Ann Roberts Griffiths
Ann was born in Denbighshire, North Wales, April 18, 1819, to David and Mary Thomas Roberts. She lived the life of ordinary young Englishwomen, but after coming into contract with missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, her attention was greatly drawn to religious matters. Despite the fact that all the other members of the family rejected Mormonism, she decided to join the Church and was baptized in 1842 by Elder George Edwards in Wallbrook, Shropshire. On January 3, 1843, she married Joseph Griffiths, a young Mormon from Liverpool, England. Even before the marriage the young couple had caught the spirit of gathering then so prevalent in the Church, and had decided to emigrate to America and join the Saints in the newly founded city of Nauvoo.
The parting of Ann from her mother was a sad one, her mother fainting when Ann refused all entreaties to stay. Ann was never to see her own relatives again, and seldom to hear of them. With her young husband, she embarked January 16, 1843, on the ship Swanton, Captain Davenport commanding. Bound for Nauvoo via New Orleans, the two hundred twelve Saints on board were in the charge of Lorenzo Snow of the Council of the Twelve, who was returning to Nauvoo from his mission in England. The journey was a long one, as high headwinds prevented the ship from gaining much headway for four weeks. On February 17th the wind became fair and continued so for the remainder of the voyage, the company arriving at New Orleans February 26, 1843. To the young couple, the journey was a honeymoon and not unpleasant.
At New Orleans the company embarked on the river steammer Amaranth and started up the Mississippi River. The ship reached St. Louis March 29, 1843, and was delayed a few days because of the ice floe in the river. Upon their arrival in Nauvoo April 12th [on board the Maid of Iowa] , Joseph Smith shook the hands of Ann and Joseph Griffiths and gave them a blessing. The couple proceeded to build a home, but their stay in it was cut short by the death of their beloved leader. When, after the martyrdom, the bodies were brought to Nauvoo, Ann and her husband joined the long lines of mourners passing through the Nauvoo Mansion, and viewed the face of their leaders for the last time.
In the spring of 1846 when the Saints, under Brigham Young, started the long exodus from Nauvoo to the West, the Griffiths were unable to leave for lack of proper equipment. They remained with others, looking forward to the time when wagons would be sent back for them or until they could sell their home and purchase the necessary means of travel. But the mobs that had agreed to leave the Saints alone for a season renewed their persecutions. Ann's husband joined with the few remaining men in defense of Nauvoo, but opposition to the growing mobs was useless. On September 17, 1846, the city surrendered, and the mob entered. Ignoring the terms of surrender, they began to pillage and burn the homes and abuse the inhabitants. Entering the home of Ann and Joseph, the mobsters threw their furniture into the street and set fire to the dwelling. With a few hastily gathered possessions, the Griffiths were driven from the city and across the Mississippi River.
Days of hardship followed, until wagons came from the camps to rescue them. Ann and Joseph and their three young children were taken to Garden Grove and lodged in a log dwelling during the winter. In the spring they moved on to Winter Quarters. Early in 1850 the Griffiths joined a caravan of Saints journeying to Salt Lake Valley, arriving safely in the fall of that year. The family first stopped in Mill Creek, then in North Jordan and finally built a small house on the Little Cottowood Creek, moving into Union Fort when it was built in 1851.
In 1857, due to the approach of Johnston's Army, the Griffiths family, with others, packed their belongings on wagons and headed south, going as far as Sanpete County. When the "Utah War" was settled, they returned to their home in Union where Joseph Griffiths died July 20, 1860. Ann did not marry again, but reared her family and kept them faithful to the Church. During her later years, she spent much time in caring for the sick, coming to be known throughout the community as Grandma Griffiths.
On December 26, 1895, at the age of 76 Ann Roberts Griffiths died at her home in Union. Her passing was mourned by multitudes of friends and numerous posterity. She and her husband had been blessed with fifteen children (ten of whom were twins); there were eight boys and seven girls. She had been a member of the Relief Society and was for many years an officer in that organization. She was buried in the Union Cemetery December 30, 1895. -- Blanche M. Olsen
