Dan Jones.
Yr anweinydd i Seion.
(The guide to Zion.)
[Swansea: Dan Jones, 1855.]
16 pp. 17.3 cm.
In the initial plans Yr arweinydd i Seion was to be a substantial publication that would sell for approximately sixpence. This is apparent in the 7 January 1854 issue of Udgorn Seion (pp. 18-19), where Dan Jones printed 1 1/2 pages of information outlining the contents of his proposed guide. Having been to the Salt Lake Valley and all points along the way, Jones was qualified to share a firsthand experience with future emigrants. He hoped to have the booklet printed and available within a few weeks.
In the 28january 1854 Udgorn Seion (p. 61),Jones announced that the first part of Yr arweinydd i Seion was off the press in sufficient quantity for that year's emigrants. He apologized for not having prepared more and asked for patience from those who had been disappointed. There is no extant copy of this first segment, nor was the project ever completed as originally planned.
By 4 March 1854 Jones had decided to delay any further work on the publication because of possible changes being discussed by Church leaders concerning the route of the emigrants (Udgorn Seion, 4 March 1854, p. 143).
No further mention is made of Yr arweinydd i Seion until the 21 October 1854 Udgorn Seion (p. 548), in which Jones announced that there would be no more delays. He said that since no final decision had been made as to the route the emigrants would be taking, he was going ahead with the publication so that those departing in early 1855 could benefit from it.
In the 20 January 1855 Udgorn Seion (pp. 31-32), Jones announced that Yr arweinydd i Seion was finally off the press. The booklet is much smaller than he had intended it to be, and it sold for far less--just one-and-a-half pence each. It contains detailed instructions for passing through New Orleans, but ironically, the large group of Welsh emigrants that year were routed through Philadelphia.
The pamphlet has 12 divisions of varying sizes with the following headings: preparations before starting from Wales, women's preparations, furniture, instructions for the 13 pound company, instructions for the ÒPerpetual EmigratingÓ group (those who borrowed money for the journey, to be repaid once the emigrants became established in Utah), instructions to various craftsmen, instructions while in Liverpool, instructions while on the ocean, things to purchase in St. Louis, instructions for choosing horned animals, instructions for driving a team of oxen, and directions for camping.
The group of more than five hundred Welsh Mormons that Dan Jones himself led to Zion in 1856 went by way of Boston. There is no indication of what effect this alteration of route had on sales of the pamphlet, but its contents were never changed.
CSmH, UPB, USl, USlC, UU, VCC, WN
Flake no. 4463
