GRAVELL, DAVID (1787-1872), farmer, herbalist, and publisher;
b. 3 June 1787, son of Thomas and Mary Gravell of Cwmfelin, in the parish of Llandyfaelog, Carms. He took to religion under the ministry of David Peter (q.v.) of Carmarthen. As a young man he suffered from bad health and this led him to experiment with herbal remedies; at the same time, he made the most of his friendship with (Sir) David Daniel Davis (q.v.), the royal physician who was a native of the parish and whose father was a deacon in Pen-y-graig church. There are still people who remember ‘Gravell of Cwmfelin's Oil.’ He published at least six books: Caniadau Seion, 1847, comprising over 1,200 Welsh hymns, twenty-one anthems, and a number of English hymns; Crist yn Llawn Perlau, sef Egwyddoreg, 1855; Hynafiaethau Cristionogol, sef Hanes yr Eglwys, 1859; Corph o Ddiwinyddiaeth wedi ei Ddethol o Catecism Cymanfa Westminster, 1862; Crefydd Gymdeithasol, neu Gydymaith y Cristion gan y Parch. Mathias Maurice gyda Byrdraeth; Bywyd David Gravell ynghyd a Hanes Eglwys Penygraig, 1865; Athrawiaeth Pabaidd-Esgobol yn cael ei Gwrth-brofi, 1871. Among the Caniadau Seion there are a few hymns written by himself but they are very ordinary and lack popular appeal. He regarded himself as an elder, not as a deacon, of Pen-y-graig Independent church and in his later years his views on church government were a sore trial to his minister, Joseph Jarvis, and there were frequent tussles between him and David Rees (1801-1869) (q.v.), of Llanelly on the same point. He had a deep-seated interest in education and it was chiefly through his generosity that the British school at Idole near Pen-y-graig was built. He was a bachelor, and lived all his life at Cwmfelin. He d. 15 Aug. 1872 and was buried in Pen-y-graig burial ground.
Bibliography:
- H.E.A.C., iii, 444;
- W. A. Griffiths, Hanes Emynwyr Cymru, 162-3.
Author:
Rev. Tom Beynon, (1886-1961), Aberystwyth
