Thomas Welsh [Welch]

Thomas Welsh [Welch] was originally from Folkestone and was trained as a businessman.  He began studying with Sutcliff in Olney in 1810 and in June 1811 left for King’s Lynn to become the minister at the Baptist church there. He was ordained on October 1811, but resigned in February 1813, “owing to dissatisfaction on the part of some members” (the church  under its former pastor, William Richards, had acquired a substantial number of Arians). He then moved to the Baptist congregation at Newbury, where he was ordained in August 1813 (see letter 108). Welsh was present at the death of John Sutcliff in Olney on 22 June, hearing Sutcliff’s last words. Welsh would remain at Newbury until 1839. See The Baptists in King’s Lynn (King’s Lynn: [n.p.], 1939), 15; Sutcliff Centenary. Baptist Chapel, Olney, June 22nd, 1914, (Northampton: n.p., 1914), 7; B. R. White, “Samuel Whitewood, 1794-1860, at Andover,” Baptist Quarterly 25 (1973-1974), 232.