McGill Libraries
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Williams, James, 1825-1892
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1825-1892
History
Rev. James William Williams was born on September 15, 1825, in Overton, Hampshire, England.
He was a Canadian Church of England priest, bishop, and educator. He graduated from Pembroke College, Oxford University (M.A. in classics and mathematics, 1852). He was ordained deacon in 1852 and priest in 1855. Williams immigrated to Canada in 1857 and was appointed rector of the Lennoxville grammar school, affiliated with Bishop’s College, Lennoxville. He also served as the chairman of King's Hall, Compton. In 1860, he became a professor at Bishop's College. In 1863, he was appointed the 4th Bishop of Quebec and remained in this position until he died in 1892. Rev. Williams participated vigorously in the development of the Protestant public school system in Quebec and collaborated with Sir Alexander Galt in drawing up Section 93 of the British North American Act (Constitution Act, 1867), which conferred upon Parliament the responsibility of protecting the educational rights of minorities. Many of his sermons and lectures were published.
In 1854, he married Anna Maria Waldron (1821–). He died on April 20, 1892, in Quebec City, Quebec.