DAVIES, BENJAMIN (1826-1905), Baptist minister, writer, and printer;
b. Sept. 1826 at Fishguard, son of Thomas and Naomi Davies, and baptized there in 1841. He was a printer and bookbinder, but began preaching in 1848, went to Haverfordwest Baptist College (1851-4), and ministered at Brymbo (1854-5), Salem, Ffordd-las, in Denbs. (1855-7), Birkenhead (1857-61), and Salem, Porth, Rhondda (1861-6). He then resumed in 1866 his trade as printer and publisher, at Pontypridd. He d. 5 June 1905. He was a prolific writer, more especially on the history of the Welsh Baptists. But his claim to inclusion in the present work is his enlarged edition (1885) of Joshua Thomas's famous Hanes y Bedyddwyr. Thomas (q.v.) had published his book in Welsh, but had afterwards prepared an English edition, with corrections and substantial additions. The manuscript of this edition is preserved in Bristol Baptist College, and Davies now translated it into Welsh, adding supplementary information. It is in the form which Davies gave it that modern researchers (including the writers in the present dictionary) use and cite Joshua Thomas's book.
Bibliography:
- Ser. G., 1909, 140 (autobiography), 207 (list of works).
Author:
Emeritus Professor Robert Thomas Jenkins, C.B.E., D.Litt., Ll.D., F.S.A., (1881-1969), Bangor.
