Biography of Ann
Powell Peterson
Compiled and written
by granddaughter-in-law, Mabel G. Peterson, March 26, 1964.
Retyped by
great-great-great-granddaughter, Amberly Peterson
Beck, December 21, 2010. To maintain the integrity of the text it has
been retyped as is without any editing for spelling and typographical mistakes.
Ann Powell Peterson, daughter of Thomas and Margaret Davis
Powell, was born 17 June 1850 in Valeo Vaynor Parish, Cefn (or Kefn) Tai (or Fau) Grawen South Wales. She was one of six children, but only
she and her brother, John Davis Powell lived to maturity. Her father, Thomas
Powell, was a coal miner and each day went deep down into the earth to bring
out the coal. The mine was operated by a wealthy mine owner, and although
Thomas Powell worked long hard hours, he received little pay for his hazardous
work.
Little is known of Ann's early life and schooling, but she
did have the advantage of growing up in the church. Her father and mother were
among the first to accept the gospel when the elders came to Wales, for they
were baptized in 1852. A Mr. Dan Jones, an elder credited with baptizing many
Welsh saints, was closely associated with this family and may well have been
the one who first brought the gospel to them. Thomas Powell's mother was Ann
Lewis (or Jones) so Dan Jones may also have been a relative (Pedigree chart
from record of Elizabeth McKay Hill).
Margaret Davis Powell, Ann's mother passed away in Wales in 1864,
when Ann was fourteen years of age, and her brother John was eighteen. The
father then married Elizabeth Morgan Williams, a widow.
Thomas Powell and his family had a great desire to come to Zion, but because of
their very humble circumstances, it was impossible for them to save enough
money for the entire family to come at once. So in June 1868 Ann and her
step-sister Leah Williams, a young woman of about the same age, set sail on the
ship Minnesota from Liverpool,
England bound for America. On
board ship were 534 saints, many of whom were of Welsh
descent, and it was into their care that Thomas Powell placed his daughters. It
was a sad parting, but it was with the understanding that the other members of
the family would follow as soon as the necessary funds were available.
The ship landed in New York
harbor 12 July 1868 and the saints traveled by train to Laramie, Wyoming
which was the western terminus of the railroad at that time. It is not known by
what means Ann and her step-sister reached Salt Lake Valley. However, Andrew Jensen, the
Church Historian, recorded that teams met saints at Laramie
on June 15th of that year and brought them to Salt Lake,
so in all probability it was by this means the journey was completed. Ann made
her home with some Welsh saints who moved to Malad, Idaho,
making her own way by working in the homes, then for a time she resided with
her cousin Jeanette Evans McKay, mother of President David O. McKay, in Huntsville, Weber
County, Utah.
Ann Powell's father's sister Margaret Powell married Thomas
Evans. Their daughter Jeanette Evans married David McKay and their son is
President David O. McKay. In President McKay's 90th year, 10 December 1962,
business, civic, government and religious leaders of all faiths honored
President and Sister McKay with a testimonial dinner at the Hotel Utah in Salt Lake City. At this
time President McKay was presented with a pipe organ which was to be placed in
the new chapel, then under construction at Methyr-Tydfil,
Wales
near the birthplace of his mother Jeanette Evans and also Ann Powell Peterson.
The following summer President McKay was present at the dedication of this
chapel.
It was while living in the McKay home in Huntsville
that Ann first met Peter B. Peterson, a young convert from Denmark. By exercising the greatest
frugality, it was not long until Ann's father, step-mother and brother saved
enough money to enable them to come to America
and to Zion, so Ann left Huntsville
and was re-united with her family in Marriott, Weber County,
where they made their home.
Ann was a beautiful young woman with dark brown hair,
snapping black eyes and olive complexion. She was about five feet, two inches
in height, and a little on the plump side as judged by today's standard of
beauty. Peter B. had fallen in love, so he rode his pony all the way down the
canyon to Marriott to court the lovely Ann. At this time, there was no bridge
over the Weber River. Peter B. would disrobe
in the bushes on the bank, make a bundle of his clothes, and hold them high
over his head to keep them dry as the horse forded the river. On the opposite
bank he would quickly dress and proceed to the Powell residence only to
encounter an even more difficult situation, for he could speak only Danish and
Ann could speak only Welsh. The way of love was not to be thwarted, and as he
said, "They knew they loved each other." In those days courtships
were usually, of necessity cut short and so on 12 December 1870 Ann and Peter
B. Peterson were married.
They lived in Huntsville
about four years. Their first baby, a boy, died at birth and Thomas William was
born 27 August 1872. Two years later government land in the western part of the
county was made available to homesteaders so on 16 January, 1874, Peter B. and
Ann moved to what was then called East Hooper, Weber County, Utah, and area
roughly covering what is now Roy and Kanesville and
settled on an eighty acre homestead located at 4000 South 3850 West, Kanesville (address of today). Miles and miles of sagebrush
and alkali flats greeted their eyes, but this was their land and by hard work
it became a fine farm. Six more children were born to them, Peter Powell, 14
September 1874; John David, 22 April 1876; Hans Christian, 15 May 1878;
Margaret Elizabeth, 20 August 1880; Mary Ann, 13 May 1883; and a baby boy who
died at birth.
The first home was an adobe cabin with a lean to on the
side. In the summer the boys slept in the hayloft and the girls shared their parents bedroom. About 1901 the adobe house was replaced by
a fine two story brick home, one of the finest in the community. They also had
one of the few planted green lawns extending out to the street. A beautiful
green hedge grew along the sides and they planted many fine rose bushes and
other flowering shrubs. Few people had flowers, especially roses, and no
visitor left without a fragrant bouquet. Funeral flowers were very difficult to
obtain, and many times a floral spray that Ann arranged was the only beauty to
soften the austerity of death.
The only memory the write has of this dear lady was when a
groups of kindergarten children were taken to their home to sing and recite
memory gems to Bishop and Sr. Peterson, both confined to wheel chairs. When the
children were ready to go, Ann asked her daughter Mary Ann to give each child a
rose. This kindness has never been forgotten.
Peter B. was an energetic, public spirited man who worked
hard to bring about religious, civic and cultural growth to the new community.
Ann was by his side in all his efforts, and her home was opened to all to come
and hold meetings. It was in her home, 27 April 1886 that the Kanesville Ward was organized by Apostle John Taylor and
her husband named the first bishop, a position he held with honor for 22 years.
The ward was thus named in honor of Colonel Thomas L. Kane, a statesman and
life long friend of the Latter-Day Saints, and for whom Kanesville,
Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Kane County Utah had previously
been named.
The meetings continued to be held in the Peterson home until
a frame church was erected. Ann also entertained visiting stake and general
authorities at dinner. Many times she worked all day on Saturday scrubbing the
board floors with soap and lye until they were white, and cooking food to serve
a sumptuous meal to the visiting guests on Sunday. Often she would be so worn
out she would be sick in bed on Monday. She was a wonderful cook and she had
the ability to make the plainest food taste like a feast. Early day school
teachers had board and room in her home. Biography of Ann Powell Peterson
When the first Relief Society was organized in the Kanesville Ward in February 1893, Margaret Jones, the first
President selected Ann to be one of her counselors, a position she held for
many years. Often in those pioneer days, it was the task of the Relief Society
presidency to wash and lay out the dead and where there was sickness or a new
baby, they were always on hand to assist. Ann was an angel of mercy on many
occasions.
Ann never quite overcame her fear of the Indians. The
red-skins made a nuisance of themselves by walking into the homes and demanding
anything that attracted their fancy. Also, they may have had more than a
passing interest in Ann because she was so dark complexioned. It was often
necessary for Peter B. to be away from home, and on these occasions she sould lock up the house, take the children and stay with
one of the neighbors until her husband's return home.
Although Ann supported her husband in all his activities,
she was also very determined in many respects. Peter B. was approached by some
of the general authorities as worthy of participation in the principle of
polygamy, but Ann said, "You will have one wife, and I am the one."
He complied with her decision and did not enter into this covenant.
Along with her husband, she believed that in this new land
an education was both desirable and necessary. It was hard to accumulate money
during these pioneer times, so in order to send their sons to the Brigham Young
University in Provo, they mortgaged their farm, paying a rather high rate of
interest. By great economy and industry, the mortgage was paid off and more
land purchased. The eldest son, Thomas William and the fifth son, Hans
Christian, represented the family in the mission field. The other sons received
college training. Peter Powell, the second son, in due time received his Ph.D.
Degree. John D. was a star athlete at B.Y.U. The two girls attended Weber Stake Academy and Brigham Young
University.
Few people either children or adults ever came to her home
without receiving of her hospitality and she was always ready to share what she
had. Early one morning, sometime after the death of her husband, Bishop George
Green came to visit her. She and her daughter Mary Ann were eating their
breakfast, and immediately she invited the Bishop to join them. It was bread
baking day and Mary Ann was aware that they were eating their last slices of
bread. She gave her mother a discreet little warning kick under the table,
whereupon, in her plain outspoken way, Ann said, "Stop kicking me under
the table, Mary Ann, I'll invite the Bishop to eat if I want to."
The grandchildren always liked to come to visit Grandmother
Peterson. At one time the oldest son Thomas was operating a farm located on
what is now called Midland Drive
in West Roy. One warm June day his young son Rulon rode his pony down to Grandfather Peterson's. It was
a long ride for a little boy, and he looked warm and tired when he arrived.
Noticing his warm red face Grandmother Ann brought him into the house and give him a big dish of luscious red ripe strawberries and
cream. This was a rare treat and Rulon has never
forgotten how good they tasted. The Peterson's kept an ice house and on hot
summer days, homemade ice cream was shared with friends and family.
Ann had a great love for animals, especially fine horses.
Bishop Peterson kept several fine mares and each year raised several colts to
break and sell. They always brought a good price and were a main source of cash
income. Ann would, however, become so attached to the colts, she couldn't bear
to part with them and would say, "Oh, we just can't sell Pet" or
"We just can't let Birdie go." She was also very selective as to whom
her husband could sell his beautiful colts, and anyone who had a reputation of
mistreating horses had just better not come around to try to buy any of their
colts.
Ann was never blessed with robust health. She worked very
hard and her ambition often exceeded her strength. When her children were
small, she suffered from convulsions and it was often necessary to have a hired
girl to assist her with her work. It was ironical that both she and her husband
suffered strokes resulting in partial paralysis. They were both confined to
wheel chairs for some time, but they were sweethearts to the end. Sitting side
by side in their wheel chairs, he would hold her hand and tell her how much he
loved her. She survived her husband nearly five years. Speech became quite
difficult for her following the paralysis and she often lapsed back into the
Welsh tongue of her girlhood. She passed away at her home 21 November 1921, and
was buried beside her husband in the family plot in the Ogden City Cemetery.
Camp 43, Kanesville, Daughters of
Utah Pioneers, West Company, Weber County Utah was named in honor of Ann Powell
Peterson.
