PRICE JONES

Martha Ann Price was the youngest twin of 13[1] children. Her father was Jeremiah, a foreman in a coal mine employing about 500 men, the job being handed down from generations back. Her mother, Jane Morgan was the youngest of 7 children. She was raised on a farm and her father was a stone mason. Of the 13 children, 5 died in Merthyr South Wales and were all buried in one grave. Jeremiah Price owned a dry goods and general merchandise store and also 7 brick houses which he rented out. Mary did the buying in Bristol for the store. Jeremiah had been educated for the ministry but never ordained.

Jeremiah sold all his interests in Merthyr and went by caravan with other saints to Liverpool, about 80 miles, and departed for America.

Mary Price, Martha Ann's twin, fell down a slanting ladder from upper to lower deck and died. Her body was placed in a box with weights attached to the sides. Thomas Jones, Martha Ann's future husband was one of the paulbearers.[2]

The family lived three Months with other Welch families in Philadelphia and purchased one ox team and wagon to carry the family across the plains.

The only piece of furniture that was brought across the ocean was a large hardwood chest. The majority of the ships passengers continued on together to Utah.[3] It took three months to cross the plains.[4] Martha Ann's brother Josiah, age 21 and sister Sarah, age 11 had come to America 2 years previous, and were living in Ogden when the parents arrived and this is where the family came. Josiah had taken land there and built an adobe house.

With the Price family came Josiah's betrothed, Rachel, and they were married a year later. They lived happily for 15 years till she was forced to leave him by the Mormons since he refused to embrace their faith. They had no children. Rachel married again, but unhappily. Josiah married a widow[5] with 1 child and had 9 daughters. Ann married Roser Jenkins soon after they arrived as she had been engaged to him in Wales and he had come to America 2 years previously. Sarah married Joseph Godfrey at age 15.

Martha Ann's father purchased a small home in N. Ogden and later a small ranch in Pacen City.[6]

Martha Ann's father was drowned the 18[7] of March 1860 in Utah Lake. The morning of his death his wife, on bidding him goodby, told him she would never see him alive again. He and his son John started out across the lake for their sheep. The men had gone four miles on the ice and were within the width of a house from the shore when the ice broke and both went down. John was able to get out but the father, less active, trying time and time again until his fingernails had almost worn away, gave up. He refused to allow the son to aid him further for fear they would both be lost. The father talked to the son during his remaining hours and entrusting his mother, sisters and brothers to his care. Telling him to care for his mother for as long as she lived and telling him of the life he would have him live. The son knelt down and offered prayer to God for his father, bade him good-bye and awaited the end. When the mother heard through one of the neighbors of her sons return, she told them she knew her husband was drowned.

From Pacen they moved back to N. Ogden to live with Josiah where they stayed one summer. The next spring, John, Josiah and Isaac took land in Malad and took the families there. They bought and sold stock on the farm there for about three years. They then bought about 40-50 acres 10 miles up the valley closer to town which was good hay land and they all lived in town together.

Isaac married Sarah Thomas in 69 or 70 and went to Montana making his home near Deer Lodge.[8] Jemima married Coleman in N. Ogden and moved to Canada to farm. Thomas Jones married Martha Ann on October 27, 1870 and on November 2 moved to Gold Canyon, Montana.[9] Martha first met him when they were living on Henderson Creek. He came to visit his brother William who he thought was dead from California where he had been working. The Price family was neighbors of William Jones. He dated her and then went to Montana where he gave his horse and saddle, which he had ridden from California, for a mine claim. They wrote to each other often during this time. He took thousands out of the mine claim which he worked with his brother William and another brother[10] of which one was a disabled soldier.

Thomas then returned to Malad and was married to Martha. They had a large supper with 30 guests. She was married in a street dress with plain waist trimmed with beads, hoop skirt of small blue plad material. Her mother and brother John were there and they had wedding pictures taken.[11]

Mat Hughes,[12] Grandpa's nephew, went with them to Montana in a spring wagon, with cover, new harness and a good team. They bought dishes, bed and bedding, chairs and other things and took them with them. They lived at the mine for 5 years in a little log cabin in a mining camp about 8 miles from Blackfoot.[13]

George and Mary was born there and when Mary was about 1 they were attacked by Indians to which they gave food and they went away. William Jones had a ranch about 4 miles from the mine and Isaac and Cy Price had farms about 4 miles from William. Some time after Mary Jane was born, Thomas took the children to visit Isaac and the children stayed with them for some time. Thomas worked at a placer mine in Snow Shoe camp for wages for a couple months and then sold the mine to his brother William.

The family then moved to Malad[14] and then to mother's home at Elkhorn[15] a distance of 750 miles. John gave Martha 55 acres of his farm so they could live close to him. Thomas improved the land and built a house and stable and dug a well that fall. Maggie and Carrie were born there where they lived for 7 years.

They then moved to Wallowa County, Oregon where Carol was about 1 year old and lived there 9 years on a farm. They moved to Oregon because a neighbor influenced our father T. W. Jones to come up to Wallowa.

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