Sir Osmond Williams, 1st Baronet

Sir Arthur Osmond Wynn Williams JP DL (17 March 1849 – 28 January 1927) was a Welsh Liberal Party politician.

Sir Osmond Williams Bt JP DL
Williams, c. 1905
Lord Lieutenant of Merionethshire
In office 22 March 1909 – 28 January 1927
Preceded by	W. R. M. Wynne
Succeeded by	The Lord Harlech
Member of Parliament for Merioneth
In office 1900–1910
Preceded by	Owen Morgan Edwards
Succeeded by	Sir Henry Haydn Jones
Personal details
Born	Arthur Osmond Wynn Williams 17 March 1849 Llanfihangel-y-Traethau, Merionethshire, Wales
Died	28 January 1927 (aged 77) Australia
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Frances Evelyn Greaves ​ ​ (m. 1880; died 1926)​
Relations	Alice Williams (sister) Leonard Williams (brother) Dacre Smyth (grandson)
Children	6
Parents	David Williams Anne Louisa Loveday Williams
Education	Eton College

"The Champion of the Ladies", caricature by HCO in Vanity Fair, 1909.

Early life

He was born at Llanfihangel-y-Traethau, Merionethshire, Wales on 17 March 1849. He was the eldest surviving son of Anne Louisa (née Loveday) Williams and David Williams, M.P. for Merioneth from 1868 to 1869. Among his siblings was brother Dr. Leonard Williams, the prominent physician and writer, and sister Alice Williams, the painter and welfare worker.[1]

Williams was educated at Eton.[2]

Career

He was elected as Liberal M.P. for Merioneth at the 1900 general election and held the seat until 1910.[3]

Williams served as Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Caernarvonshire, Chairman of Quarter Sessions for Merioneth, and constable of Harlech Castle. In 1909, he was created a baronet of Castell Deudraeth and Borthwen,[4] and from 22 March 1909 to 28 January 1927, he served as Lord Lieutenant of Merionethshire.[5][6]

Personal life

On 3 August 1880, he married Frances Evelyn Greaves (1855–1926) in Lillington, Warwickshire. She was a daughter of John Whitehead Greaves and Ellen (née Stedman) Greaves. Together, they were the parents of six children, including:[7]

• David Osmond Deudraeth Williams (1882–1882), who died in infancy.
• Capt Osmond Trahairn Deudraeth Williams (1883–1915), who married Lady Gladys Margaret Finch-Hatton (1882–1964), the only daughter of Henry Finch-Hatton, 13th Earl of Winchilsea and Annie Jane Codrington (eldest daughter of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Codrington).[8] He served in the South African War and was killed in action in the Great War during the Battle of Loos.[5]
• Evelyn Oliven Williams (1884–1960), who married Maj. Gen. Sir Nevill Smyth.[9]
• Lawrence Trevor Greaves Williams (1885–1930), who died unmarried.[10]
• Annie Salizma Loveday Williams (b. 1891)[11]
• Ellen Dolga Dormie Williams (b. 1891), who married Capt. Robert Gordon Beazley, brother of Hugh Loveday Beazley.[11]

Lady Williams died on 10 August 1926. Sir Osmond died in Australia on 28 January 1927. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his grandson, Michael Osmond Williams, 2nd Baronet (1914–2012),[5] who married Benitha Mary Booker, daughter of George Henry Booker.[12]

References

1. Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan, ‘Williams, Alice Helena Alexandra (1863–1957)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 20 Oct 2017
2. Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Sir Osmond Williams
3. Cook, C.; Jones, P.; Sinclair, J.; Weeks, Jeffrey (1977). Sources in British Political History 1900–1951: Volume 4: A Guide to the Private Papers of Members of Parliament: L–Z. Springer. p. 238. ISBN 978-1-349-15762-4. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
4. Whitaker's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage ... 1922. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
5. "Williams of Deudraeth". www.dpmms.cam.ac.uk. Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics at the University of Cambridge. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
6. Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage. Kelly's Directories. 1916. p. 913. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
7. Davies, Sir William Llewelyn. https://biography.wales/article/s-WILL-BRO-1800. Retrieved 30 January 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
8. "Winchilsea, Earl of (E, 1628)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
9. "SMYTH, Major-General Sir Nevill Maskelyne VC KCB MiD – ANZAC Biographies". anzac-biographies.com. Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
10. Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1895). Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage, and a Directory of Some Gentlemen of Coat-armour, and Being the First Attempt to Show which Arms in Use at the Moment are Borne by Legal Authority. T.C. & E.C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works. p. 1038. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
11. Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage. Kelly's Directories. 1916. p. 713. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
12. Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. Debrett's Peerage Limited. 2008. pp. 539, 860, 1006. ISBN 978-1-870520-80-5. Retrieved 30 January 2020.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Sir Osmond Williams
• Family tree information
• Sir (Arthur) Osmond Williams, 1st Bt (1849-1927), Landowner and politician at the National Portrait Gallery, London.