JOHN AND ESTHER
CAULFIELD WALTERS - BIOGRAPHY
In about 1850 our Walters family joined the Church. At the
time they were living in a large seashore city called Swansea
in South Wales. The family consisted or John
Walters, a tailor by trade, his wife Esther Caulfield Walters, three daughters,
Elizabeth Ann, Sarah Ann and Mary Adelaide, and one son David. All of the
children except for Mary Adelaide were from the marriage of John Walters to his
first wife Mary Ann Fender who had died. The parents of John Walters were David
Walters a watchmaker and his wife Elizabeth. The father of Ester Caulfield was
James Caulfield a sawyer.
On April 19th, 1856 the Walters family boarded the “Samuel
Curling” in Liverpool to sail to Boston.
The only one not going was David. After arriving in Boston
they went by train to Iowa
where they joined John A. Hunt’s ox train. The following was copies from John
A. Hunt’s journal –
“Saturday 6th Septr. Ester [Hester] Walters
wife of John Walters from Cardiffe Wales was del[ivere]d of a daughter at 5 Am and
is doing well.”
“Tuesday
7th Octr[.]
Started at 7 a.m. Bro Richard Griffiths had an ox giving out. unhitched the
pair from the waggon and drove on with the one yoke
of oxen, leaving the loose pair for Bro Saml Evans to
drive on[.] while driving them one of the bow Keys broke, by which means the
oxen became separated, and the one that had the yoke hanging to the neck ran
off and so frightened some of the oxen, causing them to leave the trail and go
at high speed[.] waggon after waggon
was now seen going in different directions at a terrible rate and general
consternation prevailed at the last half of the train[.] so many were in danger
of being knocked down or crushed between the waggons:
in a few minutes they were brought to a state of rest some ten or twelve waggons having left the track. we
have to lament that a Sister Esther Walters from Swansea Wales was knocked down
and so injured that she expired in a few minutes afterwards, leaving a babe of
four weeks old, which at the time was in the waggon.
She was interred this evening at 5 pm[.] aged 39
years. the accident occurred about 12.30 pm.”
“November 5th, Jane Walters, daughter of John Walters died
at 9:30 a.m. near Independence Rock, age 6 weeks”
After coming to Utah
it appears that John Walters only lived a few years. Mary Adelaide went with
her half-sister to Cache
County. Elizabeth Ann
Married Barnard White who after her death at a young age became a prominent
Church and business leader in Ogden,
Utah. Sarah Ann married and lived
the rest of her life in Cache
County. Mary Adelaide
married Levi Minnerly of Wellsville in Cache County
who had about four wives but no children. Levi was well to do owning the town
hotel and also two farms. Mary Adelaide and Levi had one child named Charlotte Albertina Minnerly. She was the
only child Levi had and all of his property was left to her at the death of
Levi when Charlotte
was only in her late teens.
Mary Adelaide is buried in the Wellsville
Cemetery along with Levi and his
second wife Charlotte McCall of Tennessee.
Mary Adelaide was present at the age of 6 when she saw her
mother killed. She described it to her grandchildren that her mother fell from
the wagon and one of the oxen kicked her in the chest and it killed her. She
was then buried by the trail.
The following pages were copied from the book on the life of
Barnard White who was the brother-in-law to Mary Adelaide Walters. Barnard
White and his family traveled in the same company with the Walters across the
plains. Barnard and his sister later wrote of the experiences of crossing the
plains and the trials they met. Barnard’s Sister Elizabeth give an eyewitness
account of the death of Esther Walters as the Walters’ wagon was in front of
the White’s wagon.
