James Williams (baptized 26 July 1790 – 24 March 1872) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

cleric. Williams was the great-grandfather of famous Welsh artist

Kyffin Williams Sir John Kyffin Williams, (9 May 1918 – 1 September 2006) was a Welsh landscape painter who lived at Pwllfanogl, Llanfairpwll, on the Island of Anglesey. Williams is widely regarded as the defining artist of Wales during the 20th century. Pe ...

Life

James Williams was the son of John Williams, the rector of Llanddeusant church, St Caffo's Church, Llangaffo, and

St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yng-Nghornwy St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yng-Nghornwy is a medieval parish church in the north-west of Anglesey, north Wales. The date of foundation of the church, which is in the village of Llanfair-yng-Nghornwy, is unknown, but the oldest parts date from the ...

(all parishes on the island of

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

). John Williams was the younger brother of Thomas Williams, the Welsh copper industrialist. James Williams was educated at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

matriculating Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

in 1807, and obtaining his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1810. He was a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of Jesus College from 1813 to 1822, and was awarded a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

degree in 1820. After being ordained, he was appointed

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

St Mary's Church, Llanfairpwllgwyngyll St Mary's Church is a Church in Wales parish church in Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Anglesey, Wales. It was built in 1853 to serve the village in the Diocese of Bangor and is a Grade II-listed building. History Before St Mary's Church was erected ther ...

and St Gredifael's Church, Penmynydd (both on Anglesey) in 1814. He left these parishes in 1821 to succeed his father in his parish positions on his father's retirement. He became chancellor of

Bangor Cathedral Bangor Cathedral () is the cathedral church of Bangor, Gwynedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It is dedicated to its founder, Deiniol, Saint Deiniol. The site of the present building of Bangor Cathedral has been in use as a place of Christian worship ...

in 1851. Williams helped to establish the Anglesey Association of the Preservation of Lives from Shipwreck, in the wake of a storm that caused a boat to sink with 140 deaths. The association later became part of the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

. The 19th-century antiquarian

Angharad Llwyd Angharad Llwyd (15 April 1780 – 16 October 1866) was a Welsh antiquary and a prizewinner at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. She is generally considered one of the most important collectors and copiers of manuscripts of the period. Biography ...

, who wrote a history of Anglesey at a time when Williams was at St Mary’s, noted that "this benevolent gentleman, aided by his lady, ever alert in the cause of humanity, are generally among the first on the shore, in case of accident, well supplied with restoratives, and other necessaries, to comfort and protect the suffering mariners." Williams was a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

and also had an interest in agriculture, contributing some notes to a book on cattle breeding in 1869. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

. He was also instrumental, with

Morris Williams Morris Williams (20 August 1809 – 3 January 1874), was a Welsh clergyman and writer, commonly known by his bardic name Nicander. He worked on the Welsh Prayer Book of 1841 and himself produced a metrical Welsh Psalms of David. Early life Wil ...

, in the introduction of

John Rhys John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

, who at that time was teaching in Anglesey, to Charles Williams, Principal of Jesus College, which led to Rhys obtaining a scholarship to study at the college. Rhys went on to become the first Jesus Professor of Celtic at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

and Principal of Jesus College itself.

Other family members

His elder brother, John Williams, also studied at Jesus College and became a barrister. One of John Williams' grandsons was

Ralph Champneys Williams Sir Ralph Champneys Williams, (9 March 1848 – 22 June 1927) was a British colonial governor. Life and career Williams was educated at The King's School, Chester, and at Rossall School. He joined the colonial service in 1884 and his first p ...

, who later became

Governor of the Windward Islands This is a list of viceroys in the British Windward Islands. The colony of the Windward Islands was created in 1833 and consisted of Grenada, Barbados (to 1885), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tobago (to 1889), St. Lucia (from 1838), and Domi ...

and

Governor of Newfoundland The lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador () is the representative in Newfoundland and Labrador of the monarch, who Monarchy in Newfoundland and Labrador, operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the Cana ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, James 1790 births 1872 deaths People from Anglesey 19th-century Welsh Anglican priests Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford