Thomas Peers Williams
Encyclopedia
Lt.-Col. Thomas Peers Williams (27 March 1795-8 September 1875) was MP
for Great Marlow
1820-1868 and Father of the House of Commons December 1867-1868.
Peers Williams live at Craig-y-Don near Beaumaris on Anglesey
and Temple House at Bisham
in Berkshire
, near Marlow
. He was active in the Anglesey Hunt.
He first became an MP in 1820 for the constituency of Great Marlow (usually known as Marlow), and 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.
, and held the seat till his death on 30 November 1802. (The seat was won in 1820 by his grandson and retained until 1868). Four generations from Thomas Williams of Llanidan to his great-grandson Lt-General Owen Lewis Cope Peers Williams (d. 1904) held the Great Marlow seat with intervals, from 1790 until 1885.
His son Owen Williams
(1764–1832), also MP for Great Marlow
, married Margaret Hughes, and had a son Thomas Peers Williams (the subject of this article). Three of the younger Thomas's daughters were married to members of the House of Lords, two others to sons of lords.
The elder Thomas's descendants gradually released their hold on the copper industry; they are now remembered as owners of the Craig-y-don estate and the founders of banks. Several were Members of Parliament.
and later of Elcot Park
, both in Berkshire
Lt Col Thomas Peers Williams had at least two sons and several daughters who married into the peerage.
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Great Marlow
Great Marlow (UK Parliament constituency)
Great Marlow, sometimes simply called Marlow, was a parliamentary borough in Buckinghamshire. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons between 1301 and 1307, and again from 1624 until 1868, and then one member from 1868 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.-History:In the...
1820-1868 and Father of the House of Commons December 1867-1868.
Peers Williams live at Craig-y-Don near Beaumaris on Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
and Temple House at Bisham
Bisham
Bisham is a village and civil parish in the Windsor and Maidenhead district of Berkshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,149. The village is on the River Thames, north of which is Marlow in Buckinghamshire...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, near Marlow
Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Marlow is a town and civil parish within Wycombe district in south Buckinghamshire, England...
. He was active in the Anglesey Hunt.
He first became an MP in 1820 for the constituency of Great Marlow (usually known as Marlow), and retired in 1868 after serving 48 years. In the last year, he was Father of the House of Commons
Father of the House
Father of the House is a term that has by tradition been unofficially bestowed on certain members of some national legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the term refers to the oldest member, but in others it refers the longest-serving member.The...
from December 1867, succeeding Henry Cecil Lowther who had entered the House in 1812 and retired as MP in 1867.
Family background
His grandfather Thomas Williams (1737–1802) was a prominent attorney and active in the copper industry. He was the son of one Owen Williams of Cefn Coch in Llansadwrn, who owned also Tregarnedd and Treffos. About 1785, Williams became chief agent of copper mines owned partly by the earl of Uxbridge and partly by the family of Llysdulas; for a time both parties entrusted the management to Williams alone. He was closely associated with the Uxbridge family and helped several sons get elected to Parliament. In 1790, probably with help from the earl of Uxbridge, he was elected for Great MarlowGreat Marlow (UK Parliament constituency)
Great Marlow, sometimes simply called Marlow, was a parliamentary borough in Buckinghamshire. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons between 1301 and 1307, and again from 1624 until 1868, and then one member from 1868 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.-History:In the...
, and held the seat till his death on 30 November 1802. (The seat was won in 1820 by his grandson and retained until 1868). Four generations from Thomas Williams of Llanidan to his great-grandson Lt-General Owen Lewis Cope Peers Williams (d. 1904) held the Great Marlow seat with intervals, from 1790 until 1885.
His son Owen Williams
Owen Williams (MP)
Owen Williams was a Member of Parliament for Great Marlow from 25 May 1796 to his death 23 February 1832.He was the son of another MP, Thomas Williams of Llanidan with whom he served from 1796 to 1802...
(1764–1832), also MP for Great Marlow
Great Marlow (UK Parliament constituency)
Great Marlow, sometimes simply called Marlow, was a parliamentary borough in Buckinghamshire. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons between 1301 and 1307, and again from 1624 until 1868, and then one member from 1868 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.-History:In the...
, married Margaret Hughes, and had a son Thomas Peers Williams (the subject of this article). Three of the younger Thomas's daughters were married to members of the House of Lords, two others to sons of lords.
The elder Thomas's descendants gradually released their hold on the copper industry; they are now remembered as owners of the Craig-y-don estate and the founders of banks. Several were Members of Parliament.
Marriage and children
Peers Williams married 27 August 1835 Emily Bacon (d. 24 November 1876), daughter of Anthony Bushby Bacon of Benham ParkBenham Park
Benham Park is a mansion in the English county of Berkshire, within the civil parish of Speen. It is located west of Newbury, not far off the A34, near the village of Marsh Benham....
and later of Elcot Park
Elcot Park Hotel
The Ramada Jarvis Hotel Newbury Elcot Park is a four star country hotel belonging to the Ramada Jarvis hotel chain, situated within of land in the locality of Elcot near Kintbury in the English county of Berkshire.- History :...
, both in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
Lt Col Thomas Peers Williams had at least two sons and several daughters who married into the peerage.
- Lieutenant General Owen Lewis Cope WilliamsOwen Lewis Cope WilliamsOwen Lewis Cope Williams was a British army officer and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 to 1885....
(12 July 1836 Berkeley Square, London - 2 October 1904 Temple House, Bisham) of Craig-y-Don, Llandegfan, Anglesey (which he sold), and Temple House, Bisham, Berkshire, sometime MP for Great MarlowGreat MarlowGreat Marlow is a civil parish within Wycombe district in the English county of Buckinghamshire located north of the town of Marlow and south of High Wycombe. The parish includes the hamlets of Bovingdon Green, Burroughs Grove, Chisbridge Cross and Marlow Common, and Danesfield Base, a housing...
1880-1885. He married 1stly 18 August 1862 Fanny Florence Caulfeild (1838 Florence, Italy - 28 July 1876 Berwick House, Stable Yard, St. James's, London), younger daughter of St.George Francis Caulfeild and yr sister of Emily, Countess of LonsdaleHenry Lowther, 3rd Earl of LonsdaleHenry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale was a British nobleman and Conservative politician, the eldest son of Henry Cecil Lowther and Lady Lucy Sherard.He married Emily Susan Caulfeild on 31 July 1852. They had six children:...
by whom apparently no issue. He married 2ndly 1882 Nina Mary Adelaide Sinclair, and had two sons who predeceased him, one of whom, Gwynedd, was killed in the Matabele War. - Hwfa Williams (fl.FloruitFloruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1914), who with his wife was prominent in the court of Edward VII. He was manager of the racing course Sandown Park, created about 120 years ago. His wife Mrs Hwfa Williams (affectionally remembered by Felix YusupovFelix YusupovPrince Felix Felixovich Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston , was best known for participating in the murder of Grigori Rasputin, the faith healer who was said to have influenced decisions of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsaritsa Alexandra Feodorovna.-Biography:...
) was a notable society hostess, and known as the best-dressed woman in England. They were both still alive in 1913. In 1914, Williams was shot and badly wounded in the Pall Mall by an overworked telegraph clerk. His wife later authored It Was Such Good Fun, an account of Edwardian high society life.
- Gwenfra Williams - she had a daughter Julie who became Princess Woroneicki.
- Emily Gwendoline Williams (July 1839-9 November 1932), known as Gwen, wife since 1863 of the 2nd Earl CowleyEarl CowleyEarl Cowley is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1857 for the diplomat Henry Wellesley, 2nd Baron Cowley. He was Ambassador to France from 1852 to 1867. He was made Viscount Dangan, of Dangan in the County of Meath, at the same time as he was given the earldom. This...
; she lived at Bodwen on the Isle of Wight overlooking Wotton Creek. She died at the age of 92 and had a daughter, Eva. - Nina Janet Bronwen Williams (died 1939), known as Bronwen, married 1870 Hon Seton Montolieu MontgomerieSeton Montolieu MontgomerieThe Hon. Seton Montolieu Montgomerie was born at the Clarendon Hotel, London. Seton died in Windsor, at the age of 37, from the effects of diabetes. Seton Montolieu Montgomerie was the second son of Archibald Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton His mother was Theresa Newcomen, born in Calcutta;...
(15 May 1846-26 Nov 1883) a younger son of the 13th Earl of Eglinton & WintonArchibald Montgomerie, 13th Earl of EglintonSir Archibald William Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton KT, PC , known as Lord Montgomerie from 1814 to 1819, was a British Conservative politician...
, and had issue three daughters; Alswen, Viva and May. - Margaret Elizabeth Williams (died 10 August 1909), known as Madge, married 12 August 1866 Sir Richard Mostyn Lewis Williams-Bulkeley, 11th BaronetWilliams-Bulkeley BaronetsThe Williams, later Williams-Bulkeley Baronetcy, of Penrhyn in the County of Caernarvon, is a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 17 June 1661 for Griffith Williams. He had already been granted a baronetcy by Oliver Cromwell in 1658. The second Baronet represented both ...
(20 May 1833-28 January 1884) of Baron HillBaron Hill (house)Baron Hill is an estate in Beaumaris, Anglesey, Wales, named after the hill on which it stands. It was established in 1618, in preparation for Prince Henry of Wales's progress to Ireland, by Sir Richard Bulkeley as the family seat of the influential Bulkeley family.During the English Civil War,...
, Beaumaris, AngleseyAngleseyAnglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
; son of Sir Richard Williams-Bulkeley, 10th Baronet (1801–1875). Their son the 12th Baronet and grandson the 13th Baronet served as Lord Lieutenant of AngleseyLord Lieutenant of AngleseyThis is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of Anglesey. Since 1761, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Anglesey...
; the latter was also Lord Lieutenant of GwyneddLord Lieutenant of GwyneddThis is an incomplete list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant for Gwynedd. The office was created on 1 April 1974.*Sir Richard Williams-Bulkeley, 13th Baronet 1 April 1974 – 1980? with two lieutenants:...
. They had one daughter, Bridget.
- Edith Peers-William (died 23 June 1897), who married 1871 Heneage Finch, 7th Earl of AylesfordEarl of AylesfordEarl of Aylesford, in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1714 for the lawyer and politician Heneage Finch, 1st Baron Guernsey. He had already been created Baron Guernsey in the Peerage of England in 1703...
(1849–1885), and had two daughters. The Earl and his wife separated in 1877, when she became involved with the married Marquess of Blandford, the future 8th Duke of Marlborough. In 1881, she bore a son, later known as Guy Bertrand (b. 1881). This son was baptized only in 1883 as a son of the 7th Earl; his claims to the peerage (made presumably by his mother or maternal kin) were denied by the House of Lords in July 1885. Edith, Countess of Aylesford never married Lord Blandford. - Evelyn Katrine Gwenfra Williams (1855-11 March 1939 West Green House, Hartley Wintney, Hants) who married firstly 7 March 1882 the 3rd Duke of WellingtonHenry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of WellingtonHenry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of Wellington was the son of Lord Charles Wellesley and grandson of the 1st Duke of Wellington....
(1846–1900) in 1882; they had no issue. She remarried in 1904 a Wellesley cousin Col. Hon. Frederick Arthur Wellesley (1844–1931), a son of the 1st Earl CowleyEarl CowleyEarl Cowley is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1857 for the diplomat Henry Wellesley, 2nd Baron Cowley. He was Ambassador to France from 1852 to 1867. He was made Viscount Dangan, of Dangan in the County of Meath, at the same time as he was given the earldom. This...
, as his third wife. Frederick Wellesley had previously married 1873 (div. 1882) Emma Loftus, granddaughter of the 2nd Marquess of ElyMarquess of ElyMarquess of Ely, of the County of Wexford, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for Charles Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely. He was born Charles Tottenham, the son of John Tottenham, who had been created a Baronet, of Tottenham Green in the County of Wexford, in the Baronetage of...
, and then married 1884 (div 1897) Catherine Candelin. He was also her brother-in-law, as the younger brother of the 2nd Earl Cowley, husband of her eldest sister.