Timothy Davis was born about 1786^[1] at Pentresion Farm in the parish of Lampeter, Cardiganshire. His parents were Thomas Davies of Pentresion and Mary Beynon of Bettws Bledrws.^[2] In his teenage years, Davis received a classical education at Castell Hywel school, which was owned by his uncle, David Davis of Castellhywel. After his training there, he left for the Presbyterian College in Carmarthen where he studied from 1805–1807.^[3] Rev. Davis ended his studies at the college prematurely when he married Anne, the widow of a minister at Penygraig Chapel. The couple remained in Carmarthen for a few more years and had two children, Thomas and David Francis. They then left to Swansea and then to Oldbury, near Birmingham, in 1812. In Oldbury, they had two more children, Maria and Emma.

How did Rev. Davis, who grew up in Cardiganshire, end up at Oldbury in Birmingham? When he arrived in 1812, he did so as a successor to the Rev. Samuel Griffiths, who was the minister of the Unitarian Meeting House from 1808–1812.^[4] Rev. Griffiths had also been a graduate of the Presbyterian College at Carmarthen. Specifically, he was in the year above Rev. Davis, so they were students at the college at the same time. It is likely that this connection led Rev. Davis to his position at Oldbury.

The Unitarians did not have a central organization, as did the Church of England, to assign ministers where they were needed. New ministers were contacted, sometimes by letter, by the current minister or by the congregation, to ask them to join them. An example of such a letter comes from the Memoir of Rev. Davis’ cousin, the Rev. Timothy Davis of Evesham. In 1809, he received a letter from Rev. Peter Emams of Coventry, inviting him to become his assistant. After rejecting the offer, he received a letter from a Dr. Toulmin, on behalf of the congregation, in which he wrote that “it proceeded from a full conviction that in every point of view you are the gentleman who meets their taste, their wishes and their necessities; that your settlement with them is essential to the renovation of the society.”^[5] In a post-script, Dr. Toulmin’s mother even wrote a further plea for him to join their cause. Rev. Davis’ cousin did not end up at Conventry, but later accepted a position elsewhere in England, but his story speaks to the ways that congregations and their ministers reached out to other ministers that they hoped would join their cause in the future.

Sometimes it was difficult to find a replacement, due to how small the Unitarian community was, especially in Wales. This was the case at Llwynrhydowen Chapel in Llandyssul, Cardiganshire, upon the death of Rev. Jenkin Jones in 1742. The congregation was without a minister for an extended time, but sometimes, sympathetic^[6] ministers would arrive to preach. Rev. Charles Lloyd writes of a very uncommon sight at one such occasion: “When [Rev.] David Thomas arrived on a Saturday… to preach for the first time, to the bereaved flock, he heard, on entering the court of the chapel, a female voice among the disheartened people, uttering words of elevated prayer and praise, and found that the excellent sister of the deceased pastor, in compassion to the wants of her brethren… had nobly conquered the timidity of her sex, and was exercising her fine talents in support of the drooping cause, unwilling to let her friends retire without the comforts of devotion.”^[7] Unitarian ministers in Wales at that time were so few that Lettice Lloyd, the author’s mother, took the opportunity to minister to her congregation as, most likely, their first woman preacher.

Rev. Timothy Davis found his home in the congregation at Oldbury and he continued to minister there until his retirement in June, 1845.^[8] At least two examples of his sermons survive: A sermon simply entitled “Pregeth,”^[9] (“Sermon”) which he wrote Feb. 18, 1818, and another entitled “A Sermon on the Season of Spring,”^[10] which he delivered at Oat Street Chapel, Oldbury, May 18, 1834. He also wrote a poem in 1824, after a visit with his family in Cardiganshire, called “Ymweliad â Pentreshon” (A Visit to Pentreshon).^[11]

Rev. Davis was buried in Park Lane Chapel Yard, Cradley, on April 13, 1849, after 37 years in Oldbury.^[12]

What I Learned While Writing this Biography

I didn’t realise that the minister at Oldbury before Rev. Davis was also an alumn of the Presbyterian College at Carmarthen, so now it makes so much more sense why he, specifically, ended up there himself. It was also cool to disprove part of the source I used, which said he was preceded by Rev. Evan Griffiths, but he was actually preceded by Rev. Samuel Griffiths at Oldbury.

Citations & Footnotes

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[1] 1786. Cardiganshire Baptisms. Lampeter. (p. 31/80). Digital Images. Ancestry. Entry for Timothy Davies, Feb. 6, 1786.

[2] 1775. Cardiganshire Marriages and Banns. Bettws Bledrws. Digital Images. Ancestry. Entry for Thomas Davies and Mary Beynon, Nov. 16, 1775.

[3] 1909. Evans, Walter J. “Davis, Timothy.” In Oriel Coleg Presbyteraidd Caerfyrddin, p. 27. Edited by E. Pan Jones. Joseph Williams and Sons: Merthyr Tydfil. http://hdl.handle.net/10107/5922698

[4] In Oriel Coleg Presbyteraidd Caerfyrddin, Evans writes in Rev. Davis’ biography that he succeeded Rev. Evan Griffiths at Oldbury (p. 27). However, he also writes in Rev. Samuel Griffith’s biography that he was the minister at Oldbury from 1808–1812 (p. 26). Rev. Samuel Griffiths’ grandfather was Rev. Evan Griffiths of Capel Seion in Carmarthenshire. Rev. Samuel Griffith’s presence at Oldbury is also evidenced in his presence at the Dudley Double Lecture in 1810. See: 1897. Evans, George E. Vestiges of Protestant Dissent, p. 347. F. & E. Gibbons: Liverpool. https://www.unitarian.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/1897_VestigesOfProtestant.pdf

[5] 1861. “Memoir of the Late Rev. Timothy Davis, of Evesham,” p. 213. The Christian Reformer 17(Apr): 209-215.

[6] Unitarians were considered heretics by other denominations and occasionally experienced discrimination which culminated in 1876, when the landlord evicted them, locking and chaining the dorrs to prevent their entry. See: https://welshchapels.wales/yr-hen-gapel/

[7] 1812. Lloyd, Charles. Account of the late Mrs. Lettice Lloyd and Family, p. 577. The Monthly Magazine. 33(228): 576-580.

[8] 1909. Evans, Walter J. “Davis, Timothy.” In Oriel Coleg Presbyteraidd Caerfyrddin, p. 27. Edited by E. Pan Jones. Joseph Williams and Sons: Merthyr Tydfil. http://hdl.handle.net/10107/5922698

[9] 1874. “Pregeth,” p. 61. Yr Ymofynydd 2(15): 61-66. http://hdl.handle.net/10107/2560051

[10] 1834. Davis, Timothy. Sermon on the Season of Spring. Rowland Hunter & J. Mardon: London.

[11] 1830. “Ymweliad â Pentreshon.” Seren Gomer 8(180): 276. http://hdl.handle.net/10107/2497373

[12] Abt. 1894. Jones, Rees J. Handwritten Notes in Vestiges of Protestant Dissent, p. 347. F. & E. Gibbons: Liverpool. https://books.google.ca/books?id=OjSbW3pMn3sC&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&dq=George+Eyre+Evans+Vestiges+of+Protestant+dissent&source=gbs_navlinks_s