Josiah Towyn Jones was a Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 clergyman and Liberal Party

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 politician. He was Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for Carmarthenshire East

Carmarthenshire East (UK Parliament constituency)

East Carmarthenshire was a county constituency in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system....

 and later for Llanelly

Llanelli (UK Parliament constituency)

Llanelli is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1918 to 1970 the official spelling of the constituency name was Llanelly...

.

He was born in New Quay

New Quay

New Quay is a seaside town in Ceredigion, West Wales with a resident population of around 1,200 people. Located on Cardigan Bay with a harbour and large sandy beaches, it remains a popular seaside resort and traditional fishing town.-History:...

, Cardiganshire

Ceredigion

Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...

, and began work as a farm labourer aged 11. A year later he went to sea as a cabin boy

Cabin boy

A Cabin boy or ship's boy is a boy who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship, especially running errands for the captain....

, later working as a ship's cook and steward.

In 1876 he entered the Presbyterian College, Carmarthen. In 1880 he became a Congregationalist

Congregational church

Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....

 minister at Dowlais

Dowlais

Dowlais is a village and community of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. As of 2001, it has a population of 6646.Dowlais is notable within Wales and Britain for its historic association with ironworking; once employing, through the Dowlais Iron Company, roughly 5,000 people, the works...

 near Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil is a town in Wales, with a population of about 30,000. Although once the largest town in Wales, it is now ranked as the 15th largest urban area in Wales. It also gives its name to a county borough, which has a population of around 55,000. It is located in the historic county of...

. In 1884 he began a 22-year spell as minister at Cwmamman

Cwmamman

Cwmamman is a town in Carmarthenshire, west WalesCwmamman is 78.47% Welsh speaking and lies at the foot of the Black Mountain.-External links:...

 in the Amman Valley

River Amman

The River Amman is a river of south Wales, which joins the River Loughor at Pantyffynnon. The river gives its name to the town of Ammanford and the villages of Pontamman, Glanaman, Brynamman and Rhosaman. Garnant and Betws also lie in the Amman Valley....

, 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...

. At this time he was a close political associate of leading Welsh Liberals Tom Ellis

T. E. Ellis

Thomas Edward Ellis , usually known as T. E. Ellis, was a Welsh politician who was the leader of Cymru Fydd, a movement aimed at gaining home rule for Wales.-Life:...

 and David Lloyd George

David Lloyd George

David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...

.

He married Mary Howells of Plas Cadwgan in the Swansea Valley

Swansea Valley

The Swansea Valley , one of the South Wales Valleys is the name often given to the valley of the River Tawe area in South Wales, UK. It reaches southwest and south from the Brecon Beacons National Park down to the city of Swansea. Today, administration of the area is divided between the City and...

 in 1885 and they had two daughters.

For twenty years he acted as agent for Abel Thomas

Abel Thomas

Abel Thomas was a Welsh Liberal politician and lawyer.-Family:Thomas was the son of a Baptist Minister, the Reverend T E Thomas JP of Trehale in Pembrokeshire. In 1875 he married Bessie Polak...

, Liberal MP for Carmarthenshire East. When Thomas died in 1912, Towyn Jones replaced him at the ensuing by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

. Under the Representation of the People Act 1918

Representation of the People Act 1918

The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in the United Kingdom. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act...

 the East Carmarthenshire seat was abolished, and he was instead elected as MP for the new seat of Llanelly

Llanelli (UK Parliament constituency)

Llanelli is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1918 to 1970 the official spelling of the constituency name was Llanelly...

 at the general election of that year

United Kingdom general election, 1918

The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...

, retiring at the 1922 election

United Kingdom general election, 1922

The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...

.

During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he opposed conscription

Conscription

Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...

, but nevertheless took office in the coalition government, becoming a Whip and Junior Lord of the Treasury. When the Welsh Guards

Welsh Guards

The Welsh Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division.-Creation :The Welsh Guards came into existence on 26 February 1915 by Royal Warrant of His Majesty King George V in order to include Wales in the national component to the Foot Guards, "..though the order...

were formed during the war he enthusiastically helped in recruiting for the new regiment.

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