister at Nantyglo during 1862, that he died 10th November 1876 and that he may have an obituary in 1874 - I don't have that one, so you need to try a large library.
Hope it helps
Blessings
Rev Bob
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Very many thanks indeed Rev Bob. Indeed it was "better the day,better the deed" in your case! Yes, that's him, the son of John Evans, senior deacon in Ramoth for many years. I have a battered copy of his book " Hanes Eglwys Ramoth" ( History of Ramoth Church) which my cousin, who doesn't speak Welsh, somehow acquired and passed on to me. The only other copy I've seen was in the natuonal Library of Wales. I'm surprised to learn that Alexander Evans had a married daughter, and will now try to find out more about her.
And what a lovely surprise, Graff, in the photograph - yes, very certainly that's Alexander Evans. I only have a very poor copy of another photo but the family likeness is unmistakeable.Where did you get it?
Vey many thanks to both of you - it's been a good day!
Very many thanks to both of you. If I can find out more for anyone, let me know.
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Thanks, Rev Bob, for your help.
Alwyn - I have another photo, taken a few years earlier, of the Baptist
Juvenile Choir at Caersalem, with the same man at the centre.
My mother was one of the choirgirls - our family were at
Church Farm in Llanedern.
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Hi all
I hope you dont mind me comming on your post tsumi but I was interested in the liswerry baptist church, my grandfather has a tablet on the wall in the church and when I clicked onto the churchs site I found it its on there his name was Arthur Weare.
I dont suppose there are any photos of my grandfather.
Thank you Rev Bob
Regards Lynne
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Graff - this is astonishing! Any chance of getting a better copy than I can take off the web of these two photos? I'm at Moderator comment: email address removed to prevent spamming and other abuses. Please use the Personal Message system to exchange such info. Thanks
Alwyn21
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Graf -
Fantastic photo of the pastor and deacons. Do you have any other photos related to St Mellons Baptist?
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Hello! I wonder if anyone shall see this seeing as this forum appears to have last been contributed to in 2008.... but I've been doing some family history research and came across it as Rev Alexander Evans is my great great grandfather.
Alwyn, it's funny you mention curiosity about Alexander's married daughter! That would be Sarah Edna Janet Evans, my great grandmother, who died in 2004 and I just about remember her! Happy to connect and talk more if somehow, 15 years later, you see this message and are interested.
Imogen.