INNES, JOHN (1853?-1923), accountant and antiquary;
was b. at Campbelltown, Argyleshire. His father, Robert Vertue Innes, was appointed collector of the South Wales District of Customs at Llanelly, Carms., and played a prominent part in the foundation of a higher grade school in the town c. 1863. Innes was an accountant in the service of Messrs. Nevill Druce at Llanelly. On 9 Aug. 1883, at All Saints church, Llanelly, he m. Alice Ann Mary, only child of the Alfred C. G. Rees of Oystermouth, and between 1884 and 1887 three sons were born to them. In July 1913, for health reasons, he removed to Whitchurch, near Tavistock, Devon, where he d. 7 May 1923, aged 70. He was a pioneer of the Mechanics’ Institute which was later taken over by the borough as the Llanelly Public Library. He rendered good service as chairman of the library committee for some years before his departure from the town. After delivering a number of lectures on the local history of the Llanelly district, he was persuaded to expand them into book form; and in 1902, with the co-operation of Arthur Mee, Innes published his Old Llanelly, a work of considerable literary merit containing interesting anecdotes and lighter touches as well as historical facts. Innes was also interested in photography and geology and possessed a fine collection of fossils obtained from local mines and quarries. (See the preceding article.)
Bibliography:
- South Wales Press, especially 14 Aug. 1883, June-July 1913, and 9 May 1923;
- Llanelly and County Guardian, 10 May 1923;
- Records of the Church in Wales at N.L.W.
Author:
Hywel David Emanuel, M.A., (1921-70), Aberystwyth
