Translation
of an article on Samuel Samuel Jones, from 'Cymru' 1915 (Oriel Ffestiniog)
S.
S. Jones was Margaret Jones' brother and son of Anne Jones (nee Tyson)
The
genial businessman
|
"Llun dyn
yn llawn doniau - a gefais I'w gofio yn ddiau; Ef a gaiff ei fyw goffau Yn
weddus o'i rinweddau." |
Picture a man
full of talents which I came to remember surely; He it was whose life was
commemorated Seemly in all his virtues |
That
is how Gwilym Mechell wrote in a portrait of Mr Samuel Samuel Jones -
Diphwysfab (Bardic name), The Don, High Street, Blaenau Ffestiniog, when Mr
Jones was in Upper Lehigh, Pensylvania, America, in March 1890; and the above
is a portrait of the same good man as he is now after the passing of the years
since. The son of Samuel and Anne
Jones, he was born in Allt y Foel, Llanddeiniolen on 24 February 1857, and
vigour, cheerfulness and liveliness of life in the face of passing time are
obvious characteristics.
His
father, on his mother's side (i.e.e S S Jones' paternal grandmother) was
descended from the old family of the Lloyds of Gorddinen, Dolwyddelen; and on
his father's side from the ancient family of Penrhiw, by the river from
Gorddinen; families descending from Hedd Moelwynog of the stock of the famous
family of Tan y Castell nearby. About
50 years ago the parents moved from Allt y Foel to Blaenau Ffestiniog, when
Samuel was about 8 years old. At that
time Blaenau had scarcely begun to develop.
The family were not long in the place before they earned the trust and
respect of the local people and Samuel Jones was made deacon of the Seion
baptist church.
Samuel
the son would walk from fourcrosses to the church school of Llwyngell - the
only school in Blaenau at that time, which was kept by Mr Richards, under the
patronage of the late Hon. Mrs Oakeley.
After a time a number of zealous non-conformists in the area set up the
British School in Dol y Garreg Ddu, with the late Mr John Cadwaladr as
schoolmaster - later secretary of the School Board of the area; and there went
Samuel with a crowd of other children for the rest of his elementary
education. While fairly young he went
to work in the slate quarry like the majority of local boys; but that
environment did not suit his temperament and when he was 18 he left home for
Manchester for the sake of the additional opportunities he would have there to
perfect his English. After a short time
there we find him promoted to an important position in the store of Mr Rylands
and son. It was remarkable how quickly
he gained the respect and trust of the group he turned to, and above all he
guarded his religious faith in the midst of many temptations of the city. At this period we find him a member of
several literary societies, winning prizes in Haywood Street, Medlock Street,
Oldham and other places.
After
spending some years in Manchester and taking advantage of every opportunity to
improve himself, he returns to the old place, he was a well known member of
Seion chapel, filling the post of secretary and superintendant of the sunday
school for years. Several times he was
strongly encouraged to begin preaching, but all these attempts were in
vain. At this time he lost his father,
who met with a accident in Oakeley quarry.
Happily married to the second daughter of Llewelyn and Margaret Roberts
in 1887, he decided to emmigrate to the USA and there began to preach, and
quickly became a proved and popular preacher.
He was called to be pastor to the Welsh Baptist Church in Freeland,
Pennsylvania and he won the affection and the hearts of the church and
congregation immediately and became a favourite with them. Backsliders returned and a host of new
members was added to the flock in that place.
His services were called upon from near and far throughout the union and
many people flooded to listen to him speaking eloquently of the saviour of lost
sinners and he had the priviledge of helping dozens of prodigal sons from the
old country to the safety of the shelter of the death on the cross.
Having
ministered in Freeland therefore with great success in his work, a strong
desire came over him to return to the old country and with great cheer the
church allowed him 3 months leave to come over and he gave a promise to return
in August if God wished him to. Saying
farewell to him on April 15 1891 Gwilym Mechell wrote the following verse:
|
" O mor hoff fydd gweld y bwthyn |
"Oh how dear it will be to see the
cottage |
He
had a pleasant journey crossing over to the old home in Blaenau, and there was great
joy in seeing his friends there. When
the time drew near to return to Freeland Mrs Jones was very unwilling to go
over with her husband and he sent word to explain the circumstances and to give
up the church. So now Mr Jones settled
down to stay in Blaenau and to minister to the churches round about on the
Sabath. Before long he went into
business. He began in a small way but
by now has one of the biggest and most beautiful stores in the whole area,
built by himself, and 'S S Jones' is a family name in the whole area.
Although
he was very busy with his varied and expanding trade he nevertheless considered
the patriotic, civic and religious needs of the area. He was on the Board of Guardians (Fwrdd y Gwarcheidwaid) for
several years and his warm heartedness both as a trader and minister made him
especially suiltable to fill the post in a worthy manner.
Very
often he was asked to stand on the public boards in the town but he positively
refused on the grounds that his trade took up all his time. As a baptist he brought great zeal for his
denomination and in 1913 he was chairman of the Baptist Union of Conwy Valley
and Ffestiniog, and delivered a truly powerful and eloquent address from the
chair in Abergele on 'The Awareness of the Divine' until he carried all before
him. Mr Jones is a safe and a ready
leader in the world and in the church and a staunch and enlightened Liberal.
Geoff Thomas
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