She was named after John Williams (1796–1839), a missionary who had been active in the South Pacific.

[2] She sank in 50 fathoms after drifting onto a reef at Danger Island (Pukapuka) on 16 May 1864.

[1] Six more John Williams ships successively operated in the Pacific as part of the LMS's missionary work, the last, John Williams VII, being built in 1962 and decommissioned in 1968.

A medal was issued commemorating her first three-year voyage and an example of this is held at the Royal Museum of Greenwich.

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