William Wynn Williams Esq (abt. 1527 - abt. 1557)

Born about 1527 in Cochwillan, Caernarfonshire, Wales [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Dorothy (Griffith) Wynn — married about 1540 in Caernarfonshire, Wales

Descendants

Died about 1557 at about age 30 in Cochwillan, Caernarfonshire, Wales [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Michael Bissell --Benefiel [send private message]

Biography

"WILLIAM (WYNN) WILLIAMS (died 1557). Eldest son of William Williams. He married Dorothy, daughter of Sir William Griffith of Penrhyn; he appears to have predeceased his father, his will being proved 14 May 1557. It follows that the ‘William Williams’ elected Member of Parliament for Caernarvonshire in 1558 must have been the father, not the son. Two younger sons of William (Wynn) Williams founded families of some note — ARTHUR, ancestor of the family of Williams of Meillionydd, and EDMUND WILLIAMS of Conway, father of John Williams, archbishop of York (Cal. Wynn Papers, 30; Penrhyn MSS. 63; Breeze, Kalendars, 51; L. and P. Henry VIII, viii, no. 149 (66 and 67); Williams, The parliamentary history of the principality of Wales, 58; Pen. MSS. 289. The dates given in Griffith, Pedigrees, 186 are inaccurate)." ^[1].

Sons: ^[2]

• William Williams (eldest son, died 1612).^[1]
• John Williams. Of Llanllechid
• Rhys Williams.
• Rowland Williams.
• Thomas Williams.
• Reverend Arthur Williams. Married Anne Lewis.
• Richard Williams.

Douglas Richardson names another son and three daughters:^[3][4]

• Edmund
• Jane, who married William Coytemore
• Catherine, who married John ap Humphrey Meredydd
• Margaret, who married John Lloyd

Research Notes

This William is probably the William Williams who was sheriff of Caernarfonshire in 1552-3.

Douglas Richardson says that William was sheriff of Caernarfonshire in 1591-2,^[3][4] but that was the son of William and Dorothy (also William Williams), who died in 1612. Dorothy's husband William died in 1557, before his father, who died in 1559. These three generations of William Williams are frequently confused. From WikiTree's Sheriffs of Caernarfonshire (accessed 4 March 2022):

William Wynn Williams of Cochwillan^[5] (died c. 1559), son of William ap Griffith and "the first of the family to adopt the surname Williams. He married Lowry, daughter of Henry Salesbury of Llanrhaeadr". He was sheriff in 1542, 1547, and 1553.^[1] Note: Different sources frequently give slightly different dates, and he is frequently confused with his son William who died 2 years before him, in 1557. Another source, his biography posted by the History of Parliament Online, surmises that his son was sheriff in 1552-3,^[6] and The 1553 entry in [ the WikiTree list at Sheriffs ] is linked to the son.^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Roberts, G., (1959). WILLIAMS family, of Cochwillan. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 4 Mar 2022, from https://biography.wales/article/s1-WILL-COC-1389
2. ↑ Cary Family History, Joiner, Rev. Darrell and Sallyann
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), Vol. I, pp. 560-561, COYTEMORE 14, Google Books
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), Vol. II, p. 346, COYTEMORE 18
5. ↑ Wikipedia: Sheriff of Caernarvonshire (accessed 3 March 2022).
6. ↑ History of Parliament Online's biography by P. S. Edwards: William Wynn Williams (by 1500-59), accessed 3 March 2022.
7. ↑ The three generations of William Williams who were (probably) Sheriffs of Caernarfonshire:
   • William d 1559, sheriff in 1541-2 and 1546-7 - his son
   • William d 1557, sheriff (probably) in 1552-3 - his son
   • William d 1612 in 1570-1 & 1591-2