Zephaniah Williams (1795 – 8 May 1874) was a Welsh coal miner and Chartist campaigner, who was one of the leaders of the Newport Rising 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 ...

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, wit ...

, 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 nam ...

. 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 ' "place (of)" + ', a personal name) is a large village three miles east of Caerphilly, south Wales. It is situated in the Caerphilly borough within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It neighbours Bedwas and Trethom ...

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 o ...

and innkeeper, keeping the Royal Oak 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 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

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, 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 an ...

, 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 co ...

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 sep ...

(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 copie ...

on 8 May 1874.

Letter to Benjamin Williams by Zephaniah Williams

This letterOliver 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.

References