Career
He preached the principles of the French Revolution, against slavery, and in favour of the reform of parliament. Rhys was born in Llanbradach, near Caerphilly, and became a pastor of a Baptist church in Pen-y-garn, near Pontypool. In 1793 he established and edited Y cylchgrawn Cyn-mraeg (=The Welsh magazine) in order to spread his political and religious ideas.
In 1794 he grew tired of the repression in Britain and emigrated to America where he established a Welsh colony, Cambria.
Here he established his own religious denomination and a newspaper, The western sky. After emigrating to America he changed his surname to Rhees.
He moved to Somerset County in 1799 and died there in 1804.
