Humphrey Rowland Jones (1832-1895)
Diwygiwr; ganed yn Gwarcwm Bach, Llancynfelyn, 11 Hydref 1832, mab Humphrey Jones ac Elisabeth, merch Huw Rowlands, Tre'rddol. Yn 1847 aethai ei rieni i America gan adael Humphrey yng ngofal ei fodryb yn Nhre'rddol. Yn 15 oed dechreuodd bregethu gyda'r Wesleyaid, ac yn 1854, wedi methu fel ymgeisydd am y weinidogaeth, aeth yntau i U.D.A. a phregethodd yno o dan nawdd y Trefnyddion Esgobol. Bu'n ddiwygiwr nerthol ymhlith y Cymry am ddwy flynydd, ac yno y cafodd ei enwi yn 'Humphrey Jones, y Diwygiwr'. Yn 1858, dychwelodd i Dre'rddol a dyna ddechrau diwygiad '59 a ymledodd dros Gymru. Ym Mhontrhydygroes, yn 1858, cyfarfu â'r Parch. David Morgan, Ysbyty, a chydlafuriodd y ddau am ysbaid; eithr yng ngwanwyn 1859 llethwyd Humphrey Jones, a bu'n glaf gorff a meddwl am flynyddoedd. Yn 1871, cyrchwyd ef at ei deulu yn America. Bu'n glaf a diallu yno am bedair blynedd, ac yna ail-ddechrau pregethu a chymryd gofal eglwysi Cymreig yn Cambria a South Bend. Bu farw yn Chilton, Wisconsin, 8 Mai 1895, a'i gladdu yn Brant, Wisconsin.
Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig (1953), tud. 441.
[Revivalist: born in Gwarcwm Bach, Llancynfelyn, 11 Oct 1832, son of Humphrey Jones and Elisabeth, daughter of Huw Rowlands, Tre'rddol . In 1847 his parents went to America, leaving him in the care of an aunt in Tre'rddol. At the age of 15 he started to preach with the Wesleyans and, in 1854, having failed as a candidate for the ministry, he too went to the U.S.A. and preached there under the auspices of the Episcopalians(?). He was a powerful revivalist amongst the Welsh for two years, and there he received the name 'Humphrey Jones, the Revivalist'. In 1858 he returned to Tre'rddol and there started the Revival of '59 that spread across Wales. In Pontrhydygroes in 1858 he met the Rev. David Morgan, Ysbyty, and worked with him for a spell; but in spring 1859 he was overwhelmed, and was sick in body and mind for years. In 1871 he returned to his family in America. He was sick and an invalid there for four years, and then recommenced preaching, and ministered to the Welsh churches in Cambria and South Bend. He died in Chilton, Wisconsin, 8 May 1895, and is buried in Brant, Wisconsin.

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William Basil (Tickell) Jones, (1822-1897)
118ed Esgob Tyddewi. Mab William Tilsley Jones o'r Gwynfryn, Llangynfelyn, sir Aberteifi, a Jane ei wraig (ferch Henry Tickell, o Leytonstone, Essex); ganed yn Cheltenham, 2 Ionawr 1822. Cafodd ei addysg yn ysgol Amwythig a Choleg y Drindod, Rhydychen, lle y bu'n ysgolor, 1840-5; enillodd un o brif wobrau clasurol y brifysgol a graddio'n B.A. yn 1844 â chlod yn yr ail ddosbarth yn y clasuron. Cymerodd ei M.A. yn 1847, bu'n gymrawd o Goleg y Frenhines ac yna o Goleg University, a chwarae rhan amlwg yng ngwiath academig y brifysgol.
Urddwyd ef yn ddiacon yn 1848 ac yn offeriad yn 1853; dilynodd ei gyfaill yr arch-esgob William Thomson i esgobaeth Caer Efrog yn 1865, a bu ganddo amryw swyddi eglwysig yno. Ar ôl treulio saith mlynedd (1867-74) yn archddiacon Caer Efrog, dyrchafwyd ef yn esgob Tyddewi yn 1874, a daliodd y swydd hyd ei farwolaeth yn Abergwili, 14 Ionawr 1897. Priododd, (1), 10 Medi 1856, Frances Charlotte, merch y Parch. Samuel Holworthy; bu hi farw'n ddiblant 21 Medi 1881; (2), 2 Rhagfyr 1886, Anne, merch G.H.Loxdale, Aigburth, ger Lerpwl. Gadawodd hi'n weddw â mab a dwy ferch. Claddwyd ef ym meddrod y teulu yn Llangynfelyn.
Parhaodd yn Nhyddewi y gwaith a gychwynnwyd gan ei ddau ragflaenydd, Thomas Burgess a Connop Thirlwall, a'i ddatblygu. Dyrchafodd safon gwaith yr esgobaeth, yn ysbrydol, yn fugeiliol, ac yn addysgol, ac ad-drefnu ei pheirianwaith. Medrai siarad Cymraeg, ond nid yn rhugl; eithr ni faliai lawer am genedligrwydd arbennig Cymru. Yr oedd yn gryn ysgolhaig, fel y dengys ei lyfrau, megis The Vestiges of the Gael in Gwynydd (1851), The History and Antiquities of S.David's (gydag E.A.Freeman), 1852-57; argraffiadau o ddrama Sophocles, Oidipws y Brenin, ac amryw bregethau ac areithiau.

The Bishop has a lengthy entry in the Dictionary of National Biography.

There is also an article in Welsh Political and Educational Leaders in the Victorian Era.

The ancestry of the Bishop is noted in Burke's Landed Gentry.

There are several pages of remininiscences about the Bishop in South Wales Squires.

Frederick Meyrick mentions the Bishop several times in his Memoirs of life at Oxford (1905)

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Dorothea Jones, "Gwynfryn", (1828-1885)
an authoress, was the daughter of Mr W.Tilsley Jones, of Gwynfryn, Cardiganshire and sister of the Bishop of St Davids. She frequently contributed to the magazines under thenom de plume of "Gwynfryn". Her best known work was "Friends in Fur and Feather"; which originally appeared in the form of essays and sketches in the Monthly Packet and Aunt Judy's Magazine. Another work of considerable power and literary finish, entitled "The Otter's Story", she inscribed to the Bishop, her brother, between whom and herself there existed the most affectionate relations.The Red Dragon
Dictionary of Eminent Welshmen, (1908)

And again, at no great distance, on high ground that overlooks the great marsh of Borth, is Gwynfryn, the home and estate of Bishop Basil Jones, of whose services to literature I have spoken elsewhere. The Bishop's sister, Miss Dora Jones, was also a writer. There used to be a charming volume called Friends in Fur and Feather, which used to delight us in childhood with its account of the birds that haunted the swamps about Borth. But I have never come across this book in later life, so I presume it shares the fate of Sir John Scourfield's topical rhymes and George Powell's sentimental verses: Ils vont sous la neige d'antan.
Herbert M.Vaughan,South Wales Squires, Methuen 1929

A full transcription of the stories in 'Friends in Fur and Feathers' is available on the site.

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Evan Isaac, (1864-1938)
Gweinidog Wesleaidd am 47 mlynedd, ac awdur. Caeth e'i eni yn Nhaliesin, a dechreuodd weithio mewn gwaith mwyn lleol yn 10 oed. Aeth e i'r De, lle gweithiodd am flynyddoedd. Dechreuodd bregethu pan oedd yn löwr yn Aberpennar. Derbyniwyd ef i'r weinidogaeth yn 1888, a gweithiodd mewn sawl gwahanol dre rhwng 1890 a'i ymneilltuad yn 1932. Cafodd e nifer o swyddi yn Nhalaith y De, yn cynnwys cadeirydd, 1918-32, llywydd y gymanfa, 1917, ac aelod o'r Cant Cyfreithiol yn y Cyfundeb Wesleyaidd. Dychwelwyd ef i Daliesin ar ôl ei ymneilltuad. Yr hwn a fu farw, di-briod, 16 Rhagfyr 1938, yn 73 mlwydd oed. Claddwyd ym mynwent newydd Llangynfelyn, mae ei faen yn cynnwys englyn dan T. Gwynne-Jones:

     "Hen gyfaill, cawn ei gofio - od yw'n fud
      Yn ei fedd yn huno,
      Ei gyngor, nis dwg ango',
      Na'i wên na'i lais annwyl o."

Roedd e awdur Prif Emynwyr Cymru (1925), Humphrey Jones a Diwygiad ’59 (1930), Coelion Cymru (1938), ac Yr Hen Gyrnol (1935). Ymhlith llyfrau Adran Dyblygion Llyfrgell Genedlaethol, mae copïau Prif Emynwyr a Humphrey Jones gyda arysgrifau i'r Athro T. Gwynn Jones oddi wrth Evan Isaac; mae'r englyn a'r llyfrau yn cyfeirio at gyfeillgarwch gyda'r bardd.

Y Bwygraffiadur Cymreig hyd 1940 (1953), 393

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Margaret Morris, (1776-1885)
DEATH OF A CARDIGANSHIRE CENTENARIAN. Our obituary column to-day contains the announcement of the death of Margaret Morris, of Tanyrallt, Taliesin, at the advanced age of 108, which took place on Thursday. She was well-known to many people for miles around, and visitors to Aberystwyth during the summer months, were in the habit of calling upon her in large numbers and frequently. Her faculties were fully retained almost up to the last, it being only during the past few weeks that her sight and hearing began to fail. She is is [sic] said to have been of a bright and intelligent disposition, and hence she was often resorted to by her neighbours within a large area as an authority as to dates when certain important events in their lives occurred, and other such matters. The deceased had also a vivid recollection of the preaching of the renowned Daniel Rowlands, of Llangeitho, and she, in company with others, walked many weary miles to enjoy the benefit of this great man. s ministrations. She was never married. By her death a well-known person has been removed from the neighbourhood of Taliesin; but she has left a name behind her as being a thoroughly religious and God-fearing person from her youth up to her death.
Aberystwyth Observer, 17 Jan. 1885, 4e

We have also included a number of other articles about Margaret Morris.

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Richard Williams Morgan (c.1815-c.1889)
(Mor Meirion, c. 1815 - c. 1889), cleric and author; b. at Llangynfelyn, Cards., about 1815, the nephew of John Williams, archdeacon of Cardigan. He was educated at S. Davids College, Lampeter. He was curate of Mochdre, Mont., from 1842-53 and in 1842 he was appointed perpetual curate of Tregynon, Mont., which he held until 1862, after which he held livings in England. He was a leading figure at eisteddfodau and 'Gorsedd y Beirdd’ He was the author of the following books : Maynooth and St. Asaph, 1848 ; Verities of the Church, 1849; Ida de Galis. A Tragedy of Powys Castle, 1851; Vindication of the Church of England: in reply to Viscount Fielding, 1851; Raymonde de Monthault, The Lord Marcher, 1853; Christianity and Modern Infidelity, 1854, reprinted New York, 1859; Scheme for the Reconstruction of the Church Episcopate and its patronage to Wales, 1855; North Wales or Venedotia, 1856; The British Kymry or Britons of Cambria, 1857, translated into Welsh by the Rev. John Williams (Ab lthel) as Hanes yr Hen Gymry, eu Defodau a’u Sefydliadau, 1858, and reprinted New York, 1860; Amddiffyniad yr iaith Gymraeg, 1858; St. Paul in Britain or the Origin of the British as opposed to Papal Christianity, a 2nd ed., 1880; Correspondence and statements of facts connected with the case of Morgan and the Bishop of St. Asaph. There is a suggestion in N.L.W. MS. 9267 (200) that he d. in 1876, but according to Crockford's Clerical Directory, 1889, he was a curate in Huntingtonshire until 1888.

N.L.W. MS. 9267 (200); Daniel Williams, Short Sketches of the Eminent Men of Cardiganshire, 20; Cardiff Catalogue', Not. W., 35. N.C.T.

The Dictionary of Welsh Biography to 1940 (1959), 393

Some extracts from The British Kymry are available on the site.

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G Parry Jenkins,F.R.A.S. (1860-1941)
Ganed yn Llancynfelin, Sir Aberteifi, yn Medi, 1860. Bank Manager yn Colwyn Bay am rai blynyddoedd, lle y bu yn seryddwr diwyd, yn arsyllu, ysgrifennu, a darlithio. Symudodd i Canada yn 1902, ac ymsefydlodd yn Toronto, lle mae yn parhau i darlitho. Heblaw bod yn F.R.A.S., ac yn aelod o'r Gymdeithas Seryddol Brydeinig, mae hefyd yn Gymrodor o Gymdeithas Seryddol Canada. Yr oedd yn aelod o'r Canadian Eclipse Expedition, Labrador, yn 1905. Bu am rai blynyddoedd yn Is-Lywydd Cymdeithas Seryddol Cymru, ac mae yn seryddwr o'r iawn ryw, ac yn ddiwyd a gweithgar o blaid y wyddoniaeth, yn enwedig drwy ddarlithio.

Eminent amateur astronomer, moved to Canada in 1902.

Seryddiaeth a Seryddwyr,gan y Parch J Silas Evans, Caerdydd, 1923, tud 285.
Mae adysgrifiad y pennod llawn ar gael ar wefan Bryn Jones ar Hanes Seryddiaeth yng Nghymru.
An English translation of the whole chapter by Rhys Morris is available on Bryn Jones' site on the history of Welsh Astronomy.

We also have several other short notes about him. There is also a transcript of some of his reminiscences of life in Taliesin from the Cambrian News.

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Deio ap Ieuan Ddu (fl. 1460-1480), Bardd.

Dywaid ef ei hun mai yn y Creuddyn, Ceredigion, yr oedd ei gartref, a gelwir ef yn y llawysgrifau yn “Deio Du o Benadeiniol”. Canodd i uchelwyr Morgannwg, Ceredigion, Meirionnydd, a Dinbych. Y mwyaf diddorol o wrthrychau ei fawl oedd Gruffudd Fychan o Gorsygedol, un o gefnogwyr mwyaf pybyr Saisbar Tudur yn y blynyddoedd 1460-8. Deio ab Ieuan Du yw awdur y llinell “Y ddraig goch ddyry cychwyn”; y mae’n digwydd mewn cywydd i ofyn am darw yn rhodd gan Siôn ap Rhys o Lyn Nedd. Cân Deio yn null celfydd a glanwaith beirdd canol y 15fed ganrif. Gorchestion Beirdd Cymru, 1773, 168-88; Mynegai i Farddoniaeth y Llawysgrifau, 1928.

Y bywgraffiadur Cymreig hyd 1940 (1953), 155

Yn ôl sawl ffynhonau, ganwyd ef yn Llangynfelyn, nid y Creuddyn. Mae sawl erthyglau eraill ac enghreifftiau o'i waith ar y tudalen hwn ac yn Meyrick's Cardiganshire.
According to some sources he was born in Llangynfelyn, not y Creuddyn. There are several more articles and examples of his work on this page and in Meyrick's Cardiganshire.

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David Thomas (1858-1919), Gweinidog

DAVID THOMAS (B) : born at Tre'rddol, Cardiganshire, July 15, 1858. Under the influence of family religion, and the religious atmosphere of the neighbourhood, he gave his heart to God early in life, and was accepted as a Candidate for our Ministry in 1881. After a course of training at Handsworth, he spent his ministry in Wales. He was a very acceptable and profitable preacher, his sermons being well prepared, evangelical in tone, and delivered with enthusiasm and force. With marked regularity and method all his pastoral duties were carried out faithfully and with much success. In 1918 he was compelled to become a Supernumerary after thirty-four years of active service. He bore his protracted affliction with Christian patience and fortitude, and peacefully passed away at Dolgelley on December 2, 1919, in the thirty-fifth year of his ministry and the sixty-first of his life.

Minutes of Conference, 1920, p. 119 (minutes of the annual conference of the Methodist Church).

Contributed by David Rowlands: Original source: Methodist Archives and Research Centre, John Rylands University Library of Manchester. The help of Dr Peter Nockles of the Library in extracting this item is acknowledged.