| Dafydd Jones | |
| Fictional Character | |
| 1632 series POD: May, 1631 | |
| Appearance(s): | Grantville Gazette XX |
| Type of Appearance: | Direct |
| Nationality: | Wales |
| Occupation: | Squire |
Dafydd Jones was a Welsh country squire on the North Anglesey Coast. His family owned a copper mine, which fell into disuse due to flooding. Jones learned from his childhood friend Harold, who spent time in Grantville and read widely of the history of Wales, that their country would lose its identity to, and be inevitably overshadowed by, England. He also shared the fact that Welsh labor would be used by the English in building railroads in the later centuries. With this revelation, Jones and Harold decided to pool their resources to build a working steam engine based on what Harold learned, before the English did in the original timeline. The completed engine allowed them to reopen the copper mines, and improve their families' fortunes. With this prospect, Jones courted English Lady Elizabeth Wycliffe as his wife, in the face of rather stiff competition from Lord Sir Anthony Marshall.
On August 1635, while having dinner with Lady Elizabeth and Lord Henry Wycliffe, a boiler exploded (an explosion felt from the Jones estate), killing Harold and five others. Jones was devastated by the deaths, especially his friend. It also seemed likely that with Harold dead, there would be no way to build another engine, until Lord Wycliffe informed Jones he had Harold's notes and drawings and could provide them another steam engine in a month's time. Jones then turned to cleaning up the mess left by the disaster and returning Lady Elizabeth to her home.