Ebenezer Thomas better known to Welsh

Welsh language

Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

 speakers by his bardic name

Bardic name

A bardic name is a pseudonym, used in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany, by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement....

 of Eben Fardd, was a Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 teacher and poet.

Eben Fardd was born in Llanarmon

Llanarmon

Llanarmon could refer to one of several villages in Wales:*Llanarmon, Gwynedd*Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, near Wrexham*Llanarmon Mynydd Mawr, a small settlement and parish in Powys...

, Caernarvonshire, the son of a weaver, and educated at local schools. His elder brother, William, was a schoolmaster, and when William died, Eben Fardd took over his school at Llangybi

Llangybi

Llangybi can refer to one of several villages named after Saint Cybi, their reputed founder.In Wales*Llangybi, Ceredigion*Llangybi, Gwynedd*Llangybi, Monmouthshire...

. He won a prize for his poetry at the 1824 eisteddfod in Welshpool

Welshpool

Welshpool is a town in Powys, Wales, or ancient county Montgomeryshire, from the Wales-England border. The town is low-lying on the River Severn; the Welsh language name Y Trallwng literally meaning 'the marshy or sinking land'...

. In 1830, he married Mary Williams; they had three daughters and a son. In 1840, he won another prize at the Liverpool eisteddfod, and in 1841, his first volume of poetry, Caniadau, was published. In 1850, he was given a grant by the Calvinistic Methodist Church to run a school on its behalf. He had gained such respect as a poet and eisteddfod competitor that he also became an adjudicator. He also wrote numerous hymns. His collected works were published in 1873 under the title Gweithiau Barddonol Eben Fardd.

Sources

• Welsh Biography Online