Harry / Harris
Compiled by DaLene (Day) Bryant
Thomas Harry
Married to Barbara Lewis 21 November 1788, at Llandaff, Glamorganshire, Wales. She was the daughter of
David Lewis. She was christened 15 May 1755, at Whitchurch, Glamorganshire, Wales.
Thomas and Barbara (Lewis) Harry had one known son.
CHILDREN
1. John Harries - Christened 15 December 1787, Whitchurch, Glamorganshire, Wales. Married on 11 April 1807, to
Hannah Thomas, at Whitchurch.
John Harries / Harris
(1787 - ????)
The son of Thomas and Barbara (Lewis) Harry was christened 15 December 1787, at Whitchurch,
Glamorganshire, Wales. Married to Hannah (Ann) Thomas on 11 April 1807, at Whitchurch, Glamorganshire,
Wales. She was the daughter of Philip and Eliza (Wilkins) Thomas (who married 9 February 1789, at Llandaff), was
christened on 28 June 1789, at Llandaff, Glamorganshire, Wales.
CHILDREN
1. Isaac Harris - Christened 27 February 1813. Married on 25 December 1833, to Esther Ellen Bowering. (Please see
Ridden / Bowering family history.)
2. Martha Harries - Christened 9 March 1816. Married to William Howell.
Isaac Harris
(1813 - ????)
Christened 27 February 1813, at Whitchurch, Glamorganshire, Wales. He married on 25 December 1833, at
Llandaff, Glamorganshire, Wales, to Esther Ellen Bowering, She was born 1817, at Newport, Monmouthshire,
Wales/England (the county line has changed from England to Wales). She died 2 November 1854, at Kaysville,
Davis County, Utah, and buried in a popper's grave in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
The Harris family was converted to the LDS Church in the late 1840s. Church meetings were held at his mother-in-law's home. According to family tradition, about 1852 the family decided to come to Zion. Isaac and his eldest
son, William, went ahead of the family to America, to prepair the way. But the family in Wales never heard from
them.
So on 5 February 1853, Isaac's mother-in-law, Hannah Thomas, and a party of 12, boarded onto the ship Jersey,
with Captain John Day. They sailed from Liverpool, England, for New Orleans. There was a total of 313 persons on
board the ship. 225 adults, 74 children under 11 years of age, and 14 infants. In Hannah's party were the following: (1)
- ?Hannah Thomas, gardener, age 68
- ?Esther Harris, age 39
- ?Hannah Harris, age 16
- ?Jabez Harris, age 10
- ?Elizabeth Harris, age 7
- ?Joshua Harris, age 4
Also with them on the ship were the Harris Evans cousins, and three of Hannah Thomas's apprentices.
The Jersey arrived in New Orleans on 22 March 1853. Esther found her husband and son living a wild life, and
left them (according to family tradition), continuing to Utah.
Isaac and Esther (Bowering) Harris had six children that were all christened at Whitchurch, Glamorganshire,
Wales.
CHILDREN
1. James Harris - Christened 6 May 1834. Married Elizabeth ???.
2. Hannah Maria Harris - Christened 5 April 1836. Married Joseph Taylor. She died 28 May 1881.
3. William Harris - Christened 4 March 1840.
4. Jabez Harris - Christened 11 June 1842. Married Sarah Lovisa Richardson (b: 29 October 1837, d: 21 January
1896, daughter of Robert & Sarah Jane (???) Richardson). He died 1 March 1883, buried at Kaysville, Utah.
5. Elizabeth Rose Harris - Christened 28 September 1845. Married on 29 November 1863, to Elias Adams. She
died 7 May 1888, and buried at Kaysville, Utah.
7. Joshua Harris - Born 23 June 1848, at Whitchurch, Glamorganshire, Wales. Married to Ann Deseret Whitesides
on 28 May 1868, at Kaysville, Davis County, Utah. He died 18 Demember 1927, at Preston, Franklin County,
Idaho. (2)
Joshua Harris
(1848 - 1927)
Born 23 June 1847 (tombstone has 1848), at Whitchurch, Glamorganshire, Wales, the sixth and last child of Isaac
and Esther (Bowering) Harris. He was christened on 30 July 1848, in the Parish of Whitchurch, Glamorganshire,
Wales. In this record it states that Joshua was christened by E.P. Thomas. He was the son of Isaac and Esther Harry.
They lived at Birch, and that Isaac's trade was that of a publican (worked at a tavern).
Hannah Thomas sold her estate, Joshua's mother (according to family tradition) sold the family "public house",
or tavern, known as the "Birch Geore Inn," and with a total of 14 persons, Hannah Thomas paid £ 12 pounds for the
passage way for the families of her two daughters, herself and three servants to America. The LDS Church
Immigration Fund paid an additional £ 90 pounds.
Arriving at New Orleans, Esther found her husband, who was living a wild life and had no more interest in the
Church. She left him and her eldest son, and the family traveled by steamboat up the Mississippi River to Keokuk,
Lee County, Iowa, where the grandmother outfitted the family with the finest wagons and oxen. They travelded in
Capt. Claudius V. Spencer's Company to Salt Lake City, in comfortable style as possible for the time (all this is
according to family tradition). (3)
Upon arriving at Salt Lake City, on 17 September 1853. The famliy moved to Provo where the elder that had
baptized them lived. Hannah Thomas had her former gardner, Ebenezer Williams (who was the Branch president in
Wales), travel the Wastach front looking for land. He purchased some land above Highway 89 (Kaysville-Fruit
Heights) in the Kaysville area. Ebenezer Williams married one of Hannah Thomas's granddaughters, Ada Evans, and
moved to Kaysville.
Bowering took care of Esther's children, Joshua being the youngest, after Esther's death in 1854. Both the
daughter and Bowering are buried in an unmarked popper's grave in the Salt lake City Cemetery. Williams inherited
all the money, and belongings, and took Joshua, and his sister under his roof where Joshua is listed in the 1860
census living with Williams. (4)
Two older brothers lived with the eldest sister, Hannah Mariah, who had married and was living outside Ogden at
Harrisville. Life wasn't pleasant for Joshua and his sister, who were living with their step-father (Ebenezer Williams)
and his new wife (their cousin Ada Evans). All that the parents had was gained from what Joshua's mother and
grandmother had brought from Wales. Joshua's sister, who was older than he, finally ran away and also went to live
with her sister.
In the personal story of Joshua's sister, Elizabeth (Harris) Adams, her niece Elizabeth Green Tall, tells about
William Harris and his disappearance. Family tradition says that William came to America with his father Isaac, and
was left in New Orleans. But Elizabeth tells a different story. William was living with his sister Hannah Maria
Davis, at Harrisville. He became associated with a group of fellows who had taken to stealing. William was accused
of being one of these boys. Although he denied having stolen anything and they had no proof of his guilt. The law
which was made up of local Church officials were after him. He would hide out and manage to elude officials for
awhile. They set many traps to catch him, but he escaped them. He knew he would receive no justice at their hands,
even though he was innocent, for he had seen others killed for very minor offenses, some of which they were
innocent of. Then one day, he had ridden his horse into his sister's yard, put the horse out of sight and went into the
house. Needing rest William lay down for awhile. The men of the law somehow got word of his whereabouts and
came to the house. Maria begged them to leave him alone and pled for his innocence. They promised her that if
William would give himself up, they would have a trial and he would be returned unharmed. He went with them
after some persuassion. They put him on his horse, tied hand and foot, and took him away up in a field belonging to
one of the men. It seems that Joseph Taylor was one of them. That was the last time the family ever saw William
Harris, and the only thing they heard was from a party of immigrants passing through, who said they saw a group of
men with a man on a horse, the man was tied hand and foot. That they heard two shots and saw a man fall forward.
Then, they saw one of the men get on his horse and ride away returning later with a shovel. Later that evening, a son
of one of the church men brought William's horse back, telling Maria that he got away. Jabez, a brother of William's,
and others were so angered they swore revenge and tried on many occasions to find out what had happened to
William. They made efforts to search the corn field where the immigrants had seen the occurence, but were
threatened with their lives if they set foot on the property.
Joshua was considered a servant without pay. All he had to eat, he later told his children, was bread and molasses,
and he had this only when the table had been cleared of the excellent food the immediate family dined on. One day
when he was working in the fields cutting hay, he sat down to lunch and found the customary bread and molasses.
He was so tired of this diet that he decided the time had come when something would have to be done about it. He
stuck the blade of the scythe in an ant bed and broke it. Then took it up to his step-father's blacksmith shop and
asked to have it mended. Williams asked him how it had happened. Joshua told him that the bread and molasses he
had been living on had made him so strong that he couldn't handle a sythe without breaking it. Apparently Williams
hadn't known of the treatment the boy had been receiving. Immediately Williams went into the house and matters
were straightened out.
When Joshua was sixteen, he became a messenger in the Black Hawk Indian War. He served in the Utah Navuoo
Legion (Utah Militia) in Burton's Company as a private. (5) He often said that when he delivered messages at night
from one camp to another, he had to ride through sagebrush as tall as his horse. He never knew when an Indian,
intent on having his scalp, was going to pop out of the brush. He was usually so frightened that his hair stood straight
up. Joshua received a medal and a pension for fighting in the Indian War.
During this, he and some of his friends would wait until late at night when the people in the settlement were
asleep and then they would ride down from the mountains, whooping like Indians. The towns people would jump out
of bed, grab the guns, and rush to the door. They were always angrey, but never the less, relieved when they
discovered the "Indian raid" was composed of the boys who were there to protect them.
When Joshua was a young man working away from home, a fellow worker had an evil spirit cast out. He
remembered standing in the doorway of a tent while the elders administered to the man. "The afflicted man was
laying on a table, tossing about and curseing in a terrible voice. At the command, this ceased - it seemed to flow out
of him and in its place was a sweet peaceful voice that told the men watching, of things that were happening to their
families at home. This had impressed Joshua greatly, and in its retelling, impressed his children. Joshua Harris was a
religious man and traveled to church in a beautiful drawn surrey carriage.
Once, he and one of his friends went out into the mountains and captured an elk. After they had tamed it they
would hitch it to a sleigh and go for rides through the hills. Once they brought it to Salt Lake and nearly caused a
stampede of the horses.
The only time anyone became really angry with Joshua was when he fixed a bear that he had shot in a position to
frighten one of the members of a logging crew he was with. The man was very much afraid of bears and Joshua
succeeded in frightening him so badly that there would have been blood shed, had not he been able to run faster than
the other fellow.
Joshua married Ann Deseret Whitesides on 28 May 1868, at Kaysville, Davis County, Utah. Later on 2 March
1911, they were sealed in the Logan Temple.
Ann's Whitesides ancestry is Celtic in origin. The Whitesides were Scot-Irish originating in County Down,
Northern Ireland, and emigrating to America in the 18th century to Chester County, Pennsylvania, where they
married into the Evans family who were Welsh Quakers. (6)
The Harris's moved in 1877 to Fairview, Idaho, being one of the first settlers. At Fairview he engaged in
successful farming, livestock raising and horse trading until 1899, when he moved to a farm at Preston, Franklin
(then Oneida) County, Idaho. They owened many horses to work the farm. Pride was in two black horses. The
family worked from sun-up to late into the night. Plowing fields, cows were milked and fed morning and night,
chickens and pigs fed. Sugar beets planted, thinned, hoed and topped all by hand. The beets were shipped out of
Weston on trains to a sugar beet factory. They watered, cut and raked hay, later to be put on a hay wagon by pitch
fork, to be stacked. This done with a derrick fork that forked up the hay, pulley drawn by a single horse, piled on
each other to form the hay stack.
When ever anyone came from the old country (Wales) and didn't have a place to stay, they always found that
there was a place at the Harris home, commonly known as the "orphan's home." It was probably because Joshua had
been an orphan himself, and had received so much mistreatment that he always took these fellows under his wing.
The Golden Rule was always his motto - so much so, that he was often imposed on.
Joshua and Ann were firm on the subject of education and saw to it that each of their thirteen children received an
ample schooling. Both of them were well liked by the young as well as the old.
In 1918, their daughter, Edna Davis, died of the flu. She had married three years earlier and had a son Ed and
daughter Lucille. The father left the two children with their grandparents to raise, and he moved to California, where
he died in 1932.
It became difficult for Joshua to swallow without choking. Ann called on the children and grandchildren to help
sit with him at night. Unselfishly Joshua's sons, Alvin and William, and grandsons, Melvin and Orval, did so. Orval
remembers how cold it became before morning and how he stayed close to the coal stove to stay warm.
Joshua Harris died on 18 December 1927, at Preston, Franklin County, Idaho. He is buried at Fairview Cemetery.
Joshua and Ann Deseret (Whitesides) Harris had thirteen children.
CHILDREN
1. Susan Harris - Born 22 June 1869, Kaysville, Davis County, Utah. Married 1st on 10 October 1886, to Newton
Wells; 2nd on 2 November 1892, to Rosel Wm. Taylor. She died 15 September 1951, at Preston, Franklin County,
Idaho. Buried at Fairview, Idaho.
2. Esther Ellen Harris - Born 30 August 1871, at Kaysville, Davis County, Utah.. Married on 1 March 1888, to
Hans Monson. She died 3 August 1951, at Preston, Franklin County, Idaho.
3. Lovisa (Louvisa) Harris - Born 7 February 1873, at Kaysville, Davis County, Utah. She died on 6 February
1880, at Fairview, Oneida County, Idaho (tombstone reads b: 6 February 1874, d: 22 January 1880).
4. Slena Harris - Born 16 December 1875, at Kaysville, Davis County, Utah. Married on 10 January 1894, to
George Alonzo Corbridge. She died 26 September 1900, Preston, Franklin (then Oneida) County, Idaho. Buried at
Fairview, Idaho.
5. William Lewis Harris - Born 1 December 1877, Fairview, Franklin County, Idaho. Married on 8 February 1899,
Charlotte Lovisa Bronson, at Logan, Cache County, Utah. He died 23 March 1930, at Preston, Franklin, Idaho.
Buried at Fairview, Idaho.
6. Joshua Harris, Jr. - Born 22 December 1879, Fairview, Franklin (then Oneida) County, Idaho. He died on 24
April 1895, at Fairview, Franklin (then Oneida) County, Idaho. Buried at Fairview, Idaho.
7. James Alvin Harris - Born 28 March 1882, Fairview, Franklin (then Oneida) County, Idaho. Married on 21
November 1901, to Aner Lucetta Marler. He died on 14 June 1936, at Preston, Franklin County, Idaho.
8. Jabez Marian Harris - Born 29 June 1884, Fairview, Franklin (then Oneida) County, Idaho. Married on 17
December 1902, to Etta Vaneuven. He died 8 June 1969, at Pocatello, Idaho.
9. Mary Elizabeth Harris - Born 20 July 1886, Fairview, Franklin (then Oneida) County, Idaho. Married on 30
August 1906, to Winford Scott Jones. She died on 10 December 1971.
10. Ella Harris - Born on 17 April 1888, at Fairview, Franklin (then Oneida) County, Idaho. Married on 26 March
1910, to William E. Settle. She died on 16 April 1986, at Ogden, Weber County, Utah. Buried at Ogden, Utah.
11. Myrtle Harris - Born on 28 May 1891, Fairview, Franklin (then Oneida) County, Idaho. Married on 11 February
1909, to Bryant Telford. She died on 21 November 1972.
12. Laura Bell Harris - Born 15 June 1892, Fairview, Franklin (then Oneida) County, Idaho. Married 1st on 3
November 1909, to James Marl Beckstead; 2nd to Charles Martin. She died 10 July 1971.
13. Edna Harris - Born 8 August 1897, Fairview, Franklin (then Oneida) County, Idaho. Married on 8 December
1915, to Leslie Merrill Davis. She died on 26 October 1918, at Preston, Franklin (then Oneida) County, Idaho.
William Lewis Harris
(1877 - 1930)
The fifth child and first son of Joshua and Ann (Whitesides) Harris was born on 1 December 1877, at Fairview,
Franklin (then Oneida) County, Idaho.
He married 1st to Charlotte Lovisa Bronson on 8 February 1899, at Logan, Cache County, Utah. Together they
had eleven children. Charlotte was taller than her husband; 2nd to Ethel Hultse. They were married for a year and a
half, before she divorced him. They lived in Preston, with her three children. (7)
Ethel is said to have destroyed most of
the photos of Charlotte. (Please see Bronson family history.)
After Charlotte's father, Edwin Henry Bronson, passed away, they inherited some money and finished the home.
All the children were born in the home. William is remembered as being a heavy drinker all his life.
William was driving a Ford Roadster by the sewer plant in the town of Whitney on 23 March 1930. A truck
driven by his brother-in-law, Pete Hansen, hit the roadster, and in the accident William's head was decapitated.
This tragic event happened at the beginning of the Big Depression, and the family was very poor. They didn't
have enough money for their father's burial. To pay for the debt, William's sons; Ira, Ersel and Orval, dug out the
basement for Hendricks Mortuary for many weeks in payment for the funeral.
After William's death, the Harris family lost their home. Some of the children were raised by the older children.
Others were shuffled here and there. They had a miserable life.
William and Charlotte (Bronson) Harris had eleven children, and were all born at Fairview, Franklin (then
Oneida) County, Idaho.
CHILDREN
1. Iris Ann Harris (twin) - Born 7 October 1901. Married to Roston Byron Day (b: 3July 1907 at Tooele, Tooele
County, Utah, and d: 22 April 1966) on 27 April 1927, eight children. She died on 20 November 1967, at Tooele,
Tooele County, Utah. Buried at Tooele, Utah. (Please see Day family history.)
2. Ira Lewis Harris (twin) - Born 7 October 1901. Married to Inid Rachel Marler on 23December 1926, at Logan,
Cache County, Utah, three children. He died 19 May 1983, at Provo, Utah County, Utah. Buried at Spanish Fork,
Utah.
3. Orval Henry Harris - Born 28 May 1904. Married 8 December 1926, to Laura Layne (b: 18 March 1909,
Lewiston, Cache County, Utah) at Logan, Cache County, Utah, nine children. He died 21 December 1994, at
Preston, Franklin County, Idaho. Buried at Fairview, Idaho.
4. Ersel Bronson Harris - Born 23 April 1906. Married to Dayle Goslind (b: 20 June 1913, at Preston, Franklin
County, Idaho) on 6 November1929, at Farmington, Davis County, Utah, six children. He died 3 June 1994, Logan,
Cache County, Utah. Buried at Preston, Idaho.
5. Vernon Joshua Harris - Born 6 December 1908. Married 3 August 1927, to Susan Mae Egbert (b: 23 November
1907, at Fairview at Logan, Cache County, Utah,), seven children. He died on 21 September 1985, at Preston,
Franklin County, Idaho. Buried at Fairview, Idaho.
6. Leland Wilmer Harris - Born 22 September 1910. Married to Verna Cobbley (b: 3 January 1921, at Thomas,
Bingham County, Idaho) on 27 August 1936, at Idaho Falls, Bonneville County, Idaho, three children. He died 25
March 1999, at Pingree, Idaho.
7. Elna Harris - Born 17 February 1913. Married to Edwin Samuel Spackman (b: 22 July 1913, at Preston, Franklin
County, Idaho) on 5 February 1931, at Logan, Cache County, Idaho, seven children.
8. Ruby Lottie Harris - Born 11 March 1915. Married to Merlin Jonas Andersen (b: 20 September 1913, at
Richmond, Cache County, Utah) on 19 February 1932, at Preston, Franklin County, Idaho, seven children. She died
9 April 1995, at Ogden, Weber County, Utah.
9. Lorna Bell Harris - Born 29 April 1917. Married on 11 February 1935, to Frank Cressman Jones (b: 1 September
1913, at Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah), at Tyhee, Bingham County, Idaho, three children.
10. Ora Harris - Born 26 October 1919. Married Royal Alma Dopp (b: 19 January 1913, at Lewiston, Cache
County, Utah) on 24 February 1940, at Logan, Cache County, Utah, seven children. She died 13 June 1993, at Las
Vegas, Clark County, Nevada.
11. Velma Jean Harris - 28 February 1923. She died 21 April 1945. Buried at Fairview, Idaho.
Ridden / Bowering
Compiled by DaLene (Day) Bryant
Much of the following history about Hannah (Ridden) Bowering Thomas, was written for the Frederick Henry Evans
Family Reunion, 1980.
George Ridden
(abt 1755 - 1844)
George Ridden was the son of George Ridden and Elizabeth ???, and born about 1755 at Weston, Somersetshire,
England.
Married on 3 August 1780, at Lympsham, Somersetshire, England, to Sarah Poole. She was the daughter of John
and Mary (Hill) Poole, who had married 2 October 1760, at Lympsham, Somersetshire, England. Sarah was
christened on 4 October 1764, at Lympsham. She died on 7 May 1820.
In England on 23 March 1788, in Somersetshire, George Ridden and his wife, Sarah Poole, took their tiny
daughter to the little parish church in Lympsham for her christening. She was given the name of Hannah.
George died on 27 July 1844, at Lympsham.
George and Sarah (Poole) Ridden had seven children (Parish registers of Lympsham, Somersetshire, England, by
correspondence).
CHILDREN
1. Jeremiah Ridden - Christened 8 December 1780.
2. Arthur Ridden - Christened 23 August 1785.
3. Hannah Ridden - Christened 23 March 1788. Married to Isaac Bowering on 22 January 1812, at Newport,
Monmouthshire, Wales. She died 15 March 1858, at Kaysville, Davis County, Utah.
4. Hester Ridden - Christened 14 February 1790.
5. John Ridden - Christened 17 February 1793.
6. James Ridden - Born about 1797.
7. Harriet Ridden - Christened 27 June 1802.
Hannah Ridden
(1788 - 1858)
The first daughter born to George Ridden and Sarah Poole, was christened at Lympsham, Somersetshire,
England, on 23 March 1788.
When Hannah was 23, she married Isaac Bowering on 22 January 1812, at Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, and
they made their home at Lympsham, were their children were born. Isaac Bowering was christened on 1 May 1791,
at Somersetshire, England. He was the son of Joseph Bowering (b: 1759 at Lympsham, Somersetshire, England, and
he died on 4 February 1836) and Elizabeth Colston (b: about 1763 at Lympsham). Joseph and Elizabeth married on
22 November 1789, at Lympsham. Elizabeth Colston was the daughter of Samuel Colston (b: 1742). Joseph was the
son of Samuel J. Bowering and his wife, Betty B.A. Huckman (born about 1724 at Lympsham, and died 16 July
1790, same place). Samuel and Betty were married on 10 April 1755, at Lympsham.
Since much of the history of Hannah's life, as we know it, is so closely related to two of her daughters, Esther and
Elizabeth, and their families, a brief account of them will be included here.
The 1841 British Census, lists daughters, Esther and Elizabeth, living in Whitchurch, Glamorganshire, Wales.
This Welsh town is across the Severn Estuary from the girls childhood home in Lympsham, England. Esther married
Isaac Harris, a publican (one who runs a public house, or is a tax collector), and they have two children, Hannah, age
5, and William, age 1 (1841 British Census, Whitchurch, Glamorganshire, Wales, FHL film # 464,326). Elizabeth
Ridden had married William Evans, who died at age 34, on 17 April 1842. This couple had two children, Elizabeth,
age 5, and Ada, age 3. Elizabeth gave birth to Henry on 1 August 1842 (birth certificate), and then to John on 26
December 1845. Five days after John's birth, Elizabeth passed away, and her baby died and was buried 17 days later
(Death certificate of Elizabeth Bowering Evans). No doubt, this tragic event brought the devoted grandmother,
Hannah Ridden Bowering, to Whitchurch, Wales, to care for the young family (also 1851 British Census for
Llandaff, Glamorganshire, Wales, FHL # 104, 197; Whitchurch Bishop's Transcripts, # 104, 922; Llandaff Bishop's
Transcripts, #104, 878).
In 1849, the missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints came to the vicinity of Whitchurch.
Hannah accepted their teachings of the restored Gospel. On 20 November 1849, she and her daughter, Esther Harris,
and grandaughters, Elizabeth and Ada Evans, were baptized. The records of the Wales Cardiff Branch of the British
Mission, show these additional baptisms:
Isaac Harris - 17 January 1850
Elizabeth Evans - 10 May 1850
Anna (Hanna) Harris - 10 May 1850
William Harris - 10 May 1850
Henary (Henry) Evans - 2 September 1850
Jabes (Jabez) Harris - 2 September 1850
The same address of North Road, Whitchurch, is listed for all of the above (Record of Members Wales Cardiff
Branch British Mission, FHL film # 104, 168).
As there was much prejudice against the Mormons at that time, it was impossible for the missionaries to find a
suitable place in which to hold meetings, so these good women had the partition between their living room and
kitchen removed so there would be room enough to hold meetings in their home. It was here that the missionaries
and converts held their meetings for several years. In the early history of the Church , the converts in foreign lands
were encouraged to emigrate to Zion (Church headquarters) to build up the Church. No doubt, Hannah and her
family began preparing to leave their native land soon after their baptism. We wonder how she was able to get the
financial means for this long journey. Family tradition says she was a wealthy woman with a large estate, but such a
description would not correspond with our standards of wealth today. In the 1851 British Census for Llandaff, lists
her as living there, the wife of a market gardener. Also, living with her were her daughters, Esther and the Harris
children, as well as the three orphaned Evans grandchildren; Elizabeth, age 15, Ada, age 13, and Henry, age 8 (FHL
USA/CAN film # 104, 197).
It was a custom in England and Wales in that era for parents to apprentice their children out with other families to
learn a trade, sometimes at the very early age of 10 or 12. One such young man was Ebenezer Albert Williams, who
came to Hannah's estate at about the age of 18 to work as a gardener. he also listened to the Mormon missionaries,
was converted and baptized.
Finally on 20 December 1852, three years after she had joined the church, Hannah was able to make the deposit
for their passage by ship to America. Booking passage in those days was much different than we know it today. The
passengers were required to furnish their own provisions (sugar, flour, bedding, etc.) And all of their other
necessities for the ong six to eight week journey across the Atlantic Ocean. Their meat would often be a barrel of salt
pork, but sometimes passengers would even bring live animals, chickens and cows, for example, which would be
kept down in the hold of the ship until the need to slaughter them arrived.
So on 5 February 1853, Hannah and her party of 12 boarded onto the ship "Jersey" with Captain John Day. They
sailed from Liverpool, England, for New Orleans. There was a total of 313 persons on board the ship. 225 adults, 74
children under 11 years of age, and 14 infants. In Hannah's party were (FHL film # 200, 173):
Hannah Thomas, gardener, age 68
Esther Harris, age 39
Hannah Harris, age 16
Jabez Harris, age 10
Elizabeth Harris, age 7
Joshua Harris, age 4
Elizabeth Evans, age 16
Ada Evans, age 14
Henry Evans, age 10
Thomas H. Howells, age 18
Thomas W. Jones, age 18
Ebenezer A. Williams, age 22
All of the latter were apprenticed laborers. From this Emigration Record of the Liverpool Office of the British
Mission, we learn that Hannah paid a deposit of £12 pounds for her party's passage and the Church Emigration Fund
paid the balance of £90 pounds (FHL Emigration Record Liverpool Office of the British Mission film # 271, 25 #1).
No doubt there were many discomforts endured by all of them on this long voyage, for it was over six weeks. The
"Jersey" arrived in New Orleans on 22 March 1853.
From there, they went by steamboat up the Mississippi River to Keokuk, Lee County, Iowa. Here they made
arrangements to join a wagon train to the west. They secured teams, wagons and provisions for their journey of
several months. They joined the Claudius V. Spencer Company, and finally commenced their long trek across the
plains toward Zion. The group undoubtedly encountered the many hardships that many others experienced who
made that long journey. At last they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on 17 September 1853 (FHL USA/CAN film #
298, 441 and # 298, 442). It had taken them nearly three-fourths of a year to make the trip.
They were deeply saddened when 17 year old Elizabeth Evans, became ill with "mountain fever," and died only
eleven days after they had reach the valley.
Soon thereafter the rest of the family went to Provo on the invitation of David Vincent, an old friend from Wales,
and they spent their first winter at his home.
With the coming of spring in 1854, Hannah purchased a farm in Kaysville, Davis County, Utah. It was on what
was then known as "the mountain road" just east of the township. With Ebenezer, they built a home on the farm east
of town.
Due to the fact that Hannah paid for the passage of twelve people to America and their provisions, and also
bought the wagon and oxen etc. for the trip to Utah, and bought property and built a house in Kaysville, she appears
to have been fairly wealthy, or at least made some good cash on selling her estate in Wales.
Hannah was sealed to Ebenezer A. Williams on 13 May 1853. (FHL USA/CAN film #183,395).
Esther Harris died here on 2 November 1854, at Kaysville, Davis County, Utah. Her mother, Hannah, continued
to raise the children until her death on 15 March 1858. Both she and her daughter, Esther, are buried in the Salt Lake
City Cemetery in unmarked popper graves. Hannah is listed as Hannah Thomas Williams. (FHL USA/CAN film #
215, 578).
Hannah (Ridden) and Isaac Bowering, had five children.
CHILDREN
1. Charlotte Bowering - Born/christened on 3 October 1814, at Lympsham.
2. Sarah Bowering - Born/christened on 5 May 1816, at Lympsham..
3. Esther Ellen Bowering - Born/christened in August 1817, Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales/England (this county
switched back and forth). Married to Isaac Harris, six children. She died 2 November 1854, at Kaysville, Davis
County, Utah.
4. Elizabeth Bowering - Born/christened on 5 May 1819. Married to William Evans, three children. She died 31
December 1845, Whitchurch, Glamorganshire, Wales.
5. James Barnett Bowering - Born in 1820.
Esther (Bowering) Harris
(1817 - 1854)
Born in August 1817 at Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, to Isaac Bowering and his wife Hannah Ridden.
Esther married Isaac Harris on 25 December 1833, at Llandaff, Glamorganshire, Wales. Family tradition states
that he and son William, were sent to New Orleans to prepare the way for the rest of the family to emigrate. But
nothing was heard from them. After Esther's mother had sold her estate and they had sailed to New Orleans, Esther
found the two men living a wild life.
For the history of her life read the story about Hannah Ridden.
She died on 2 November 1854, at Kaysville, Davis County, Utah. She is buried in a popper's grave in the Salt
Lake City Cemetery.
For a list of her children please see the Harris family history.
ENDNOTES
1.
FHL- microfilm # 200, 173. (Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.)
2. Klea Streve, "Joshua Harris," (Daughters of Utah Pioneers archives.)
3.
Journal History of the Church. (Historical Department Library of the LDS Church, Salt Lake City, Utah.)
4.
1860 Federal Utah Census , Kaysville, Davis County, p. 69.
5. Joshua Harris tombstone, Fairview Cemetery, Franklin County, Idaho.
6. James S. Beck.
Elijah Speaks: Lineage of Charlotte Whitesides Beck. (Kaysville, Utah: Self Published, 1985).
7. History of Elna Harris Spackman.
