Rev'd David DAVIS

  Noted events in his life were:

• Occupation: unitarian minister of the Parade Seminary Neath, retired to Swansea (Mackworth Arms?) due to ill health, son of Dafis Castellhywel; left will. 'Dafis Castellhywel''s eldest son was DAVID DAVIS of Neath ( 1778 - 1846 ), Unitarian minister and schoolmaster [b., according to Walter J. Evans ( N.L.W. MS. 10327 ), 2 April 1778 ]. He was educated at home and at Carmarthen Academy ( 1796-1800 ), and settled at Neath , where he opened a school [ 1801 ] and became the first minister of the Unitarian congregation in that town. Here, he fell under the influence of Joseph Priestley and, in 1802 , founded the Unitarian Society of South Wales , although the credit for this is usually given to Edward Williams ( Iolo Morganwg ) ( Monthly Repository , 1811 , 189). After many years spent as a minister and an able and erudite schoolmaster , his health broke down [ 1827 ] and his mind was impaired for the rest of his life [from 1843 to 1846 he lived at Swansea ]. He published a number of small booklets and edited Telyn Dewi , 1824 . He suffered a disappointment when D. Lewis Jones (q.v.) was appointed ( 1814 ) tutor at Carmarthen , and for a time he and John James of Gellionnen ( 1779 - 1864 ) (q.v.) seriously considered starting a specifically Unitarian college at Neath , but the project came to nothing. He d. 4 Dec. 1846 and was buried in the cemetery of Lammas Street chapel , Carmarthen.
Source: Welsh Dictionary of National biography llgc.org.uk
David's brother Timothy Evans in Evesham left a lot of interesting correspondence. More information about David Davis is in a book about Neath's history.

Rev'd married Catherine REES, daughter of Captain Rees REES and Unknown, in Jul 1806 in Neath. (Catherine REES was born about 1775 and was buried in 1813 in Llantwit-Juxta-Neath.)