James Miller Williams (September 14, 1818 – November 25, 1890) was a Canadian-American businessman and politician. Williams is best known for establishing the first commercially successful oil well in 1858 and igniting the first oil boom in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
.
Williams is commonly viewed as the father of the
petroleum industry in Canada
Petroleum production in Canada is a major industry which is important to the economy of North America. Canada has the third largest oil reserves in the world and is the world's fourth largest oil producer and fourth largest oil exporter. In 20 ...
.
Early life
James Miller Williams was born in
Camden, New Jersey
Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...
, on September 14, 1818, and apprenticed as a carriage maker.
[Norman R. Ball and Edward Phelps, “WILLIAMS, JAMES MILLER,” in ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. 11, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed June 10, 2020, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio.php?id_nbr=5906] Alongside his family, Williams emigrated to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
Canada West
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...
in 1840, where he entered into a partnership with Marcus Holmes to build carriages.
At some point, Williams bought out his partner, and in 1846, he moved his carriage business to
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
, where he established the Hamilton Coach Factory with Henry G. Cooper.
The pair owned a factory that employed forty people, and in the 1850s, they expanded their business into manufacturing railway cars for the
Great Western Railway.
Oil career
Williams entered the petroleum business on February 3, 1856, when he purchased 600 acres of land in
Enniskillen Township from
Charles Nelson Tripp Charles Nelson Tripp (1823-30 September 1866) was a bitumen businessman in Ontario. Tripp is best known for his role in the formation of the International Mining and Manufacturing Company in 1854, the world's first incorporated oil company. Tripp a ...
, whose International Mining and Manufacturing Company had gone bankrupt. Unlike Tripp, who boiled the bitumen to produce asphalt, Williams sought to distill the hydrocarbons into lamp fuel.
In the summer of 1858, Williams struck oil when he was digging for water in during a local drought, becoming the first person in North America to establish a commercial oil well.
Initially, Williams refined the oil and bitumen on his property in Enniskillen Township, but by 1859, he moved his refining operations to Hamilton under the name of J.M. Williams and Co.
By 1861, William's refineries produced around 120 barrels of luminating and machine oil per week.
Pioneering geologist and physician
Abraham Gesner
Abraham Pineo Gesner, ONB (; May 2, 1797 – April 29, 1864) was a Canadian physician and geologist who invented kerosene. Gesner was born in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia (now called Chipmans Corner) and lived much of his life in Saint John, New Bru ...
might have acted as a consultant in the development of the Hamilton refinery.
Williams' discovery of oil and successful business venture helped kickstart the
Age of Oil
The Age of Oil, also known as the Oil Age, the Petroleum Age, or the Oil Boom, refers to the era in human history characterised by an increased use of petroleum in products and as fuel. Though unrefined petroleum has been used for various purposes ...
, incite the first oil boom in North America and demonstrated the viability of an Ontario petroleum industry.
His company produced, refined and marketed petroleum products, making it the world's first integrated oil company.
In 1860, Williams reorganized his business as the Canadian Oil Company, with a capitalized value of $42,000.
Out of the five shareholders, Williams held the controlling interest in the company at $14,000.
By this time, Williams had amassed over 1,400 acres of land in Enniskillen township.
The company marketed its kerosene as 'Victoria Oil,' and successfully sold it in Europe, South America, and China. In 1862, the Canadian Oil Company received two medals at the International Exhibition in London, one for "introducing important industry by sinking artesian wells in the Devonian stratum for petroleum” and the other for his refined oils.
In late 1860, Williams, W.E. Sanborne and Andrew Elliot formed the Black Creek Plank Road Company to better transport crude out of Enniskillen Township.
Up until this point, the lack of a suitable road to transport crude to markets and refineries from Enniskillen township was a significant obstacle in the development of the local oil industry.
By early 1863, the company built a plank toll road to
Wyoming, Ontario, and completed a road to
Sarnia
Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron fl ...
in 1865.
In 1861, Williams and three others laid out the village of
Oil Springs, which by 1862 had a population of 1600.
In 1870, Williams joined
John Henry Fairbank
John Henry Fairbank (July 21, 1831 - February 10, 1914) was variously a surveyor, oilman, inventor, banker, politician and fire chief in Lambton County, Ontario. Fairbank is best known for his invention of the jerker-line pumping system, which qu ...
and other prominent Petrolia oil producers in forming the Home Oil Works Company, a producer group that sought to limit the production of oil to the market demand.
The company constructed an oil refinery near Petrolia that was capable of refining roughly 3000 barrels per week.
Imperial Oil
Imperial Oil Limited (French: ''Compagnie Pétrolière Impériale Ltée'') is a Canadian petroleum company. It is Canada's second-biggest integrated oil company. It is majority owned by American oil company ExxonMobil with around 69.6 percent ...
purchased the refinery in 1881.
Marriage and children
Williams married Melinda Clarissa Jackson in 1842.
Together, they had three sons and a daughter.
Later life and death
Williams gradually passed control of the Canadian Oil Company to his son, Charles Joseph, selling full control of business in 1879.
Within two years, the Canadian Oil Company merged into the Canadian Carbon Oil Company; a business made up of several leading Ontario refiners.
By 1871, Williams established J.M Williams and Company, a business that produced pressed tinware.
Williams sold the enterprise to his son in 1876.
From 1867 to 1879, Williams represented
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
as a
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
member of 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 ...
. Following Williams' retirement from politics in 1879, he served as Registrar for Wentworth County until his death in 1890.
Honours, decorations, awards and distinctions
In 1997, James Miller Williams was inducted into the ''Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame'' for digging the first successful commercial oil well in North America and creating North America's first oil company.
In 2008, Canada Post issued a stamp commemorating the first commercial oil well, featuring portraits of
Charles Tripp and Williams.
References
External links
Biography at the Oil Museum of CanadaBiography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''Biography at The Canadian EncyclopediaOntario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, James Miller
1818 births
1890 deaths
American emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario
American businesspeople in the oil industry
Businesspeople from New Jersey
Founders of the petroleum industry
Immigrants to Upper Canada
Ontario Liberal Party MPPs
People from Camden County, New Jersey
19th-century American businesspeople