The Madras College Archive

     


Former Pupil Biographies

Stephen Williamson (1827 - 1903)

Stephen Williamson was born in Cellardyke, 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. 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 in 1851, 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 Rev. 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. Williamson had homes in Copley in Cheshire and Glenogil in Forfarshire. He died at Copley in June 1903 aged 65.

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), a seat he held until 1885. He then represented Kilmarnock Burghs between 1886 and 1895.

Never forgetting his roots, he and David Fowler (an old school friend) donated the money to build the Town Hall in Cellardyke.