Isaac Williams

Isaac Williams was born in Rotherham, Yorkshire, whilst his parents were living in Rawmarsh and his father was working at the Parkgate ironworks. He was baptised at Rawmarsh on 10th April 1839, although his birth doesn’t seem to have been registered, despite civil registration legislation being in force from 1st July 1837.

Isaac was the third of eleven children born to parents, James and Charlotte Williams. His two older siblings – William Stephen and Ann – were born in Wednesbury in 1835/6 and in Rawmarsh in 1837 respectively. William Stephen Williams was baptised on 24th January 1836 at Bilston St Leonard. Ann Williams was baptised at Rawmarsh on 24th December 1837, so the family would have moved to Rawmarsh sometime between these dates.

The family was still in Rawmarsh at the time of the 1841 census, when then were living at Park Gate Row. By 1843, when Isaac’s sister, Elizabeth Margaret Williams, was born, the family had moved to Wilden, Worcestershire, where family members remained until at least the 1920s.

Isaac followed his father’s trade of ironworking, and appears to have worked at the same firm – E. P. & W. Baldwin – initially based in Stourport but who took over a wrought iron and tinplate works in Wilden in 1854. The firm also acquired a tin plate works in Wolverhampton.

On 31st January 1859, Isaac Williams married Sarah Baldwin, a boat builder’s daughter, at Ribbesford, Worcestershire. At the time, Isaac and Sarah were both described as living in Bewdley, although no exact address was given. Their eldest son, James Williams, was born in Stourport, on 25th April 1859. Their daughter, Mary Ann, was also born in Stourport the following year.

By the time of the 1861 census, Isaac and Sarah Williams were living in Sion Gardens, Stourport, with Isaac described as a Lumper at the iron works.

Their third son, named Isaac, was born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire on 13th July 1863, at which time the family was living at Alma Street, Heath Town. Isaac (senior) was described as a charcoal refiner at this time. The family remained in Wolverhampton until at least 1868, but had moved to Swindon, Staffordshire by 1871. They were living in Enville Road and Isaac was a forgeman at Baldwin’s Wilden Works.

By 1871, the family was still in Swindon, and Isaac was a heating furnace man in the ironworks. Sons, James (21) and Isaac (17) had joined their father at the works – being a lumper and a roller respectively.

By 1882, when his youngest son, Edwin, was born, Isaac (senior) was described as a charcoal refiner at the iron works. However, the following year, described as a puddler, he appeared at Dudley County Court as a witness in a case where “an under puddler in his service” had lost a hand as a result of an accident in December 1882 whilst working with James Williams (Isaac’s son) closing a furnace door. Two pins gave way and the door fell out of its place, cutting off the man’s hand. The injured man launched a court action against the works’ owners, claiming £500 compensation.

Isaac Williams died in Swindon on 17th December 1891, aged 52. His cause of death given as cardiac disease and pulmonary congestion. The informant was his daughter-in-law, Mary Jane Williams, who was the wife of his eldest son, James.