Lt.-Col. Thomas Peers Williams was MP for Great Marlow 1820-1868 and Father of the House of Commons December 1867 – 1868. Peers Williams owned a house and estate called Craig-y-Don, near Beaumaris on Anglesey. He also had a residence at Temple House, Bisham, Berkshire, near Marlow. He was active in the Anglesey Hunt. He first became an MP in 1820 for the constituency of Great 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.
Family background
His grandfather Thomas Williams 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 Marlow, and held the seat till his death on 30 November 1802.. Four generations from Thomas Williams of Llanidan to his great-grandson Lt-General Owen Lewis Cope Peers Williams held the Great Marlow seat with intervals, from 1790 until 1885. His son Owen Williams, also MP for Great Marlow, married , and had a son Thomas Peers Williams. 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, daughter of Anthony Bushby Bacon of Benham Park 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.
Lieutenant GeneralOwen Lewis Cope Williams of Craig-y-Don, Llandegfan, Anglesey, and Temple House, Bisham, Berkshire, sometime MP for Great Marlow 1880–1885. He married 1stly 18 August 1862 Fanny Florence Caulfeild, younger daughter of St.George Francis Caulfeild and yr sister of Emily, Countess of Lonsdale by whom he had issue 1 son, Owen Gwynedd St. George Williams. He married 2ndly 1882 Nina Mary Adelaide Sinclair, daughter of Sir John George Tollemache Sinclair, Bt. Owen Williams had two sons who predeceased him, one of whom, Gwynedd, was killed in the Matabele War.
Hwfa Williams , 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 Florence Farquharson was a notable society hostess, and known as the best-dressed woman in England. They were both still alive in 1913, having married in 1881. In 1883, 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 Korybut-Woroniecki by her marriage to Prince Krzysztof Korybut-Woroniecki. They had two children. Jan Korybut-Woroniecki - a London restaurateur, and Marysia Korybut-Woroniecka - a Fashion Business executive based in New York.
Emily Gwendoline Williams , known as Gwen, wife since 1863 of the 2nd Earl Cowley; she lived at Bodwen on the Isle of Wight overlooking Wotton Creek. She died at the age of 92 and had a daughter, Eva.
Edith Peers-William, who married 1871 Heneage Finch, 7th Earl of Aylesford, 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. This son was baptized only in June 1883 St Mary-le-Strand, London as a son of the 7th Earl. His claims to the peerage were denied by the House of Lords in July 1885. Edith, Countess of Aylesford never married Lord Blandford who went on to marry an American heiress. The Earl of Aylesford attempted to divorce his wife, but was himself found guilty of adultery, and thus the decree nisi was cancelled.
BlancheMary Williams married 15 January 1866 Lt Col Lord Charles John Innes-Ker, 2nd son of the 6th Duke of Roxburghe, and had issue
Nina Janet Bronwen Williams, known as Bronwen, married 1870 Hon Seton Montolieu Montgomerie a younger son of the 13th Earl of Eglinton & Winton, and had issue three daughters; Alswen, Viva and May.
Evelyn Katrine Gwenfra Williams, who married firstly 7 March 1882 the 3rd Duke of Wellington in 1882; they had no issue. She remarried in 1904 a Wellesley cousin Col. Hon. Frederick Arthur Wellesley, a son of the 1st Earl Cowley, as his third wife. Frederick Wellesley had previously married 1873 Emma Loftus, granddaughter of the 2nd Marquess of Ely, and then married 1884 Catherine Candelon. He was also her brother-in-law, as the younger brother of the 2nd Earl Cowley, husband of her eldest sister.
Landownership
The grandson Thomas Peers Williams was a considerable landowner in Wales , as recorded with in 1873. He owned estates in Anglesey and Berkshire, and elsewhere.
