David Christopher Davies (1878 - 1958)

Born 16 Jul 1878 in Pontardawe, Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom

Husband of Maggie (Parker) Davies — married Nov 1914 in Wandsworth

Died 4 May 1958 at age 79 in Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom

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Biography

David Davies was born in Glamorgan, Wales.

David was born in 1878^[1]. He was the son of John Davies and Elizabeth Hill and was born in Rhyndwy Clydach, Glamorgan, Wales.

In the 1881 Wales Census^[2] David Christopher (age 2) was living with his parents John Davies (age 32) and Elizabeth (Hill) Davies (age 26) at Pontardawe, Glamorganshire, Wales. His brother John (age 5) is with them.

The Dictionary of Welsh Biography has a web page for Christy Davies^[3] When he was 12 years old and had reached the top class at school he had to work for a year in the family grocer's shop before being apprenticed to a tailor at Ystalyfera, where he was baptised in Soar Church. At the end of his apprenticeship he worked in Swansea and Cardiff before entering the service of Colmers of Bath. There he became a member of Hay Hill Church, and in 1900 decided to enter the ministry. The week his father died he had an interview for entry to Spurgeon's College. He commenced his course there in January 1902. During the Christmas vacation of 1904 he came under the influence of Evan (John) Roberts ' Revival. While he was a student-pastor at Thorpe-le-Soken he felt a call to the missionary field, especially China, but the B.M.S. designated him for the Congo. After receiving medical instruction at the Livingstone Institution and spending some months at Brussels improving his French, he departed from London August 1906 to go to his mission station in Yalemba in the Congo, near the mouth of the river Aruwimi. He soon mastered Heso, the language of the inhabitants. The natives called him Molembia, and revered him deeply. He also became proficient in Lingala, which was the common language of the inhabitants of the Upper Congo. He translated parts of the New Testament into both Heso and Lingala. He composed hymns in their languages and had them sung to Welsh tunes.

In November 1914 he married Margaret Parker, a deaconess at Bloomsbury (Baptist) Church while on furlough back in London after his second stint at Yalemba. They had two daughters Louta and Betty. In 1919 the Society transferred him to the rapidly growing city of Leopoldville. His task was to concentrate attention on the new arrivals of the Bangala tribe, who spoke Lingala.

In 1919 the Society transferred him to the rapidly growing city of Leopoldville (now Kinshasa). His task was to concentrate attention on the new arrivals of the Bangala tribe, who spoke Lingala.

In 1933, because of his ill-health, he returned to Wales as a representative of the B.M.S. He arranged summer schools in various locations before being stationed for a period in the Theological College, Aberystwyth, and afterwards at Cilgwyn, Newcastle Emlyn.

He retired in 1943 and spent the rest of his life at Mumbles, where be became a member of the Welsh (B) church, Capel Gomer, in Swansea.

He died on 4 May 1958 at The Minor Hall Congegational Church, Walter Road, Swansea. Maggie outlived him.

His will^[4] is available.

Sources

1. ↑ "England & Wales General Register Office, GRO Online Index - Birth (https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content : accessed 6 November 2020)", database entry for Davies, David Christopher Mother: Hill GRO Reference: 1878 S Quarter in PONTARDAWE Volume 11A Page 633
2. ↑ "1881 Wales Census"
3. ↑ "Dictionary of Welsh Biography - Christy Davies" https://biography.wales/article/s2-DAVI-CHR-1878
4. ↑ Original data: Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England. London, England © Crown copyright. Ancestry.com. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Ancestry Record 1904 #14098745