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8th April
Lewis Morris ( signer of the Declaration of American Independence) was born this day 1726, in Morrisania, New York. His grandfather, also Lewis Morris, was from Tintern in the Wye Valley.
Morris was appointed as a judge of the Admiralty Court for the province in 1760 and in 1774, as the Revolution drew near, was elected to the New York Provincial Congress. He signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
His response on being warned that there may be dire consequences for signing the document, was, "Damn the consequences. Give me the pen."
Of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence on July 4 , 1776, Lewis Morris along with 15 others were of Welsh descent, the others were: William Williams, Williams Hooper, James Smith, Francis Lewis, John Hewes, George Read, John Penn, Thomas Jefferson, Britton Gwinnett, John Morton, Francis Hopkinson, William Floyd, Robert Morris, Stephen Hopkins and George Clymer.
On this day, 1749, hymn writer and evangelist Charles Wesley married Sarah Gwynne of Garth, at Llanlleonfel in Breconshire.
Sarah Gwynne was the daughter of a Welsh magistrate; she was 23 and Charles 40, The ceremony was performed by John Wesley, Charles' brother, and afterwards the wedding party walked for half a mile across the fields to Garth House. It was reputedly in Garth House that Charles Wesley penned the words for the hymn "Jesu Lover of my Soul" during a thunderstorm, as he watched a sparrow shelter from the weather on the window sill.
Born this day, 1944 in Garnant, Carmarthenshire,
Hywel Thomas Bennett , a film and television actor. He is best remembered for his roles in the sitcom 'Shelley', the comedy film The Virgin Soldiers and as gangster Jack Dalton in EastEnders. Bennett retired in 2007 after being diagnosed with a congenital heart defect.
Born this day, 1891 in Taibach.
Bill Beynon , who became the British and Empire bantamweight boxing champion in 1913. Beynon was a miner from South Wales who supplemented his wages by taking up boxing. Beynon retired from the boxing ring at the age of 39 and died two years later in 1932 in a colliery accident.
Griffith Jones (early 1684 – 8 April 1761 ) was a key figure in a revolutionary educational movement which had a lasting impact on literacy in Wales.
He was an Anglican vicar, who as curate at Laugharne and minister at Llanddowror in Carmarthenshire became concerned that the majority of his parishioners were illiterate. There was no compulsory education at that time, and Jones became involved with the SPCK, the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, setting up Circulating Schools in barns, storehouses and church porches where people were taught to read. The language of instruction was Welsh, and the texts mainly religious, predominantly the Bible.
Jones had many wealthy and influential supporters, and by his death in 1762, more than 3,500 schools had been established with over 200,000 people having learned to read.
The system attracted interest all over Britain, and in 1764, Catherine II of Russia commissioned a report on the schools, with the intention of establishing a similar system in Russia.
Jones is also regarded as one of the earliest proponents of Methodist philosophy in Wales. He was an inspiring preacher who would often preach in the open air, despite the disapproval of bishops, who considered such evangelism to be 'irregular.
