David Rees (Y Cynhyrfwr)
Encyclopedia
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
Congregational minister of Capel Als chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
Llanelli
Llanelli
Llanelli , the largest town in both the county of Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed , Wales, sits on the Loughor estuary on the West Wales coast, approximately west-north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town is famous for its proud rugby...
, Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
, and an editor of a radical Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
Nonconformist periodical titled Y Diwygiwr [The Reformer]. He was best known for his nickname ‘Y Cynhyrfwr’ [The Agitator], his firm political views, and his opposition to the relationship between the Established Church and the state.
Early life
Rees, son of Bernard and Anna Rees, was born and raised on the Gelli Lwyd farm in the parish of Tre-lech, CarmarthenshireCarmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
. Whilst a child he worked on his family’s farm as well as spending some time with the local blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
, as an apprentice.
Rees did not have any formal education as a child but was instructed at the Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
and participated in the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
worship that took place regularly at his home with his family.
In 1818 he became a member of Tre-lech Congregationalist church under the ministry of the Hyper-Calvinist Morgan Jones, and in 1822 with the aim of becoming a preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
, he enlisted as a student in a school in Haverfordwest
Haverfordwest
Haverfordwest is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales and serves as the County's principal commercial and administrative centre. Haverfordwest is the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire, with a population of 13,367 in 2001; though its community boundaries make it the second most populous...
, Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
and later moved on to another school in Carmarthen
Carmarthen
Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
.
Rees started preaching in 1823 at the age of 22 and after spending some time at a school in Newtown, Montgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Montgomeryshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Created in 1542, it elects one Member of Parliament , traditionally known as the knight of the shire, by the first-past-the-post system of election.The Montgomeryshire Welsh Assembly...
, in 1825 he joined the Congregationalist academy, also in Newtown. Rees studied at the academy for four years and became familiar with some of the most notable Welsh Congregationalists of his time. One of these was the young Samuel Roberts, Llanbrynmair
Llanbrynmair
Llanbrynmair is a village and community in Powys, Mid Wales on the A470 road between Caersws and Machynlleth. Llanbrynmair, in area, is the second largest in Powys. In 2005, it had a population of 958.-Description:...
(S.R.) who was later to become a Congregational minister and editor of the radical Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
publication Cronicl y Cymdeithasau Crefyddol [Chronicle of Religious Societies].
Personal life
Rees married Sarah Roberts, the daughter of a successful shop owner who was a deaconDeacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
with the Baptists, in 1832 and had five children Bernard, Elizabeth, John Calvin, Luther and Frederick (the latter two drowned in a tragic accident when they were in their early teens.) His wife Sarah also died in 1857, and Rees re-married in 1858, Mrs Phillips a widow from Carmarthen becoming his second wife.
Ministry
After spending four years at the academy in Newtown, Rees became the minister of Capel Als in 1829 and remained their minister until his death in 1869.As well as leading many campaigns to renovate and enlarge the chapel, Rees also had a big influence in establishing four other Congregationalist chapels in the vicinity; Park English Chapel, Capel y Bryn, Capel y Doc and Siloa.
At the start of Rees’ ministry it is said that the church had around 250 members. This had increased to 589 by 1850 even though many members had left to form the churches mentioned above.
By Rees’ own account in the 1851 Religious Census, the chapel was nearly always full for the Sunday night service, with the numbers present calculated to be around 850 most Sundays.
Y Diwygiwr
Rees established the Diwygiwr in 1835 as a direct result of the disapproval of the Congregationalist ministers towards the increasingly conservativeSocial conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
nature of the Efangylydd (another publication that was geared towards the Congregationalists of south Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
and which was edited by David Owen (Brutus) who was later to become Rees’ arch-rival.)
Through his editing of Y Diwygiwr, Rees lucidly disseminated the principles of Nonconformity
Nonconformity
Nonconformity may refer to:* Nonconformity , a memoir by Nelson Algren, published posthumously in 1992* Nonconformity , a term in quality management* A type of unconformity in geology...
and his nickname was developed from a quote in which he paraphrased Daniel O’Connell’s famous 'Agitate! Agitate! Agitate!' quote by writing 'Cynhyrfer! Cynhyrfer! Cynhyrfer!'
Y Diwygiwr developed in the thirty years of his editorship into an influential Nonconformist instrument in the battle against the alleged injustices felt by the Nonconformists, and was used to openly encourage them to stand up for their rights against the oppressive power possessed by the combination of state and church. In addition to promulgating Nonconformist principles, the Diwygiwr also voice its support to such movements as The Rebecca Riots
Rebecca Riots
The Rebecca Riots took place between 1839 and 1843 in South and Mid Wales. They were a series of protests undertaken by local farmers and agricultural workers in response to perceived unfair taxation. The rioters, often men dressed as women, took their actions against toll-gates, as they were...
, The Chartists, The Liberation Society and the Anti Corn Law League (but not always advocating the methods used by them, especially the most violent.)
Rees also rose to prominence because of the long-standing feud between him and David Owen (Brutus) who edited the church’s Welsh publication Yr Haul. In the literary exchanges between them, Brutus’ satirical and vitriolic attacks on both Rees personally and Nonconformity in general were answered by an unequivocal and clear defence and a passionate argument in favour of the Nonconformists’ Christian and political principles which were imbedded in Rees’ ideology.