Hugh Williams (c.1694 – January 1742), of Chester, was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1725 to 1734. Williams was the eldest son of John Williams, of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

and

Glascoed } Glascoed () is a village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is east of Pontypool and west of Usk. Glascoed is mostly associated with the Royal Ordnance Factory nearby at ROF Glascoed. Llandegveth Reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an en ...

, and his wife Catherine Owen, daughter of Sir Hugh Owen, 2nd Baronet MP, of Orielton, Pembrokeshire. He was grandson of Sir William Williams, 1st Baronet. He

matriculate Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

d at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

on 3 June 1712, entered

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

on 10 February 1713, and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1718. He married firstly Ursula Bridgeman, daughter of Sir John Bridgeman, 3rd Baronet, and secondly Susannah Norris, daughter of

Edward Norris Septimus Edward Norris (March 10, 1911 – December 18, 2002) was an American film actor. Early years Norris was born in 1911, the son of a prominent Philadelphia gynecologist, who was described in a newspaper article as "a famous surgeon and ...

, but had no children by either. He succeeded to his father's estates of Bridge House, Chester, Bodelwyddan, Flints. and Nantanog, Anglesey. Williams first contested

as a Whig at the 1722 general election, but was unsuccessful. He was elected Member of Parliament for

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

at a by-election on 10 April 1725, on the Bulkeley interest, and was elected again at the general election of 1727, defeating Thomas Lloyd, of

Llanidan Llanidan is a community in the south of Anglesey, Wales which includes the village of Brynsiencyn (). The parish is along the Menai Strait, about 4 miles north-east of Caernarfon (across the strait). The parish church of St Nidan is near the A ...

each time. He voted with the Government on every recorded occasion and spoke on several motions between 1732 and 1734. He voted for the

Excise Bill The Excise Bill of 1733 was a proposal by the British government of Robert Walpole to impose an excise tax on a variety of products. This would have allowed Excise officers to search private dwellings to look for contraband untaxed goods. The per ...

in 1733 which made him so unpopular at Anglesey that without Bulkeley support at the 1734 general election, he withdrew before the poll and stood unsuccessfully again at Chester. Williams died without issue on 14 January 1742. His widow remarried to Hugh Warburton of

Winnington Hall Winnington Hall is a former country house in Winnington, now a suburb of Northwich, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The building is in effect two houses ...

. John Thomas, "A Genealogical Account of the Families of Penrhyn and Cochwillan" in William Williams, ''Observations on the Snowdon Mountains'' (London, 1802
p. 187

References

The Parliamentary History of the Principality of Wales
1690s births 1742 deaths British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 Members of Gray's Inn Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Welsh constituencies Whig (British political party) MPs Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford {{Wales-GreatBritain-MP-stub