Lt.-Colonel The Hon. Arthur Trefusis Heneage Williams (June 13, 1837 – July 4, 1885) was a Canadian businessman, farmer and political figure. His statue stands in front of the town hall of

Port Hope, Ontario Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County. ...

Biography

Born at Penryn Park, Port Hope in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

in 1837, a member of the

Williams family of Caerhays and Burncoose The Williams family of Caerhays, Burncoose and Scorrier were owners of mines and smelting works for several generations during the Cornish Industrial Revolution. A branch of the family settled in Port Hope, Ontario. The family developed '' wil ...

. He was the eldest son of

John Tucker Williams John Tucker Williams (1789 – September 9, 1854) was a British naval officer and political figure in Canada West. Early life and military career Williams was born at Penryn, Cornwall in 1789, a member of the Williams family of Caerhays ...

and his wife Sarah, daughter of Judge Thomas Ward (1770–1861) of Port Hope. He studied at

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

before travelling throughout Europe. He studied law but was not called to the bar, instead he 'delighted in calling himself a farmer', managing Penryn Park, the estate he'd inherited from his father. He was president and founder of the Midlands Loan and Savings Company and a director for the

Midland Railway of Canada The Midland Railway of Canada was a historical Canadian railway which ran from Port Hope, Ontario to Midland on Georgian Bay. The line was originally intended to run to Peterborough, but the competing Cobourg and Peterborough Railway was comple ...

. In politics, he represented Durham East in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

from 1867 to 1874 and in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

member from 1879 to 1885. Williams was captain in the local militia, later becoming lieutenant-colonel. In 1885, he led

The Midland Battalion The Midland Provisional Battalion (also known as The Midland Battalion) was a military unit of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia (now the Canadian Army) from Eastern Ontario, Canada, which fought in the North-West Rebellion ...

which helped put down the

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (french: Rébellion du Nord-Ouest), also known as the North-West Resistance, was a resistance by the Métis people under Louis Riel and an associated uprising by First Nations Cree and Assiniboine of the District of S ...

. Shortly after the

Battle of Batoche The Battle of Batoche was the decisive battle of the North-West Rebellion, which pitted the Canadian authorities against a force of First Nations and Métis people. Fought from May 9 to 12, 1885, at the ad hoc Provisional Government of Saskatche ...

, he became ill and died of fever on a

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

on the

North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows eventual ...

in 1885. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography writes,

Colonel Williams was the only nationally known figure to die in the northwest campaign and his body was brought home in state. A huge funeral was held in Port Hope where citizens erected a statue in his honour. Parliament voted his orphaned children a special pension. Then, like most heroes, he was gradually forgotten. To
Charles Arkoll Boulton Charles Arkoll Boulton (April 17, 1841 – May 15, 1899) is noted for his role in the Red River and North-West Rebellions. Biography He was born in Cobourg, Canada West in 1841, the great-grandson of D'Arcy Boulton, and educated at Upp ...
, a contemporary, Williams "represented what might be termed Young Canada"; to posterity, he reflects a model of the patriotic landed gentleman, using his wealth and position for dignified public service, accepting payment in the currency of honour and prestige. In short, Arthur Williams was an anachronism.

Williams married Emily, the daughter of Senator

Benjamin Seymour Benjamin Seymour (ca 1806 – March 23, 1880) was a political figure in Canada West and a Conservative member of the Senate of Canada from 1867 to 1880. He was born in Fredericksburgh Township in Upper Canada around 1806 and became a mercha ...

of Port Hope. They were the parents of General

Arthur Victor Seymour Williams Major-General Victor Arthur Seymour Williams (1867 – December 12, 1949) was a Canadian general in the First World War and later the Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police. In June 1916 he was seriously wounded and captured by the Germans ...

. A collection of his North-West Rebellion Medal with Saskatchewan bar and his son's Second Boer War, and World War I medals were auctioned by Plato Auctions in April 2010. Plate Auctions of Arthur Trefusis Heneage Williams and MGen Arthur Victor Seymour's medals

References

External links

* * *
Williams Family, Port Hope Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Arthur Trefusis Heneage 1837 births 1885 deaths Canadian Militia officers Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Canadian people of English descent People from Northumberland County, Ontario Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century Canadian businesspeople Canadian farmers Upper Canada College alumni North-West Rebellion Canadian militia officers Canadian military personnel from Ontario