Captain T. Duncombe Love Jones-Parry (1832-91), baron of Madryn, c. 1865

Description

Love Jones-Parry was one of five influential men who were appointed as trustees to the Emigration Society in Liverpool, the idea being that they would act as a link between the Society and the Argentine government. In 1862, Love Jones-Parry and Lewis Jones were nominated to travel to Argentina on behalf of the Emigration Society in order to negotiate with the Argentine Minister for Home Affairs, Dr Guillermo Rawson, and to inspect possible locations for a Welsh settlement. It was hoped that Love Jones-Parry's diplomatic experience would prove beneficial during the talks. He also contributed £500 towards the journey.

As Jones-Parry was unable to leave for Argentina until mid-December 1862, and Lewis Jones had little choice but to set sail on his own at the beginning of November. As a result, Jones-Parry played very little part in the negotiations with the Argentine government. An agreement had already been reached when he arrived in Buenos Aires in January 1863. In effect, Love Jones-Parry's only contribution to the process was to add his signature to the agreement.

Having secured an agreement with the Argentine government, Love Jones-Parry and Lewis Jones set sail from Buenos Aires to begin an exploratory journey of the lands in Patagonia. They returned to Wales in May and presented detailed and favourable reports of the lands which they had seen. The reports of Lewis Jones and Love Jones-Parry were used to promote the Chupat Valley in Patagonia as a suitable location for a Welsh Settlement - an issue which proved particularly controversial in later years.