Sir William Williams, 2nd Baronet (''c.'' 1665 – 20 October 1740), of Glascoed,

Llansilin Llansilin () is a village and local government community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales, west of Oswestry. The community, which includes Llansilin village, a large rural area and the hamlets of Moelfre and Rhiwlas as well as the remote parish ...

, Denbighshire was a Welsh landowner and Tory politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 1708 to 1710.

Early life

Williams was the son of Sir William Williams, 1st Baronet, of Gray's Inn and his wife Margaret Kyffin. His father was

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

. Williams married Jane Thelwall, the great-granddaughter of

Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet (1553 – 1 March 1627), was a Welsh baronet, Member of Parliament and antiquary. Life He was the son of Morys Wynn ap John, whom he succeeded in 1580, inheriting Gwydir Castle in Carnarvonshire. John was educated at ...

, and daughter and heiress of Edward Thelwall of Plas-y-Ward in 1684. The name Thelwall is cognate with the name Llewellyn. In 1695, he was appointed Sheriff of Denbighshire. He succeeded his father to the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 11 July 1700. He became Sheriff of Montgomeryshire for 1704, Sheriff of Merioneth for 1706 and

Sheriff of Caernarvonshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Caernarvonshire (or Carnarvonshire). The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in a county but over the centuries most of the responsibi ...

for 1707.

Career

Williams was returned unopposed as Tory

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Denbigh Boroughs at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

. He told for the Tories in a division over an electoral petition and voted against the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He declined to stand at the 1710 British general election, probably on account of ill-health.

Later life and legacy

Williams' wife died in 1706 and he married as his second wife Catherine Davies, daughter of Mytton Davies of Gwysan, Flintshire. In 1719, he came into the entire Wynnstay estate near Ruabon, Denbighshire, together with estates in Montgomery, Merioneth and Llangedwyn, Denbighshire, from his first wife's relative,

Sir John Wynn, 5th Baronet Sir John Wynn, 5th Baronet (1628 – 11 January 1719) was a Welsh landowner and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1679 and 1713. Early life Wynn was the only son of Henry Wynn of Rhiwgoch, Merioneth, ...

. Since Wynn and Sir William Williams were the two largest landowners in north Wales at that time, the combined estate dwarfed all others in the area. In honour of his wife's ancestry, Sir William changed his name to Sir William Williams-Wynn of Wynnstay. Wynnstay Estate Records
/ref> Williams died on 20 October 1740, aged about 75. His children by his first wife included Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, 3rd Baronet, Robert Williams, MP, Richard Williams, MP and a daughter Sydney, who married John Wynne.

References

1665 births 1740 deaths Williams, Sir William, 2nd Baronet of Gray's Inn High Sheriffs of Denbighshire High Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire High Sheriffs of Merionethshire High Sheriffs of Caernarvonshire British MPs 1708–1710 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Welsh constituencies {{Wales-GreatBritain-MP-stub