Thomas Jones of Denbigh
Welsh Methodist clergyman, writer, editor and poet; (1756-1820)
Thomas Jones (1756 – 16 June 1820), called "Thomas Jones of Denbigh" (in Welsh, "Thomas Jones o Ddinbych") to differentiate him from namesakes, was a Welsh Methodist clergyman, writer, editor and poet, active in North Wales.
Life history
Thomas Jones was born in 1756 at Aberwheeler in Denbighshire, but was educated at Caerwys and Holywell in Flintshire.
In 1783 he became a Methodist preacher. At around the same time, he became acquainted with Thomas Charles of Bala, who influenced him greatly. Jones worked with Charles to devise the "Rules and Design of the … Welsh Methodists" (1801) and both edited the Welsh-language periodical, Y Drysorfa' while the publication was still in its quarterly form.
In 1795 he married Elizabeth Jones, but she died two years later. Inheriting her fortune, he remarried in 1804. His second wife also died, and he married a third time in 1806, to a Mary Lloyd.
In 1811 he was ordained a Calvinistic Methodist minister. He wrote many hymns, and was highly active within his denomination.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Thomas Jones of Denbigh” is welsh Methodist clergyman, writer, editor and poet; (1756-1820). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Thomas, Jones and Denbigh, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “welsh Methodist clergyman, writer, editor and poet; (1756-1820)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 12, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q14476852. VIAF identifies the subject as 73722124. The Library of Congress control number is nr92041356. None of the 3 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1756, 1820, 1783 and 1801.
Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Thomas Jones of Denbigh”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Thomas Jones of Denbigh primary sources, Thomas Jones of Denbigh archive and Thomas research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Thomas Jones of Denbigh”?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Thomas Jones of Denbigh” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.