Jeremiah Hodge Williams was the eldest son
of ten children, born to William W. Williams and Mare Hodge. He was born April
16th, 1854, in Blackwood, Monmouthshire, South Wales. When he was a few
months old, the family left for America.
They lived in Schuylkill County,
Pennsylvania for a few years, then moved to Salt Lake Cite in 1861. In 1871, they moved to
Samaria. He
worked with his father.
In Samaria, he met Ruth
Williams. They used to have many good times there in the branch of the Church.
They loved to dance. She had long, beautiful black hair. Jeremiah and Ruth were
married December 911, 1875. The marriage was performed by David P. Davis in Ruth's
father's home.
Ruth, daughter of
Samuel D. and Ann Price Williams, was born on a farm in Breconshire, Wales March 27th,
1857. Her parents planned to come to America in 1853, but her mother had
an accident and, due to extensive surgery, they had to abandon plans for the
trip. They remained there another 15 years. During that time, Daniel, Mary Ann,
Ruth, and Samuel John were born. On April 27th 1866, her mother took
seriously ill and passed away in the night.
Ruth's father
married Elizabeth Parry, and in 1868
they sold all their household belongings and made preparations to come to America. They
left Liverpool June 3rd, 1868 on the ship John
Bright. They arrived in New York
on July 13th, 1868. Soon afterward, they boarded a train for the West
and came as far as Laramie,
Wyoming. They continued to Salt Lake City by mule
team, arriving there August 24th, 1868. They then went to Brigham City, where her Grandfather and grandmother
Williams lived. From there, they went Malad with John
Williams, her father's brother. They lived in a dug out. In the spring of 1869,
they moved to Samaria.
Jeremiah &
Ruth's first home was a two room log structure built by Jeremiah. It was
furnished with a bedstead, stove, chairs, and a table.
In the summer of
1884, they went to Logan,
where they received their endowments and had
their family sealed to them. They also moved into their new brick home. They
were very thankful for the added room and the comforts it gave a growing
family.
Sorrow came into
their lives in February 1893. They lost two of their children to diphtheria, Jerry,
an eleven year old son and little Elizabeth, a blond, blue-eyed baby girl who
was two years old. While Jerry's funeral was being held at the cemetery,
Elizabeth
passed away. Death struck a cruel blow again on September 9th, 1900. Their son
Daniel was accidentally shot and killed. He was on a trip to the mountains with
some of the men of the town.
Jeremiah spent
his life actively engaged in public and church callings. He homesteaded a 160
acre farm in the southwest part of Samaria.
He spent his life farming for himself and part of the time farming for his
father. He ran the separator on the horse powered threshing machine and later
owned a steam powered thresher with others. He was a hard worker and was a good
canyon man. He and his son, Samuel, owned and operated a saw mill in Big Canyon
until they sold it, and it was moved.
He served for
many years on the School Board of Trustees. When the petition or agreement was
drawn up to bring irrigation water to Samaria,
his name was among the founders. He also served as Probate Judge. He served as
first counselor in the bishopric to Daniel E. Price for sixteen years. It was at
this time that the new church house was built in 1902. He was a self-educated
man, didn't have any schooling, but became a good reader and penman. He gave
his land to the town of Samaria
that is known as the public square.
Ruth was an even-tempered,
lovely lady. She was never cross to her children. She spent her time with her
family at home. She never gossiped, nor did she speak slang or idle words. She
couldn't do much public work because she had a large family and she gave of her
time and energy unselfishly. She was always busy washing, ironing, cooking and
sewing for them.
In the Spring of 1908, she fell against a milk can and injured her
right arm just above the wrist. A swelling came on it and it was pronounced
cancer. She was taken to Logan,
where the doctors amputated her arm above the elbow. She suffered much, but recovered
enough to care for her family once more. She could do everything but scrub the
floor. By the time she had her arm amputated, the cancer had spread throughout
her body. She lived two years and suffered terribly. Death came to her on
August 10th 1910. She was buried in the Samaria
cemetery.
Jeremiah was a
widower for ten years. He was left to care for four boys left at home. His daughters,
Ruth Price and Ann Martin, were a great help to him. He died October 26th, 1920,
at the home of his daughter, Mary Stuart. He was buried in the Samaria Cemetery.
Two of their sons
served as bishops of the Samaria Ward. Four sons served as members of the bishopric,
as did Jeremiah, and four grandsons served as bishops.
Histories written by: Llewellyn Williams and Anna Martin
Meyers
Submitted by: Eileen John
