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Samuel and Mary Blanch Jones Davis
By D. Harold Jones
Samuel Davis, my grandfather, was the fifth child of eleven children, born June 12,
1848, at Tredegar, Bedwellty Parish, Monmouthshire, [Wales], to John and Margaret
Edwards Davis. His birth certificate gives the birth as June 12th, all other records
gives June 13th.
At eight and nine years old, the boys went to work in the mines with their father. In
fact, Sam injured his hand while working there, and his younger brother, Jonah, died
in an accident at age fourteen.
Sam's parents had joined the Mormon Church in 1851, so he was baptized August
23, 1856. The Tredegar LDS Branch Record says the Davis family emigrated to
America August 27, 1871, arriving at Willard, Utah. The Willard Ward Record
verifies they were there July, 1873.
In Willard, Sam met my grandmother, Mary Blanch Jones, the daughter of
Zephaniah and Caroline Thomas Jones. (I think the Jones and Davises knew each
other in Wales, because the grandparents lived within a radius of six miles of each
other.) Mary Blanch was called Polly, and was born September 9, 1859, at Trinant,
Mynyddyslwyn Parish, Monmouthshire, [Wales]. The Jones family had come to
America, June 4, 1863, on the ship Amazon. Polly's mother died at Willard, when
the girl was only ten years old.
Samuel and Mary Blanch were married March 24, 1874, at the Endowment House at
Salt Lake City, Utah. Samuel's parents accompanied the young couple, and they, too,
received their endowments and sealing.
Polly gave birth to their first child while in Willard. They named him Zephaniah, but
call him Niah. Soon they moved to Malad Valley, settling in lower St. John, on
Devil Creek.
Samuel Davis had a happy day, the day he became a citizen of the United States, on
November 23, 1880, at Oneida County, Malad, Idaho. Then February 4, 1882, he
received a land patent of 160 acres. Sam worked with his father and brothers,
clearing the land, building houses, corrals, fencing, and all the things necessary in
building homes.
Six other children were born to Polly and Sam. The last were twins, and when they
were nine days old, the mother died, on March 28, 1884. Imagine the heartache and
sorrow at that home, a man left with six children, from age nine-and-a-half, to nine
days old. The mother was laid to rest at the side of her little son, Samuel, in the St.
John Cemetery. How ironic, Polly had lost her life in childbirth, just as her mother
had, the winter of 1869 in Willard.
Sam worked hard caring for his little family. His parents and sister, Margaret, who
postponed her marriage for several years, gave constant care to the little ones.
Family and friends rallied around, giving of their love and assistance.
The children didn't get many years of schooling. The son Niah went to Logan school
for a time. At age thirteen, my mother had to quit school to help at home. The
grandfather died in 1888, the grandmother's health was failing, and the Aunt
Margaret married and moved to Nampa. Samuel never remarried and spent his time
working and caring for the family, aging mother, and ailing brother. Sam had a
beautiful singing voice, and was fond of classical music. He enjoyed listening to his
favorite tunes on the phonograph.
His children married and left the nest; his parents, and brother Joe died. Then
another tragedy struck. His son, Niah, died, leaving a wife and four children, so
Grandpa Sam helped there, until he died.
As Grandpa's health began to fail, he spent more time up at our house. My mother
did things for him, like cutting his hair, and starching his shirt collars that had to be
starched so very, very stiff at his insistence. Death came to him, July 30, 1926,
because of cancer. He was buried in the St. John Cemetery.
In Samuel and Polly's family, Zephaniah married Isabell Izatt; Thomas John married
Rachel Ann Jones; Margaret Rachel married David H. Jones; Mary Blanch married
David Stephens Deschamps; Samuel died at two days of age; Caroline married
Arthur Lusk Bollingbroke; and Amelia married David A. Daniels. |
