John Griffiths of Lanelly was born at Pembroke in March 1836.

When he was very young his parents moved to Tenby but subsequently came to Llanelly, where he was educated at the Pottery School.

His mother died in 1848 when he was aged 12 so he was sent to work to earn a little for the support of himself and others.

His first employment was that of parcels boy to the North Mail Coach which stopped at Llanelly. This position he continued to hold until 1852 when the opening of the South Wales Railway put an end to the coaches.

In 1857 he entered the Lead and Silver Works at Llanelly as a smelter and worked there for eight years.

In 1865 he was appointed Carting Agent for Messrs. Crawley to represent the London tea firm in South Wales. In 1867 he was offered and accepted the position of Traveller for the Bristol firm.

He started in business in 1878 in Llanelly as a General Merchant and Commission Agent. The business was very successful.

For many years he was  an indefatigable member of the Llanelly Local Board of Health and Borough Council and was a Vice-Chairman of the Borough Council.

John Griffiths held the position of Overseer of the Llanelly Parish for a number of years and was Chairman of the Urban District Overseers.

He was a stout Churchman and a member of the Buildings Commission of All Saints Church, Llanelly.

From 1855 he was a member of one of the Oddfellows Lodges at Llanelly of which Society he was PPGM and PDCR and PCR of the Ancient Order of Foresters.

In 1865 members of the Britons’ Mechanic Lodge of Oddfellows Llanelly, presented him with a portrait in oil of himself together with an illuminated address and a gold medal and chain with a piece of gold for the service he had rendered to the Lodge and the interest he had shown.

Information from: Men & Women of South Wales and Monmouthshire, Printed and Published by the Western Mail Limited, 1897