THE THOMAS MASON FAMILY
Romance began for Thomas Mason and Elizabeth Mason when
they met while he was herding cows on a grassy hillside in Cardiganshire, Wales,
and she was herding goats on an adjoining hillside. They knew that they were
meant for each other and were married soon after on 14 March, 1844, at Llanbadarnfawr,
Cardiganshire. Elizabeth must have
married against her parents wishes because she said that she never saw her
parents again.
Thomas Mason was born 26 August 1819 at Llanfihangel,
Cardiganshire, Wales,
the son of Morgan Mason and Jane Evans. Elizabeth Mason was born 20 November, 1816, at Llanbadarnfawr, Cardiganshire, Wales,
the daughter of William Mason and Elizabeth Jones.
After their marriage, they went to Tredegar,
Monmouthshire, England.
Thomas Mason found employment working in the coal mines. They were the parents
of eight children: Elizabeth, David, William, Joseph, Daniel, Ann, Jane, and
Mary. It seems that after the death of so many of their children in infancy,
they became unhappy with everything there and when a certain Welshman named Dan
Jones returned to his native land to tell his many friends the glorious truth
of this new religion, they welcomed him and listened to his message. They
became members of the Church in April 1848, but it wasn't until the second
mission of Dan Jones in 1852 that they made up their minds to leave their
homeland and to go to Zion.
Coal mining was hard work and the pay not too much so it
was some years before they could save up enough money towards a trip to America
and Utah. When a company of
Saints left Liverpool, England
on 30 April, 1866, on the
sailing vessel John Bright, Elizabeth Mason and her two little girls,
Jane 7, and Mary 4, were among the passengers. After six weeks of being tossed
to and fro in a terrible storm in which the captain gave them very little hope
for survival, the sailing ship arrived at New York
and the Saints knew that their faith and prayers had brought them safely to the
new land.
They came by train to Wyoming,
Nebraska where they joined the
John D. Holladay ox train for the long trip across the plains arriving in Salt
Lake City, September
25, 1866, with everyone walking most of the way. A friend had been
given a sum of money at the beginning of the journey in England
to look after Elizabeth and the two little girls, but on the trip across the plains
the man deserted them, so now they were in a strange land with no money and few
friends. As she sat on her carpet bag with her two little girls crying beside
her, a Mr. and Mrs. Simons came to her and told of reading her name on the
emigration list and had come to welcome her. They took them to their home in Bountiful
and shared their one-room house for two years. She went out working in other
people's homes washing and cleaning for them in order to earn a little money,
sometimes just enough so she could send a letter to her husband and son in Wales.
After two years of hard work in the coal mines, Dan
working side by side with his father, they were able to join their family in Utah.
Thomas soon acquired a little piece of land with a house and they lived there
in Bountiful growing vegetables and
taking them to Salt Lake
to sell.
In a few years they moved north to Idaho
and settled in Samaria where many
of their friends had come to make their home. Samaria
seemed to be the long awaited home in the valleys of the mountains among the
Saints of Zion where they could enjoy the beautiful daylight of which the men
had seen so little in Wales.
They were welcomed by their friends and taken into their homes until Thomas
could get a home built for his family. Five acres of land was acquired and a
two-room log house built with the help of their friends as they were united in
helping anyone in need. Soon Thomas was busy farming his spot of ground and
growing vegetables which they sold.
Sometime later they received word of the death of their
oldest daughter Elizabeth, who married W. H. Parry in England.
A little girl had been born to them and now that her mother had died she was
not wanted. The Mason family made arrangements with a friend to take care of
the little girl, Mary Ann Parry, until the next company of
Saints were to come to Utah.
When she arrived, Mary Ann was welcomed and taken into their home and raised as
their own daughter.
Jane Mason was married to Taliesin Hughes September 9, 1877, and they lived in Samaria
until 1890 when they moved farther north in the valley to Pleasant View to
homestead some land.
Mary Mason was married to Joseph Thorpe on his birthday, February 12, 1880, in Samaria
by a Mr. Crabtree. They also moved north to Pleasant View and homesteaded some
land.
Thomas Mason passed away at his home in Samaria
February 28, 1891, and he
is buried there. Dan Mason died in Samaria
January 14, 1894. Elizabeth
Mason then moved to Pleasant View, Idaho,
to live with her daughter Mary.
She was a great comfort to her daughter while she was
raising a family out in the wild country where the Indians still proved to be a
problem to the Saints in their homes. She passed away in her sleep the night of
January 27, 1901. She was
buried in Samaria.
-Elizabeth Josephson King,
great granddaughter
