Rev. Thomas Davis was born July 2, 1789, at Castell Hywel farm, in the parish of Llandyssul, Cardiganshire, Wales.[1] He was the fifth son of Anne Evans and David Davis of Castellhywel, one of the most important educators in late-18th to early-19th Century Wales.[2]

Little is known about Thomas’ early life, but he did receive a classical education at his father’s school. When he turned 16, he left home to continue his education at the Presbyterian College in Carmarthen, where he spent about four years, before he was appointed the minister at the Unitarian Chapel in East Lambrook, England. While at East Lambrook, Thomas wrote an article for the Monthly Repository, a Unitarian magazine, wherein he critiqued how Unitarianism was preached to the masses. He seems to have opposed what he calls the “timidity” of Unitarian ministers and public teachers who hide their true beliefs, suggesting it is a cause of the “comparatively little success of Unitarianism.” He also suggests that a for “full, simple, intelligible statement and defence of it, to be frequently made from the pulpit,” it would greatly benefit the denomination.[3] For context, Unitarianism was a Christian denomination closely tied the ideals of Liberalism and it was seen as a heresy by many other Christian denominations at that time.

Thomas remained for six years at East Lambrook, whereupon he returned to Carmarthen as the minister of Dark Gate Chapel for about a year. Around this time, his health struggles were becoming more apparent. In 1815, a writer for the South Wales Unitarian Society wrote about the renewed vigour of “the New Unitarian Society, at Carmarthen, who are now happy in the settled services of the Rev. Thomas Davis, whose health they individually hope will enable him to continue to discharge his duties as their regular minister.”[4] In part, the challenges that Thomas faced were with his mental health.

In 1816, he left Carmarthen again for England, this time to minister at Evesham, as had his uncle a few years earlier. His final post was at Atherstone in Warwickshire, where he ministered until his death. But while he was at Atherstone, he married Elizabeth Nutt (née Lloyd), a granddaughter of Rev. David Lloyd of Llwynrhydowen, who was the co-minister to his father. According to the Davis of Evesham Pedigree[5], they had no children.

On January 30, 1834, Thomas’ brother, Rev. Timothy Davis of Evesham, reminisced in his journal about a sermon he gave while his brother was still living. He wrote that Thomas told him that “he remembered the day well, and remembered the sermon [Ecclesiastes xii. 1], which had left a deep impression on his mind.”[6] The verse reads as follows. “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;”

The scripture in Ecclesiastes relates to the struggles of aging and encourages the young to remember God before those struggles become too overwhelming. In 1824, an anonymous writer for the Monthly Repository wrote that verse one and two of Ecclesiastes xii specifically refer to the decline of a person’s mental capacities as they age and how, in this state, “the cares and troubles of the world seem to be multiplied.”[7] While we don’t know for certain why this verse spoke to Thomas, it is possible that it spoke to his own experience of mental illness.

During the last two or three years of his life, Thomas and his wife lived at Bishopgate Street in Leicester, England, and he continued to minister at Atherstone Chapel from there. On June 11, 1825, at the age of 36, Thomas died by suicide.[8] He was buried on June 15, 1825, at the Great Meeting Unitarian Chapel in Leicester.[9]

Talking and Writing About Suicide

When sharing stories about suicide, either as a person with lived experience, a loss survivor, or a researcher, there are core principles and proven methods that allow you to do so in a way that is safe for you and your audience. The biographies that I’ve written are informed by these principles and diverge most from the historical sources because I, 1) emphasize the complexities and multiple facets of their lives, not just their pain, 2) include educational and care resources for you, my reader, because suicide is preventable, 3) do not write about the specific details or their deaths, and 4) do not make ill-informed guesses at why they ended their life.

If you are in immediate need of support, check HERE for helplines in your country.

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[1] 1909. E. Pan Jones, Oriel Coleg Presbyteraidd Gaerfyrddin (Swyddfa’r Tyst, 1909), 26-27. http://hdl.handle.net/10107/5922698.

[2] 1959. Anonymous, “Davis, David Dafis Castellhywel (1745-1827), Arian Minister, Poet, and Schoolmaster,” Dictionary of Welsh Biography, https://biography.wales/article/s-DAVI-DAV-1745, accessed Apr. 12, 2025

[3] 1810. Thomas Davis, “On Preaching Unitarianism,” Monthly Repository 54, no. 5 (1810): 287-288. https://ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2405/page/14/.

[4] 1815. Anonymous, “South Wales Unitarian Society,” Monthly Repository 10, no. 115 (1815): 447. https://ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1762/page/47/.

[5] Undated. Anonymous (possibly Timothy Davis), “Pedigree of Davis, of Evesham, Co. Wigorn,” National Library of Wales, NLW MS 5497E – Davis family miscellanea. https://archives.library.wales/index.php/davis-family-miscellanea

[6] 1894. Timothy Davis. “Sylwa ei fod…,” Letter dated Jan. 30, 1834. In Hen Llythrau y Parch. Timothy Davis, Evesham, III. Yr Ymofynydd 81, Sept. (1894): 205, Digital Images. National Library of Wales. http://hdl.handle.net/10107/2569487.

[7] 1824. N, “Notes on Passages of Scriptures,” Monthly Repository 19, no. 218 (1824): 76. https://ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2521/page/12/.

[8] 1825. Anonymous, Untitled, Lancaster Gazette, July 16, 1825, p. 2, col. 1. Digital Images. FindMyPast.

[9] 1825. England & Wales Non-conformist Burials, Great Meeting, Leicester, p. 39 (50/74). Digital Images. FindMyPast. Entry for Rev. Thomas Davis, Jun. 15, 1825.