Sir John Bickerton Williams (4 March 1792 – 21 October 1855) was an English, nonconformist author and lawyer. He was knighted by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

in 1837.

Life

Williams was born at Sandford Hall, at

West Felton West Felton is a village and civil parish near Oswestry in Shropshire, England. At the 2001 census the parish, which also includes the settlements of Rednal, Grimpo and Haughton, had a population of 1,380,

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

in the United Kingdom on 4 March 1792, the son of William Williams and Hannah Bickerton. Early in his life, his parents moved to Wem in Shropshire. He received his early education at the free school (now Thomas Adams School) in Wem. He became a member of the

congregational church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

at Wem in the autumn of 1809. Williams began to gather a large collection of manuscripts by

Phillip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

and

Matthew Henry Matthew Henry (18 October 166222 June 1714) was a Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist minister and author, who was born in Wales but spent much of his life in England. He is best known for the six-volume biblical commentary ''Exposition ...

and other nonconformist theologians. He spent his leisure time writing. Williams studied law and he became an apprentice on 17 February 1806 to an attorney in Wem. After a residence in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

from 1811 to 1815, he was admitted an attorney on 23 January 1816. William moved to

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

and commenced a law practice.

Marriage

Williams married Elizabeth Robins on 27 December 1813. He had three sons and two daughters.

Political career

On the passing of the

Municipal Reform Act The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will 4 c 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The legisl ...

in 1835, Williams was elected an alderman of Shrewsbury, and in November 1836 was appointed mayor. In that capacity he presented an address to the

Duke of Sussex Duke of Sussex is a substantive title, one of several royal dukedoms, that has been created twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is a hereditary title of a specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. It takes its name fr ...

at Kimnel Park. On 19 July 1837, at the duke's request, he was knighted at St. James's Palace by

. He was the first to be knighted by the Queen in her reign. He was elected F.S.A. in 1824, and a fellow of the American Antiquarian Society in 1838, and received the degree of LL.D. from Middleburg College, Vermont, U.S.A., in 1831.

Death

Williams retired from law practice at Shrewsbury in March 1841 and moved back to Wem where he lived at The Hall, a Georgian house in New Street. He died at Wem on 21 October 1855 and was buried in the cemetery in Chapel Street on the 27th. His widow died at Wem on 23 February 1872 and was buried in the cemetery in Chapel Street.

Bibliography

* Eighteen Sermons of the Rev. Philip Henry (1816) * Memoirs of the Life and Character of Mrs. Sarah Savage eldest daughter of the Rev. Philip Henry (1818) * Memoirs of Mrs. Hulton (1820) * The miscellaneous works of the Rev. Matthew Henry 1830
Memoirs of Sir Matthew Hale, Knight, Lord Chief Justice of England (1835)
* Letters on Puritanism and Nonconformity * Gleanings of Heavenly Wisdom; or, the Sayings of John Dod, M.A., and Philip Henry, M.A. (1851)

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, John 1792-related lists 1792 births 1855 deaths English knights English lawyers English male writers Writers from Shrewsbury