JANE ROBERTS HUGHES
Jane Roberts, daughter of David Roberts and Catherine merch (meaning daughter of) Thomas ap
Richard, first saw the light of day in North Wales, in the little town of Llanfrothen, Merionethshire,
January 11, 1850. Her parents were already members of the Latter-day Saints or
Mormon Church, having joined several years before her birth. North
Wales is a beautiful green country with lovely hills and dales.
Jane spent the first years of her life playing by the little river Pandy than ran through her father's farm. There were lovely
oak and ash trees around the house, also a flower and vegetable garden. The
birds sang in the trees. It was a wonderful place for a little girl to play.
Jane had three older brothers and two sisters; she was the youngest of six
children so had plenty of companionship and love.
Shortly after the Roberts family joined the Church, they
began to save and make preparations to leave their dearly beloved home in Wales
and go to Zion. When Jane was six
years old they had saved enough money to take them across the ocean and on to Utah.
On the morning of April 9, 1856,
they left their home, putting their belongings into a wagon, bid adieu to Ffestiniog people and relatives and commenced their journey
toward the setting sun. As they reached the brow of the hill that divided the
towns of Ffestiniog and Tolan,
they took their last long look at Merionethshire, the
slate quarries, their good friends and neighbors, knowing that they would never
see their native land again. After shedding a few tears of sadness, they turned
their faces westward and continued their journey. They arrived in Liverpool,
England April 10, 1856, remained there until
April 20 when they set sail on the ship Samuel Curling for America.
After a very rough voyage they arrived at Boston Harbor,
Massachusetts May 24. I can imagine the
happiness of Jane's being able to run on the ground again after so long a time
aboard ship. The cost of the trip from Liverpool to Boston
was fifty pounds in English money for the entire family of eight. We can see
the difference in cost of then and now. The conditions of travel were very poor
then. The family furnished their own beds, either straw ticks or feather beds;
cooking utensils and cooked their own meals. The food was measured out to them,
so much for adults, smaller portions for the children. The Roberts family came steerage along with the rest of the Saints. They kept
their quarters very clean. The floors or decks were scrubbed as white as snow
by the passengers. The quarantine doctor praised them very highly for their
cleanliness and good health. He also joked to them about taking so many good
looking women to Utah.
The landing of seven hundred Mormons on their wharfs at Boston
caused much excitement among the ministers of that city who were on hand to
advise the travelers against going to Utah
where such terrible things awaited them. Arrangements were soon made to take
the Saints to Iowa City. The
Roberts family were among the ones to go. Their
railroad fare was eleven dollars for all over fourteen years of age. The amount
of the railroad fare for the entire family was about eighty-four dollars. They
were allowed to take one hundred pounds of baggage each. They left Boston
May 26 for Iowa City and arrived
there sometime in June and were assigned to Captain Edward Bunker's Company.
They were the third handcart company to leave for Utah.
They arrived at Florence, Nebraska
July 19 and set out on their journey across the plains on July 30, 1856. At this time Jane was six and a
half years old. She walked most of the thirteen hundred miles in her bare feet.
They arrived in Salt
Lake Valley
on October 2, 1856. A few
days later the Roberts family moved on to Farmington
about twenty miles north of Salt Lake City,
settling in a one-room adobe cabin with a dirt floor and roof. They labored
hard to get the bare necessities of life. The neighbors were kind to them. The
news of Johnston's Army came to the
people of Farmington the next
spring. Jane's father was called to help guard Echo
Canyon. That winter the family
suffered untold hardships. Jane was seven years old and could remember about
being both cold and hungry. The next summer the family moved as far south as
Glover Creek, eight miles from Nephi, Utah,
stayed three months, then returned to Farmington.
The family contracted mountain fever and Jane's father was very ill. He died November 9, 1858, leaving his wife
and children to provide for themselves in a strange new land. Jane, a girl of
nine, had her days of joy and fun as well as sadness. She and her sisters were
so afraid of the Indians. Their mother would often hide them in the straw
ticks. In 1859 Jane's brother Thomas went to Cache
Valley and settled at Logan.
In the spring of 1860 the entire family were living in Logan. Here Jane grew to
womanhood learning to sew, weave, knit and keep a home. Everyone worked hard to
improve their surroundings. Jane had little time for school. Through the
experiences of life she gained her education.
One day while Jane and her mother were busy two men and a
lady called to see them. They gave Jane a picture of a lady and a horse. Mother
Roberts said it was her husband's father and mother visiting them in spirit to
see if they were all right. This experience impressed Jane very much; she never
forgot the event. In time Jane Roberts met Gomer
Hughes, a fellow Welshman. They soon became attached to each other, and their
friendship blossomed into love. Gomer tells of his
proposal to Jane. He needed to get a log chain welded at the blacksmith shop so
he gathered up the chain and called for Jane to take a walk with him. On the
way he proposed to her. It was at Logan
on Third West Street between Second and Third North. He got the chain welded
and made the proposal. He and Jane, in company with Antone Anderson and his sweetheart, traveled by ox team to Salt Lake City, Utah.
Both couples were married March 11,
1872, in the Endowment House. The honeymoon trip took one week.
Soon after this marriage they moved to Samaria,
Idaho, located in Malad Valley.
Their first home was a two-room log house. Later they
built a larger home of which they were very proud. It had two rooms with a
mantel downstairs and two bedrooms upstairs. It was in this house that Robert,
their fifth son, was born. Mother Hughes said that the plaster was very damp. The family worred [sic] about her and the
baby. This house was finished in January 1883.
Jane was the mother of nine children. Seven sons and two
daughters comprised the family. The children were: David, Daniel, James, Gomer, Jr., Robert, Thomas (who died when a child),
Margaret, Catherine and Roland. Jane worked very hard for her family, weaving,
spinning, knitting and sewing. She was a real pioneer, knowing all of the
hardships of that time. She traveled by ox team, horses and wagon, then by
buggy. Finally she and Gomer enjoyed traveling from Logan
to Samaria in their own car. Jane
helped her husband clear the sagebrush from the land. She helped to build their
home and taught her children correct principles. They moved from Samaria
to Logan so she could labor in the Temple.
Jane Roberts Hughes lived to see all her children grow up
and build homes of their own, except Thomas who died at the age of four. She
always talked of him as a lovely little boy who died too soon. Jane passed away
May 27, 1925, at Logan,
Utah. She was laid to rest in the Samaria
Cemetery at the side of her husband
Gomer, who had preceded her in death by two months
and two weeks. She was seventy-three years old at the time of her death. She
was survived by eight children and forty-one grandchildren and one great
grandchild.
A tribute to Mother Hughes as I knew her: She was small
of stature, with large, brown eyes, lovely white hair, and a kind and gentle
nature. She was very firm in her ideas, stood for what she thought was right.
No one could turn her from the path of her religious convictions. She had a
wonderful love in her heart for the Welsh people, and was a friend to all. Her
firmness with her children was a trait we loved most dearly. May we love and
honor our little pioneer mother always and as a family may we meet her some
future day.
- Margaret Dayton Hughes, Daughter-in-law
