Cylchgronau Cymru

Chwiliwch trwy dros 450 o deitlau a 1.2 miliwn o dudalennau

W$t Christian ^tantrartr* Vol. No. 8. FEBRUARY, 1892. Price One Penny BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH O^ THE REV. GRIFFITH ELLIS, M.A., BOOTLE. IpppHE subject of our sketch was born in Aberllefenny, S^fy Merionethshire, in the year 1844. His parents were (f\gjlf Griffith and Margaret Ellis. His father died when he was about 14 years of age. GRIFFITH ELLIS, THE FATHER, stood high among his neighbours as a man of undoubted piety, possessing a retentive memory, which his son has inherited, and noted for his gifts of prayer; and,though he died a generation ago, his memory is still fragrant in the neighbourhood. It has often been remarked that the mother has a greater influence in moulding the charac¬ ter of the children than anyone else. This saying has not been belied in the life of our subject. Those who knew Margaret Ellis, can easily trace her influence in the character, and future career of her son. There was a striking resemblance between her character and Mari Lewis, the mother of " Rhys Lewis," the pastor of " Bethel." She was a woman of a strong, Puritanical mould : one of those charac¬ ters that are the salt of the neighbourhoods in which they live. It was in this humble and thoroughly re¬ ligious home that young Griffith re¬ ceived his earliest training, and we do not exaggerate in say ing that be would not have been the ma n he is to day, but for these early mould¬ ing influences of his childhood. Nor ought we to forget, in tracing the growth of his character, the general atmosphere of the neighbourhood in which he was brought up. Corris (where his parents removed to live for some years, after their son was born), and Aberllefenny possessed many men of great religious earnestness, who gave a high religious tone to the whole neighbourhood. At that time these valleys were shut out to a great extent from the world outside, and the interest of the people were almost wholly taken up with religious -questions and temperance movements. About ten yearse ago the subject of our sketch wrote the history of the Methodism of his native parish. It was a labour of love to the writer, for the history is the generous tribute of a loyal son to his early home. It was well-known that Griffith Ellis, the father, had always looked forward to his son being one day a Christian minister—in fact he had consecrated him to the Lord before his birth, and this feeling was shared by the church in which the child was reared, especially by the saintly deacon, Rowland Evans. The whole neighbourhood regarded it as a matter of course that young Griffith would one day become a "preacher." Nor did this conviction die away as years passed, for there was something in the character and gifts of theyouth.that caused all to look upon him as one who was being prepared in a special manner for the service of the Lord. SCHOOL DAYS. He was sent first of all to the day school, at the C. M. Chapel, Aberllefenny, then conducted by the Rev. Ebenezer Jones, and later on at the British School, built half way between Aberllefenny and Corris, by the late Captain Pryce, pro¬ prietor of Aberlle¬ fenny Quarry. |Mr. Ellis has alwayslac- knowledged his in¬ debtedness to his first schoolmaster,|| for helping him| in his first stepsj to acquire knowledge, and 1 his kind sympathy in after years, although little over eleven years of age, we find Griffith sent to the quarry, to learn to split and trim the slates as a skilled quarryman. Here he remained for over eight years, within a few months to the time he entered Bala College. During these years he impressed every one, not only with the deep religious earnestness of his character, but also with abilities far above the average, and it soon became evident that the power of expression had not been denied him. He soon began to exercise his gifts in Band of Hope meetings, Sunday School, and competitive meetings, so that before he had attained his eighteenth year he was known throughout the district as a young man of great promise, and of whom great things might be expected. Every one felt that the time had come that he should go forth to