GRIFFITHS, JOHN (1731-1811), Independent minister, and schoolmaster;
b. at Castell Garw, Llanglydwen, Pembs., in 1731. He spent some time at a school kept by Tasker at Haverfordwest. Later, he himself opened a school at Glandŵr, Pembs. Some years after having been admitted to church membership at Glandŵr he started preaching there. In Oct. 1754 he went to Carmarthen Academy but, when the split occurred there, he and four others left and went to Abergavenny Academy (1756), which seems to show that his views were those of an evangelical Calvinist. He was ordained at Glandŵr, 30 June 1759 and also had charge of the churches at Rhydyceisiaid and Pen-y-groes. His school for the preparation of candidates for the ministry was one of the notable educational establishments of his time; it carried on the tradition of the small academies. He was considered a good scholar and an able teacher. Many young men entered the ministry by way of Glandŵr. He published an elegy, a catechism, and some pamphlets. He retired in 1803 and d. 12 Nov. 1811. His son, William Griffiths (1777-1825), is separately noticed.
Bibliography:
- Hanes … y Parch. John Griffiths, Glandwr, ynghyd ag eiddo y Parch. W. Griffiths, ei fab;
- H.E.A.C., iii, 45-7, 51, 52-4;
- Y Diwygiwr, 1868;
- N.L.W. MSS. 10327 (Walter J. Evans).
Author:
Rev. John Dyfnallt Owen, M.A., (1873-1956), Aberystwyth
