While much is known of Cyrus John Richard WILLIAMS’s paternal line, there are some substantial gaps, especially around his grandfather, Richard Williams (1790? -?). His birthplace, arrival in Sydney, and family details are not known. It has so far been impossible to find any trace of him after 1835 when his 6th child was born in India. His names are very common and it is therefore very difficult to be confident of identifying him amongst all the other Richard Williamses to be found in genealogical and other records.
Records have however been found which confirm his voyage to India in 1815 with Celia SPENCER (1805-1896); the birth of their first son in India in 1815; his marriage to Celia in Calcutta in 1820; and the births of five more children in India between 1827 and 1835 .
Cyrus’s father, William, was their fifth child and third son, who remained close to his mother. It is unknown whether Cyrus knew about his convict roots, or had any knowledge which would have filled the current gaps in the family history. If he did know, he refrained from any comment whatsoever in his extensive Journals, written later in life. There is only one reference to the family presence in India in the Journals, on page 1.