1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Williams-Wynn, Sir Watkin

WILLIAMS-WYNN, SIR WATKIN, Bart. (1692–1749), Welsh politician, was the eldest son and heir of Sir William Williams, Bart., of Llanforda near Oswestry; his mother, Jane Thelwall, was a descendant of the antiquary. Sir John Wynn of Gwydir, Carnarvonshire. Educated at Jesus College, Oxford, Williams succeeded to Wynnstay near Ruabon and the estates of the Wynns on the death of a later Sir John Wynn in 1719, and took the name of Williams-Wynn. He was member of parliament for Denbighshire from 1716 to 1741, and was prominent among the opponents of Sir Robert Walpole; as a leading and influential Jacobite he was in communication with the supporters of Prince Charles Edward before the rising of 1745, but his definite offer of help did not reach the prince until the retreat to Scotland had begun. He died on the 26th of September 1749. His first wife, Ann Vaughan (d. 1748), was the heiress of extensive estates in Montgomeryshire which still belong to the family. His son and heir, Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, Bart. (1749–1789), was the father of another Sir Watkin (1772–1842), the 5th baronet. Two other sons attained some measure of distinction: Charles (1775–1850), a prominent Tory politician, and Sir Henry (1783–1856), a diplomatist. A daughter, Frances Williams-Wynn (d. 1857), was the authoress of Diaries of a Lady of Quality, 1797–1844, which were edited with notes by Abraham Hayward in 1864.

See Askew Roberts, Wynnstay and the Wynns (Oswestry, 1876).