Born in Merthyr Tydfil, he was part of a migration of Welsh iron-workers who moved to Middlesbrough, England, in the 1860s.
Edward's father, Taliesin was a notable poet and author, who had moved to Merthyr Tydfil in 1816 to open a school.
[2] In 1842 Williams left his teaching role for the relatively junior position of office clerk at the Dowlais Ironworks.
Williams extended the scope of the companies operations, acquiring more collieries in Durham and iron-mining rights in Spain.
Williams became a respected figure in Middlesbrough, playing a prominent part in the town's public life.