Thomas Williams (1724/1725–1770) was a British

Congregational 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 ...

minister.

Life as an Independent (Congregational) minister

From 1745 to 1749 Williams was a student at Plasterers' Hall, London, which was a

dissenting academy The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and seminaries (often institutions with aspects of all three) run by English Dissenters, that is, those who did not conform to the Church of England. They formed a significant part of England's edu ...

that provided for the training of Congregational ministers in the

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

tradition. Williams was a student of Dr.

Zephaniah Marryat Zephaniah Marryat (1684–1754) was an English Nonconformist minister. He was a strict Calvinist. Career Marryat was a tutor at dissenting academies funded by the King's Head Society. Between 1743 and 1744 he was a tutor at Stepney Academy; he t ...

. On 6 June 1750 Williams began his ministry at the

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Chapel in the High Street of

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, which was a large chapel capable of seating twelve hundred persons. Williams was a popular preacher. In 1752 he was proposed for membership of the Kings Head Society, which then administered the dissenting academy at Plasterers' Hall, London, which in 1768 moved to

Homerton Homerton ( ) is an area in London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is bordered to the west by Hackney Central, to the north by Lower Clapton, in the east by Hackney Wick, Leyton and by South Hackney to the south. In 2019, it had ...

, where the academy became known as the Homerton Academy or

Independent College, Homerton Independent College, later Homerton Academy, was a dissenting academy in Homerton just outside London, England, in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Background In 1695 the Congregational Fund was set up in London to provide for the education of C ...

. Williams died at Gosport on 19 June 1770. He was succeeded at Gosford by Rev. James Watson and when he resigned in 1776,

David Bogue David Bogue (18 February 175025 October 1825) was a British nonconformist religious leader. Life He was born at Hallydown Farm, in the parish of Coldingham, Berwickshire, Scotland, the son of John Bogue, farmer, and his wife, Margaret Swanston. ...

was appointed as the minister of the Independent Chapel of Gosport.

Family

Williams married Rebecca Isgar on 6 August 1750, at

Rowner Rowner is a small settlement which forms part of the borough of Gosport, on the south coast of Hampshire, England. History As Roman burial shrouds were found in the grounds of the church, it would seem to indicate there was a presence in the ar ...

near Gosport. Rebecca was born about 1713 and died on 8 April 1799. Thomas and Rebecca had three children: Rebecca (born on 1 May 1751), Thomas (born on 27 May 1753) and Lydia (born on 24 July 1757). Rebecca married John Voke, a purser on ''HMS Acteon'' and Lydia married John Fenn. John Fenn was one of the directors of the Missionary Society of London, which was a non-denominational

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

society formed in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

by evangelical

Anglicans Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, which in 1795 became the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational miss ...

. In 1804 he participated in the foundation of the

British and Foreign Bible Society The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world. The Soc ...

. Thomas Williams married Mary Marsh on 17 April 1783. Thomas was a supplier of uniforms to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in Gosport. In 1794 Thomas and Mary and their six children moved to

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, then the thriving centre of the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

industrial revolution. Thomas was listed in the Nottingham trade directories as a hosier. The industry was based on William Lee's

stocking frame A stocking frame was a mechanical knitting machine used in the textiles industry. It was invented by William Lee of Calverton near Nottingham in 1589. Its use, known traditionally as framework knitting, was the first major stage in the mechan ...

knitting machine A knitting machine is a device used to create knitted fabrics in a semi or fully automated fashion. There are numerous types of knitting machines, ranging from simple spool or board templates with no moving parts to highly complex mechanisms co ...

. The business was successful. Thomas received recognition as a

Burgess __NOTOC__ Burgess may refer to: People and fictional characters * Burgess (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Burgess (given name), a list of people Places * Burgess, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Burgess, Missouri, U ...

in 1796 and as a

Sheriff of Nottingham The Sheriff of Nottingham is the main antagonist in the legend of Robin Hood. He is generally depicted as an unjust tyrant who mistreats the local people of Nottinghamshire, subjecting them to unaffordable taxes. Robin Hood fights against him, ...

in 1803. However the prosperity which had been such a feature of the hosiery industry in the second half of the 18th century ended. In 1804 when Thomas died of

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

at the age of 50, Mary was left with a heavily mortgaged business with five sons and three daughters to look after. Their daughter Lydia married

Edward Garrard Marsh Edward Garrard Marsh (1783–1862)
was an English poet and Anglican clergyman.

Life

He was son of t ...

, a member of the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

(CMS), who was influential in two of her brothers,

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

and

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, joining the CMS and becoming missionaries in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Thomas 1725 births 1770 deaths British Congregationalist ministers People from Gosport Alumni of Homerton College, Cambridge