Welsh revivalist, born on 11 October 1832 and known as 'Humphrey Jones Tre'rddol' after the village in whose WM chapel he was nurtured. He became a local preacher while working as a farm labourer and witnessed many conversions. In 1854, when Welsh WM was not accepting candidates for the ministry for financial reasons, he joined his family in Wisconsin and preached to scattered Welsh congregations there. Accepted for the MEC ministry in 1855, he resigned in 1856, feeling too restricted, and became a peripatetic preacher among his fellow expatriates. He 'caught fire' in a New York revival and became 'Humphrey Jones, Y Diwygiwr' ('The Revivalist') in the Welsh-speaking churches. In 1858 he returned to Tre'rddol, convinced that he was called to bring the Revival to Wales by following the example of the revivalists Charles G. Finney and Jeremiah C. Lanphier. Some 100,000 converts were added to the churches at Tre'rddol and other places. But he had to withdraw at Aberystwyth under the mental strain and eventually entered a mental hospital. He was later taken back to Wisconsin, where he recovered only to relapse from time to time. He died on 8 May 1895.

Entry written by: EHG
Category: Person
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