David Davies

Class of 1877: Alumnus, Trustee, minister

The Rev. Dr. David Davies maintained close ties with Ripon College all of his life. He received three degrees, was a longtime Trustee and president of the Alumni Association.

Davies was born at Prion, near Denbigh, Wales, in May 1845. He came to America in 1865 and lived with his parents, John and Elizabeth Davies, on a farm about 10 miles south of Oshkosh. He worked as a carpenter before joining the ministry. He was married twice and had five children.

Davies entered Ripon College in 1868 and graduated from its “classical course” of study in 1877 after delays due to finances. After completing the three-year theological course at Lane Seminary, Cincinnati, Ohio, in just one year, he was ordained in 1879 and served as pastor of the Welsh Calvanistic Methodist Church in Oshkosh for nearly 25 years.

Ripon College conferred upon him an M.A. in 1887 and an honorary D.D. degree in 1898. For several years, he was president of the Ripon College Alumni Association, and he served as a trustee from 1891 until his death.

He wrote several books, including a Sunday school lesson book on I Samuel for the Welsh Sunday schools of America and Wales; and a Welsh and English catechism. For five years, he was the first editor of the Lamp, the Welsh Christian Endeavor Magazine.

The book “Welsh Settlement Centennial 1847-1947” is a translation of “Hanes y Cymry” (History of the Welsh), the jubilee book of 1897, giving the history of the Welsh of Winnebago and Fond du Lac counties, Wisconsin, 1847-1897. The original portion was edited by Davies, and it was translated into English and supplemented with additional chapters by his son, the Rev. Howell D. Davies, Class of 1904, and a Distinguished Alumni and honorary degree recipient.

Davies suffered from ill health. College Days reported that, toward the end of his life. “Though sick and so weak that he had to be carried to church in a carriage, his unconquerable spirit would not suffer him to forgo a single duty, or service, that belonged to him as pastor. … He even came back to his beloved college, at Commencement, attending the formal business meetings of the Trustees and of the Alumni, and speaking a few earnest, intense worlds for his Master, at the informal Alumni Banquet on Wednesday.”

He died of consumption Aug. 19, 1902, at the age of 57. At his funeral, 28 ministers attended from around the country, and the many speakers included Ripon College President Edward H. Merrell.

At its next meeting in June 22, 1903, the Ripon Board of Trustees resolved: “… We record our deep sense of loss and bereavement. His high pure vision, his faithfulness to the college trusts, his fine clear sense of right, his firm faith in the Christian mission and future of the College, his painstaking attention to its calls and loyalty to its noblest traditions, made him an invaluable trustee and a man to be honored.”