Thomas Jeremiah Williams (1872 – 12 June 1919) was a Welsh

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

politician.

Family and Education

Thomas Jeremiah Williams was the eldest son of William Williams who was Liberal Member of Parliament for the Swansea District from 1893 to 1895. He was educated at University College School, London, Sheffield Technical College and Firth College. In 1912, he married Laura Alice Marlow of

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

. They had one daughter Gwenith Alice Thomas (née Williams, (1913–2008)).

Career

Williams was involved in technical and commercial training. He was director of a number of companies, principally in the tinplate industry but also with interests in the colliery and railway sectors. He qualified for the law, practising at the Bar on the South Wales and Chester Circuit.

Politics

Williams first stood for Parliament at the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting e ...

as Liberal candidate in the

Gower The Gower Peninsula (), or simply Gower (), is a peninsula in the south-west of Wales. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan, and is now within the City and County of Swansea. It projects towards the Bristol Channel ...

constituency in

West Glamorgan West Glamorgan () is a former administrative county in South Wales. It is now a preserved county. West Glamorgan was one of the divisions of the ancient county of Glamorgan. It was created on 1 April 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972 fr ...

. Although Gower had been a Liberal seat and 1906 was a landslide election year for the Liberals, Williams was beaten by 299 votes by an Independent Liberal candidate

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

in a three-cornered contest with the Unionist, E Holme, in third place. Williams did not contest a seat at either of the general elections of 1910 but was adopted for his father's old seat of Swansea District for a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

there on 6 February 1915 when the sitting MP,

David Brynmor Jones Sir David Brynmor Jones, KC (probably forenamed Brynmor; originally surnamed Jones, later surnamed Brynmor-Jones; 1851 – 6 August 1921) was a British barrister, judge, historian and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Member of Parliament. Life ...

was appointed a judge. He held the seat for the Coalition. Swansea District constituency was abolished in 1918, but Williams was adopted as Coalition Liberal candidate for the new Swansea East seat at the 1918 general election. He won the seat in a straight fight with Labour candidate David Williams.

Death

Williams died on 12 June 1919 at the young age of 47 years after a long illness from

colitis Colitis is swelling or inflammation Inflammation (from ) is part of the biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. The five cardinal signs are heat, pain, redness, swelling, and ...

at his home in Maesygwernen Hall near Swansea. In the

which his death caused, his seat was held for the Coalition Liberals by David Matthews.

References

*https://web.archive.org/web/20171201034837/http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Scommons6.htm * ''Who was Who'', OUP 2007 *''The Times House of Commons, 1919''; Politico's Publishing 2004, p43 *The Times, 13 June 1919 (obituary)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jeremiah 1872 births 1919 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Swansea constituencies Politics of Swansea UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 People educated at University College School