GWENLLIAN WILLIAMS
By her granddaughter Celia
Packer
Gwenllian Williams - Mother of Mary
Martin Roberts (Mary was the wife of Owen Roberts).
Gwenllian Williams (Martin) was
born 2 March 1800 in Dowlais, Glamorgan,
Wales
and died Sep 1866 at Franklin, Oneida,
Idaho. She married Thomas
Martin 6 May 1826 at Faenor, Brecon,
Wales.
Her husband, Thomas Martin, was born 22 Jul 1802 in Garm,
Brecon, Wales and died 8 Jul 1858 at Gwerullwyn Back, Dowlais, Wales.
At age 57, being a widow for one year, on 11 Apr 1859 she sailed on the
ship William Tapscott
with her son-in-law, Owen Roberts, his wife, Mary and their daughter, Jane
Price Roberts. They were members of Capt. Robert F. Neslin’s
Ox Train Co, which arrived in the Great
Salt Lake Valley
on 15 Sep 1859. They settled in Franklin,
Idaho.
My grandmother (Gwenllian) came to Utah in 1859 and to Franklin,
Idaho in 1860. I shall
relate one instance in my grandmother's life.
Her husband died in Wales
and was buried there. This caused her great sorrow for she desired to be
buried by his side.
At the time of one of Pres. Brigham Young's annual visits to Franklin, Gwenllian desired to have a talk with him on this
subject. She (Gwenllian) could not speak a word
in English and Pres. Young could not speak a word in Welsh.
At Gwenllian's request, Brigham Young came to
my father's house; present were my father and mother and my mother's sister
(Mary) and her husband. Brigham Young stood in front of grandmother (Gwenllian). Uncle Owen Roberts was to be the interpreter.
Pres. Young said, "We do not need an interpreter." He talked in
English and grandmother (Gwenllian) talked in Welsh
and they understood each other perfectly.
After this visit and talk, Gwenllian never
grieved about being buried so far from her husband. Brigham Young had
told her that distance was nothing after death.
[Celia Packer is the daughter of Margaret Martin and Joseph Thomas
Perkins.]
