Mary Ann Lewis
by Mark G. Hodge
Mary Ann Lewis was born May 1, 1855 or 1857, in Dowlais,
Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorganshire, Wales.
She was the daughter of David and
Elizabeth Evans Lewis. They had two children, Mary Ann, and Joseph, born about
1859. David and Elizabeth were converts to the LDS
Church in Wales.
Elizabeth, Mary Ann, and Joseph sailed to America aboard the General McClellan,
which left Liverpool, England
on May 21, 1864, and arrived in New York on June 23, 1864. The family was in the company that was under
the leadership of Elder George G. Bywater. While at sea, Mary Ann’s mother gave
birth to a son named William. The
company proceeded to Wyoming,
Nebraska, where they crossed the plains to the
Salt Lake Valley
with the William S. Warren Company, arriving on
October 4, 1864. Sadly, baby William Lewis passed away somewhere on the
journey to Salt Lake City,
as he is not listed in the company roster of arrivals.
David Lewis sailed for America
aboard the Belle Wood, which left Liverpool,
England, and arrived in New York on May 31, 1865.
He was in the company under the leadership of Elder William S. Phillips. David's occupation was listed as a collier
(coal miner). It is not know exactly
when he arrived in the Salt
Lake Valley. At this point, nothing further is known about
Elizabeth in Utah.
David, Mary Ann, and Joseph eventually settled in Fairfield,
Utah County, Utah.
David Lewis died August 1, 1881 in Fairfield,
Utah County and was buried in the Fairfield cemetery next to
Edwin Butler, a step-brother of Lyman Hodge.
Mary Ann Lewis married Lyman Hodge about 1871 in Utah County. This may have been in Fairfield, or possibly Lehi. They had two
sons: Jacob, born October 1872, and James Custer, born August 1, 1876, in Lehi.
After Lyman Hodge’s untimely death in Idaho
about 1879, while moving to Alaska
to mine, Mary Ann married the widower Thomas William(s) McFate about 1880. He was born September 3, 1833, in Mahoning, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania
to James McFate and Elizabeth Williams.
Thomas was previously married to
Sarah Frances Doherity (Dorrity) on March 10, 1853, in Spanish Fork, Utah County, Utah.
She was born November 7, 1838, in Wickley,
Tennessee to Dennis Dorrity and
Deanna Louise Jolley. Sarah died July
16, 1877 or 1878, possibly in Grass Valley, Nevada County, California.
Thomas and Sarah had ten children, all born in Grass Valley. They were: Thomas, Jr.; Charles; Mary;
Albert; Lulu; James; Laura; John; Elizabeth;
and Louis. The six oldest children
(Thomas, Charles, Mary, Albert, Lulu, and James) were not in the household when Mary Ann became the
step-mother of the McFate children in 1880.
Mary Ann was now raising her own
two children and four step-children (Laura, John, Elizabeth, and Louis).
Thomas and Mary Ann had five children: Calvin, Frances,
Leola Margarete, and Nora.
The McFate family moved to Idaho
about 1893, but returned to Utah
about 1899. They were living in Eureka, Juab
County by the time of the
1900 Census.
Thomas died March 31, 1906, in Eureka from asthma. Funeral services were conducted at St.
Patrick's Church by Rev. Father O'Donohue. He was buried in the Eureka Cemetery.
Mary Ann moved to Burley, Cassia County, Idaho
about 1911, with her son James Hodge and her daughter Nora McFate. Nora later
moved to California. Mary Ann died December 13, 1916, in Burley
and was buried December 15, in the Pleasant
View Cemetery
in Burley.
