ALFRED REES
By Hannah Rees
Alfred Rees was born in Merthyr Tydvil, Wales on December
11, 1841. He was the son of Margaret Davis and Thomas D.
Rees. He was baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
on December
13, 1853 by Nathaniel Edmunds. His father was presiding Elder
there before immigrating to America.
His mother, Margaret Rees, was the first woman baptized into the Church in Merthyr Tidvil, Wales. My father, his
parents, brothers and sisters, numbering ten in the family left Liverpool,
England
in April 1856 on the ship Carlin with Dan McArthur Captain. The
voyage on the ocean was somewhat long and rough and very tedious. They
landed in Boston
the latter part of May 1856. While on the ship, my father met with an
accident that left a scar through life. In some manner he had a gash cut
out over his left eye, putting his eye out on his cheek. His mother put
it back and through prayers and faith his eye got better, only being a little
crossed. From then on they called him the “cross-eyed Welshman.”
Arriving in Boston
the latter part of May, preparations for the journey West
began. My father, being fifteen years old, shared the burden and
shouldered the responsibility of making the trip across the plains as happy as
circumstances would allow. They suffered many hardships, but on they
traveled, pulling the handcarts all the way. [Edward Bunker Handcart
Company arrived in Salt Lake
City 3
October 1856]. They soon discovered that rations of food had to be
meted out. They were given a certain amount of food each day, and later
this was only a handful of flour for each person. They suffered all the
hardships that most pioneers suffered. My mother fared better than
father, as she had plenty to eat, but Father suffered the intense pangs of
hunger.
Alfred married Emma David August
14, 1859. He [Alfred] was a guard in the Black Hawk War and
was Indian Agent for a number of years on what was called the Old Indian
Farm. While there he made many friends among the Indians. The area
is called Lake
Shore
now. He spoke their language and sang their song. In 1861 and 1863
he went back to Fort
Lawrence
on the Missouri River where Omaha
is now, to help the poor saints travel from Missouri
to Utah.
During Indian troubles he had many narrow escapes. At one time he and
Mother with two children were on their way to Sanpete county
to visit his parents. They camped at a place where Mona is now and,
looking up, my father spied Chief Black Hawk taking aim at them with a gun. He
called the Indian in Indian language and asked him what he meant by such
actions. Black Hawk replied that it was only in fun. Father thought
differently as the red men were still hostile. Father was a good friend
of Chief Wonduras. He called Father “spondoolix”. During the troublesome times with the
Indians, Chief Wonduras came to Mother and asked her
where “spondoolix” was. She told him Father was
away. Chief Wonduras had come to warn them that
the Indians were on the war path again, and wanted them and their friends to be
on guard and seek safety.
Alfred was a member of the first choir that was organized in Spanish Fork and
remained a member until his death. He was a fond parent, taking pleasure
in a social way with his family around him, singing their songs and teaching
them to be straightforward and honest. His strongest principle was “be
honest and keep out of debt.” He, like Mother, visited the sick, relieved
the distressed and performed the service of laying out the dead. Father
was stricken with diabetes and suffered untold agonies for eight months before
dying on July
11, 1910.
A Life Sketch by T.
D. Lewis
The following are incidents as told
by my mother, as I remember them: The company in
which my father came to the United States
left Liverpool in April 1856 and landed in Boston n
the latter part of May. They traveled by train as far as the Eastern
border of Iowa
where a camp was established and they remained in this camp preparing for the
journey westward. As they began their march from the Iowa
camp, they traveled a few miles each day as the entire company was on foot, but
I think they did have a few wagons for provisions. Iowa
was a new country at that time. Pioneers were just beginning to locate
new farms and build homes for the future. These people who were settling
the new country were found in small groups here and there, and it was at these
little communities that the Mormon pioneers would camp at night.
In this hand cart company there
were 15-25 Welsh families. Among them was Alfred Rees, then a boy of
about 15 years. When night came on and the company had camped and their
scant supper over, they almost always spent the evening in a social and happy
way. They were well organized and their meetings were carried out in an
orderly way with speeches and stories and especially singing. According
to Mother’s opinion, Alfred Rees was the center of the evening’s
entertainment. He was possessed with a very unusual and charming alto
voice and always delighted in doing his very best to render his part of the
evening’s entertainment. [It is also reported that as a child in Wales,
Alfred was a member of a boy’s choir that sang for the Queen]. As the company
moved on in their own way, they naturally drew the attention of the
settlers. One night some settlers came from far and near to the evening
gatherings. Naturally they enjoyed the program very much. They
especially enjoyed the singing of Alfred Rees and at the close of the meeting,
men gathered around him and offered him a home and every inducement if he would
remain and live with them. He preferred to remain with his people and,
therefore, came on to the valley of our fair land, here to live out his life
with his people and continue bless and cheer his neighbors and friends,
especially those in sorrow, with that sweet voice that remained until the end.
