Background
Williams was born in Taigwynion, near Tal-y-bont, Cardiganshire. His mother was a member at Pen-y-Garn, the Calvinistic Methodist church at Rhydypennau while his father attended Bethel Independent church at Tal-y-bont.
Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom
Williams was born in Taigwynion, near Tal-y-bont, Cardiganshire. His mother was a member at Pen-y-Garn, the Calvinistic Methodist church at Rhydypennau while his father attended Bethel Independent church at Tal-y-bont.
Williams had received his elementary education at Pwllglas Sunday School and at Rhydypennau School in his native Cardiganshire, but left at an early age. While working underground he was accepted as a student to prepare for the nonconformist ministry, and attended Pontypridd Academy which was run by East. Dunmore Edwards. In 1891, he was accepted as a student at the Memorial College, Brecon and spent the first years of study at University College, Cardiff, where he excelled in his studies of Welsh language and literature.
Early He was the eldest of twelve children born to William and Elizabeth Williams. William Williams was a lead miner and due to lack of work in the local industry he went to work for some time in 1879-1880 at the collieries in Mountain Ash. In 1882 the whole family settled in Penrhiwceibr in the Aberdare valley where they became members at Carmel chapel.
Shortly afterwards they moved to Ynysybwl and joined Tabernacle, where the young Williams began preaching while working as a miner.
Williams was ordained at Bethania, Abercynon, on 22 July 1895. In 1897, he moved to Moriah, Rhymney.
After six years in Rhymney he moved to Seilo, Pentre, Rhondda, where he succeeded Lewis Probert. From 1915 until 1944 he was minister of Tabernacle Chapel, Morriston, and one of the most popular preachers of the era.
Williams was elected chairman of the Union of Welsh Independents in 1935.
Literary While a miner at Ynysybwl, Williams began to earn a reputation as a poet, and it was reported in 1889 that the eisteddfod at Jerusalem, Ynysybwl saw the young poet come to public notice for the first time. The first was at Caernarfon in 1906 for an Awdl (a poem in strict verse) on Y Lloer (The Moon). His collected poems appeared in 1936 as Y Lloer a cherddi eraill.
He wrote a number of plays as well as a collection of short stories, Straeon y Gilfach Ddu, published in 1931.
) These were written in the Glamorgan dialect and portrayed the mining communities. Williams was a prolific writer of hymns and one of the editors of the hymns of Caniedydd Cynulleidfaol Newydd, the standard Welsh language hymn book for the Independent and Calvinistic Methodist denominations, which was pubvlished in 1921.
) In 1918, he edited Cerddi"r Bugail, the collected poems of Hedd Wyn who had been killed in France in 1917. In 1930, he received an honorary Master of Arts from the University of Wales in recognition of his literary activity.
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He was also a member of Carmarthenshire County Council where he was the chairman of the health committee and of the child welfare committee.
At the 1922 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament (Member of Parliament) for Llanelli, and held the seat until he died from pneumonia in 1936.