Williams (John J.) is born in Boston.

The son of Irish immigrants, John Williams attends the Boston public schools, the Cathedral school in Boston, and a seminary in Montreal. He is ordained a priest (1843-Cullen) and subsequently serves as bishop and then archbishop of Boston (1866-1907). During his tenure, Williams organizes new dioceses, builds the second Cathedral of the Holy Cross in 1875,* establishes St. John’s Seminary in 1875,* Boston College in 1863*, and numerous parochial schools and charities. He dies in 1907, and is buried in a crypt in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.