RUTH WILLIAMS WILLIAMS
Ruth William, daughter of Samuel D. and Ann Price
Williams, was born on a farm in Breconshire, Wales,
March 27, 1857. Her first
home, as she remembered it, was a two-story structure. The windows were large
and were set in place with lead. The floors were of flagstones cut at the
quarry. There was a large fireplace in which they burned peat. The peat was
dark, hard earth which her father cut in chunks and dried so it could be
burned. There was a big stream of water that ran close to the house, but the children
were not allowed to play around it very much, nor were they allowed to catch
any of the fish that were in the stream as it was against the law. They had
chickens, horses, cows, and sheep on their place. She and Mary, her sister,
would spend much of their time herding the cows. When they had their fill they
would lay down to rest and they would scout for bird nests in the tall grass.
She used to help knit socks by the bale and sell them. One time when they had
sold quite a few, they used the money to buy some paisley material from which
they each had a pretty dress made.
Her father and mother were both born on the same day, April 26, 1826. They both embraced
the Gospel and were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
before they met and were married. Her father had planned to come to America
with the many Saints who were coming at this time, but
her mother had an accident in falling from the loft of their barn and due to
extensive injury they had to abandon plans for the trip. This was in the year
1853. Her father restocked his farm and stayed for fifteen years longer. It was
during this time that they had their family of four children: Daniel, Mary Ann,
Ruth, and Samuel John. On April 27,
1866, her mother took seriously ill and passed away suddenly in the
night. She remembered that her father put the children in bed with their mother
while he went to find someone to help. Her mother was a pretty woman. She had
beautiful blue eyes and dark hair. She was tall and a very attractive lady.
After her mother passed away, her Aunt Ann came to take
care of the family. They moved to a new place, a small village where the older
children had their first schooling. They moved again soon in the springtime.
Here they had a nice orchard. Many fruit trees, apples, pears, plums and
cherries were in the orchard. There were also native blackberries, raspberries
and strawberries.
Her father married Elizabeth Parry in 1866, and in 1868
they sold all their household belongings and made preparations to come to America.
They left Liver pool the third day of June 1868; and on the fourth day of June,
they boarded the ship John Bright.
The children were homesick and hated to leave their
native land, and especially did they hate to leave their older brother Daniel.
He had made his home with his grandfather, on his mother's side, since the
death of his mother. When his father went to get him, he was greeted with these
words, "Samuel, if you take this boy from me, it will break my
heart." So he left him behind, never to see him again.
They were on the ocean five weeks and five days. On the
trip across, they ate oatmeal, split peas, potatoes, side bacon, and brown
sugar. Grandmother remembered well the one death that occurred while they were enroute. She told of how they wrapped the body, a lady, in
canvas and tied a weight to her feet and lowered her into the ocean. She also
recalled seeing a large whale. They landed in New York
13 July 1868. A small
steamer came out in the ocean to meet them and towed them into Castle
Garden where they went through
customs, and were examined. Soon after they boarded the train for the West and
came as far as Laramie, Wyoming.
They came from there by mule team in the company of Captain Haight.
They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley 24 August 1868. They
camped where the Hotel Utah now stands; then it was the Tithing Yard. The
children were ill with the measles; so they stayed there a short time for them
to gain strength. They went to Brigham City, Utah
with John Ellis in a wagon drawn by oxen. Ruth fell off the wagon into Willow
Creek and broke her arm. Her father set the arm himself. Her grandfather and
grandmother Williams lived in Brigham. They had come to America
fifteen years earlier.
John Williams, her father's brother, came down from Malad with a mule team to get the family. When they arrived
in Malad they had no place to go but a dugout. Her
father made bunks for them and that was their first home in the valley.
Grandmother recalled that they had plenty to eat even though wheat was four
dollars a bushel, butter seventy cents a pound and eggs were also high.
In the spring of 1869, they moved across the valley to Samaria.
Their home was a one-room house with a dirt roof and floor, and it only had one
window. Her father obtained his temple endowments in October 1874. He served as
presiding Elder in the Samaria Ward for eleven years, and helped to build the
first church house they had in the ward. Grandmother helped out in taking care
of the family all she could. She used to go about the village working for other
people doing their washing, ironing, and scrubbing.
Here in this small village, she met Jeremiah Hodge
Williams. They used to have many good times there in the branch of the Church.
They loved to dance and sometimes danced till about eleven o'clock, then went to eat and then returned for
more dancing. She had long, beautiful, black hair. She wore calico and delane dresses, with lovely full skirts. Jeremiah Hodge
Williams and Ruth were married 9
December 1875. The marriage was performed by David P. Davis in her
father's home.
Her first home was a two-room log structure built by her
husband. She started housekeeping with a bedstead, stove, chairs, and a table.
She had a large family and worked hard all of her life. She did all the sewing
for her family. She was a wonderful cook and always managed to have plenty to
eat. She made her own butter, bread, and canned fruit. She made her own soap
from the rendered fat she so carefully saved.
They went to Logan
in the summer of 1884 where they received their endowments, and had their
family sealed to them. They took the family in a covered wagon. Grandmother was
expecting her seventh child. Max was born the following December 29, on his
mother's eleventh anniversary. It was in the summer of this year that they
moved into their new brick home. They were thankful for the added room and the
comforts of life it gave to a growing family.
The first great sorrow that came into her life was when
her son Daniel was accidently [sic] shot and killed
on the 9th of September 1900.
He was on a trip to the mountains with some of the men of the town. This sad
experience was almost more than she could bear.
Then one night Daniel came to her in a dream and said, "Mother, it
was only an accident." This was the most consoling experience; it actually
brought a turn in her life, and she looked ahead once more with a cheerful
heart. Death struck a cruel blow again in February 1893. They lost two of their
children with diphtheria. Jerry, an eleven year old son, and
little Elizabeth, a beautiful blue eyed, blonde baby girl who was two years
old. While the funeral for Jerry was being held in the cemetery, the
baby Elizabeth passed away. These were trying days for her, but with wonderful
faith she was able to accept it, and was thankful for the lives of her other
children who had been spared.
Grandmother was an even-tempered, lovely lady. She was
never cross to her children. She spent her time with her family at home. She
never over-taxed her children in any way. She never gossiped, nor did she speak
slang or idle words.
In the spring of 1908 she accidentally fell against a
milk can and injured her arm just above the wrist. A swelling came on it and it
was pronounced cancer. She was taken to Logan
where the doctors amputated her arm above her elbow. She suffered much, but
recovered enough to care for her family once more. She could do everything with
her one arm, but scrub the floor. In those days cancer control was never
thought of and by the time Grandmother had her arm amputated, the cancer had
already spread throughout her body. She lived two years and suffered terribly.
Death came to her on 10 August 1910.
She was the mother of thirteen children, ten of whom
survived at the time of her passing. She left a lonesome home and saddened
hearts of her ten children and husband. One son, William W., was serving in the
mission field at the time of her passing. He didn't receive the bad news until
she was buried. In a letter he wrote home following her funeral he said,
"The Lord in his wisdom has taken away from us our beloved mother; yet I
shall keep her self-sacrifices for us, her children, a hallowed and sacred
memory in my heart; that will, I pray, be an incentive for me to live a better
and purer life so that when the time comes for me to leave this mortal
existence, I shall be prepared to enjoy her presence." This son returned
from a two-year mission and served as Bishop of the Samaria Ward for some time:
Two of her sons served as Bishops of the Samaria Ward, James Hodge and William
W. Four of her sons served as members of the Bishopric as did her husband.
Three grandsons also served as Bishops.
She was a true Latter-day Saint and taught her children
to be the same. She couldn't do much public work, because she had a large
family and she gave of her time and energy unselfishly to them. She was always
busy washing, ironing, sewing, and cooking for them.
Her husband spent his life actively engaged in public and
Church work, and worked to make a living for his family. Though he was away
from home much of the time, she never complained. She had eleven half brothers
and sisters. They all spoke highly of her and loved her dearly.
- Anna Martin Meyers, Granddaughter
