Fonds GB 0210 RUMWILLIAMS - Henry Rumsey Williams Papers

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0210 RUMWILLIAMS

Title

Henry Rumsey Williams Papers

Date(s)

  • 1634-1928 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

0.876 cubic metres (31 boxes)

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Henry Rumsey Williams (1774-1841), solicitor, was born in Crickhowell, Brecknockshire. By 1793 he was a clerk to the recorder of the borough of Caernarfon, where he became a qualified attorney in 1795. He married Anne Bettiss in the late 1790s, and they had at least ten children. Williams became legal representative of landed families in Caernarfonshire, especially the Conservative landowners, including the Assheton Smiths of Faenol, the Newboroughs of Glynllifon and the Pennants of Penrhyn, as well as many gentry families in both Anglesey and Caernarfonshire, and also leading members of the burgeoning middle class in Caernarfon. He undertook electioneering for the Tory party in Caernarfon, particularly after the reformation of the Caernarfon corporation in 1835. By his death in 1841, Williams owned properties in Brecknockshire, Monmouthshire and Caernarfonshire. After his death, there followed a series of legal disputes concerning his estate, of which his son, Edward Rumsey Williams, was executor.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Donated by Miss Eva Rumsey-Williams and Mrs Bell, London, descendants of Henry Rumsey Williams, per Mr P. H. Lawson, ARIBA, Chester, in 1942.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Papers, 1634-1928, mostly deriving from and relating to the legal practice of Henry Rumsey Williams, comprising draft conveyances, abstracts of title, letters, accounts and miscellaneous papers of clients, including the estate of Wynn of Glynllifon, 1719-1840, the Griffiths family of Caernarfon and Amwlch, 1726-[1830s], Jared Jackson, 1760-1836, Plasgwyn estate, 1761-1846, Cefn Cwmwd estate, 1763-1828, Coed Helen estate, 1770-1838, Trergo estate, 1771-1832, Parry family, 1773-1788, Peniarth estate, 1773-1830, Orielton estate, 1774-1814, Bodior estate, 1778-1837, Faenol estate, 1778-1840, Arnold Robinson Burrowes, 1785-1837, Grindley family, [c. 1786]-1842, Morgan family, 1787-1839, Treiorwerth estate, 1787-1844, Evan Pritchard, 1788-1813, John Price, 1790-1844 Caerhun estate, 1791-1834, W. A. Madocks, 1799-1824, Nancall estate, 1802-1837, Morris Griffith, 1804-1832, Edward Griffith Roberts, 1805-1827, William Humphrey, 1805-1833, Plas Llanfair estate, 1805-1837, Baily Williams family, 1806-1838, Richard Garnons, 1809-1837, Cefn Hengwrt estate, 1810-1815, George Bettiss, 1810-1831, William Edwards, 1811-1836, Penrhyn estate, 1811-1837, Wyatt family, 1813-1835, Gelli Goch estate, 1815-1831, Anna Maria Wynne, 1816-1833, Robert Thomas, 1818-1839, Roberts family, 1818-1840, Bodegroes estate, 1819-1836, Hughes, Brydges and Granville, bankers, 1819-1840, Vickers family, 1820-1833, Boston estate, 1820-1839, Owen Griffith, 1822-1846, George Holmes Jackson, 1823-1841, the Rev. Hugh Hughes Wynne, 1831-1848, John Rowlands, 1832-1841, and Edward Hosier Williams, 1833, in Caernarfonshire, Anglesey, Denbighshire, and Merionethshire; legal correspondence, 1790-1848, probate records, 1727-1871, and papers relating to civil cases, 1757-1850, religion, 1788-1842, mining, 1779-1842, quarrying, 1798-1840, shipping, 1778- [c. 1841], roads and railways, 1834-1839; legal practice records, 1804-1841, and executorship papers, 1841-1855, belonging to Henry Rumsey Williams, and records of his family in Brecknockshire, Monmouthshire and Caernarfonshire, 1881-1928. Records relating to William's political activities have not survived.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

All records donated to the National Library of Wales have been retained.

Accruals

Accruals are not expected.

System of arrangement

Arranged into the following: deeds, accounts, etc., of clients (arranged by client and thereafter chronologically); deeds, accounts, etc., relating to other properties in Wales and England; unlocated properties, various individuals, etc.; legal correspondence; civil cases; probate; religion; industry (mining; quarrying; others); shipping; roads and railways; papers of Henry Rumsey Williams (estate papers; legal practice; executorship papers); and miscellaneous papers, probably belonging to Henry Rumsey Williams' descendants.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to sign the 'Modern papers - data protection' form.

Conditions governing reproduction

Usual copyright regulations apply.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

Language and script notes

English.

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Most of the documents have been affected by damp, some quite severely.

Finding aids

A hard copy of the catalogue is available at the National Library of Wales.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Further papers of estates represented in this collection are in NLW, Burdon Deeds (Peniarth estate); Caernarfon Record Office, Coed Helen papers, and Newborough Archives (Glynllifon estate); University of Wales Bangor, Rhiwlas and Rhiwedog Documents (Faenol estate), and Penrhyn Castle Papers; and Powys County Archives Service, items relating to the estates of William Wynne of Peniarth.

Related descriptions

Notes area

Note

Title supplied from contents of fonds.

Alternative identifier(s)

Virtua system control number

vtls003844451

Project identifier

ANW

Access points

Place access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru = The National Library of Wales

Rules and/or conventions used

Description follows ANW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.; AACR2; and LCSH

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

April 2003.

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

Sources

The following source was consulted in the compilation of this description: NLW, Schedule of Henry Rumsey Williams Deeds and Documents;

Archivist's note

Compiled by David Moore for the ANW project.

Accession area