His father Jabez Williams (1788-1870), born in Stonington, Connecticut, was a pioneer and prominent shipbuilder in New York.

One child, Edward A. Williams was Assistant Secretary and Clerk in the Greenpoint Savings Bank.

[1] Some of the vessels Jabez Williams built were the Angelique (1825), Catharine (1829), Warsaw (1830), Mary Frances (1831), Union (1833), Ohio (1834), Argo (1836), Eagle (1836), pilot boat Joseph N. Lord (1840), and Princeton (1848).

In 1845, Jabez Williams moved his shipyard across the East River to Williamsburg at the foot of Clinton Street.

John T. Williams remained a partner with his father until 1854, when he became one of the oldest members of the New York Stock Exchange.

He went on to say that he built twelve Sandy Hook pilot boats and that the William Bell was an "extraordinarily expensive boat to build in every respect; her decks were all trimmed with mahogany; she was copper-fastened to the top of her rail; from keel to rail; her ballast was all cast and fitted between the frames.