Rosina Davies (2 September 1863 – 21 October 1949) was a Welsh evangelist during the 1904–1905 Welsh revival.

Rosina Davies
Rosina Davies in 1896
Born
Rosina Davies

(1863-09-02)2 September 1863
Died21 October 1949(1949-10-21) (aged 86)
NationalityWelsh
OccupationEvangelist

Personal life

edit

Davies was born in Treherbert, Glamorgan in 1863. She was the third of six children.[1] She was homeschooled.[1] Davies is the great aunt of Welsh author, actor and singer Siân Phillips.[2] During her life, Davies was painted by George Frederick Harris, grandfather of Rolf Harris.[2] Davies stood as an independent candidate for St Ishmaels in the 1919 Carmarthen Rural District Council election. She came last with 25 votes.[3]

Evangelism

edit

Aged 14, Davies left home to join a Salvation Army mission in Maesteg.[1] She started doing preaching tours in 1881.[1] In 1893, she held a mission service for Welsh people living in Chicago, Illinois and in 1900, she held a mission service in Llangollen, Denbighshire.[4][5] Davies was a free church evangelist during the 1904–1905 Welsh revival, appointed by the Union of Welsh Independents in 1904.[4][6] Early in 1904, she held missions in Rhosllannerchrugog, and one mission that she held in autumn 1904 resulted in two hours of weeping and worship.[7] She worked for the Union of Welsh Independents until 1916.[1] From 1916 to 1930, she worked as a secretary of the South Wales Women's Temperance Union (Welsh: Undeb Dirwestol Merched y De.[1] In 1930–31, she went on a preaching tour of the U.S. and Canada.[1]

In 1942, Davies published her autobiography The Story of My Life. The book contained diary records as well as a detailed account of her life and insight into the social life and religious Wales from the late 19th century onward.[1][8]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Rosina Davies". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 7 May 2017 – via Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
  2. ^ a b "Rolf's tips for budding artists". BBC News. 30 May 2007. Archived from the original on 20 April 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Board of Guardians Elections. results in Carmarthen Union". Carmarthen Journal. 11 April 1919. p. 1. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  4. ^ a b "With Speeches and Song". Chicago Tribune. 4 September 1893. p. 3. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Local and District". Llangollen Advertiser. 2 February 1900. p. 4. Retrieved 7 May 2017 – via National Library of Wales.
  6. ^ Morgan-Guy, John (April 2016). Religion and Society in the Diocese of St Davids 1485–2011. Routledge. pp. 142, 152. ISBN 9781317067849.
  7. ^ "The onset of the 1904 revival – a timeline". Evangelical Times. August 2004. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  8. ^ Davies, Rosina The Story of my Life , Gomer Press, Llandysul, 1942