Williams was the son of Owen Williams (1764–1832), MP for Great Marlow,[2] and the former Margaret Hughes (d. 1821), a member of the Hughes family which owned a large interest in the Parys Mountain copper mine. Three of his sister were married to members of the House of Lords, two others to sons of lords.
His grandfather Thomas Williams was a prominent attorney and active in the copper industry. His great-grandfather was Owen Williams of Cefn Coch, Llansadwrn, who owned also Tregarnedd and Treffos. Williams' grandfather was retained by the Hughes and Lewis families to act for their in very acrimonious litigation with Sir Nicholas Bayly (father of the Earl of Uxbridge) in relation to the Parys Mountain copper mine. When the litigation ended in 1778, Williams' grandfather became an active partner in the mine.
In 1820, he became an MP for the constituency of Great Marlow (usually known as Marlow). The seat had been held by his grandfather from 1790 until his death in 1802 when his own father took up the seat, serving until his death in 1832. Williams retired in 1868 after serving 48 years. In the last year, he was Father of the House of Commons from December 1867, succeeding Henry Cecil Lowther who had entered the House in 1812 and retired as MP in 1867. His eldest son, Owen Lewis Cope Williams, also served as MP for Great Marlow 1880 from 1885, the fourth generation of his family to hold the Great Marlow seat with intervals, from 1790 until 1885, nearly a hundred years.[4]
He was commissioned as a Captain in the Royal Anglesey Light Infantry Militia on 10 April 1835,[5] and was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant on 10 March 1853.[6]
Williams' family gradually released their hold on the copper industry and, today, are chiefly remembered as owners of the Craig-y-don estate, Members of Parliament, and the founders of banks.
Estates
Williams was a considerable landowner in Wales, as recorded with 7,010 acres (28.4 km2) in 1873. He owned estates in Anglesey and Berkshire, and elsewhere. He owned a house and estate called Craig-y-Don, near Beaumaris on Anglesey.[7] He also had a residence at Temple House, Bisham, Berkshire, near Marlow. He was active in the Anglesey Hunt.
Personal life
Madge, Nina and Blanche Peers-WilliamsEdith Peers-Williams, later Countess of AylesfordEvelyn, Duchess of Wellington.
Edith Peers-William (c. 1854–1897), who married Heneage Finch, 7th Earl of Aylesford (1849–1885), in 1871; they separated in 1877, when she became involved with the married Marquess of Blandford (later the 8th Duke of Marlborough). The Earl of Aylesford attempted to divorce his wife, but was himself found guilty of adultery, and thus the decree nisi was cancelled.[15]
Evelyn Katrine Gwenfra Williams (1855–1939), who married Henry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of Wellington in 1882.[16] After his death in 1900, she married, in 1904, as his third wife, Col. Hon. Frederick Arthur Wellesley (1844–1931), a son of the 1st Earl Cowley and younger brother of the 2nd Earl Cowley, the husband of her elder sister, Emily.[12]
Williams died on 8 September 1875. His wife died on 24 November 1876.[12]
Descendants
Through his eldest son Owen, he was a grandfather of Owen Gwynedd St George Williams (1865–1893), who was killed in the Matabele War.[10]
Through his son Hwfa, he was a grandfather of Gwenfra Williams,[17] whose daughter Julie became Princess Korybut-Woroniecki by her marriage to Prince Krzysztof Korybut-Woroniecki.[18][19] They had two children: Jan Korybut-Woroniecki, a London restaurateur, and Marysia Korybut-Woroniecka, a fashion business executive based in New York.[20]
Through his daughter Margaret ("Madge"), he was a grandfather of Bridget Henrietta Frances (née Williams-Bulkeley), who married Benjamin Seymour Guinness (parents Thomas Loel Guinness, MP for Bath, Meraud Guinness, and Tanis Eva Bulkeley Guinness).[13]
Through his daughter Edith, Countess of Aylesford, he was the grandfather of Lady Hilda Joanna Gwendoline Finch (1872–1931), Lady Alexandra Louise Minna Finch (1875–1959), and Guy Bertrand (b. 1881) who was baptized in June 1883 at St Mary le Strand as a son of the 7th Earl. His claims to the peerage (made by his mother Edith) were denied by the House of Lords in July 1885.[22][23][24]
Through his daughter Bronwen, he was the grandfather of three: Alswen, Viva and May Montgomerie.[25]
^ abP.H. Ditchfield (1923). William Page (ed.). "Parishes: Bisham". A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 3. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
^ Arthur Sleigh, The Royal Militia and Yeomanry Cavalry Army List, April 1850, London: British Army Despatch Press, 1850/Uckfield: Naval and Military Press, 1991, ISBN 978-1-84342-410-9.
^"[Aylesford's] paternity was however subsequently disallowed by the House of Lords: see 'The Complete Peerage', vol. 1 p. 367 fn. a; in July 1885, in the case of the Earldom of Aylesford as against the legitimacy of a child b. 4 November 1881 in wedlock, of parties who were residing respectively in Chapel Place (Oxford Str.) and in Portugal Str. (South Audley Str.) Midx., in the months of Jan., Feb., Mar., and Apr. previous to the BIRTH: see 'The Complete Peerage', vol. 1 p. 367 fn. b."].
^G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume I, page 367.
