Griffith Jones

1683-1761. Welsh preacher. Born a Nonconformist in Carmarthenshire, he was ordained in the established church in 1709, served two curacies, and was rector of Llandilo Abercowyn from 1711 and of Llanddowror from 1716. A traveling preacher and keen to improve religious and social conditions in Wales, he established in 1730 his first charity school, where children and adults were taught by day and night to read the Bible in Welsh; education grew despite ecclesiastical opposition. Teachers traveled a circuit and schools multiplied: before his death over 3,000 schools were opened and 150,000 taught. Jones had strong Calvinist leanings and wrote many theological books in Welsh and English. Daniel Rowland* of Llangeitho, founder of Welsh Methodism, was supposedly converted under his ministry.