Posted by: Kathy Krywicki
Recently on March 1st, as a Saint David’s Day tribute, the Bytown Museum posted an historic photo of the Lewis Williams family. Lewis Williams came from Wales in 1817 and settled along the Rideau River in then Nepean Township; the heritage-designated Williams house still stands at 96 Southern Drive, in Old Ottawa South.
Here’s the family in all their glory, courtesy of the Bytown Museum:
The Lewis Williams family of Monmouthshire, Wales settled on a 200 acre lot along the Rideau River, across from the Billings family property, in 1818 – nearly a decade prior to the construction of the Rideau Canal. This photograph depicts the family of the second Lewis Williams c.1869 in front of the family homestead built by his father in 1827.
Read more about the Williams family here.
Check out the History of Old Ottawa East for more of the story of Lewis Williams I.