William Augustine Williams

William Augustine Williams (also William Augustine Willyams/Willyms or Gullielmus Williams; May 26, 1836 – May 21, 1901) was an African-American linguist, librarian, Catholic seminarian, and public figure. He was the first openly African-American Catholic seminarian—preceding Augustus Tolton—but was never ordained, having left Rome's Pontifical Urban University in 1862 after facing racist opposition to his prospective ministry in the United States.

Born in 1836, Williams became a barber, a Catholic, and a seminarian in quick succession, moving to Rome for priesthood studies in 1855. He remained there for the better part of a decade before returning to Baltimore in 1862, where he briefly attempted a number of religious projects (including a continued aspiration for the priesthood) before turning to secular work.

Biography Early life Williams was born on May 26, 1836, in the DC area, though records differ on exactly where (some sources say Virginia, whereas others say DC itself).

Sources also differ on the nature of his upbringing, with some saying his father was a slave on the Mount Vernon plantation belonging to the family of George Washington, while another says his father was the owner.

Williams was raised Baptist, but at some point became connected to the Catholic religion and the local priests—Fr. Thaddeus Anwander, CSsR, in particular—who took an interest in him for his keen schoolwork and interest in the priesthood.

Seminary In 1853, on the recommendation of Fr. Anwander, Williams obtained sponsorship for the seminary from Bishops Louis Rappe of Cleveland and Peter Richard Kenrick of Baltimore, himself a slaveholder.

Even as early as this point Williams faced opposition, with Archbishop John Hughes of New York speaking against Williams being sent to seminary if it meant he might end up actually serving as a priest in the United States. (Hughes felt the racist dictums of the day were not worth combating in this fashion, as White Catholics stateside would likely take umbrage to the idea of a Black priest.) His classmates included the future archbishop Michael Corrigan and Fr. Edward McGlynn.

Williams also received an award from a literary association in January 1878 (at an event attended by Senator Ambrose Burnside) for an essay he wrote, "The Future of the Negro in America", that included a proposal for a monument to Benjamin Banneker.

Having gained a unique amount of education for African Americans in his era, Williams also took on a number of other jobs, including as a foreign language tutor (being fluent in Latin, Italian, and French). He taught French to David Dickson, a janitor-turned-lawyer associated with the Enoch Pratt Free Library—where Williams would later become the second Black employee (as a librarian) in the early- to mid-1880s.

Williams would later become sacristan and librarian at the Catholic University of America, where he also was once referred to in The New York Age as a professor.

New York In 1886, Venerable Fr. Augustus Tolton had been ordained in Rome, becoming the first openly African-American Catholic priest in history; his first Mass in the US was celebrated that July at St. Benedict the Moor Church in New York City. Having a devotion to St Benedict, Williams would visit the church, conversing with the sacristan in Italian. He also began a translation of the biography of St. Benedict into English from Italian.

Death Williams died on May 21, 1901, five days shy of his 66th birthday. His funeral was held at St Benedict the Moor and he was buried on June 2 in Section 4, Range 14, Plot W, Grave 12, at Calvary Cemetery in Queens.

Personal life Williams is not known to have ever married, and the only family listed at the time of his death was a sister in Cleveland.