Morgan, Cecilia Lewis Williams - Biography

Cecelia Lewis Williams Morgan

(1803 – 1888)

Researched and compiled by Annette Rohwer Nelson

a great-great-great-granddaughter

            Cecelia was born in Tredegar, Monmouthshire, Wales (near Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorganshire) on March 1, 1803.[i][1]  She was the daughter of Cecelia Lewis and Jenkin Lewis, a farmer.[ii][2]  Other children in the family included a brother Samuel, and three sisters, Martha, Elizabeth and Sariah.[iii][3]

            On November 21, 1825 Cecelia married William Williams.[iv][4]  It is very possible that one or both of them were Non-Conformists (members of a religion other than the Church of Wales), but since it was the law that all marriages -- regardless of religion -- were to take place at the Parish Church, they were married at St. Tydfil’s Parish Church in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, Wales.

            Cecelia and William’s first child, James, was born May 1, 1826.  On August 23, 1826, he was christened at Ynysgau Independent/Presbyterian Church in Merthyr Tydfil.[v][5]  No record has been found of James in later years, and it is possible that he died as a child.  On April 29, 1828, the family was blessed with a second child:  William Jenkin.  He was christened at Ynysgau Independent/Presbyterian Church in Merthyr Tydfil on June 8, 1828.[vi][6]  A daughter, Elizabeth, joined the family on May 2, 1831.  She was christened at Ynysgau Independent/Presbyterian Church in Merthyr Tydfil on July 31, 1831.[vii][7]

            Cecelia’s life was turned upside-down on January 5, 1832, when her husband died.  One can only imagine Cecelia’s grief in losing her husband and knowing she was alone to raise her small children. William was buried at St. Tydfil’s Parish Church in Merthyr Tydfil.  The inscription on his monument reads,

Mourn not for me My neighbours dear

My debt is paid my grave you see

Waight your time you will follow mee [sic]

In memory of William WILLIAMS who departed this life January the 5 1832 aged 32 years.[viii][8]

            The burden of raising her young family was eased a year later, when Cecelia married Morgan Morgan on February 16, 1833.  Some of Morgan’s family members included:

Thomas Morgan (grandfather?)

Madlia Morgan (grandmother)  

Bethuel Morgan (brother?) [ix][9]        

            By the end of the year, another family member was added:  Barbara was born December 14, 1833.  Two years later, on December 16, 1835, Mary was born.  A daughter, Sarah, joined the family in 1838.  In 1840, a son, Morgan, Jr., was born.

            Cecelia’s husband, Morgan, was an iron stone miner.[x][10]  On the 1841 census, it lists his step-son, Jenkin William, as a miner also.  It was tradition at this time for the fathers to take their sons to work with them when they were old enough, and Jenkin probably went to work with his step-father, Morgan.

            In 1841, the family’s address was “Ffos y fran,” which was a miner’s cottage in a hamlet, just a short distance east of an area called “ThomasTown” in Merthyr Tydfil.[xi][11]  A couple of iron mines were very close to this area, so it is likely that Morgan and Jenkin William worked at either The Dowlais Iron Works or The Penydarren Works.

            The Merthry Tydfil 1841 Census lists the following family members living together:

                        Morgan Morgan, age 35

                        Cecelia Morgan, age 35[xii][12]

                        Barbara Morgan, age 8

                        Mary Morgan, age 5

                        Sarah Morgan, age 3

                        Morgan Morgan, age 1

                        Jenkin Williams, age 13

                        Elizabeth Williams, age 10

            Soon after the above census was taken, a son, Thomas, was born to the family.  Unfortunately, he didn’t live long.  Added to the headstone at St. Tydfil’s Church of Cecilia’s first husband, William, was the following inscription:

 “Also Thomas son of Morgan and Cecilia MORGAN of this parish who died April 5 1842 aged 1 year.”[xiii][13]

Cecilia’s last child was born on February 28, 1842.  He was named Thomas William.  (At that time it was very common for a baby to be given the same name as a sibling who had died earlier.) 

            During the 1840’s missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints went to Wales to spread the gospel,l and within three years the first members of the church were baptized in Merthyr Tydfil.  Within five years, there were 700 LDS members in the area – including Morgan, Cecilia and their family.  Church services were held in the open air or in large rooms at inns and baptisms were held in ponds, streams or local rivers.

            Although Non-conformity was widespread in the area at this time, the Mormon Church had many opponents.  The Baptists, particularly, felt the loss of many of their congregants and tried to dissuade people from joining and remaining members of the LDS faith. It was not uncommon for Mormon converts to be persecuted by former ministers, shunned by their friends, and disowned by their families. Many publications were printed, both accusing and defending the Church and its beliefs.   

By 1848, L.D.S. Church members were being encouraged to immigrate to Zion.  Payment of ₤1 per person (except children) was a required deposit for people wanting to make the journey.  The average wage at that time for an iron miner was 18s. per week.

            Under the direction of Dan Jones, Cecelia’s family joined 241 other LDS Church members and began their journey to Zion with the first group of Welsh Saints to immigrate. The Saints who lived in South Wales met in Swansea on February 13 for the steamer voyage to Liverpool.  The local newspaper, The Cambrian, read in part:

…Swansea was quite enlivened in consequence of the arrival of several wagons loaded with luggage, attended by some scores of the “bold peasantry” of Carmarthenshire, and almost an equal number of the inhabitants of Merthyr and the surrounding districts, together with their families.  The formidable party were nearly all “Latter Day Saints,” and came to this town for the purpose of proceeding to Liverpool in the Troubador steamer, where a ship is in readiness to transport them next week to the glittering regions of California … so deluded are the poor and simple Saints, that they believe that every one amongst them, however infirm and old they may be, will as surely land in California safely, as they started from Wales.  Their faith is most extraordinary… Their departure was witnessed by hundreds of spectators, and whilst the steamer gaily passed down the river, the Saints commenced singing a favourite hymn. On entering the piers, however, they abruptly stopped singing, and lustily responded tot the cheering with which they were greeted by the inhabitants.[xiv][14]

            Though only 30 hours long, the trip from Swansea to Liverpool was a taste of what was yet to come. David D. Bowen wrote, “All the passengers with few exceptions was very sick on the passage, by the pitching and rocking of the steamer, and no one on board except Dan Jones and myself could do any help to the sick. Everybody had plenty to take care of them selfs.”[xv][15]

            The Saints had rented the “Music Hall” in Liverpool for five days, and it was there that many lodged at the price of 1s6d while they awaited departure. 

The ship Buena Vista finally left Liverpool, England on February 25, 1849, after a nine-day wait.  About one-fourth of the Saints had to be reassigned to the ship Hartley, which was to sail the following week. The Buena Vista roster includes the following:

                        Family #185:   Jinkins Williams, age 20[xvi][16]

                        Family #242:  Morgan Morgan, age 47

                                                Cecilia Morgan, age 47

                                                Eliza Morgan, age 17 [Elizabeth Williams]

                                                Barbara Morgan, age 15

                                                Mary Morgan, age 13

                                                Sarah Morgan, age 11

                                                Thomas Morgan, age 7

 The next seven weeks were difficult, even for those Welshmen who were accustomed to hardships.  Space was very limited and seven weeks without fresh foods or refrigeration contributed to monotonous and unappetizing meals.  All was not bad, though.  Jones describes the activities that would take place whenever sheer survival was not the focus:

It is beautiful to see the children playing across the deck and entertaining their parents. Some singing here, others talking or reading there; some walking arm-in-arm while others prepare foods of as many kinds almost as could be obtained in any cookshop. The musicians did their best to beautify the atmosphere. Also the harp with its pleasant sounds alone in the evening entertained us as it sang farewell to the king of the day as he lowered his red head into the western sea.”[xvii][17]

The emigrants sighted land 39 days after setting sail.  They were sailing through the Bahamas.  On April 29, 1849, ten days later, the ship set its anchors.  They had arrived in New Orleans.  The Welsh Saints had caught up with other members who had left Liverpool on the Ashland nearly three weeks before the Buena Vista.  Since both groups were headed up the Mississippi, they hired a steamer, The Constition, to share on their 1,100 mile trip to St. Louis.  Nearly 450 passengers paid $2.25 (about 10 shillings) each for this portion of their journey. 

Once in St. Louis, the family purchased flour, meat and other groceries, in preparation for their trip to “California.”  They boarded the steamer, The Highland Mary, for the trip to Council Bluffs.  For a family the size of the Morgans, the expenses were not low -- they paid about 94s4d for the ride up the Missouri River -- but the cost of the entire trip was about what they expected.

A Cholera epidemic was raging at this time, and many fell victim while traveling the rivers and staying in riverside towns.  The Saints had felt very blessed that only one of their group – Jenkin Williams – had succumbed before arriving in St. Louis.  After leaving St. Louis, the dread disease took a heavy toll on the Saints.  During the next 21 days, 44 of the original 249 Buena Vista passengers fell victim.  Very few families were left intact.  The Morgans were no exception.  Their daughter, Sarah, aged 11, died of cholera and was buried along the shore of the Missouri River.

At long last, the group finished their travels by water.  Their joy was evident, though dampened by recent losses and a lukewarm welcome by those who had arrived at Council Bluffs ahead of them.  A journal entry reads:

… We arrived at Council Bluffs in a sorry condition. Nobody would come near us. We were put out on the banks of the river with our dead and suffering. Apostle George A. Smith, hearing of our arrival and of the sad condition we were in, came down to the river banks … Brother Smith sent word to the people that if they would not take us in and give us shelter, the Lord would turn a scourge upon them. It was not long before teams and wagons came down and all were taken care of.[xviii][18]

Council Bluffs was becoming a melting pot, with Saints from the eastern United States, Canada, England, Norway and now Wales.  The Welsh Saints banded together, settling near each other and organizing a Welsh-speaking branch.  Dan Jones purchased a land claim of about 150 acres as a gift to the Welsh Saints who would stay in Council Bluffs for the next 2-3 years.  “Most [stayed in Council Bluffs because] their resources were exhausted by the time they completed the Atlantic crossing and the ascension of the two rivers. A few who may have had the wherewithal to continue on to the Valley that same year had been requested to stay behind and preside over the other Buena Vista and Hartley emigrants … With an organized body of Welsh Saints in Council Bluffs, future immigrants of the same language would have a warm welcome, in addition to instruction and guidance as to how they would complete their journey to the Valley. Housing would be provided, employment information would be given, and assistance in getting ‘fitouts’ would be available.”[xix][19]

The Morgans counted among the 113 Welsh Saints who stayed in Council Bluffs in 1849.  On September 18, 1850, they appeared on the District 21, Pottawattamie County, Iowa Census (family 319) as follows:

                        Morgan Morgan, age 50

                        Cecelia Morgan, age 52

                        Eliza [Williams] Morgan, age 19

                        Barbara Morgan, age 16

                        Mary Morgan, age 14

                        Thomas Morgan, age 9

Cecelia’s husband Morgan worked as a labourer, saving up and preparing for the overland trip to the Salt Lake Valley.[xx][20]  On June 21, 1852, nearly 50 wagons of Welsh Saints began their journey across the plains.  It is assumed the Morgan family was part of that group.

After settling in the Salt Lake Valley, Cecelia’s daughters soon found husbands, married and left to start families of their own.  Elizabeth married Hirum Adelbert Winters 15 Jun 1853. Barbara married William Harrison Maughan on 25 December 1853 at Tooele, Tooele County, Utah.

            By 1860, Cecilia’s dwindling family was living in E.T., Tooele County, Utah.  Their household was comprised of Morgan, Cecelia, and their sons Jenkin and Thomas. Thomas was a student, attending school, and worked as a farm laborer.  Morgan and Jenkin were farmers and stockmen, and together they owned the land valued at $200.  Additionally, Morgan had personal property valued at $1,500, Jenkin at $500, and Thomas at $200.[xxi][21]

            “Times were hard, food was scarce, grasshoppers had destroyed most of the crops, living conditions were less than desirable.  When Brigham Young asked Peter Maughan to explore Cache Valley as a suitable site for a new settlement, Morgan Morgan accompanied him to the Valley.  Due to some disappointment, Morgan changed his mind and the family remained in Tooele.[xxii][22]

In the spring of 1870, Cecilia and Morgan moved to a large settlement of Welsh immigrants in the Malad Valley (which was later to become part of Idaho) along with their son Jenkin and his family.[xxiii][23]   With the hope of making a fine cattle ranch, they brought about 100 head of cattle and a small band of sheep with them and purchased property from David Williams at Cherry Creek, a small community about six miles south of Malad.[xxiv][24]    The first two winters they did well, as the winters were mild and they were able to grow and cut enough hay for them.  The following years were very hard and few livestock made it through.  Additionally, a law was passed in 1873 that prohibited any grazing of sheep on public domain within five miles of an inhabited residence.  The move to Cherry Creek seemed very disappointing. 

Despite the hardships of life in Cherry Creek, Cecilia’s husband, Morgan, purchased nearly 160 acres of property there in May of 1875.  Their property was approximately 3-1/2 miles north from the center of Cherry Creek.[xxv][25] 

Cecilia lived at Cherry Creek until Morgan died on 12 September 1878, then she returned to Tooele and lived with her son, Thomas.  The two of them did temple work in the St. George Temple for several members of the family.[xxvi][26]  Later, Cecelia moved to Mt. Pleasant, Utah to live with her daughter Elizabeth Williams Winters, who had a large home on Main Street.  “They hauled water from the creek in large buckets.  They made soap and sold it for additional income.  Cecelia liked to make down pillows and would patiently gather the down to fill them.”

On February 17, 1884, Cecilia’s son, Jenkin Williams, was killed in an accident at his home in Cherry Creek, Idaho.  He had gone out to his shed after a heavy snowstorm, when the roof fell in and killed him instantly.  Cecilia’s daughter-in-law, Rachel, was left to raise Cecilia’s nine grandchildren.[xxvii][27]

Four and one-half years later, on August 19, 1888, Cecilia died at the age of 85.  She was buried at the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.