***SPOILER*** Highlight to see
The villager for me was found in Brightwood over the first small bridge once you enter the town (NOT the long bridge you enter the town from. Over the bridge, the house on the left is where the villager is located. It does not open until you begin gaining the trust of Brightwood citizens. The quest (I believe) is dependent on the traits of the villager - I'm trying to decide in another thread whether the traits affect the quest given, but the reward (5 guild seals as I recall) appears to be the same. My quest was finding the remains of the villager's father, but others have different quests.
***END SPOILER***
There are no unique items, achievements, or anything associated with the villager. There is also no special achievements or awards for any of the limited edition/villager/pre-order/guides/novels/etc. The 1000 gold promised arrives in the form of a gift found in your Sanctuary. Oddly for me, the gift preceded me doing the quest, so the gold might not be directly linked to completing the quest so much as inputting the villager code.