John Twigg
was born April 24, 1819 in Talbenny, Pembrokeshire, Wales. His
parents were Thomas Twigg and Martha Arnold. The
father was born 1780 in Walton West, Pembrokeshire, Wales,
the son of David and Martha (John) Twigg. Thomas
married at Roch Parish in Pembroke on December 21,
1802 to Martha Wade, daughter of Thomas and Ann (Williams) Wade, born 1781 in Camrose Parish, Pembrokeshire.
Martha died September 19, 1847. Thomas was a farmer in Stoopers
Mill, Haycastle Parish, Pembroke.
It is believed that Thomas was converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, as he was scheduled to leave with a group of converts for America
(including his two son's families) in 1854, but at the last moment he decided
to remain in his native land. Thomas passed away there at Simpson, Roch Parish on May 3, 1855.
John
Twigg married on April 22, 1845 in Parish of Walwyn's Castle, Syke Mill, Pembrokeshire to Martha Reed, daughter of Thomas and Hannah
(Lloyd) Reed, born June 13, 1820 in Camrose Parish, Pembrokeshire. John and Martha were both baptized on August
9, 1849 in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. John was a farmer
and a miller. John and his cousin George Twigg
(whose father Thomas was son of William Twigg,
brother of John’s grandfather David Twigg) were
chosen on May 11, 1851 to be the two counselors with George Thomas as President
of the newly formed branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
of the parishes of Cuffern Mountain and Simpson. John
and Martha also made their home available to the church elders, as evidenced by
the journal of Daniel Williams, who noted that during his travels on March 15, 1852 , “I slept at Elder John Twigg’s
home.”
John
and Martha, who had no children of their own, joined with his deceased brother
William’s family and journeyed to Liverpool, England, where they set sail in
November of 1854 on the Clara Wheeler to America, their destination
being to reach the Salt Lake Valley for the gathering of the Saints in Zion. (see the history of his sister-in-law Mary Reed Twigg for a history of their journey as far as Mormon
Grove, in eastern Kansas).
With the death of Mary Reed Twigg at Mormon Grove due
to an outbreak of cholera, John and Martha took the two surviving children,
Thomas and Emma, and brought them to Utah in the fall of 1855, where they
raised them as if they were their own children. It is written in the journal of
Emma’s husband (John Gabbott) that never were
children loved by their own children more than they were by their aunt and
uncle.
In
Utah, the
family surname changed from Twigg to Twiggs. In 1860
John had a brewery in Salt
Lake County,
and in 1870 he had a farm there. John saw service in the military for a time
and was involved in some skirmish with the Indians, most likely the Blackhawk
Indian war. His sabre has been passed down in the
family, currently being in the possession of his 3rd great grandnephew Ray Goldrup.
In the Spring of 1869, John and
Martha (as members of the Seventh Ward in Salt Lake City ) took in his
niece Emma and her husband, John Gabbott, when they
returned from a mission in Nevada,
where they celebrated the birth of Emma’s first baby. In August of 1874, John
and Martha built their new home in Sugarhouse Ward, locating next door to the Gabbotts. His niece Emma died in 1878, and the following
year on August 7th, John confirmed her son William Gabbott,
as a member of the Church and pronounced upon him the gift of the Holy Ghost.
John died at 10:20pm on May 24, 1888 . John Gabbott, in his journal wrote, “He was my first wife’s
uncle and foster father. He had not enjoyed good health for 20 years. His wife
survives him. It was their habit, while my (second) wife was sick to come over
in the evening and stay til bed time. The evening of
his death they stayed till 9:15. Went home apparently in his usual health,
although not feeling well, was taken with pain in his side, supposed to be his
heart and died before his wife realized that death was so near.”
Martha died in Salt Lake City, Utah
on August 11, 1904.
