DANIEL LEIGH WALTERS
(1843-1917)
Daniel Leigh Walters was born in
Llanelly, South Wales, on 15 February 1843, the son
of Walter and Sarah Reese Leigh Walters. They came to America and landed at New
Orleans, Louisiana, 18 March 1854. They went to Kansas City, Missouri, and then
out to the prairie to await the coming of wagon teams to take them across the
plains. The years of 1855-56 were hard years for the saints in Zion; how they
lived through it is hard to tell. Members of the family were separated many
times, living with other family members in Salt Lake City, Utah. Daniel lived
with the Lorenzo Snow family and helped tend the livestock for a summer. His
father built the house they lived in.it was made with willows and plastered
with mud. His mother was strong in many ways. She went to Salt Lake City to get
Daniel, and they walked sixty-five miles back to Brigham City, Utah. It took
them four days to make the trip. During the winter of 1855, Daniel pulled a
bobsled from Brigham to Willard, Utah, loaded with a bushel of wheat to get it
chopped at the mill. He and his father later drove a team of oxen and took
wheat to the mill so they might have bread to eat. They had nothing to eat on
the hourney; one mile north of Williard
they became so hungry that his father said, “I have
never begged before in my life but I can stand it no longer.” They went to the
door of John H. Bankhead to ask for a slice of bread. Nancy gave them a whole
loaf. Later, when they were both living in Wellsville, they reminisced about this.
Daniel came to Cache Valley with
his family 10 April 1859. They lived in tents until houses could be built for
the winter. Their houses were later built of logs and covered with straw and
dirt. They encountered their first hostile Indians who outnumbered the
settlers. They found it was easier to feed the Indians than fight them. The
Indians chased off some of the settlers’ horses and Evan Owen and Daniel went
to retrieve them. Night came on the two men were not back. They were presumed
lost or dead so the minutemen were sent to find them. They were happy to be
brought in from the Dry Lake area in good health.
During an illness of two months,
Daniel learned how to play the violin. His father would whistle or sing a song
and Daniel would play it. When he was well enough, Daniel went to Salt Lake
City to drive a ward team to haul rock from Little Cottonwood Canyon to help
build the Temple.
Daniel spent many hours learning
to read music. James Shore came to town and he was very musically inclined.
They got a group together to play, which included Edwin Mitton,
Henry Haslam, James, and Daniel. They traveled to
Brigham City and Logan, Utah, giving enjoyment to many with their music.
Brigham Young heard Daniel play at one time and told him he would be a fine
violinist some day. Daniel organized a group
consisting of first violin, second violin, cornet, and cello. This group was
call the “First String” and they traveled all over Utah.
Daniel married Martha Stennett Poppleton in the
Endowment House 26 December 1864. In the spring of 1865, he cut logs and built
a home all by himself. He tried his hand at farming and mining. In 1871, he
went to Montana to work in the gold mines and did very well. He worked in a sawmill and then took up carpentry work. For a while he
was in charge of the timber work on the Wellsville Tabernacle. He traveled a
great deal with his fine family orchestra and the Wellsville brass band which
was the best in the state. He purchased a fine violin from a blind man named
Owen Jones. The man made him promise he would never sell it; he never did. They
called this violin “Jenny Lynn” because of its fine tone.
Daniel and Martha were the
parents of twelve children: Sarah, Martha, Daniel, Ann, Mary, Walter, William, Edmund,
Elizabeth, Thomas, Maud, and Margaret. Daniel died 27 July 1917 and is buried
in the Wellsville cemetery.
