GRIFFITH, WILLIAM (1801-1881), Independent minister and hymn-writer,
younger son of John Griffith (1752-1818) (q.v.), b. 12 Aug. 1801 at Glan-yr-afon, Llanfaglan, Caerns., was at Neuadd-lwyd and Carmarthen, and was in 1822 ordained minister at Holyhead, where he remained for the rest of his life, declining calls to important churches in London, Liverpool, Carmarthen, and other places. His long ministry was of great importance in the history of Independency in Anglesey, and he himself became one of the leaders of his denomination in North Wales. His connections with Moravianism are of great interest. His mother was a niece of William Griffith (1719-1782) (q.v.) of Drws-y-coed, Caerns., and his association with that family led to his marriage (1843) with Alicia Evans, grand-daughter of the same William Griffith. The marriage was solemnized at Bristol Moravian chapel, and the bride's aunt, Mary Griffith, a Moravian ‘labouress,’ came to live with the married pair at Holyhead, where she d. in 1847. Mrs. Griffith d. 21 March 1865. Their son, Sir John Purser Griffith, is separately noticed.
Bibliography:
- E. Cynffig Davies, Cofiant y Parch. William Griffith, Caergybi, 1883;
- Cymm., xlv, 119-20, 152-3.
Author:
Emeritus Professor Robert Thomas Jenkins, C.B.E., D.Litt., Ll.D., F.S.A., (1881-1969), Bangor.
