# Lewis Edwards

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{{Short description|Welsh educator and Nonconformist minister (1809–1887)}}
{{For|the American businessman and politician|Lewis A. Edwards}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
[[File:Revd Dr Lewis Edwards (1809-87) NLW3363289.jpg|right|thumb|Photographic portrait by [John Thomas](/source/John_Thomas_(photographer)) ({{circa|1875}})]]
[[File:Dr Lewis Edwards.jpg|thumb|Portrait by [Jerry Barrett](/source/Jerry_Barrett) (1877)]]

'''Lewis Edwards''' (27 October 1809 – 19 July 1887) was a Welsh educator and [Nonconformist](/source/Nonconformist_(Protestantism)) minister.

==Life==
He was born in [Pen-llwyn](/source/Pen-llwyn), [Ceredigion](/source/Ceredigion), Wales, the eldest son of Lewis and Margaret Edward. He was educated at [Aberystwyth](/source/Aberystwyth) and at [Llangeitho](/source/Llangeitho).  He ran schools in both these places and then became private tutor to a family in [Meidrim](/source/Meidrim), [Carmarthenshire](/source/Carmarthenshire).<ref name=DWB>{{cite DWB|last1=Evans|first1=Rev. Trebor Lloyd|title=Edwards, Lewis (1809-1887)|id=s-EDWA-LEW-1809|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325155855/https://biography.wales/article/s-EDWA-LEW-1809|url-status=live|archive-date=25 March 2019|accessdate=6 November 2014}}</ref>

He had preached for the [Calvinistic Methodist](/source/Welsh_Methodist_revival)s and, in 1829, was accepted as a regular preacher by the Calvinistic Methodist congregation at Llangeitho. In 1830 he was accepted for study at the [Seceders' College, Belfast](/source/Seceders'_College%2C_Belfast), but chose instead to study in London, at a college which later became [University College London](/source/University_College_London). After one year in London he became a minister and schoolteacher in [Laugharne](/source/Laugharne), [Carmarthenshire](/source/Carmarthenshire). in 1833 he went to [Edinburgh University](/source/Edinburgh_University), where he studied under [Thomas Chalmers](/source/Thomas_Chalmers) and Christopher North. By a special dispensation he graduated after three years instead of the usual four, obtaining an MA with honours. He was awarded an honorary [D.D.](/source/D.D.) by the University of Edinburgh in 1865.<ref name=DWB/>

He was now better able to further his plans for providing a trained ministry for his church. Previously, the success of the Methodist preachers had been due mainly to their natural gifts. Edwards made his home at [Bala](/source/Bala%2C_Gwynedd), and there, in 1837, with [David Charles](/source/David_Charles_(minister)), his brother-in-law, he opened a school, which ultimately, as [Bala College](/source/Bala_College), became the denominational college for north Wales.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

In 1836 he married Jane Charles, the granddaughter of [Thomas Charles](/source/Thomas_Charles) (1755–1814), a prominent Calvinistic Methodist minister. Their son [Thomas Charles Edwards](/source/Thomas_Charles_Edwards) became the first principal of the [University College of Wales, Aberystwyth](/source/University_of_Wales%2C_Aberystwyth).<ref name=DWB/>

He died on 19 July 1887, and was buried in [Llanycil](/source/Llanycil) churchyard near the grave of his grandfather-in-law Thomas Charles.<ref name=DWB/>

==Influence==
Edwards may fairly be called one of the makers of modern Wales. Through his hands there passed generation after generation of preachers, who carried his influence to every corner of the principality. By fostering competitive meetings and by his writings, especially in ''[Y Traethodydd](/source/Y_Traethodydd)'', a quarterly magazine which he founded in 1845 and edited for ten years, he did much to inform and educate his countrymen on literary and theological subjects. A new college was built at Bala in 1867, for which he raised £10,000{{Clarify|date=March 2010}}<!--10,000 what?-->. His chief publication was a noteworthy book on the [doctrine of the Atonement](/source/Atonement_in_Christianity), cast in the form of a dialogue between master and pupil; the treatment is [forensic](/source/forensic), and emphasis is laid on merit. It was due to him that the North and South Wales Calvinistic Methodist Associations united to form an annual [General Assembly](/source/General_Assembly_(presbyterian_church)); he was its moderator in 1866 and again in 1876. He was successful in bringing the various churches of the [Presbyterian](/source/Presbyterian) order into closer touch with each other, and unwearying in his efforts to promote education for his countrymen.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

==Publications==
Edwards was closely involved with several magazines and periodicals. He was editor of [Yr Esboniwr](/source/Yr_Esboniwr) and assistant editor of [Y Geiniogwerth](/source/Y_Geiniogwerth). In 1845 he founded [Y Traethodydd](/source/Y_Traethodydd) together with [Roger Edwards](/source/Roger_Edwards_(Calvinist)) and [Thomas Gee](/source/Thomas_Gee).<ref name=DWB/>

His published books included:<ref name=DWB/>
*Athrawiaeth yr Iawn
*Traethodau Llenyddol
*Traethodau Duwinyddol
*Hanes Duwinyddiaeth
*Person Crist

Edwards wrote several influential essays, including:<ref name=DWB/>
*Schools of languages for the Welsh (1849)
*Revisers of hymns (1850)
*[Goethe](/source/Goethe) (1851)
*Welsh poetry (1852)
*[Goronwy Owen](/source/Goronwy_Owen_(poet)) (1876)

He translated several English hymns into Welsh.<ref name=DWB/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{EB1911|wstitle = Edwards, Lewis|volume=9|page=6}}
*{{cite DNB|wstitle = Edwards, Lewis |volume=17}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|last1=Morgan|first1=D. Densil|title=Lewis Edwards|date=2009|publisher=University of Wales Press|isbn=9780708321942}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Lewis}}
Category:Welsh Methodist ministers
Category:Welsh educators
Category:1809 births
Category:1887 deaths
Category:People from Ceredigion
Category:19th-century Welsh Methodist ministers
Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Category:People from Bala, Gwynedd
Category:Burials in Gwynedd

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lewis Edwards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Edwards) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Edwards?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.