John Williams

John Williams (1626 or 1627 – 28 March 1673) was a Welsh nonconformist preacher and doctor. He was said to be the first to introduce non-conformism to his home county of Caernarfonshire, and it was also said that he could be heard when he was preaching for a distance of a quarter of a mile.

Life Williams was born on the Llŷn peninsula, in the parish of Llanbedrog, Caernarfonshire, north-west Wales. His father (a member of the minor gentry) was William Jones, with Williams obtaining a patronymic surname according to Welsh practice at that time. At the age of 20, in 1647, he matriculated at Jesus College, Oxford, and studied medicine. Thereafter, his movements until 1662 are uncertain: whilst it is known that he was a Puritan and took up preaching, the possibility that he was the "John Williams," who was the vicar of Llanbeblig from 1651 cannot be verified on the surviving information.