Stephen Williamson, of Copley, MP

Stephen Williamson was born in Cellardyke East Fife on 28th June 1827 one of seven children born to Archibald Williamson, shipowner, maltster, farmer, and his heiress wife Isabella Lawson, sister of Alexander Lawson linen merchant Kingskettle.

He was educated at Anstruther Burgh School and Madras College where he met Robert Balfour. He worked in a lawyer’s office before he went to Liverpool in 1848 and met up with the Balfour brothers again.

By the age of twenty four Stephen, who had inherited some shipping property from his father, was co-founder with Alexander Balfour, of Balfour Williamson & Co. a shipping company registered in Liverpool trading to South America, with offices in Valparaiso, Chile, San Francisco in the United States and Liverpool, England.

Stephen married Annie Guthrie, whose father was Dr. Thomas Guthrie of the Ragged School in Edinburgh, where children were fed, clothed and given training. The Williamsons had eight children; among them Archibald born in 1860 who became 1st Barron Forres.

Although successful in business, Stephen was also interested in politics and in 1880 he became a Liberal MP for St Andrews Burghs (East Neuk of Fife). Never forgetting his roots, he and David Fowler (an old school friend) donated the money to build the Town Hall in Cellardyke.

The foundation stone was laid in April 1882 along with a box containing various items of interest, including Town Council minutes, newspapers of the time and a copy of Fisher Life by George Gourlay. Stephen Williamson MP opened the building on September 19th 1883.

He was MP for St Andrews until 1885 and later represented Kilmarnock between 1886 and 1895 and kept his interest in Scottish fishermen and shipping until his death at his home in Copley, Cheshire on the 16th June 1903.

Information from -Heirs of Great Adventure by Wallis Hunt, publisher London (for private circulation 1951-1960) and Kilrenny and Cellardyke:800 years of history, Edinburgh; John Donald 1986.

From the book "Kilrenny and Cellardyke: 800 Years of History"

" Our last eminent Dyker (i.e. native of Cellardyke) was made of soberer stuff. Stephen Williamson was born in 1827 to Archibald Williamson, a future manager of the burgh in the years of disfranchisement, and his heiress wife, Isabella Lawson. At the early age of 24 he became the co-founder of the Liverpool shipping firm of Balfour, Williamson & Co. Soon the firm's activities had spread to the Americas, with branch offices in Valparaiso and San Francisco, but Stephen's ambitions went beyond mere commercial success. In April 1880 he entered Parliament as Liberal M.P. for the St. Andrews district of burghs (i.e. the East Neuk), and although he was later to transfer his allegiance to Kilmarnock, he remained from first to last a champion of British shipping interests and in particular of the Scottish fisherman. Stephen Williamson died in 1903 at his home in Cheshire, and was survived by his eight children and by his wife, a daughter of Dr. Thomas Guthrie of 'Ragged School' fame.The name Williamson is an honoured one in our burgh, for an earlier Stephen Williamson was a councillor of Kilrenny from 1693 until 1719, and at least seven generations of the family worshipped in Kilrenny church. Stephen's father and grandfather were both in their day baron baillies to the lairds of Kilrenny, and like any other son of Cellardyke the M.P. had strong links with the fisherfolk. His father was a cousin of fisherman David Watson's wife Elspeth Salter, so that Stephen and David Watson junior (Murray) were second cousins.

Stephen's son Archibald Williamson junior was raised to the peerage as the 1st Baron Forres of Glenogil. David Watson's son James Murray Watson (Watson) followed his father to the fishing. Archibald junior's great-grandson Alastair Williamson, 4th Baron Forres, is a successful businessman in Australia. James Murray Watson's great-grandson is the author of this book."

Stephen Williamson died on 17 June 1903 at age 75 and Annie died on 15 November 1922. They are both buried in All Saints Church Yard, Thornton Hough.

Other References

• Wikipedia contributors. "Stephen Williamson." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.