David "Saer" and Mary
Stephens Jones
By Karen Jones
(great-granddaughter)
David "Saer" (Welsh for carpenter) and Mary Stephens Jones, lived
in St. John from 1874 until their deaths. David was born October 16, 1842, in
Pencader, Carmarthenshire, Wales. Mary was born June 20, 1843, also in
Pencader, Carmarthenshire, Wales. They were married in Wales in 1862, and came
to America in 1866, on board the ship, "Arkwright." Crossing the
plains by ox team, they emigrated to Willard, Box Elder County, Utah, where they
lived for seven years. In 1874, they moved to St. John, Idaho. David was a
carpenter by trade and also was the coffin-maker in St. John.
To this family were born nine children: Ann, David S., Tom S., John L.,
Jane, Evan W., Daniel, Mary Ellen, and Sarah. David and Mary celebrated their
Golden Wedding Anniversary in 1912, with all nine children present. David died
on August 19, 1920, and Mary, two years later in 1922. They are both buried in
the St. John Cemetery.
(From St. John, Oneida County, Idaho: A collection of personal histories
from the time of the first settlers to the present day, p. 164.)
