Welsh Journals

THE REV. ABEL MORGAN, 1673—1722. Was the son of Morgan Rhydderch brother of John Rhydderch, the printer. He was born at Alltgoch. He was ordained as Baptist minister and commenced preaching at Blaenau Gwent in 1700. In 1711 he emigrated to Pensylvania, sailing from Bristol, September, 28, A great tempest hindered him on the voyage, and he lost his wife and one of his children at sea. He is best known as the author of the Earliest Welsh Concordance, (1730) which was dedicated to Dafydd Lloyd, Chief Justice of the State of Pennsylvania--one of the Lloyds of Llanwenog. He also wrote, "OyJfes ffydd y Bedyddwyr." JOHN Rhydderch. One of the earliest and most famous of Welsh printers in the early part of the eighteenth century was John Rhydderch, otherwise Roderick, born at Alltgoch in 1673. He was a bard, grammarian and lexicographer of some repute, and in 1718 wrote and published a Welsh grammar which is regarded as an excellent guide to allit- eration and the 24 metres of Dafydd ap Edmwnt. A second edition was issued at Carmarthen in 1822. From his printing press at Shrewsbury there issued a very large number of Welsh books and pamphlets, notably the first edition of Theophilus Evans' Drych y Prif Oesoedd, 1716 and those edited by Moses Williams about 1725. He compiled and published an English-Welsh Dictionary, and in 1731 after the author's death a second edition was brought out. The year of his death is not known, but it was between 1729 and 1731 His relative Jenkin Thomas of Cwmdu composed a beautiful Elegy to him in 1736. THE REV. DAVID LLOYD ISAAC. A grandson of John Lloyd of Abertegan, was born at Gwempa near Highmead. He attended the Baptist College at Pontypool, and later became minister at Trosnant. From 1838 to 1841 he had charge of one of the Baptist Churches at Neath. He left the Baptists and entered St. David's College, Lampeter and was ordain- ed Curate of Cadoxton-juxta,-Neath. Later he was appointed Vicar of Llangathen, and afterwards Vicar of Llangammarch. He possessed strong antiquarian tastes and wrote a great deal to the press, one work being, Siluriana He was an elegant Welsh writer. He died in 1876 and was buried at Llangammarch, where a tablet on the South Wall of the Church contains the following Epitaph Sacred to the Memory of DAVID LLOYD ISAAC, Rector of Llangammarch, born at Llanwenog, Feb. 10, 1818 died January 31, 1876. Our friend sleepeth."