HISTORY OF MORGAN
RICHARDS
Morgan Richards was born 5 April 1834 in Monknash,
Glamorganshire, South Wales.
He was the youngest in a family of five children, the son of William and Alice
Howells. His mother died when he was six weeks old. His father and sisters
raised him. He was baptized 18 July 1843 in Wales. He was a rock mason by
trade. On 17 February 1857 he married Elizabeth John in Merthyr
Tydfil, Glamorganshire, South
Wales. Three children were born to them in Wales, but the
oldest one died while there. He served as a policeman most of his married life
before they left Wales.
They also kept an open house for the missionaries.
They left their native land on 21 May 1864. They were more
than six weeks crossing the ocean, landing in New York. In crossing the plains he drove a
team in the company of Anthony Stratore, arriving in Utah on 30 October 1864.
Their first home was in Farmington, Davis County, Utah.
While they lived there Morgan built a rock house for them which still stands there just as he built it. They went through the
Endowment House in Salt Lake City
on 11 January 1868. During the year of 1868 they moved to St. Thomas, Nevada.
From there they moved to Long
Valley. They put in crops
there, and when they were ready to harvest they were driven away by Indians.
They then went to Panaca,
Nevada, where they lived until
1870. While they lived there he built five rock stores. They moved to Panguitch in 1870. Leaving the family in Panguitch Morgan went to Parowan to build the book store in
1871. In 1872 he moved the family to Parowan and lived there while he built the
court house. He moved back to Panguitch in the fall
of 1873. While they were building the Manti Temple,
he did mason work on that. The corner stone of the Temple was laid 14 April 1879. It was after
that he worked on the Temple.
He carried the mail from Panguitch to Marysvale for several years. While living in Panguitch he built another rock house that is still
standing there today. He was among the first group that came to Escalante. In
1883-84 he left the family in Panguitch and came to
Escalante and built the rock building that was then the Tithing Orrice but is now occupied by the Daughters of the Utah
Pioneers. He went back to Panguitch in the fall of
1884. In the spring of 1885 he moved the family to Escalante and lived in the
basement of the tithing office during 1885-86 while he built the meeting house.
Again moving back to Panguitch in the fall of 1886 He
carried the mail from Panguitch to Escalante for a
number of years when the road went through the Upper Valley.
In the spring of 1898 he came to Escalante and laid the foundation for the
District School House. He then bought a house and moved to Escalante in July
1898 after which he again carried the mail to Panguitch
through the Upper
Valley. After he quit
carrying mail he worked at farming and at his trade of mason work. His first
mason job after moving here was building the store owned by Isaac J. Riddle,
Victor Bean and others in the company. He was the father of ten children, seven
of whom were living at the time of his death. His wife died on 11 May 1912.
There were three months and fourteen days between their deaths. They are both
buried in Escalante. They were both very good to help in sickness and death.
