A Welsh Baptist in Ontario

The 19th century was an era of great emigration from Britain and Ireland. Of the four major people groups from this collection of islands – the English, Scottish, Irish, and Welsh – the last-named were the least represented among these emigrants.

For example, the population sizes of Wales and Ireland during this era were not too different, but the Irish emigrated in their millions while the Welsh left Wales only in tens of thousands. One key reason for this difference in numbers of emigrants was the mid-19th-century development of South Wales into one of the world’s leading industrial centres. One Welshman who did leave his native land, though, was Benjamin Daniel Thomas (1843–1917), who left Wales in the autumn of 1868.

Thomas in Toronto

The son of a Baptist minister, Thomas and his family initially moved to Pittston, Pennsylvania – Pennsylvania being a favourite locale for many Welsh emigrants. There he pastored the Baptist Church for three years, from 1868 to 1871. He then moved to the Fifth Baptist Church, Philadelphia, one of the largest Baptist works in that part of the state, where he served for 11 years.