David Prossor Jones
David Prossor Jones, was born July 29, 1836, in Brecknockshire, Wales, the son of David Jones (a miner) and Elizabeth Prossor (a farmer's daughter). In a biographical sketch prepared for this work, Bro Jones writes: "My parents were married in 1835 and I was their first child, and now also the only one of my father's children living. Thus I am practically the alpha and omega as it were, of their family group on earth. In 1840 they moved to a mining district in Monmouthshire, where a few years later my father fell down a mine pit in the night and was killed. I was then between nine and ten years of age. Thus I was fatherless, with a widowed mother and one brother born three months after father's demise. When old enough to choose my own occupation, I adopted the coal mining vocation in the subterranean chambers of the coal fields of that region.
In 1850, or 1851, I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and joined the Beauford and Rasa branch, where I was ordained a Deacon soon afterwards. I was ordained a Teacher in the Victoria branch, whereunto I had moved to obtain better remuneration for my labor and where I was ordained an Elder. When I embraced the gospel I was unschooled and very unlettered. I could neither read nor write, but by studious efforts in a brief period I was able to read and write in two languages and was chosen secretary for two branches of the Church in succession who spoke in two different tongues--English and Welsh. I was highly blessed of the Lord and became famous for laying hands on the sick, for they invariably recovered. The adversary too, vacated his temporary human dwelling under my administration. My usefulness was soon recognized and I was chosen counselor to the president of the English branch. When called upon, I took great pleasure in distributing tracts, preaching the Gospel and superintending the Sabbath school. When the law of tithing was introduced to the Saints in Wales, I became a tithe payer as well as a liberal contributor to other church funds then in vogue. Having reached my majority, I took a wife -- a Saint and a model housekeeper -- and we began to invite the Elders to share our hospitality, which they did in our neat but rented home on Brieryhill Victoria. Subsequently, we moved to Tredegar, where we found superior facilities to accumulate or save emigration money; where also I was made president of the Tredegar branch and book agent for the Monmouthshire conference. We kept the conference house too, where the local Elders and missionaries from Zion delighted to call and refresh themselves on their missionary tours. As I was a natural born singer, I studed music, lead the branch choir and made concerts in the distinguished towns of Tredegar, Newport and Cardiff for the benefit of the conference
presidents whose headquarters were in these localities.
In 1866 we bade farewell the the remaining Saints and to the hills and dales of lovely Wales, land ever dear to me, and embarked at Liverpool, on a sailing vessel named in honor of the distinguished statesmand [sic] John Bright. After a voyage of five weeks and three days we arrived in New York June 5, 1866. As a Saint was more appreciated for his absence than for his presence in the United Sates in those days, our route was pointed out by the Church emigration agent, Thomas Taylor, part way through Canada to our destination.
Our emigrant company had rode on the train but a short distance when the baggage car caught fire, and many had the contents of their traveling wardorbes extremely damaged. In Canada our train was stopped by a body of armed soldiers who searched the cars in vain for hostile Fenians. We had left the Canadian frontiers when we experience a train wreck in Michigan where spectators expected to find hundreds of the Saints killed, but as the kind hand of Providence guided our destiny, none of us were seriously injured. We reached the frontiers in safety and my wife and I crossed the plains in Capt. John Holliday's oxtrain. I was chosen secretary of the commissary department. Many were sick and eight died by the way. An acquaintance of ours, a young sister, whose mother had tried many things in vain to alleviate her sufferings [sic], I laid hands on her, and she recovered. She is now the mother of a large family and testifies that the Lord, through my administration, saved her life. We arrived in Salt Lake city Sept. 25, 1866. Our family settled in Willard city, Box Elder county, where I was ordained a Seventy that winter and joined the 59th quorum of the Seventy, presided over by Elder Geo. Marsh. I adopted masonry as my chief trade for the time being. In 1868, I was placed in charge of the Willard choir, where Prof. Evan Stephens received some of his early impressions in the Divine art -- music -- and where Elder Daniel Tovey now ex-commissioner of Oneida county, Idaho, preceeded me as a teacher. After several years of prefessional service in the Ward and in the Stake, together with teaching a great number of choir selections furnished by Prof. Geo. Careless, I took the choir to Salt Lake City, where in common with fourteen other choirs from the rural districts it was amalgamated with the Salt Lake Tabernacle choir during two conferences. Not having a farm, and land having reached a high valuation, with the advent of the railroad, I resigned the leadership of the Willard choral fraternity in favor of Brother Evan Stephens, who now had grown to manhood and bid fair to make a good record in the musical line, and settled in Malad Valley, where a broader field of usefulness awaited me. Here I was given charge
of the Malad choral organization, which now was enlarged to nearly double its former number of singers and became a power for great good in the valley. I kept horses and wagons and hauled freight from Corinne for the Malad co-operative company for nearly six years. On winter evenings, when free from other more important duties, I delivered lectures on interesting subjects and also orations on celebration days.
In 1880, I was chosen first counselor to Bishop John D. Jones, of Cherry Creek and ordained a High Priest under the hands of Oliver G. Snow at the organization of that Ward, to which I afterwards moved and where my intense longing for a farm was gratified. In 1889 my wife died, and having no issue I was illy prepared to endure the solitude in my home that followed her demise. But I drew nearer then ever unto the Lord and he blessed me accordingly. In 1890, I was called and later set apart as conductor of the Malad Stake choir, which was organized at this time and by traveling as vocal musician I succeeded in gathering from the various Wards a strong and conservative body of singers who by their sweet and devoted musical efforts elicited many laudatory enunciatons from President Lorenzo Snow and several of the Apostles during their periodical visits to the Malad Stake conferences. In 1893, without relinquishing any of the ecclesiastical positions which through my integrity I had meritoriously acquired during the past thirteen years, I was called and set apart to preside over the Y. M. M. I. A. of Cherry Creek which I waited upon about seven years, and the association received laurels of praise from the Stake presidency at the spiritual banquets they made when they visited the Ward.
In 1900, I was appointed acting Bishop to succed [sic] Bishop John D. Jones who after many years of energetic efforts in building up the Ward had now passed away from this stage of action. Elder H. H. Mifflin, my fellow counselor to Bishop Jones, was appointed my assistant. We labored very harmoniously together and the union and friendship we formed will not soon be forgotten. Later, I turned over the social, moral and devotional care of the Ward to my successor Bishop Geo. Facer, but was solicited by the church Bishopric to receive the tithes of the people till the close of the year 1901, which I did, and received their encomiums for the wise management of the Ward's finance. It has been my prerogative to hold many other trustwowrthy positions for yars, such as school trustee, road overseeer and trustee for our substantial rock meeting house. The musical interest of Cherry Ward too, wehre I have lived more than twenty years, I have never forgotten. To those to whom this sketch shall come -- my contemporaries or those yet unbornn -- my testimony is: I konw that my Redeemer liveth, for the
inspiration of his spirit is in my soul and His kind hand on sea and land has been over me for good."
