Archief F 178 - Williams family fonds

The Williams family were involved in the military, land speculation, farming, and politics during the nineteenth century. John Tucker Williams (d. 1854) was a former Royal Navy Lieutenant who arrived at York (Toronto) about 1818 and became a land speculator, M.L.A. and gentleman farmer at Port Hope, Ontario. Arthur T. H. Williams (1837-1885) was a gentleman farmer, Alberta land speculator, Lieutenant-Colonel of Militia, and Member of the House of Commons during the nineteenth century. Henry Alfred Ward (1849-1934) was a lawyer, politician, and judge based in Port Hope, Ontario during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

John Tucker Williams (d. 1854) was a former Royal Navy Lieutenant who arrived at York (Toronto) about 1818 and became a land speculator, M.L.A. and gentleman farmer at Port Hope, Ontario.

John Tucker Williams arrived at York about 1818 as a Lieutenant on half pay from the Royal Navy. By October, 1821 he had moved to Port Hope and had begun accumulating land. In March of 1837 he purchased 4100 acres in the Newcastle District from the Canada Company. In July of 1845 he took full ownership of 3220 acres in three counties. He bought land from the Canada Company, at Sherriff's auctions, and from widows and daughters of Loyalists to whom free grants had been given by the Crown. In August of 1823 he bought land from John and Ann Spooner on which he built his estate, Penryn Park, then adjoining the western side of Port Hope. About 1835 he married Sarah Spradbrown Ward, daughter of Thomas Ward, County Registrar. He was also a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1840 to 1848.

Children of John Tucker Williams and Sarah Spradbrown (Ward) Williams were: Arthur Trefusis Heneage Williams (1837-1885) (see separate entry), Charles Hervey Aston Williams (born ca. 1844), who was in partnership with his brother Arthur in the development of Fraserville; Emma Alicia Williams (born ca. 1850); Charlotte Elizabeth; Henry Jocelyn Brinley Williams (d. 1904) lived in Canandaigua New York and was considered to be of unsound mind; Mary Eliza Sophia Williams; Amelia Louise Lavinia Williams (d. 1862); and Augusta Matilda Seraphina Williams.

Arthur T. H. Williams (1837-1885) was a gentleman farmer, Alberta land speculator, Lieutenant-Colonel of Militia, and Member of the House of Commons during the nineteenth century.

He was the eldest son of John Tucker Williams, was born in Port Hope and was educated at Upper Canada College, Toronto, and at Edinburgh University. He returned to Canada and became a gentleman farmer, taking over Penryn Park after his father's death. He represented East Durham in the Ontario Legislature from 1867 to 1875, and in the House of Commons from 1878 to 1885. By the time of the outbreak of the 1885 Riel Rebellion, Williams had bought eight sections of land in Southern Manitoba from the Canadian Pacific Railway. He joined the military force that was sent by Ontario to put down the uprising, as commander of the 46th (Midland) Battalion of volunteer militia from Port Hope. A few weeks after the battle at Batoche, when returning from a pursuit mission, he became ill and died on the steamer Northcote, near Fort Pitt.

Henry Alfred Ward (1849-1934) was a lawyer, politician, and judge based in Port Hope, Ontario during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

He was a grandson of Thomas Ward and a cousin of Arthur T.H. Williams. He studied law and carried on a legal practice in Port Hope. He succeeded his cousin Arthur as representative for East Durham in the House of Commons after Arthur's death in 1885 and sat until 1891, and again from 1900-1908. In 1885, 1894, and 1895 he was Mayor of Port Hope, and was County Judge for Northumberland and Durham from 1914 to 1924. He handled most of the estate matters for the Williams family, and was also involved with his cousin in law John Ogilive (husband of Mary Eliza Sophia Williams) in the Touchwood Qu'Appelle Land and Colonization Company which received patents for 37.75 sections of land in Saskatchewan.