Life

James Williams was the son of John Williams, the rector of Llanddeusant

Llanddeusant, Anglesey

Llanddeusant is a small linear village, on Anglesey, North Wales about north east of Holyhead. The village takes it names from its parish church which is dedicated to St. Marcellus and Saint Marcellina....

 church, St Caffo's Church, Llangaffo

St Caffo's Church, Llangaffo

St Caffo's Church, Llangaffo is a 19th-century church, in the south of Anglesey, north Wales, about from the county town, Llangefni. It was constructed in 1846 to replace the previous medieval church in the village of Llangaffo. The new building includes a number of monuments from the old church,...

, and St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yng-Nghornwy

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 11th or 12th century...

 (all parishes on the island of 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...

, North Wales

North Wales

North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...

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

Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...

, matriculating

Matriculation

Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...

 in 1807, and obtaining his Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in 1810. He was a Fellow of Jesus College from 1813 to 1822, and was awarded a Bachelor of Divinity

Bachelor of Divinity

In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate 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

Curate

A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...

 of St Mary's Church, Llanfairpwllgwyngyll 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

Bangor Cathedral is an ancient place of Christian worship situated in Bangor, Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is dedicated to its founder, Saint Deiniol....

 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

Royal National Lifeboat Institution

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....

. The 19th-century antiquarian Angharad Llwyd

Angharad Llwyd

Angharad Llwyd was a Welsh antiquary and a prizewinner at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.She was born at Caerwys in Flintshire, the daughter of Rev. John Lloyd, himself a noted antiquary. Her essay entitled Catalogue of Welsh Manuscripts, etc. in North Wales won a prize at the Welshpool...

, 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

Magistrate

A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...

 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. He was also instrumental, with Morris Williams, in the introduction of John Rhys

John Rhys

Sir John Rhys was a Welsh scholar, fellow of the British Academy, celticist and the first Professor of Celtic at Oxford University.-Early years and education:...

, who at that time was teaching in Anglesey, to Charles Williams

Charles Williams (academic)

Charles Williams was Principal of Jesus College, Oxford from 1857 to 1877.-Life:Williams studied at Jesus College from 1823 to 1827, holding a scholarship and gaining a First in Literae Humaniores. He was then ordained, and was a missionary Fellow of the college from 1829 to 1845...

, 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

Jesus Professor of Celtic

The Jesus Professorship of Celtic is a professorship in Celtic studies at the University of Oxford within the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages. The holder is also a Professorial Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. The chair was established in 1876, and the first professor was Sir John Rhys...

 at the University of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 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

Ralph Champneys Williams

Sir Ralph Champneys Williams CMG was a colonial governor.Williams, educated at The King's School, Chester and Rossall School joined the colonial service in 1884 and his first post was to Bechuanaland. He then served at Pretoria, South Africa, Gibraltar and Barbados before returning to Bechuanaland...

, who later became Governor of the Windward Islands and Governor of Newfoundland.