John S. Davis, Printer, Nantygwenith Street

by Jill Morgan

In the 1851 census a John Davis and his wife Elizabeth, both born in Carmarthenshire, can be seen living in George Town. John’s occupation is given as Printer (employing 1 man). This was John Sylvanus Davis, who had served his apprenticeship in Carmarthenshire and then moved on to work for the Rev. John Jones, printer and minister in Rhydybont. This employment would change the course of his life.

It was while working for the Rev. Jones that John encountered the writings of ‘Mormon’ missionary Dan Jones – brother to the Reverend Jones. As he set the type, he was struck by Jones’ ideas and teachings to such an extent that he soon requested baptism, to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Under Dan Jones’ influence, he also moved to Merthyr Tydfil and set up a printing office in Nantygwenith Street.  There, from the time when Dan Jones returned to America in February 1849 until Jones returned for a second mission to Wales in December 1852, Davis’ writing and printing output was impressive.

• He produced Welsh language record books and other forms for the Welsh Latter Day Saint congregations.
• Assisted by his wife and Mary Deer, another convert from Carmarthenshire, he translated into Welsh the Latter Day Saint scriptures The Doctrine and Covenants (Athrawiaeth a Chyfammodau) and the Book of Mormon (Llyfr Mormon) – a total of more than 800 pages in the modern English versions. These were published and distributed as ‘signatures’ (sections) at intervals of about two weeks, so that members could acquire the books gradually and have them bound according to their means. Athrawiaeth a Chyfammodau was completed in August 1851, Llyfr Mormon in April 1852.
• He published a collection of more than 500 Welsh Latter Day Saint hymns, many of which he wrote the lyrics for.
• He printed a number of Latter Day Saint tracts and pamphlets.

During this time Davis was also editing and printing issues of Udgorn Seion, the Welsh-language publication begun by Dan Jones. Some of the content was original material from Davis or other leaders of the LDS Church, some he translated from writings previously produced in English. Davis also increased the size and frequency of Udgorn Seion: from 4 to 16 sides, and from monthly to bi-weekly. In the 29th November 1851 issue, he did admit to being somewhat overwhelmed by all these responsibilities, but reassured readers that Udgorn was not being neglected because of his other work.

In 1854 John and Elizabeth emigrated to Utah Territory, where he continued to work as a printer. But for the Welsh converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, John Davis’ three years as a printer in Georgetown was a gift, as it enabled them to access the full range of scripture and news of the church in their native language.