Series JW2 - Family Papers

Rachel Ann (Rhyda) Williams (née Jones) (1898-1981), mother of Julian Williams, graduated in music at University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 1921. Before her marriage, Rhyda Jones was Music Mistress at the County School for Girls, Barry where she taught Grace Williams. Rhyda’s marriage to Thomas Basil Williams in 1932 brought her into contact with Dr Mary Williams (first cousin to Basil’s father), and her husband G. Arbour Stephens, who turned to Rhyda for advice when composing music. Rhyda inherited Dr Mary’s home in Aberystwyth, and some of her papers.

Mary Williams (1883-1977), from Aberystwyth, Cardiganshire, was a Professor of French at the University of Durham, having previously taught at University College Swansea, University of Durham, and King's College, London. She studied German and French at University of Wales Aberystwyth, and wrote her thesis on the French sources for Wolfram von Eschenbach's poem Parzival; she had a working knowledge on many languages, including Provençal, Italian, Latin and Welsh. From 1961 until 1963, she was the President of the Folklore Society. In 1922, she married Dr George Arbour Stephens. She researched Arthurian topics, corresponding with Jessie Laidlay Weston. She acquired some papers relating to her father, the Rev. John Williams, her mother, Mrs Jane Williams, and her sister, Jennie Williams, later Mrs R. Ruggles-Gates, and Professor Victor Julian Taylor Spiers (d. 1937), King's College, London. She was a keen supporter and benefactor of the National Library of Wales and took part in meetings of the Celtic Congress.

George Arbour Stephens (1870-1945) was a physician and cardiologist.