Born at Penryn Park,
Port Hope in
Upper Canada in 1837, a member of the
Williams family of Caerhays and Burncoose. He was the eldest son of
John Tucker Williams and his wife Sarah, daughter of Judge Thomas Ward (1770–1861) of Port Hope. He studied at
Upper Canada College and the
University of Edinburgh before travelling throughout Europe. He studied law but was not called to the bar, instead he 'delighted in calling himself a farmer', managing Penryn Park, the estate he'd inherited from his father. He was president and founder of the Midlands Loan and Savings Company and a director for the
Midland Railway of Canada, which had a terminus in his hometown. In politics, he represented
Durham East in the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1867 to 1874 and in the
House of Commons of Canada as a
Conservative member from 1879 to 1885. Williams was captain in the local militia, later becoming lieutenant-colonel. In 1885, he led
The Midland Battalion which helped put down the
North-West Rebellion. Shortly after the
Battle of Batoche, he became ill and died of fever on a
steamboat on the
North Saskatchewan River in 1885. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography writes, Colonel Williams was the only nationally known figure to die in the northwest campaign and his body was brought home in state. A huge funeral was held in Port Hope where citizens erected a statue in his honour. Parliament voted his orphaned children a special pension. Then, like most heroes, he was gradually forgotten. To
Charles Arkoll Boulton, a contemporary, Williams "represented what might be termed Young Canada"; to posterity, he reflects a model of the patriotic landed gentleman, using his wealth and position for dignified public service, accepting payment in the currency of honour and prestige. In short, Arthur Williams was an anachronism. Williams married Emily, the daughter of Senator
Benjamin Seymour of Port Hope. They were the parents of General
Arthur Victor Seymour Williams. A collection of his North-West Rebellion Medal with Saskatchewan bar and his son's Second Boer War, and World War I medals were auctioned by Plato Auctions in April 2010. ==Electoral history==