Joseph Harris (1773 – 10 August 1825) was a Welsh Baptist minister, author, and journal editor. A Welsh language poet, he took the Biblical name of Gomer as his bardic name. On 1 January 1814 he launched the first Welsh-language weekly Seren Gomer ("Star of Gomer") in Swansea.[1] Gomer was born on a farm in Wolf's Castle, Pembrokeshire, where a plaque was unveiled in his memory, making the 200th anniversary of the launch of Seren Gomer.[2] Gomer himself became a preacher during the religious revival of 1795. He married Martha Symons, and took on[clarification needed] Back Street chapel. One of his best-known works, Cofiant Ieuan Ddu, was a biography of his son, John Ryland Harris, who worked as a typesetter for his father's printing press and died at the age of twenty.
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The name of the Gomer Press was almost certainly chosen because of its founder J.D. Lewis' high regard for Joseph Harris.[3]
Works
edit- Casgliad o Hymnau (1796)
- Yr Anghyffelyb Broffeswr (1802)
- Bwyall Grist yng Nghoed Anghrist (1804)
- Traethawd ar Briodol Dduwdod ein Harglwydd Iesu Grist (1816–17)
- Cofiant Ieuan Ddu
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ William Joseph Rhys (1959). "Harris, Joseph (Gomer, 1773-1825), Baptist minister and man of letters". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- ^ BBC News, "Plaque unveiled for 200th anniversary of Seren Gomer". 12 April 2014. Accessed 23 February 2016
- ^ [1] History of Gomer Press