Henry John Williams
Henry John Williams was an English Anglican priest, writer, and advocate of Christian vegetarianism and humanitarianism. Influenced by his brother Howard Williams, he adopted vegetarianism in 1878 and sought to promote it as a moral and religious duty grounded in Christian teaching. He founded the Order of the Golden Age, a Christian vegetarian organisation, in 1881, later serving alongside Sidney H. Beard when it was revived in 1895. Williams was also honorary president of the Scottish Vegetarian Society and a member of the Humanitarian League's Humane Diet department. He contributed essays to the order's journal, The Herald of the Golden Age.
Biography
Early life and education
Henry John Williams was born on 8 February 1841 in Whatley, Mendip, Somerset, to Reverend Hamilton John Williams, an Anglican clergyman, and Margaret Sophia. He was one of seven sons, among them Howard Williams, author of The Ethics of Diet.Williams matriculated at The Queen's College, Oxford in 1860. He later earned a L.Th. from University College, Durham.
Ecclesiastical career
Williams was ordained as a deacon in 1863 and as a priest in 1864, both by the Bishop of Lincoln. He held the rectorships of Tintern and Brympton d'Evercy, and later served at St Paul's, Kinross, from 1889.Christian vegetarianism
Influenced by his brother Howard, Williams adopted a vegetarian diet in 1878. He later published A Plea for a Broken Law, a pamphlet arguing for vegetarianism from a theological and religious perspective.In 1881, Williams founded the Order of the Golden Age, a Christian vegetarian organisation that was formally established the following year. The order soon ceased operating because of financial difficulties, but was revived in 1895 by Williams, Sidney H. Beard, and others. He contributed several articles to the order's journal, The Herald of the Golden Age.
Williams served as honorary president of the Scottish Vegetarian Society and was a member of the Humane Diet department of the Humanitarian League, which his brother Howard helped to found and on whose committee Howard served for several years.
Personal life and death
On 31 August 1871, Williams married Cecelia Frances D'Arblay Croft at Wavendon, Buckinghamshire. In July 1892, the Court of Session heard an undefended divorce action brought by Williams against his wife, who was reported as living in Canada. The report stated that the couple had no children, lived together for ten years, and were separated from 1881, with a brief reunion in 1887; the court granted decree.Williams died on 1 April 1919 in Aspley Guise. His obituary, written by his brother Howard, appeared in the May 1919 issue of The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review.