Zephaniah Williams (1795 – 8 May 1874) was a Welsh coal miner and
Chartist campaigner, who was one of the leaders of the
Newport Rising
The Newport Rising was the last large-scale armed rising in Wales, by Chartists whose demands included democracy and the right to vote with a secret ballot. On Monday 4 November 1839, approximately 4,000 Chartist sympathisers, under the lead ...
of 1839. Found guilty of high treason, he was condemned to death, but his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in Tasmania. Eventually he was pardoned, and his discovery of coal on that island earned him a fortune.
Early life
Williams was born near
Argoed,
Sirhowy Valley
The Sirhowy Valley ( ) is an industrialised valley in the eastern part of the Valleys region of Wales. It is named from the Sirhowy River () which runs through it. Its upper reaches are occupied by the town of Tredegar within the unitary area of ...
,
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...
, Wales, with much of his childhood spent near the then village of
Blackwood, also living for some periods in Caerphilly and
Nantyglo
Nantyglo () is a village in the ancient parish of Aberystruth and county of Monmouth situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Blaina and Brynmawr in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent.
Governance
An electoral ward in the same name ...
. He was fortunate enough not only to have a fair amount of schooling, and becoming literate in both English and Welsh, but also having the character to be self-educated, particularly studying geology.
At the age of 25 he married Joan, then living for some time in
Machen
Machen (from Welsh language, Welsh ' "place (of)" + ', a personal name) is a large village three miles east of Caerphilly, south Wales. It is situated in the Caerphilly (county borough), Caerphilly borough within the Historic counties of Wales, ...
and had a son Llewellyn. Daughters Jane and Rhoda were born in 1825 and 1827 respectively.
At the age of 33 he came to Sirhowy, as a free thinking rationalist, with strong radical views, rather than one of religious conviction. Williams believed that Christ was nothing more than a good man; but a sufficiently good man that had he been living at Coalbrookvale in 1839 his house would have been pulled down over his head by the mine-owners. Apparently, stories said that Williams spat every time the name of Christ was mentioned. In 1830 Williams launched a Political Union in Tredegar and the following year, in 1831, is thought to have been instrumental in forming the Humanists/Dynolwyr of Nantyglo.
He became a coal miner or
collier and later a Master Collier at
Blaina
Blaina ( cy, Blaenau ) is a small town, situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Brynmawr and Abertillery in the unitary authority of Blaenau Gwent, ancient parish of Aberystruth, preserved county of Gwent and historic county of ...
and innkeeper, keeping the
Royal Oak
The Royal Oak is the English oak tree within which the future King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. C ...
at Nantyglo, from where he used to pay his colliers.
Chartist
He was a free thinking man in religious matters and the local Working Men's Association met at his home.
On the wall in The Royal Oak was 'a picture of the Crucifixion with the enigmatic caption: 'This is the man who stole the ass'.
At the Coach and Horses in Blackwood, Zephaniah Williams met
John Frost - a magistrate and supporter of the cause.
It was at this time only natural that such a man would emerge as a natural leader during the
Chartist movement
Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement, w ...
in south east Wales.
He was subsequently prosecuted for his part in the
Chartist Newport Rising
The Newport Rising was the last large-scale armed rising in Wales, by Chartists whose demands included democracy and the right to vote with a secret ballot. On Monday 4 November 1839, approximately 4,000 Chartist sympathisers, under the lead ...
at
Newport, Monmouthshire
Newport ( cy, Casnewydd; ) is a city and county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2011 census, Newport is the third-largest au ...
on 4 November 1839.
The Newport Rising
Along with
John Frost and
William Jones, he led a large column of men from the
Nantyglo
Nantyglo () is a village in the ancient parish of Aberystruth and county of Monmouth situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Blaina and Brynmawr in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent.
Governance
An electoral ward in the same name ...
area to march south reaching the outskirts of the town
ewportat about 9am; halting at
St. Woolos Church, then moving as a mass to
Stow Hill
Stow Hill is a community civil parish and coterminous electoral district (ward) of the City of Newport, South Wales.
It is bounded by the River Usk to the east, George Street and Cardiff Road to the south, the Great Western Main Line to the ...
, continuing to the square, and on to the
Westgate Hotel
The Westgate Hotel, Commercial Street, Newport, Wales is a hotel building dating from the 19th century. On 4 November 1839 the hotel saw the major scenes of the Newport Rising, when 3,000 Chartists, some of them armed, led by John Frost marche ...
,
Newport. Thirty soldiers (red-coats) were at the Westgate Hotel.
This site is sometimes regarded as the greatest armed rebellion in 19th century Britain.
The men assembled at the Royal Oak before marching as one into
Newport. Known as the "Blackwood Infidel", he had a reputation as a political
Radical
Radical may refer to:
Politics and ideology Politics
*Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change
*Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
, and as an individual prepared to settle disputes in less conventional ways. Some histories refer to his having been prosecuted at
Usk
Usk ( cy, Brynbuga) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks th ...
in 1833 for blowing up a coal mine in a dispute with the mineowner. Other histories refer to him having been an
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
who vigorously promoted his views - very controversial at the time.
Transportation to Australia for life
For his part in the Chartist Rising on Newport he was sentenced by The Special Commission held at
Shire Hall, Monmouth
The Shire Hall in Agincourt Square, Monmouth, Wales, is a prominent Grade I listed building in the town centre. It was built in 1724, and was formerly the centre for the Assize Courts and Quarter Sessions for Monmouthshire. In 1839–40, the cou ...
on 16 January 1840 with the verdict of 'guilty of high treason' - sentencing to death by hanging, drawing, and quartering.
But his sentence was commuted and he was transported for life to
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...
(now
Tasmania, Australia
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
), arriving at the colony on the last day of June 1840. In 1848 he described the terrible treatment handed out in the colony, 'Many have I known, though guilty of the offence for which they suffered, commit murder in order to expire on the gallows rather than endure the punishment'. Once there he made plans to escape, but remained.
He was given a conditional pardon in 1854 allowing him to live anywhere outside of the UK; this was amended to a full pardon in 1856. He decided to remain in Tasmania, and brought his wife and family out from Wales to Australia. He discovered coal on the island and made a considerable fortune from it, so founding the Tasmanian coal trade
He died a prosperous man at
Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copied ...
on 8 May 1874.
Letter to Benjamin Williams by Zephaniah Williams
This letter
[Oliver Jones, ''The Early Days of Sirhowy and Tredegar'', The Starling Press Ltd, Newport: 1975] (printed by John Partridge of Newport) to Rev. Benjamin Williams, who was a nonconformist minister, written in Sirhowy in 1831, expresses his
. Williamsview on a number of subjects. The extracts are as follows :
On Rationalism
I would advise all men to take nothing upon trust but all on trial, whether in politics, religion, ethics, or anything else : to sit down with a determined resolution: to examine closely: and to be directed by that which reason most approves.
On Prejudice
When prejudice has shut the eye of the mind the brightest rays of truth shine in vain. When men are thus incapacitated for the reception of truth they become liable to become guilty of injustice, ill-nature, and ill manners to others; and insensible of what is properly owing to themselves.
On Friendship
We know that man is a social being and that consequently he has a capacity for friendship. Friendship is as old as the first formation of society and in its own nature so necessary that I know not how a social being could exist without it.
On The Doctrine of Pre-destination
Your conduct and your doctrine are at variance; for you are holding to your flock that God will have the number which he has decreed, and afterwards go into my neighbours to persuade them that an impotent mortal like myself may be the means of leading an infinite number of those who are already decreed for happiness (for you could not mean that such as are reprobate could be endangered by my heresy) into eternal misery. According to your tenets I could not be but fulfilling what I was ordained to fulfil, and the act, in itself, is right.
On Inconsistency in the Use of Reason
Those who distrust reason in matters of faith deem its free and unshackled exercise, not withstanding all their concessions in their pious moods as of essential importance in worldly matters, in which they forget not to use the wisdom of serpents, however wanting in the innocence of doves.
See also
*
List of convicts transported to Australia
Penal transportation to Australia began with the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 and ended in 1868. Overall, approximately 165,000 convicts were transported to Australia.
Convicts
A
* Esther Abrahams (c. 1767–1846), English wife of ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Zephaniah
1795 births
1874 deaths
Welsh atheists
Chartists
People from Blackwood, Caerphilly
Welsh prisoners sentenced to death
Convicts transported to Australia