Rev. The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...

Eliezer Williams (baptised 4 October 1754 – 20 January 1820) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

clergyman and genealogist, who served the

Earl of Galloway Earl of Galloway is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1623 for Alexander Stewart, 1st Lord Garlies, with remainder to his heirs male bearing the name and arms of Stewart. He had already been created Lord Garlies in the Peera ...

as a family tutor and genealogical researcher.

Life

Williams was born in Pibwr-lwyd, Llangynnwr, Carmarthenshire,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

to a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

minister and his wife. He was educated at Carmarthen grammar school and

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

( matriculated 1775, BA 1778, MA 1781). He was ordained deacon in 1777 and priest in 1778. He was a curate of

Trelech Trelech (Welsh: ''Tre-lech'') is a village in the parish of Tre-lech a'r Betws, Carmarthenshire, in south-west Wales. It is also the name of the community. Trelech is located some 10 miles north-west of Carmarthen and 6.5 miles south of Newcastle ...

, Carmarthenshire before becoming curate of

Tetsworth Tetsworth is a village and civil parish about south of Thame in Oxfordshire. Its Parish Council is made up of six elected Councillors. The estimated population in 2018 was 752 persons. According to the Council (in late 2019), business included ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. Williams became second master at the grammar school in

Wallingford, Berkshire Wallingford () is a historic market town and civil parish located between Oxford and Reading on the River Thames in England. Although belonging to the historic county of Berkshire, it is within the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire for admi ...

) and curate of the nearby village of Acton. Then, in 1780, he was made chaplain of under the command of

Keith Stewart Vice-Admiral Keith Stewart (1739 – 3 March 1795) was a Scottish Royal Navy officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons on two occasions. Having began his naval career in around 1753, Stewart was promoted to commander in 1761 an ...

(son of the

). He also tutored Lord Garlies, Stewart's nephew, who was a midshipman. After a few years, the Earl of Galloway asked Williams to become the family tutor. He also assisted with research into the Galloway ancestry, helping to establish the Scottish Earl's claim to the English peerage. ''A Genealogical Account of Lord Galloway's Family'' was published in 1794. In 1784, he was appointed vicar of

Cynwyl Gaeo Cynwyl Gaeo is a parish and community located in rural Carmarthenshire, Wales, near the boundary with Ceredigion, in the upper Cothi valley about halfway between Lampeter and Llandovery. The population of the village at the United Kingdom Census ...

with

Llansawel Llansawel is a village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, about ten miles north of Llandeilo. It covers an area of . The community is bordered by the communities of: Pencarreg; Cynwyl Gaeo; Talley; Llanfynydd; Llanfihangel Rhos-y-Corn; and ...

, Carmarthenshire. In 1799, he became curate of Chadwell St Mary,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

and was also chaplain at Tilbury Fort. In 1809, while serving in Chadwell, he gave evidence in the case of White v Driver in which Elizabeth Manning's will was disputed on the grounds of insanity.Cases argued in English Ecclesiastical courts; White vs Driver
/ref> His final appointment was as vicar of

Lampeter Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion, ...

in Ceredigion, where he ran a grammar school for 14 years. He died in Lampeter in 1820 and was buried there.

Works

Whilst still at school, Williams helped with the 1773 publication of his father's Welsh bible and ' (Welsh concordance). As well as his genealogical research for the Galloway family, he published other genealogical works. He wrote ''Nautical Odes'' on the achievements of the Navy. After his death, his son from his second marriage published ''English works'', which included essays on various Welsh and Celtic topics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Eliezer 1754 births 1820 deaths People from Carmarthenshire Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Welsh genealogists 18th-century Welsh Anglican priests 19th-century Welsh Anglican priests People from Chadwell St Mary Burials in Wales