HISTORIES OF EVAN THOMAS AND
ANN SARAH THOMAS
EVAN THOMAS (1778-1849)
Evan was born on 6 Jan 1778 in Llantrisant,
Glamorgan, S. Wales according to the Rhymney
LDS Branch records (film 104171). The names of his father and mother are
not presently known. There was an Evan Thomas christened 11 Jan 1778 in
the Llantrisant Parish Church
and whose father was Evan Thomas and mother Phebe (film 104938). Although
it is tempting to assume this was our Evan, other information casts doubt on
the correlation. We are not certain which church they attended and they
may have been members of one of the Reformist or Independent churches of the
area.
Evan was listed as a grower & miner on
the Rhymney LDS Branch record written in about 1849. He married Ann Sarah
Thomas whose father was Reece Thomas and mother was Mary Davis (film 025855) in
about 1800 and soon after began their family. We know that by 1809 they
were living in Tredegar, Monmouth where their daughter Margaret Ann was born. Another
daughter and my ancestor, Sarah, was born to them in 1810. By 1819 they
were living in Ebbw Vale, Monmouth at the birth of son Daniel Zorobabel
Thomas. In early 1821 Anne at age 42 reportedly delivered her last child,
a son Francis, in Sirhowy, Monmouth. Although the other three children
continue to be identified, Francis is lost. However, on the 1841 census, a
Francis Thomas is found working as a Hauler in Manoel/Sirhowy Iron Works where
he is a boarder and is the proper age (20) and this may indeed be our Francis.
On the 1841 Census (FHL film 438843, p. 22),
the family unit consisted of Evan, Ann, Margaret and Daniel and by then they
were living near Abersychan, Monmouth in the village of Garndiffaith. This
was not far from daughter Sarah and her husband William Jones and three
children who were living in the village
of Abersychan Gellywood
on Chapel St.
near the Wesleyan Chapel (FHL Film 438843 p. 41).
The four Thomas' perhaps for economic reasons
soon moved northwest to the village
of Rhymney,
Monmouth. It was here in August 1843 that Evan heard of the Restored
Gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which was being
introduced in South Wales by William Henshaw,
the first missionary to that area. Evan was the first person in Rhymney to
accept the gospel and he was baptized on 21 Aug 1843 and a new branch of the
Church was then organized (film 104171). Daniel and Margaret followed
their father on 30 August and Ann and married daughter Sarah on the 3 September
and all were baptized and confirmed by this venerable missionary.
The infamous "Potato Famine" in Ireland along with stiff tariffs on imported
wheat in England
resulted in the decade of the 1840s being called the "Hungry Forties." It
thus was a period of deep suffering by many British subjects. The call to
Zion in America
was strongly emphasized by the Apostle missionaries and in Wales by Dan Jones, a well-educated Welsh
native, who had arrived there from Nauvoo,
Illinois in 1845 to expand the
missionary effort.
Evan was enthusiastic to heed the call to
emigrate, however, it was not financially possible for the entire family to go
at once. As was common practice during these times, it was decided that
Evan and William Jones with wife Sarah and two children (Margaret & Gomer)
would emigrate first. Ann Sarah, Margaret A. and Daniel Z. Thomas would
remained in Rhymney for the time being. Evan and William intended to earn
enough working in the expanding coal mines in America
to soon bring the rest of the family across the Atlantic while Daniel Z. would
support his mother and sister in Wales. They are listed as
dressmakers and could also contribute. A missing member of this family is
the first-born granddaughter Sarah Jones who was four on the 1841 Census (film
438843). She evidently died sometime before the family's arrival in New York as only
Margaret [Emma] and Gomer are on the ship manifest.
Evan and the Jones' left Liverpool on the
ship 'Italy' and arrived in New York on 6 Apr 1848
(film 002317). They soon settled in Minersville, Schuylkill Co., Pennsylvania where the men
worked in the coal industry.
One year later Evan became seriously ill and
passed away at age 71 on the 7 or 13 Aug 1849 in Tamaqua. An attempt in Pennsylvania to locate
evidence of his passing has been unsuccessful but it is likely he was buried in
the Welsh cemetery in Tamaqua which was later relocated with mass reburials at
another cemetery in the town.
It was not until the Perpetual Emigration
Fund was established by Brigham Young a few years later that the remaining
family was able to emigrate. They embarked on the S.S. Curling with what
was to become the Welsh (3rd) Handcart Company of 1856 under the
stewardship of Dan Jones and they arrived in Salt Lake City on 2 Oct 1856 just before the
early storms overtook the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies. Daughter
Sarah Jones and her four children would not reunite with them until 1860 when
they traveled west with the Robinson (9th) Handcart Company.
ANN SARAH THOMAS (THOMAS)
(1778 - 1865)
Ann Sarah Thomas was born in the village of Talyfedw,
Llantrisant Parish, Glamorganshire, South Wales
on 1 May 1778 according to the Rhymney LDS Branch record (FHL film 104171) and
her obituary (FHL film 026590). Her parents were Reece Thomas and Mary
Davis (FHL film 025855). A search of the Llantrisant Parish records (FHL
film 104938) failed to locate this family in the Anglican Parish and it is
assumed they were members of one of the Reformist or Independent churches in
that locality.
Ann married Evan Thomas at an uncertain
date about 1800 and together they had at least four children as follows:
Name D.O.B. Place Death
Margaret A. Thomas 8 Aug
1809 Tredegar, Monmouth 8 Jul 1895
Sarah Thomas (Jones) 8 Oct
1810 Monmouthshire 19 Oct 1891
Daniel Zorobabel Thomas 9 Jul
1819 Ebbw Vale, Monmouth 28 Jun 1880
Francis Thomas 26 Feb
1821 Sirhowy, Monmouth
Other children may have been born prior to Margaret and research on this
possibility is ongoing.
The area where she was born was primarily
agricultural at the time of her childhood and was peripheral to the heavily
industrialized area to the north and east. Monmouthshire was particularly
important in providing coal and iron to fuel the industrial revolution in Britain. Likely
the promise of better wages caused them to move into the Monmouthshire area
early in their marriage where Evan and son Daniel Z. are listed as colliers
(coal miners) on the 1841 census (FHL film 0438843). At this time they
were living in Abersychan, Monmouth in the village of Garndiffaith. In
1835, daughter Sarah married William Jones. In 1841 they are listed with
their three children living nearby in the village of Abersychan
Gellywood.
Perhaps for economic reasons, the Thomas
family without Sarah and Francis moved about 20 miles northwest to the village of Rhymney in about 1842. It was here
in 1843 that the venerable English missionary, William Henshaw, began to
introduce the Restored Gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints in South Wales. Henshaw was an
Englishman with an inability to speak Welsh thus one stands amazed at his early
success.
Evan, who was then 65, heard this new gospel
message and was the first to be baptized in Rhymney on 21 Aug 1843. With
his baptism, Henshaw and other traveling elders organized the Rhymney Branch
(FHL film 0104171). Daniel Z. and Margaret (neither of whom were married)
soon followed their father on 30 August with Ann and Sarah (who was apparently
visiting) being baptized on 3 September. William Henshaw performed these
ordnances in each case.
The famous 'Potato Famine' in Ireland along with stiff tariffs on imported
wheat in England
resulted in severe shortages resulting in this decade of the 1840s being called
the 'Hungry Forties'. It was indeed a period of deep suffering by many
British subjects. The call to 'Zion' in America was strongly emphasized by the American
Apostle missionaries and in Wales
by Dan Jones who had arrived there from Nauvoo,
Illinois in 1845 to expand the
missionary effort.
Evan and Ann were apparently
enthusiastic to heed the call but it was not financially possible for all of
the family to emigrate at one time. As was common practice during these
times, it was decided that Ann, Margaret and Daniel Z. would remain in Wales
while Evan, son-in-law William Jones and his family would emigrate. It was
planned that these two men would stop off in the rapidly expanding coal fields
of Pennsylvania
where they could earn enough in a year or two to send for the rest of the
family. Daniel Z. would be the support for his mother and sister which
along with their dressmaking skills, should also be able to put a little aside.
Evan Thomas and William Jones and family
traveled to Liverpool where they boarded the ship 'Italy'
arriving in New York
with a great number of Irish emigrants on 6 Apr 1848 (FHL film 002317). Evan gave his age as "60"
though he was indeed 70, most likely to avoid trouble with immigration
authorities. They moved on to Pennsylvania
and settled in Minersville, Schuylkill
County near Pottsville where the men worked in the coal
industry.
Unfortunately, their plan had a serious
flaw. Evan became ill and died at age 71 on the 7 or 13 Aug 1849
reportedly in Tamaqua, Schuylkill Co., PA and before he could send for his
family. At the time (1851 census) Ann and her two grown , unmarried
children were living at 8 Jeremiah Price's Row in Rhymney, Monmouth. A
heartbroken Ann who was also 71 had to await the establishment of the Perpetual
Emigration Fund by Brigham Young a few years later before their desire to cross
the sea could be realized.
Ann, Margaret and Daniel Z. were finally able
to 'escape Babylon' and heed the call to Zion in 1856. By
any standard, Ann was aged at 78 and as we learn later was nearly blind.
They also embarked from Liverpool on the ship
S.S. Curling (FHL film 0205914) with what was to become the Welsh (3rd)
Handcart Company under the stewardship of Dan Jones. They arrived in Salt Lake City after
enduring considerable hunger on 2 Oct 1856 just ahead of the disastrous storms
which overtook the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies. Ann had no
opportunity to see her daughter Sarah and her family when they passed Pennsylvania on their way west and Sarah with her (by
then) four children would not come to Utah
for another four years also by handcart (9th Company in
1860). That Ann could go through such an ordeal at her advanced age is
miraculous and a witness to her character and testimony of the RestoredGospel.
Ann (78), Margaret (47) and Daniel (37) were
first sent to Centerville, Utah after their arrival where they became
acquainted with Samuel Parish (FHL film 0025855). Samuel, whose first
wife, Fanny Dack, had died in 1851 was 58 at the time and a prominent citizen
of the community. He subsequently married a widow named Martha Soaper and
on 20 Mar 1857 was also sealed to Margaret Thomas as a plural wife. He had
established ties in the new town of Springville,
Utah County where he built a new home and set
up his new families away from his children in Centerville.
In addition, Ann was included in his
household even though she was also sealed to her husband of over 50 years in
the Endowment House on that same day, 20 Mar 1857 by none other than President
Brigham Young himself with her son Daniel Z. acting as proxy.
That Samuel Parish was a benevolent individual and a true saint is
unquestioned. He took under his wing in 1856 three ladies without any
means of support, set them up in their own home in Springville and provided
support for their many needs without hope of a compensating progeny.
Later he would also be sealed to Sarah Jones after her arrival in Utah in 1860 and because
of his magnanimous gestures the family later had Sarah's children sealed to him
as well.
Ann continued to live with her daughters and
Samuel Parish when he was in town until her passing on 26 Jul 1865 in
Springville. Her obituary in the Deseret News 12 Oct 1865 v. 15, n.1, p.8
(FHL film 026590) reads as follows:
DIED
In Springville, July 26, ANN
THOMAS,
Wife of Evan Thomas, Talyfedw Plantrisant
[sic]
Parish, South Wales, Great Britain,
age 87
Years, 2 months and 26 days.
She was of the family that first received the
Welsh Branch into their house, and proved
Faithful as a mother in Israel.
Anwyl Chwaer a mam yn Israel
Ga'dd fan angoa'i thori 'lawr.
I briddellau oer y dyffryn
Y'no I lechu enyd awr.
Ond drwy ffydd mi welaf foreu
Daw o rwymau'r angeu'n rhydd:
Pryd adunir hi ai phriod,
I fwynhau trag' wyddol, ddydd:
GWILYM DDU
A non-poetic translation of this poem written by a poet and close friend
from the old country was provided by Prof. Ronald Dennis at BYU and is as
follows:
Dear sister and mother in Israel,
She was brought down by death,
To the cold clumps of the valley's earth,
There to hide for a brief moment.
But through faith I shall see the morning
When she'll be freed from the bonds of
death:
When she will be united with her husband,
To enjoy the days of eternity.
Ann was the first to be buried on a plot purchased by her son Daniel Z.
in the old Springville
Cemetery. A granite
marker now marks her sacred resting place where also reside her son Daniel, his
two wives and Ann's daughter Sarah Jones Parish, my own great, great
grandmother.
Reed K. Bitter
1633 E
Temple View Dr
Bountiful, UT 84010
(801) 299-9809
rkbitter.ut@juno.com
Revised 18 Sep 2006
