Social Victorians/People/Williams

Also Known As

 * Family name: Williams
 * Owen Williams
 * Hwfa [pronounced "hoofa" (7)] Williams

Demographics

 * Nationality: Welsh, British

Peers Williams

 * Craig-y-Don Anglesey
 * Temple House, Bisham, Berkshire

Hwfa Williams

 * 12 Victoria Square S.W., London (1880 )

Family

 * Peers (Thomas Peers) Williams (27 March 1795 – 8 September 1875)
 * Emily Bacon Peers Williams ( – 24 November 1876)
 * Owen Lewis Cope Williams (12 July 1836 – 2 October 1904)
 * Madge (Margaret Elizabeth) Williams Williams-Bulkeley (24 November 1838 – 10 August 1909)
 * Gwen (Emily Gwendoline) Williams (July 1839 – 9 November 1932)
 * Edith Williams (c. 1842 – 23 June 1897 )
 * Blanche Mary Williams (1844 – 1 July 1914)
 * Hon. Brownwen (Nina Janet Brownwen) Williams Montgomerie (c. 1846 – 1939 )
 * Hwfa (Thomas Anthony Hwfa) Williams (1849/50– 30 March 1926 )
 * Evelyn Catherine Gwenfra Williams (1855 – 11 March 1939)


 * Owen Lewis Cope Williams (12 July 1836 – 2 October 1904)
 * Fanny Florence Caulfeild ( – 28 July 1876)
 * Owen Gwynedd St. George Williams (1865–1893)
 * Nina Mary Adelaide Sinclair ( – 13 February 1924)


 * Edith Peers-Williams ( – 23 June 1897)
 * Heneage Finch, 7th Earl of Aylesford (21 February 1849 – 13 January 1885)
 * Lady Hilda Joanna Gwendoline Finch (25 July 1872 – 13 August 1931)
 * Lady Alexandra Louise Minna Finch (9 July 1875 – 18 July 1959)


 * George Charles Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford (not marital relationship)
 * Guy Bertrand (4 November 1881 – )


 * Blanche Mary Williams (1844 – 1 July 1914)
 * Lt.-Col. Lord Charles John Innes-Ker (31 December 1842 – 19 November 1919)
 * Charles James Innes-Ker (19 January 1867 – 13 April 1906)
 * Bertram Harry Innes-Ker (5 April 1870 – 1 April 1951)


 * Hwfa (Thomas Anthony Hwfa) Williams (1849/50– 30 March 1926)
 * Florence Farquharson (27 April 1856 – 10 February 1945 )
 * Gwenfra Williams (c. 1886 – )



Relations
At this level, the family is very inter-networked into the traditional aristocracy.


 * Madge (Margaret Elizabeth) Peers Williams was married to Sir Richard Lewis Mostyn Williams-Bulkeley, 11th Bt. (12 August 1866).
 * Gwen (Emily Gwendoline) Williams was married to William Henry Wellesley, 2nd Earl Cowley (8 August 1863).
 * Edith Peers-Williams was married to Heneage Finch, 7th Earl of Aylesford (8 January 1871), separated from him (22 May 1877), and mother of a child whose father was George Charles Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of Marlborough (4 November 1881).
 * Blanche Mary Williams was married to Lt.-Col. Lord Charles John Innes-Ker, son of the 6th Duke of Roxburghe (15 January 1866).
 * Hon. Brownwen (Nina Janet Brownwen) Williams was married to the Hon. Seton Montolieu Montgomerie (11 June 1870).
 * Evelyn Catherine Gwenfra Williams was married to Major Henry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of Wellington (7 March 1882); he died 8 June 1900; she then married Colonel Hon. Frederick Arthur Wellesley (1904).

Owen Williams

 * Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and the Marlborough House set
 * Wilford Brett
 * Leopold de Rothschild

Hwfa Williams

 * Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and the Marlborough House set
 * Wilford Brett
 * Leopold de Rothschild
 * Richard D'Oyly Carte

Owen Williams

 * Member of Parliament, Conservative, Great Marlow (1880–1885)
 * Royal Horse Guards (1854–1887)
 * Marlborough House Set
 * Sandown Park racecourse, with Hwfa Williams and Wilford Brett (1874–)
 * Cowes Week regatta (1877–)
 * Jockey Club (1881–)

Hwfa Williams

 * Marlborough House Set
 * Sandown Park racecourse, with Owen Williams and Wilford Brett
 * Member of the board, Savoy Hotel Company (1889–)
 * Director, "the company running the Niagara Hall ice rink in London" (1895–)

Timeline
1871 January 8, Edith Peers-Williams and Heneage Finch married.

1874, Owen Williams became owner of Sandown Park, a horse racecourse managed by Hwfa Williams, by way of Blanche Mary Williams' husband Lord Charles John Innes-Ker.

1874 September 26 – 1876 May 11, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales toured India, Malta, Brindisi (Italy) and Greece, accompanied by Owen Williams (as equerry and aide-de-camp), Arthur Ellis, Dighton Probyn, Charles Beresford, Charles Harbord, 5th Baron Suffield, Francis Knollys, William Howard Russell, Heneage Finch, 7th Earl of Aylesford, and Augustus FitzGeorge.

1877 May 22, Heneage Finch and Edith Peers-Williams separated.

1881 March 22, Hwfa (Thomas Anthony Hwfa) Williams and Florence Farquharson married at St. George, Hanover Square.

1881 April 3, Sunday, the 1881 England and Wales Census lists Hwfa and Florence Williams visiting his sister and brother-in-law Margaret L. Williams Bulkeley and Sir R. Williams Bulkeley, possibly on their honeymoon. Hwfa Williams' occupation is listed as "Manager of Races (Games & Bar)."

1890 September, the "Royal Baccarat Scandal," which began at the home of Arthur Stanley Wilson. Sir William Gordon Cumming was accused of cheating at baccarat at Sir Arthur Wilson’s country house, Tranby Croft. Daisy, Countess Warwick was implicated as the source when word got out about the illegal baccarat game and Sir Cummings’ cheating, earning her the nickname “Babbling Brooks." Owen Williams was croupier and also, with George Coventry, 9th Earl of Coventry, intermediary between the scandal and the Prince of Wales.

1891, Owen Gwynedd St. George Williams and Lord Randolph Churchill went to Mashonaland, Zimbabwe (at that time Rhodesia).

1891 April 5, Sunday, the 1891 England and Wales Census lists Hwfa Williams and Florence Williams as each visiting different households. She is visiting Gerald and Lucy Paget with several other visitors listed as well, all 35-30 or so years old. He is visiting the family of banker Algernon H. and Mary H. Mills at 37 Hillingdon Court, Hillingdon, with 7 other guests (one of whom was a child).

1891 May 29, "a dance [was given] at the Savoy Hotel with the Vienna Band, Karl Wilhelm Drescher's salon orchestra. Guests included Franz Deym and Henry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of Wellington."

1891 June, the Tranby Croft trial, about William Gordon-Cumming's cheating at baccarat at a party attended by the Prince of Wales.

1897 June 28, Monday, Edith Peers-Williams Finch's funeral and burial were held; she had died on 23 June. It is interesting that the Owen Williamses are not mentioned as being in mourning in this article, published on 2 July 1897 in the Leamington, Warwick & District Daily Circular:

OFFCHURCH. EDITH COUNTESS OF AYLESFORD. — It is some years, says the London Daily Mail, since Lady Aylesford, who died on Thursday, was much seen in London. She was a daughter of the late Colonel Peers Williams, of Temple House, Bucks. She married, in 1871, the late Lord Aylesford. Their later married life was a very unhappy one, and their divorce proceedings caused much talk at the time, but neither gained their case. At his father's death Lady Aylesford tried to prove that her son was entitled to the earldom, but in this also she was unsuccessful. Lord and Lady Aylesford had two daughters, Lady Hilda and Lady Alexandra Finch. Many families are placed in mourning by Lady Aylesford's death, noteably [sic] Mr and Mrs Hwfa Williams and her sisters, the Duchess of Wellington, Dowager Lady Cowley, Lady Charles Ker, and Lady Bulkeley. By this sad event Mrs Hwfa Williams was prevented attending the fancy ball at Devonshire House on Friday. It is odd that this report says she was prevented attending the ball, even though the ball didn't take place until 2 July. The same newspaper reprinted this article published on 28 June 1897, with the addition of the following:"The funeral of Edith, Countess of Aylesford, who died on Wednesday last, after a short illness, took place on Monday, at Bisham Church, near Marlow. The mourners included General and Mrs Owen Williams, Mr Hwfa Williams, Colonel Wellesley, and other relatives and friends. The Rev. T. E. Powell, vicar of Bisham, was the officiating clergyman. Among a large number of wreaths was one sent from Marlborough House by the Prince and Princess of Wales."

Other local newspapers printed this article as well. the South Bucks Standard published its own obituary:

OBITUARY.

We have with regret to announce the death, at 51, Welbeck-street, London, on June 24th, of Edith, Countess of Aylesford. The Countess, who was the third daughter of the late Colonel Thomas Peers Williams, of Temple House, married, on January 8th, 1871, Heneage, Earl of Aylesford, and Baron of Guernsey, who predeceased her, and by whom she had several children. Her illness was very brief. The funeral took place quietly and unostentatiously at the ancient church of Bisham Monday last. The body, which was convoyed from London by the Great Western Railway, was accompanied by deceased’s brother, General Owen Cope Williams and Mrs. Williams, Mr. Hwfa Williams (brother), Mr. Ifah Williams (nephew), Colonel the Hon. F. Wellesley, Lady Bulkeley (sister), and other relatives and friends. At Marlow Station the remains were conveyed in a hearse and the mourners in coaches to Bisham, where the service was most impressively and eloquently performed by the Rev. T. E. Powell, vicar of the parish. A brick grave, built adjoining the family vault of the Williams’s at the east end of the church, received the remains. The grave was beautiful, the sides being tastefully decorated with red roses and choice ferns. The coffin was a massive one of polished oak, with heavy brass furniture. The breastplate was inscribed as follows:—


 * Widow of Heneage.
 * The Earl Aylesford,
 * Born 12th April, 1844.
 * Died 24th June. 1897.

A large number of exceptionally magnificent wreaths were sent among many others "From the Prince and Princess of Wales, as a mark of friendship and regret;" the Duke and Duchess of Wellington, General O. C. and Mrs. Williams, Mr. Hwfa Williams, and many others. A large quantity of beautiful cut flowers was sent from Temple, which were placed on the coffin after it was lowered in the grave. All the arrangements were admirably carried out under the personal direction of Mr. Y. J. Lovell, of Marlow.

1897 July 2, Friday, Mrs. Owen Williams was said to have attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball.

1898 April 12, Tuesday, Lady Hilda Finch and Captain Malcolm Donald Murray married. She was the daughter of Edith Peers-Williams Finch, Countess of Aylesford and raised by her grandmother, the dowager Countess Aylesford. The brief descriptions of the wedding do not mention any Peers-Williamses there.

1899 December 31, the San Francisco newspaper The Wave wrote the following about London society:"The most prominent untitled people in London may be said to be Mr. and Mrs. Hwfa Williams, Mr. and Mrs. Willie Grenfell and Mr. Algy Bourke. That they are passing rich, goes without saying, and that they entertain lavishly, understood — for to be untitled, prominent and successful, argues wealth, hospitality and cleverness. To Mr. Hwfa Williams' credit, or responsibility, may be laid the Sandown Park Races and the Niagara Skating Rink. Mrs. Hwfa Williams is noted for her taste in dress and the originality of her entertainments. It was she who introduced the dinner dance into London, and also instituted the custom of a smart little hotel supper after a theatre. She entertains more duchesses than any woman in London, and can afford to be very exclusive in her dealings with even the titled aristocracy. She is much sought after as a leader of cotillions, and is clever as a sportswoman, cyclist and horsewoman as she is as an organizer of entertainments. She has one daughter, a girl of about seventeen. The Hwfa Williamses have an exquisitely furnished house in London, and, unlike the majority of English women, Mrs. Hwfa has a most luxurious bedroom and boudoir. On a dais is a bed that, to be frank, is decidedly ornate. It is gilded and shines resplendently, the coverings are all of the finest and daintiest. The rest of the room is most beautiful. A few fine pictures, choice pieces of bric-a-brac and French furniture. Off the bedroom is the dressing and bathroom. In the / latter is everything in baths — cabinet, sits and every variety of shower."

1911 early June, Mrs. Hwfa Williams"held a dance in the studio of her Ovington Square House, honoured by the 'vision' of Lady Diana [Manners] with her 'perfect face and figure'. The actor-manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, half-brother of the novelist Max Beerbohm, was dressed, to the immense satisfaction of his hostess, in a manner 'as immaculate and spruce as ever, an invaluable acquisition to a party'. (92)"Pavlova was present as well, and danced a pas seul.

1911 April 2, Sunday, the 1911 England and Wales Census lists the following people at 37 Ovington Square, Kensington, a much smaller household for Hwfa and Florence Williams than it had been. His occupation is listed as "Director of Companies." This census says they had one living child.

Costume at the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 Fancy-dress Ball
Mrs. Nina Owen (at 457) was said to have attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball. The Times article that mentions her and Mr. and Mrs. Hwfa Williams does not mention Owen Williams, who would be called General Owen or O. C. Williams, and neither does any other newspaper.

Hwfa and Mrs. Hwfa Williams had been invited but were not present because "she is in mourning." Owen and Hwfa Williams' sister Edith Peers-Williams Finch, Countess of Aylesford, had very recently died, so it seems likely that in fact none of them attended. Mrs. Hwfa was to appear as Caterina Cornaro (Regina di Cipri), and Mr. Hwfa Williams was to appear as Cardinale Giovanni Bembo in the Italian procession.

Notes and Questions

 * 1) The Williams' money came from the law and from copper mining. The following census reports show the number of servants.
 * 2) Mrs. Hwfa (Florence) Williams went by Mrs. Hwfa instead of Florence. (8) She was "extremely deaf." (8)
 * 3) 1861 April 7, Sunday, the 1861 Wales Census lists the family of Thomas Piers Williams present at Craig y Don [?], Llandegfan, Wales along with his family and 5 male and 14 female servants.
 * 4) 1871 April 2, Sunday, the 1871 Wales Census lists the family of Thomas Piers Williams present at 64 Craig y Don [?], Llandegfan, Wales: Thomas Piers Williams (Head of Household, 55 years old, married), Thomas Anthony Hwfa Williams (30), Evelyn Catherine Williams (25), Hon. Bronwen (Williams) Montgomerie (daughter, 23), Hon. Seton Montgomerie (son-in-law, 25), Col. Bowlow Knose [?] (visitor, 35), and 11 male and 11 female servants, including 2 butlers, 3 footmen, a hallboy, a coachman, a groom, a groom and valet, a helper, a cowman, a cook and housekeeper, 2 ladies maids, a kitchen maid, a scullery maid, a stillroom maid, 2 housemaids, 2 laundry maids, and a dairy maid. Among the servants, a butler, a groom and valet, and a ladies maid are also visitors.
 * 5) 1881 April 3, Sunday, the 1881 England and Wales Census lists Hwfa and Florence Williams visiting his sister and brother-in-law Margaret L. Williams Bulkeley and Sir R. Williams Bulkeley, possibly on their honeymoon. The household has 10 male and 14 female servants, including a governess, a housekeeper, a butler, a male cook, a scullery maid, a stillroom maid, two laundry maids, footmen, a gardener, two teenaged boys (16 and 17 years old) listed as "pony boy, Ag Lab [agricultural laborer]," and so on. Hwfa Williams' occupation is listed as "Manager of Races (Games & Bar)."
 * 6) 1891 April 5, Sunday, the 1891 England and Wales Census lists Hwfa Williams and Florence Williams as each visiting different households. She is visiting Gerald and Lucy Paget with several other visitors listed as well, all 35-30 or so years old. He is visiting the family of banker Algernon H. and Mary H. Mills at 37 Hillingdon Court, Hillingdon, with 7 other guests (one of whom was a child), and 8 male and 16 female servants, including a housekeeper, nurse, 28-year-old female cook, 5 Lady's Maids (some listed separately, probably with one of the visitors), 2 Kitchen Maids, 4 Housemaids, 2 Nursery Maids, a Butler, 2 Footmen, an Oddman, and 4 Valets (again, some probably with the visitors).
 * 7) 1901 March 31, Sunday, the 1901 England and Wales Census lists the following people at 61 Coombe Springs, Coombe Lane: Hwfa Williams (Head, 51 years old, "Living on own means"), Florence Williams (Wife, 41), Gwenfra Williams (daughter, 16), Bertie Donnelly (Butler, 24), Carl Worschech (Footman, 21), Grace Vyke Nunn (Lady's maid, 29), Jane Goodbody (Housemaid, 23), Ada E. Hayward (Housemaid, 20), Ada Tyers (Kitchenmaid, 22), and William J. Donnelly (Oddman, 52).
 * 8) 1911 April 2, Sunday, the 1911 England and Wales Census lists the following people at 37 Ovington Square, Kensington, a much smaller household than it had been: Hwfa Williams (Head, 61, "Director of Companies"), Florence Williams (Wife, 50), Sophia Stokes (Cook, 32), and Minnie Mairs (Housemaid, 20). This census says they had one living child.