ANNE REES
Anne Rees was born on 25 Aug 1828 in a thatched-roof
farmhouse called "Mynyddcarrig" in the
parish of Llanddarog near the city of Pontyberem, Carmarthenshire, Wales. She was the fourth child of William Rees, labourer, and his wife Eleanor William or Davies. Her family is listed below:
Parents:
William Rees b. 1789 in Llanddarog, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Eleanor William or Davies chr. 1 Dec 1793 in Llangunnor, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Children:
David Rees b. 1822 in Llanddarog, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Eleanor Rees b. 1824 in Llanddarog, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Thomas William Rees b. 13 Jan
1827 in Llanddarog, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Anne Rees b. 25 Aug 1828 in Llanddarog, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Mary Rees b. 1833 in Llangendeirn, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Llanddarog is described in Wilson's Imperial Gazeteer as
"occupies a bleak and unsheltered situation on the turnpike road from Carmarthen to Neath, and
commands an extensive prospect.. The parish abounds with coal, of which mines
are worked upon an extensive scale, and above the strata of coal passes a
continuous ridge of limestone, which is burnt in considerable quantities into
manure for the supply of the neighbourhood."
Anne grew up in this parish, and her father William Rees
was not living at home for much of her childhood. William Rees was described as a labourer, and as a miner.
In the 1841 Census of England and Wales, Anne's mother Eleanor is
listed with all of her children, living in the house of "Tyfalla" in the Hamlet of Tregarn. She is listed as having "independent
means". Either Anne's parents were
voluntarily living separately, or, as in many cases, the father had to live
where he could earn a living, and send the money back to support his
family. In all of the
1841 to 1881 census, mother Eleanor is not listed as a widow, only that her
husband is not there. From 1851 until
her death, Eleanor lived in a home named "Pantyffynnon"
in the Hamlet of Tregarn.
Anne met the Mormon missionaries in the late 1840's. Her name is listed two times in the LDS
Branch Llanelly Records, FHL film #0104169: Anne Rees
baptized Dec 1848, and Anne Rees baptized by T. Jenkins August 18, 1851. Her sister Mary Rees was baptized in 1851. A
man named William Rees, who may have been her father, was baptized 4 Dec
1848. I imagine that the first baptism for Anne Rees is
correct.
Some early friendships were established in the Llanelly LDS branch.
Thomas and Margaret Williams, Herbert and Anne
Griffiths, David and Mary Roberts, a William Rees, and a David Williams.
William Rees may be the father of Mary Rees Roberts and Anne Rees Griffiths,
Thomas Williams was the second husband of Anne Rees Griffiths. David Williams may be Thomas Williams'
brother.
Anne married her childhood sweetheart Herbert Griffiths
on 24 Jun 1853 in Llanddarog parish church. They lived at "Pantawel"
in Llanddarog.
Herbert and Anne had four daughters, Ellen b. 29 May 1854, Mary b. 5 Sep
1856, Anne b. 24 Oct 1858, and Hannah b. 16 Oct 1860. Herbert and Anne had plans to emigrate to Utah,
but in the early 1860's, Herbert Griffith became ill. Before dying, Herbert advised Anne to marry
again and emigrate if the chance should come.
Herbert died the 7th of Feb 1863 at the age of 32. He was buried in the Llanddarog Parish Church
Cemetery.
Family tradition says that Anne's brother Thomas decided
to emigrate at the same time to help her.
Whether he came at the same time is unknown. He was also a member of the LDS faith, and he
married Ruth Williams prob. of Traver, Flintshire, Wales. Thomas and his wife and family settled in
Beaver, Utah.
Anne and her four daughters left for America on the
"General McClellan" on 21 May 1864.
Thomas Williams, a widower from the same Llanelly
LDS branch, traveled on the same ship. The
ship arrived in New York City
on 23 Jun 1864, after a harrowing experience of crashing into an iceberg. Anne and Thomas were listed separately when
they boarded the ship, and as husband and wife when they departed in New York harbor, even
though she did not use Williams as her last name on the ship's records. The actual place and date of their marriage
is unknown.
The six people in their newly-formed party boarded a
train to St. Joseph, Missouri.
They then traveled by wagon with oxen for the balance of the trip to Salt Lake City. They saw Indian raids that burned several
wagons, and had their own wagon turned over by Indians stampeding their oxen,
but no one was hurt, except one ox died.
The Williams family with the four Griffiths
girls arrived in Salt Lake City
in October of 1864, and immediately were asked to travel south to
Spanish Fork. Life was not easy for Anne
for many years; living in a rough dug-out for a home, having to eat roots and weeds
for the lack of food, and bearing five more children from 1865 to 1873 took a
toll on Anne's health. Anne sang often
in public meetings, and was remembered for her fine voice. She was known to all her friends as one of
the best housekeepers and cooks around.
The children born to this union were:
Thomas Williams
b. 4 Oct 1865
Herbert Rees Williams b. 20 Nov 1866
Margaret Williams
b. 24 Oct 1869
William "T" Williams b. 26 May 1871
Eva Williams
b. 1873
After the two oldest boys were born, the family financial
resources were strained, and Anne's physical health began to deteriorate though
her older daughters helped her out for many years before marrying and leaving
home. The last three children born were
sent into other homes to be raised:
Margaret was taken to live with a family in Arizona.
The following is a quote from a history narrated by Wm "T"
Williams to his son Allen's wife Delila G. Williams:
"My brothers Thomas and Herbert always lived at home
with Mother and Father except when they were away working at Park City, Utah,
or elsewhere. My half sister Ann
Griffiths took care of my Mother during her illness after the birth of
Margaret. This illness was due to the
extreme hardships suffered by the early pioneers and a lack of medical care. Mother's mind failed her at times and for
this reason she was unable to care for the small babies. I was given to the S.C. Powell family and my two
sisters were also adopted out.
My sister Margaret lived at home with Mother and Father
until she was about four years old. At
that time a man by the name of William B. Lang came along. Mr. Lang was hauling freight from Salt Lake City to Toquerville, Utah. He inquired of George Sinnet
about adopting a child as they were childless.
George Sinnet being a close friend of my
Father's, suggested Father let Margaret go to this good family--that she would
be well taken care of, and have a good home.
After Father let Margaret go, friends and relatives close to him told
him he was making a mistake as she would be so far away that he would never see
her again. He sent a wagon after her,
but a bridge across the Sevier River had
washed away after the Lang family had gone over it. The wagon came back without getting
Margaret."
The picture included in this history was taken on the
occasion of Margaret's first meeting with her brothers who lived in the Spanish
Fork area.
William "T" Williams was taken to live with
Simeon Comfort Powell and his wife Edith Hannah Cornaby
who lived in Salem, Utah.
The following is an excerpt from another section of the same
autobiography as above:
"Because of lack of means and the ill health of my
Mother, I was passed on to one Simeon Comfort Powell and wife, Edith Hannah Cornaby Powell at Salem,
Utah, who cared for me until I
was about 11 years old. I have a
conflicting birth date record. My
step-parents had my birth date as 27 May 1872, while in my Father's brief old
bible record (written partly in Welsh and now in possession of a brother,
Thomas Williams of Spanish Fork, Utah) my name is written as Davidd, the Welsh way of writing David and this date of
birth is written as 26 May 1871. I use
this date as the most authentic. The Powells changed my name to William Powell. All my efforts to find a blessing record of
myself have proved unsuccessful...I left my adopted parents in 1882 and went
home to my Mother, brothers and sisters.
My father, in the meantime, had died...."
The third child, Eve or Eva, had a tragic end. The following is a continued portion of
William "T" Williams' autobiography:
"Another sister called Eve was adopted out and met
with a tragic death soon after. The
story was told by Edith Cornaby Powell to her
daughter Hannah C. Williams (wife of William "T" Williams). Mrs. Babcock, or it may have been Simmons,
took the child to raise. She was about 18 months old and Mrs. Babcock
or Simmons (Simmons may have been her maiden name) was scrubbing the board
floors with lye, as was the custom in those days. She was called outside for a second and when
she got back the child had eaten some of the lye. She didn't eat enough to kill her then, but
she lingered on for six months before she finally passed away. Her little throat and stomach were badly
eaten with the lye. As Mrs. Powell
remembered her, she was a sweet, dainty little girl full of life and pep. This family thought an awful lot of the
child, and was heart-broken when she met with this tragic death."
After her husband
Thomas died in 1881, Anne lived with her oldest son, Thomas Williams, who lived
in a house still standing on 500 North and 200 West in Spanish Fork until she
died on 2 Oct 1914 at the age of 86 years of "Senile Disability"
according to Dr. A. G. Stoddard.
My Father, Allen B. Williams, the son of William
"T" Williams, had some remembrances of Anne in her last years. He said that "She had a florid complexion
and had a very round face. Her son,
Thomas, had the same facial characteristics of his Mother."
Anne is buried in the Spanish
Fork Cemetery
in Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah.
REFERENCES
1. 1841 Census Llanddarrog,
Carmarthenshire, Wales,
FHL #0464311 pp. 6-7
2. Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales
3. 1851 Census Llanddarog,
FHL #0104226 p. 8
4. Birth & Baptisms in the Llanelly Branch of the LDS
Church In Wales, FHL
#0104169
5. Marriage information from family traditions.
6. 1861 Census Llanddarog,
FHL #0543239
7. Llanddarog Parish
Records, FHL #0105159 part 3
8. 1870 and 1880 Census Records for Beaver,
Beaver, Utah
9. Mtn. View
Cemetery, Sect. A-108, Beaver, Beaver, Utah
10.LDS
Ship Records FHL #0025692 p. 132
11.History
of William "T" Williams in family records.
*Note: William "T"
Williams' middle initial is simply an initial that he added to stop the
confusion from the postal service while he was living in Tyfork,
Spanish Fork Canyon, Utah, Utah. There
were two William Williams in Tyfork. The "T" does not stand for a name,
only as an initial.
by Marilyn Lila Williams Grua
