Davis, Margaret Ellen (Swensen) - Biography

Ancestry and Early Life of Margaret Ellen Davis Swensen

A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendants. -- Lord Macaulay

By Alan J. Swensen
August 21, 1979

On the fourteenth of May, 1836, Owen Williams was married to Anne Thomas in the village of Llanfair-talhaiarn in northern Wales. The village is located in northwestern Denbigh County, about seven miles inland from the Irish Sea. Owen Williams and Anne Thomas Williams are the maternal grandparents of Margaret Ellen Davis Swensen.

Owen Williams came from the parish of Eglwysfach, some five miles west of Llanfair-talhaiarn. He was born on the second of April, 1803 (as he recorded it in church records after emigrating to America) at the farm Waen Fechan, in Eglwysfach parish. As far as parish records show, his parents, John Williams and Anne Davies, were also of the same parish. The records are unclear, however; as to who Owen's grandparents were.

John Williams was probably born in 1775. A John Williams was christened on the fifth of June, 1775, in Eglwysfach. He was the son of a John Williams and Anne, his wife. The child was quite certainly the John Williams who was Owen Williams' father. The problem is that there were two other men by the name of John Williams, who lived in the same parish, and who were having children in the same period of time. This would be no problem, for the wives names should distinguish the children of one John Williams from those of another in the parish records; in this case, however, all three of these men married women named Anne, and the maiden names of the wives are not given in the christening entries. Only in the marriage records are the maiden names given, and so it cannot be determined from the records found up to this point, which John and Anne were the parents of John Williams, the father of Owen Williams.

John Williams and Anne Davies, the parents of Owen Williams, were married on the ninth of August in the year 1800. John Williams was a farmer by trade Owen Williams was the first of their six children. The other children were William, David, John (who died as an infant), a fifth son, also named John, and a daughter Mary.

Aside from the fact that he worked as a laborer and at one time worked in the neighboring parish of Bettws-yn-Rhos, there is little information about his life before he married. He apparently left no written record of his life, or if such was ever written, it has been lost..

At the age of twenty-six Owen Williams married Margaret Roberts of Llanfair-talhaiarn. He was living in the parish of Bettws-yn-Rhos, which is between his native parish of Eglwysfach and the parish of Llanfair-talhaiarn. They were married in the village church at Llanfair-talheiarn on the twenty-third of May, 1829. About two and a half years later, a son was born to them. On the first day of January, 1832, he was christened and given the name of Robert. Ten days after the child was christened, the parish register records the burial of his mother, Margaret. Only the fact of her death can be taken from the records; the effect it had on Owen when she died and left him with a newborn son, can only be guessed.

What took place between the death of his wife, Margaret, in 1832, and his marriage to Anne Thomas in 1836, is unknown.

Anne Thomas came from the village of Llanfair-talhaiarn. Her parents, John Thomas and Catherine Vaughan, were apparently simple people, as were Owen Williams' parents. No mention of any social standing is made in the records. Of John Thomas' ancestors nothing is known. They probably came from a very simple background. Catherine Vaughan's ancestry, on the other hand, were landed people of some standing in the county.

Her paternal ancestors, the Vaughans, had resided for at least a century at Bronheulog, in the parish of Llanfair-talhaiarn. Whether this is an estate, a farm, or simply another small village is not stated in the parish records. The church records do, however, refer to her ancestors as "gentlemen," and "esquires," titles reserved for those who owned land, and did not just farm a rented piece of ground. The exact relationships between the many Vaughans in the records of the parish are unclear, but Catherine Vaughan's paternal ancestors can be reliably traced back to her grandparents, William Vaughan and his wife Catherine Jones. Their son, Thomas Vaughan, was Catherine Vaughan's father.

Thomas Vaughan was born sometime before March 9, 1739, he being christened on that date in Llanfair-talhaiarn. Other than the dates of his christening and marriage, and his last will and testament, there is little known about his life. On the nineteenth of February 1763, Thomas Vaughan married Barbara Conway, also of Llanfair-talhaiarn. The Conway family, Catherine Vaughan's maternal ancestors, also appears to have been a family of some standing. Barbara Conway is mentioned in the will of her granduncle, Richard Conway. In this will, Richard Conway refers to himself as a "yeoman," which is one who owns the land he farms, and also a social rank just below that of the gentry. The testament does not list great possessions, but Richard Conway was by no means poor. Barbara Conway's grandfather was William Conway, Richard Conway's brother. William Conway's son, Robert, was Barbara's father. Her mother's maiden name is unknown, but her Christian name was Anne. Barbara Conway was the second child of Robert and Anne Conway. She was born sometime before the twenty-fourth of January 1736, for on that day she was christened in the parish church in Llanfair-talhaiarn.

Thomas Vaughan and Barbara Conway had five children. Catherine Vaughan, Anne Thomas' mother, was their fourth child. She was christened on the twenty-third of April 1771 in Llanfair-talhaiarn. Catherine Vaughan was married to John Thomas on the twenty-fourth of November 1792, in Llanfair-talhaiarn. John and Catherine Thomas are quite definitely the parents of Anne Thomas, but the church registers record the birth of only one child for the couple -- on September 29, of the year following their marriage, a daughter, Barbara, was christened. Their daughter Anne's birthdate is known only from the records of the Mormon wards in which she lived after emigrating to America. She recorded her birthdate as the first of August, 1800. Even less is known of her early life than is known of the life of her husband, Owen Williams. The first known record mentioning Anne Thomas is the record of her marriage to Owen Williams.

After four years as a widower, Owen Williams married Anne Thomas on the fourteenth of May, 1836. About one year later, their first child, John O. (Owen?), was born. The church registers either do not mention his christening, or it was incorrectly recorded. There are no records for the first three months of the year 1837, and he could well have been christened during this time. On the thirteenth of August, however, an Owen, the son of John and Anne Williams was christened. It is possible that this is the record of their son's christening, and the first names of the father and son have been mistakenly switched. A John and Anne Williams are not mentioned in any other place in the parish records.

A little more than two and a half years after John was born, their second child, Maria, was born. According to the birth certificate in the General Register Office in London, she was born on the twenty-second of December, 1839. She personally believed the twenty-fifth of December to be her birthdate, and she always gave the same as her birthdate in all church records. Her offical birth certificate records her father's occupation at that time as a "grocer."

In 1841 the first British census was taken and at that time Owen Williams and his family lived at Tyn Ladiars (the writing in the census 6 is unclear. This name is possibly mispelled) in Llanfair-talhaiarn. The family consisted of: Owen Williams, age thirty-seven, a miner; Anne, age forty; John, age four; and Maria, age one.

Sometime between 1848 and 1849, Owen Williams and Anne Thomas Williams joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon Church. No record of their baptism has been found. Maria Williams, according to her own history, joined the Mormon Church in 1849. Whether her brother John joined the church or not, is uncertain, but even if he didn't, the effects of his parents' and sister's decision to join the Mormon church touched his life -- as well as theirs, for the rest of their lives. It would eventually mean that the entire family would leave Wales and emigrate to America. It would mean a change of life style for those in the family who did join the Mormon Church.

In 1851 the second British census was taken. The census taker visited Owen Williams and his family on the thirtieth of March, 1851. They now lived in Abergele, the parish immediately north of Llanfair-talhaiarn, at 279 Peel Street. The family was now listed as follows: Owen Williams, head of household, married, age forty-eight, agricultural laborer, of Eglwysbach, Denbigh; Anne, wife, married, age fifty-one, of Llanfairtalhaiarn, Denbigh; Maria, daughter, age eleven, scholar, of Llanfairtalhaiarn, Denbigh. Their son, John was no longer living with them, although he was only fourteen years old at the time. It is possible that he had been apprenticed out to learn a trade. Also listed in the household were: Louisa Janes, visitor, age six, of Llanfair-talhaiarn, Denbigh; and John Thomas, visitor, unmarried, age fifty-five, agricultural laborer, of Llanfair-talhaiarn, Denbigh. This John Thomas was perhaps Anne Thomas Williams' brother. Louisa Jones, who is mentioned as a visitor, came to stay with the Williams family sometime between her birth on the sixteenth of May, 1846, and the time of the census. She was the daughter of Evan Jones and Jane Salusbury. Why she came to stay with them is not known, but eventually she began calling herself Louisa Williams and considering Owen and Anne Williams her adopted parents. A record has not yet been found to show that she was ever adopted by them. It is possible that they decided to unofficially adopt her without legal processes.

In the year 1853, at thirteen years of age, Maria was apprenticed to the millinery trade. What educational opportunities she had prior to this is uncertain. The census in 1851 lists her as "scholar" (student), indicating that at least at that time she was able to attend school. She was eleven years old at the time.

The teachings of the Mormon Church, which she and her parents had joined, included the concept of a "Zion" in America, to which the Latter-day Saints were to gather. In February 1856, Maria went to Liverpool with two young men and their sisters to travel to Utah, the center of the Mormon Church. On the eighteenth of February, 1856, at the age of sixteen, Maria Williams left Great Britain from the Port at Liverpool and sailed for the United States on the ship Caravan.

On the same ship was a nineteen-year old laborer from Pembrokeshire, named Joseph Davies. This was perhaps the first meeting of these two people who would eventually marry -- three years later.

The voyage took about six weeks. On the twenty-seventh of March, 1856, the Caravan sailed into New York Harbor. Maria spoke no English and knew no one in New York save the four young people with whom she came to the United States. Within a short time the four young people were encouraged by relatives in California to come west to California. Brigham Young, then President of the Mormon Church had counseled the members not to migrate to California, and Maria Williams refused to go on with her friends. She remained alone in New York. After her arrival, the Elders of the 'church in New York found work for her with the T. B. H. Steinhouse family, a Mormon family living in New York. She was paid seventy-five cents a week for doing housework. Mrs. Steinhouse gave her old clothes, which Maria was able to make into clothes for herself, using the skills she had learned in her apprenticeship.

Joseph Davies, the young man from Pembroke, who came over on the same ship, was also living in New York City, working as a tanner. During the next year, Maria and Joseph developed a relationship that would affect both of them for the rest of their lives.

In the meantime, about a year after Maria arrived in New York City, her parents, her brother John O., and adopted sister Louisa Williams, left their home at number Four, Water Street, in Abergele, Denbigh County, and went to Liverpool. On the twenty-eighth of March,1857 they boarded the ship George Washington, sailing for Boston. They arrived in Boston on the twentieth of April of the same year. Maria left Long Island and went to Boston to meet them.

Maria continued to correspond with Joseph Davies, who had moved to Iowa City in the spring of 1858. About two years after her parents arrived, Joseph wrote and asked Maria if she would marry him and go west with him to Utah. At this time, Johnson's Army had moved into the Utah Territory, and the Church leaders were requesting the Saints to gather into Utah at once. Any able man who could work as a teamster was permitted to bring a wife and fifty pounds of baggage. Maria traveled to Iowa City, where she was reunited with Joseph Cadwallader Davies. They were married on the first of April 1859, in Iowa City.

Joseph Cadwallader Davies (his surname was eventually changed to Davis) was from the city of Pembroke, in Pembroke County, South Wales. Beyond his parents, little is known of his ancestors. His father, John Davies, was born in Llanboidy, Carmarthen County, in 1801 or 1802. John Davies' parents died while he was still an infant. He was raised by relatives.

His mother, Elizabeth Cadwallader, was born in Manorbier, in Pembroke County, South Wales, on the seventh of October 1807. She was a twin, one of two girls. Her parents were John Cadwallader and Alice Morgan. Her mother had previously been married to William Jermine.

John Davies and Elizabeth Cadwallader were married in the parish of Manorbier on the seventeenth day of September, 1831. They had eight children, of which five grew to maturity -- Alice, Mary, Joseph Cadwallader, William George, and Frances. A granddaughter, Bessie Clark Butterfield, wrote the following about John Davies and his wife Elizabeth Cadwallader Davies:

Grandfather John Davies was a man of great modesty; would never undress before a man, his word was "by Gauze I'll let no person see my naked body." He was very regular in his habits, always cut his nails on Friday night and shaved on Saturday night and cleaned his shoes. He was very particular about his clean underwear, and would not put on a sock with a hole in it, and he always spoke the plain truth and despised fibs and excuses. He was also strong on punctuality and reliability; he had the name of being dependable. If John gave his word he would do anything or go anywhere. John would be on the job. Much of this I learned from friends of his, when we met in Wales, and who spoke of his characteristics and his friendship; he also stoutly defended the Gospel.

Grandfather Davies was a careful, painstaking laborer, he was expert in quarry work and in drilling, also a coal miner. He was also good at mason work and a basket and chair bottom weaver. He was combative, small in statue, and a brave fighter. He was light hearted and had a vein of humor. I've heard grandma say many times, 'John, thou art a fool.' She was very sober and serious minded, positive and could not endure any foolishness, a woman full of charity and mercy, very generous, but frugal in her own wants. She was not as religious as grandpa but always lived up to the Golden Rule and truly loved her neighbors really better than herself. Grandfather Davies was very humble and had no pride except in his work, which he sought to do better than anyone else. Grandmother had the pride and dignity of an Indian and could not endure anything slipshod or careless, or work half done. She loved peace and order, disliked confusion or outward show, and never bragged. Her motto was 'Let your left hand know what your right hand doeth.' She never spoke of her charity, had great pity and kindness to a fallen woman. She always honored her sex. A true royal descendant of King Cadwallader. She was a wise counselor to her husband and children. If the children wanted any foolish pleasure they went to their father, then 'twould be 'John, surely thou au'tn't be encouraging such a thing.' He would plead "oh Betsey let the little maid have it" -- such was the difference.

Grandmother was tall and moderately built, with large dark gray eyes, dark brown wavy hair, and dark complexion. Grandfather was fair, blue eyes, thick hair, small nose, square chin, short in stature and muscular. He was a kind, indulgent father; grandmother was affectionate but sensible.

The oldest daughter of John Davies, Alice, later wrote in her life history, concerning the conversion of her family to the Mormon Faith. She wrote:

In the year 1847, I was then thirteen years old, there came two Mormon Elders there to preach. But there being so many religious revival meetings held there at that time by the Methodist and other denominations and two of the ministers there with my father when he told them they could preach in his house. So Father took them to our house to dinner. After dinner Father invited them to preach but the mob had gathered around the house and dared them to preach there, so the two elders left. Two years later my father went to the town of Pembroke to a meeting held by the Latter-day Saints. He believed the gospel and was baptized. My father was working at the time for a farmer by the name of James Gardner. I also lived there, I was then 15 years old. He sent and told father he did not want a Latter-day Saint on his place. The house father lived in belonged to this farmer. It was a rented farm that this farmer lived on and there were cottages belonging to this farm that he rented to his hired help, those that needed one. My father had told some of the brethern they could hold meetings in his house. As soon as the farmer heard that they were holding meetings there and that there was going to be one held there that evening he sent me down to tell my father not to dare hold another meeting in that house or if he did he would come down in the morning and set fire to the place. I got to father just as the Mormon Elder was standing up to give out a hymn to begin the meeting. I went in and whispered to father what Mr. Gardner had told me. So father told the message to the Elder and told him to go on with the meeting and in the morning Mr. Gardner could have the house and he would move out. This brother came that night to preach his farwell sermon as he was about to leave for Utah. He said he would prophesy against that man and he said that he would not prosper and would go down and would die poor and his family would be scattered and it would all happen in a short time and all in father's house would see it fulfilled. Now this Brother Williams was a stranger, that was the elders name, he did not know Mr. Gardner or anything about him and father's house was crowded as they had gathered there to hear the Mormon Elder. Well, inside of two years that prophesy was all fullfilled. Everything seemed to go against him and when the rent was due he could not pay it. He got behind the first year after that prophesy. The next year he was worse so they sold off by auction all he owned and he and his family had to rent a small house. He was only there a few weeks when he died, and Mrs. Gardner wrote to her relations in England to help her get back there. The people of the village that heard the prophesy of the Elder said that the Mormon Elder had bewitched Mr. Gardner. I did not believe what the elder predicted at the time but I had to believe it when I saw it fullfilled. My father presided over a branch of the Church there five years.

I was 21 when I was baptized. My brother Joseph, was baptized about the same time, he was 18. My sister Mary was in her 20th year, my brother William was 13 and my sister Fanny was 11. All of us were baptized in 1855. I think my mother was baptized three years before. My brother Joseph and the young man named James Crane that I was engaged to, immigrated to America in the year 1856. The next year, 1857, they sent the money for my brother William and myself to come to New York. We got to New York and hired out there for one year. That was the year Johnson's Army was sent up against the Saints. In the spring of 1858 we left New York and went to Iowa City, myself, my two brothers and James Crane.

On the second of April, 1859, the day after Joseph C. Davis and Maria Williams were married, they left with the Horton D. Haight ox train for Utah. The ox train was carrying mostly paper, ink, and machinery. Alice Crane, Joseph's sister, wrote of this trip:

My oldest brother got married the night before we started, as young women could not go with the church train. We only had one wagon and a yoke of oxen, and there was three couples to occupy this wagon, my husband and I, my oldest brother and his wife, that had just married, and Thomas Foot and wife. The other teamsters had a tent to sleep in. The wagon we had was a large one with boards across the top of the wagon bed. One couple had to make their bed below and the other two couples to make their beds on the top, so we took it in turns sleeping below, we had a not very comfortable time getting up to Florence. It was the fifth of April when we left Iowa and it would snow and then rain and melt the snow until the wheels of the wagon would be to the hubs in mud and then we would get stalled and clear everything out of the wagon and everyone put their shoulder to the wheel until the wagon was out.

Some days we would only go four miles. When we came to a place called the skunk bottoms with so much snow and rain the river had overflowed its banks and all the river bottoms were under water about a mile and a half across. It looked liked the sea, we were standing wondering what to do when a covered wagon drove up with two men in, they asked us where we were going we told them to Utah. They said they were from Utah and had been back to the states on business and were now returning home. My husband asked them how they were going to cross, they said if you will join in with us we will show you. So they took the two wagon beds and lashed them together after unloading them and caulking them so they would be water tight then ferried over where the water was shallow. The men waded and pushed the wagons before them but where it was deep they used poles and worked their passage. Some of our little company objected to going over this way, my husband called on those that were willing to join with him and the others would take their own course, when they saw they would be left the unwilling ones all joined in. They had to cross this stream three times, they were all pretty badly used up. The last trip they took us three women over. It snowed on us all the way across and it was bitter cold but it was worse on the men that had been in the water all day as it was now nearly dark we were all so numbed with the cold it was all we could do to stand on our feet. There was a house not far off so we rented a room and stove for the night and made a big fire set up and dried our clothes and bedding and were soon singing and chatting with each other as though we had had a splendid time.

We traveled together and got along alright and arrived at the camping place on the Missouri river. We stopped here about six weeks until the oxen that were poor got fat. We had four hundred head. My husband was put in charge of the herd until we left. When the train started on the plains my husband was put captain over ten wagons, there were seventy-five wagons in all. Brother Orten (Horton) Haight was captain of the company, Bishop Hesler was Commissary and also in charge of all the freight. We were over three months on the plains. In some places it was laborious work on the cattle. After passing through the sand hills at Laramie, Wyoming the oxen began to die and continued until we got within two hundred miles of Salt Lake City. It got so we could not move the train and we had to send to Salt Lake City for help.

On September 1, 1859 we arrived in Salt Lake City and how thankful we felt when we came in sight of the wished for city. There is no one who can tell the happy feelings that a Latter-day Saint has when they first get sight of the City. Well that was my experience. Such a happy thankful feeling that we had been preserved to get there in safety.

The train, being a church train, we drove into President Brigham Young's yard. The family had prepared supper for the whole company. President Young and Heber C. Kimball were standing by his house as the train of wagons passed into the yard, this was the first time I had seen them. Heber C. Kimball was President Young's first counselor. Both of them had on large, broad brim, white straw, hats.

After their arrival, they lived in the seventeenth ward with J. W. Crosby for a few months. Then they stayed with a Sister Lambson for a few months, also in the seventeenth ward. Then they moved to the fifteenth ward.

On the fifteenth of August, 1860, Joseph Cadwallader Davis and Maria Williams had their marriage sealed in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. On the eighth of September, 1860, their first child was born, and they gave her the name Annie Maria. After Maria Williams had left for Iowa City to join Joseph Davis, her parents remained in Boston until 1861, when they joined themselves to Joseph Horne's ox train. On June 10, 1861, Owen Williams, his wife Anne, their adopted child Louisa Williams, and other members headed for Utah, left by train for Quincy, Illinois. From there they took the steamer Black Hawk down the Mississippi River to Hannibal, Missouri. There they again boarded the train and traveled to St. Joseph, Missouri. The group then boarded the steamer Omaha and were taken upstream to Florence, Nebraska. From this point they had to travel with ox train. They arrived in Salt Lake City on September 13, 1861, just over three months after leaving Boston.

The records of the trip across the plains make no mention of Maria's brother John. He either stayed in Boston, or he came west with another group. In any case, his trail is lost at this point, and at present it is not known what he did in later life, other than the fact that he did marry, and his wife's name was Ellen. Hopefully, through future research, it may yet be discovered what became of him.

Owen Williams settled in the seventeenth ward, where their daughter, Maria, and her husband, Joseph Davis were also living. Joseph and Maria moved during this same year to the Cottonwood ward for a short time. The following February, in the year 1862, Maria's second child was born. She was born on the twenty-fifth of the month, and given the name Elizabeth Frances.

In 1863, Joseph Cadwallader Davis, responding to the counsel of the church leaders, married a second wife, Louisa Williams, his first wife's adopted sister. They were married in the Endowment House on the sixth of June, 1863.

The following year Maria and Joseph's third child was expected. The child was stillborn. He was given the name of Elias M. (Morris, possibly, after Maria's cousin, Elias Morris) Davis. The stillbirth occurred on the twentieth of February, 1864. In 1866, their fourth child was born, a third daughter. She was born on the twenty-first of June and named Alice Ann.

Joseph's second wife, Louisa, had given birth to two children since their marriage. Maria Jane, who was born in March of 1864, died in September of that same year. John Owen was born in October of 1865.

Two years later, in November of 1867, Louisa gave birth to another child, and they named her Sarah Ellen. This brought Joseph Davis' family to a total of seven children between the two families, five living and two deceased.

Early in 1869, Joseph Davis and his families were sent by the church to Panaca, Nevada, to help settle the area. The church was concerned with the great influx of "gentiles" into the area of Utah Territory now belonging to Nevada. The discovery of gold and silver was bringing them to the area by the thousands, and the church leaders feared they would have a negative influence on the church members and perhaps gain control of the area politically and renew the persecution they had hoped to leave when they came west.. To try and hinder this from happening, the church had sent families to the area to claim the land and thus prevent it from being mined. It was two or three years after this attempt began, that Joseph C. Davis was sent there.

Shortly after their arrival, Joseph and Maria's fifth child was born. He was born on the twenty-seventh of February, 1869, and they named him Joseph William. One year later, on the twenty-sixth of February, 1870, Anne Thomas Williams, mother of Maria Williams Davis, died of heart disease. The Deseret News wrote: "DIED: . . . At Panaca, Meadow Valley, of heart disease, Ann, wife of Owen Williams, aged 69 years, 6 months, and 26 days, late of Abergele, Denbighshire, North Wales."

About this time the Mormons in Panaca began to have trouble with the Nevada government authorities. The people of Panaca claimed to be citizens of Utah, but Nevada claimed that Panaca was in the strip of land which had been ceded to the Nevada Territory in 1866 by the Senate. A survey of the area had never been made, so the citizens of Panaca continued to insist that the town was in Utah, and they continued to pay their taxes to the Utah Territorial Government. In 1870, the first survey of the area was made, and it showed that Panaca was indeed in Nevada. The Nevada Territory then filed suit against the families in Panaca for the collection of back taxes. Action was not taken against Joseph Davis, if the records are correct, but he must have felt the pressure the other Saints in the town were under at the time. The case was eventually thrown out of court in 1872, and the Panaca residents began paying their taxes to Nevada.

During this time Joseph Davis worked as a freighter for a mining company in Pioche, Nevada, probably the Ely-Raymond Company. He also made charcoal for the mining company.

During the remaining years in Panaca, two more sons were born to Joseph and Maria Davis. Hyrum was born on the tenth of January, 1872, and George Henry was born on the seventeenth of April, 1874. The three boys born in Panaca brought Maria's family to a total of seven, six of whom were still living. Joseph's other wife, Louis, also had three sons while they were living in Panaca. William George was born in 1869, Heber was born in 1872, and Robert Cadwallader was born in 1875. William George died at age seven. This brought Louisa's family to a total of six now, four of whom were living when the family moved from Panaca. Sarah Ellen, Louisa's third child, had died shortly after they had moved to Panaca.

In 1875, Joseph Davis went to Panguitch, Utah, together with other men from the Panaca settlement, and built a home there. In October of 1875, on the twenty-sixth day of the month, Owen Williams died. The Deseret News reported: "DIED: . . . In Panaca, Nevada, October 26th, of old age, Owen Williams, aged 74 years and 6 months, late of Abergele, Denbighshire, North Wales."

In January of 1877, both of Joseph C. Davis' families moved from Panaca to Panguitch, Utah. In their first year there, each of his wives gave birth to another child. Louisa's was born in January of 1877, shortly after the move, and given the name Wilford Salusbury. Maria's was born that Fall, on the second of September, 1877, and named Margaret Ellen. This daughter later wrote:

The day President Young was buried in Salt Lake City, a tiny baby girl came to the house of Joseph Cadwallader and Maria Williams in Panguitch, Garfield County. She was so tiny they had to carry her on a pillow for several weeks, bathe her at intervals between sleeping periods, she being too frail to stand a full bath at one time. She had excellent care though and grew up with other girls in town, went to school, had a beaux, married, became a mother, grandmother, and even great-grandmother. That was the beginning of "Maggie."

Joseph and Maria had three more children, but all three of them died. Mary, who was born on the twenty-first of February, 1880, died three days later, on the twenty-fourth. The last two children were apparently twins, and were stillborn. If the records are correct, their births occurred ten days apart: Josephine, on the twenty-eighth of December, 1881, and Edward C. on the seventh of January, 1882.

Louisa gave birth to five more children. Louisa Susannah was born in 1879; Erastus was born in 1881; Ester was born in 1882; Harriet Salusbury was born in 1884; and Marth Pearl was born in 1887.

Joseph and Maria Davis had eleven children, seven of whom lived to maturity. Joseph and Louisa had twelve children, nine of whom they raised to maturity. Joseph Cadwallader Davis had then, twenty-three children between his two families, and he and his wives raised sixteen of them to adulthood.

When the Panguitch Ward was divided in 1879, Joseph Cadwallader Davis was made Bishop of the Panguitch 1st Ward. He remained Bishop until 1887, when the two Panguitch wards were consolidated into one ward again. Margaret Ellen, the youngest of Joseph and Maria's daughters who lived to adulthood, wrote the following description of her parents and her childhood in Panguitch.

Father was Bishop in Panguitch for many years. He was the leader of the choir also. He spent many evenings teaching Wm T Owens the notes and he later became the choir leader. Mother was a member of the first choir and my sisters and brothers later. Father and Mother were both beautiful singers and sang many Welsh songs. Mother was also a successful teacher in Relief Society, Primary, and Sunday School for many, many years.

Father had a farm which he and the boys of both familys took care of. They would take a load of grain and potatoes to the Beaver Woolen Mills and in exchange receive woolen goods and blankets. Mother would make quilts to supplement. Mother would quilt at the neighbors and I would often stop at the neighbors on the way home and wait for mother under the quilt.

Father and the boys of each family farmed and did any kind of work to help support the 7 children in our family and the 9 in Aunt Louisa's.

I would only see father occasionally but when I had a toothache which I often did, how I would wish he would come down from work. He would take me on his lap, hold his hand on my face and I would quickly go to sleep. He was a man of great faith and in our home family prayer was never omitted. I would be as likely to go to school without a dress as I would without kneeling in prayer

When father was not at home mother carried out the same. Mother was marvelous with the needle and would sew and make hats for the neighbors to help feed and clothe the family. I have a quilt she quilted for a neighbor which could not be duplicated. The workmanship is perfect. She earned $1 per long day. Often when a pound of butter was her pay she would cut it in two and send half to my Aunt Louisa's family.

In about 1882 or 1883, George, Joseph and Maria's youngest son, ran away from home. He was about ten years old at the time. It would be several years before he would be seen by the family again. While in Panguitch, Joseph Davis ran a tannery outside of town on what was known as "Uncle Jimmy Dickenson Hill." When he closed down his tannery, he worked as a farmer. His son Robert Cadwallader writes that his father took a homestead outside of Panguitch, but lost it because he failed to improve upon it. He then homesteaded another field, and they lived on it for a few years. They kept the field, but the house was left abandoned after they moved back into town. In the 1880's, the federal government began to make things difficult for those in Utah who practiced polygamy. Joseph's daughter Margaret wrote:

My earliest recollections are of the U.S. Marshall searching our home in the night for father. The United States was prosecuting all the polygamists. Many men were sent to jail and one woman who lived in Provo, served a sentence -- Mrs. Bill Harris, mother of Dr. Horace G. Merrill and later the wife of Prof. N L N of BYU. My father had a tannery near the foothills and it served as a partial hideout. We were always on the alert to see if a "whitetopped buggy" came into town. If so we would hang a white signal out the attic window and father several miles away would know what to do. I distinctly remember a very tall officer with a long black beard, who would often search our house, under beds, in closets, cupboards or in any likely or unlikely place a man could hide

A granddaughter, Jessie Clark Henry, wrote:

During the days of polygamy, Grandfather would hide behind the huge fireplace in their home which had a space large enough for him to stand or sit. One of the neighbors would put a light in the window to warn them of the officers coming. Many times he escaped being taken into custody by hiding behind the fireplace.

In early 1888, Joseph C. Davis was persuaded by Bishop Sevey to accompany him back to the Mormon colonies in Mexico. Bishop Sevey had moved there earlier to escape the persecution the polygamists were facing. Joseph's son Robert writes:

As Bishop Sevey had gone to Mexico and on one of his trips back to Panguitch he persuaded Dad to go back with him. He had been gone almost a year when he wrote to mother to sell out and meet him at Lee's Ferry. We had two wagons, Heber and I drove the wagons. We filled one wagon full of oats for the horses and cattle. Mother bought a three year old beef and jerkyed all of it. Mother got a churn and Aunt Pheobe Sevey filled the churn with butter. We took a lot of supplies and met Dad at Lee's Ferry. It took us around two months to get to Mexico. As we went along stopping at night building our campfires, fixing our meals over the campfires, was great sport for us boys if it hadn't taken so long. Many times there wasn't any wood when we stopped. So when we came near the railroads we would pick up old ties and tie them under the wagons so we wouldn't have to go without hot food.

When we got to Smithville (this town either doesn't exist anymore, or he has used the wrong name here, for there is no Smithville between Panguitch and Colonia Juarez. He could have meant Springerville) it began to rain and we were detained there for two weeks. Dad had a friend there and we stayed there. We helped the friend, Sheriff Marshell. We boys plowed and helped with the harvest.

At Smithville (Springerville?) a boy of fifteen, who had heard that his family had moved to Mexico, joined up with the group, wishing to accompany them to Mexico. The boy was a run-a-way, who had been separated from his family for some years. To the boy's surprise, his father was part of the group. The boy was George Davis, who had run away some five years earlier. During the past five years he had lived most of the time with Indians who had found him shortly after he ran away. When conditions improved, the group resumed their trip. Robert Davis continues his account of the trip:

When we could cross the Gila River Mr. Marshell loaded our wagons with grain and supplies and we headed out again. We had to swim the river with our wagons. We had to wait in Deming for our immigration papers. When they arrived we went right on to the Colonies.

Mama had enough food and supplies that we didn't have to buy anything all the way there.

We arrived in Colonia Juarez on the eve of the New Year in 1888 (December 31, 1888), and spent the night with Bishop Sevey. The next morning Dad moved us into a place he had rented for us. Later he traded for a place in town from Miles P. Romney, which was our home the rest of our lives.

Margaret, Joseph and Maria's youngest daughter, wrote of the years after her father left for Mexico.

My brother Hy used to haul wool to Salt Lake City, after the shearing season was over. After father left, mother was not well and relatives in Salt Lake wanted her to come up there for help. We had to take a small load of wood with us to pay expenses. We were 8 days going by team from Panguitch to Salt Lake City which now takes near 8 hours. When we reached the point of the mountain we saw a train. I shall never forget the wonder -- I had never seen a train before.

In Colonia Juarez Joseph Davis and his sons took on the job of caring for the tithing sheep, which numbered some three thousand. His son Robert writes of the life in Mexico:

About a year later (after their arrival) Dad took a business contract with the San Pedro and Corralitos Mines. He was to haul all the lumber and mining timbers from the mountains to these mines. The older boys went right to work on the wagons with six horse teams. Dad worked only for a few months on the hauls. He did all the paper work and business end. Dad had a contract with the boarding houses to bring them produce etc.

In Dad's produce business he bought anything the colonies had to sell. The mountain colonies had to work at the saw mills and had to take lumber for pay. When they earned a load of lumber they loaded up and headed for Colonia Juarez to Brother Davis'. The Bishop was in the lead and the whole colony behind him. Brother Davis paid them cash and they would get supplies and go back to work.

He had the people can all of their fruits and he could sell all of it at the boarding houses. Dad also bought everything the people raised. Fruit, vegetables, eggs, milk, cheese and flour, cream and butter. Through Dad the colony people were able to obtain a little cash.

Dad also bought denims and had some of the women help make shirts, jackets, and pants for the miners. Also he had flour sacks made to haul the flour into the miners. This gave many widows and other women work.

In the early days of the Colonies Dad brought more money and helped more people than any other man.

It wasn't a year until Heber and I were driving a wagon and hauling lumber and ore or anything else Dad had for us to haul. I was only fourteen years and was driving a six horse team and wagon.

After the railroad came in Dad lost his lumber hauling contract. Then we began to haul ore from the mines to the smelter. The smelter failed, then we got contracts to haul ore from Flora de Marze mills to Deming, New Mexico, this was over a one Hundred mile haul.

Dad worked hard all his life keeping us boys and his wagons busy. He worked for the San Pedro Corralitos Mining Co. all the time he was in Mexico.

Mother and the girls worked to help Dad in his business. I have seen my sisters canning all day and many times away into the night to help get supplies ready for Dad's weekly runs.

Dad worked in the Church whenever he was able and had time. He led the choir in Colonia Juarez for a time. But his business took so much of his time. I don't remember of his doing much Church work after we went to Mexico. I know we boys were kept busy and never had time to go to Sunday School as we were always out of town.

I remember Dad going to Utah only once to visit his family he left there. He rode to Deming, New Mexico on a freight wagon then took a train to Panguitch.

Joseph Davis apparently did see his family in Panguitch only this once, after going to Mexico. It was sometime in 1895. His daughter Margaret writes:

When I was 10 years old father took his other wife and family and went to Mexico as many others were doing. Mother and the boys carried on from there. I did not see father again until I was 18. He paid us a visit. I was introduced to him as a neighbor's daughter and for some time he addressed me as Miss. The neighbors finally said with tears in their eyes "This is your own daughter Maggie."

Less than two years later, on the twenty-ninth of December, 1896, Louisa Davis died of cancer, in Colonia Juarez, Mexico. Her youngest daughter was nine years old at the time. She had been sick for several years prior to her death.

The Fall of 1889 had seen the establishment of something new in Panguitch: the Panguitch Stake Academy. The Academy brought new faces to Panguitch, namely those of Carolyn Fillerup and John C. Swensen. John C. Swensen remained in Panguitch until the Spring of 1892, as superintendant of the Academy. Margaret Davis was at this time enrolled in the Academy, and as a student, it was probably the furthest thing from her mind that she would ever marry her teacher, the superintendant.

In June of 1898, Maggie Davis, together with Mrs. Allie Clark, was asked to accompany some teachers from the Brigham Young Academy, on tour of the Panguitch Stake. The teachers were trying to recruit students for the BYA. Among the teachers was John C. Swensen. Miss Davis and Mrs. Clark were to provide music for the meetings. Mr. Swensen said of these two that they were "both very fine singers. They greatly helped in the interest in our meetings, besides being delightful company."

The Davis family was a family of talented singers. In nearly every ward they lived in, Joseph C and Maria Davis had led the choir, and staffed it with many of their own children. Maggie Davis spent the year of 1898-1899 in Salt Lake City studying music. She took private lessons in piano under Arthur Shepherd, and voice under Madam Amanda Swenson, a noted vocalist from Sweden. She lived at the home of Mrs. Mary Morris, a relative of her mother. During this time she often received visits from John C. Swensen. As Mr. Swensen explained it, he "came at intervals to Salt Lake City and visited her and before the end of her stay it resulted in an engagement. I had known Miss Davis since she was a student in the Panguitch Stake Academy in the early '90's, but only within the last year did our relationship become serious. "

In late June, 1899, he came to take her to Salt Lake City for the marriage. After obtaining the marriage license in Panguitch, they went to Milford and from there by train to Provo. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on the twenty-first of June, 1899.

In 1900, Maria Davis traveled to Mexico and spent three months with her husband and those of her children who had gone to Mexico -- George and Hyrum. By this time, all of her children, with the exception of George, were married. Annie Maria had married Joseph Houston and lived in Panguitch. Elizabeth Frances had married John Henry Hatch and now lived in Tropic, Utah. Alice Ann had married Joseph Clark and lived in Panguitch. Joseph William had married Mary Schow and lived in Panguitch. Hyrum had married Lisania Craig, and lived in Colonia Juarez, Mexico. Margaret Ellen, as mentioned, had married John Canute Swensen, and lived in Provo, Utah. Three years later, in 1903, George Henry married Lula Jane McKellar in El Paso, Texas.

Maria Davis returned to Panguitch and Joseph Davis remained in Colonia Juarez. Just why Maria did not go to Mexico with her husband when he left the States will perhaps have to remain a question. It may have been that she objected to the practicing of polygamy. Or perhaps there were bad feelings between the two wives. It is difficult not to speculate, but since we don't know, and they are no longer here to be asked, we really cannot and should not judge the situation. Five years after Maria visited Joseph in Mexico, he died, after several days of sickness. Joseph Cadwallader Davis died on the twentieth of September, 1905, and was buried in Colonia Juarez.

As her health allowed, Maria Davis continued to be active in the organizations of the church. Her husband had left the genealogical and temple work for his ancestors to his sister, Alice Davis Crane. Whenever possible, Maria Davis attended sessions at the Manti Temple to help her sister-in-law with the work.

The Panguitch 1st Ward Relief Society wrote up a life history of Maria Davis while she was still living and able to help write it. They wrote:

She was at one time Sunday School teacher in the first ward. Her pupils being Nellie Steele, Sabina Chidester, Maggie Ipson, Alice Burgess, Addie Henrie and Maggie Davis. She remembers with pride this class as all in it were so willing and ever ready to do part both in class and before any audience. When Sister Esther Marshall was president of the Primary Association she and Sister Adeline Tuttle were her counselors, which positions they all held for many years. Sister Christie Riggs being her first companion and they worked together until Sister Riggs' death when Lottie Steele was given her as fellow worker. When Sister Steele moved away Sister Nellie Cooper was made her companion and whose partner she remained until the division of the wards in 1916, when she declined to work longer because, as she said, "Younger can do more justice to the work."

Sister Davis is lovingly remembered by many of the town's people for the great amount of sewing she has done and helped to do for the loved ones they have laid away. Besides many things not here mentioned she has made hundreds of temple aprons. She began this work in 1864 at Salt Lake City and at which she is still often employed. Sister Davis is never idle. Her handicrafts may be found in almost every home in the town and her example of industry is worthy of imitation. She is the mother of eleven children, seven of whom she raised to maturity; grandmother of fifty-three and great-grandmother of fifty-eight. May she live to be a great, great grandmother and may her posterity be as grand as she is great.

When asked if she did not ever get discouraged and think the leaders of the church asked and expected too much of the people in early days, she said, "I never forgot the last words of my mother when I was leaving Liverpool, London (England is probably what was meant, not London). She said, 'Always obey counsel and do as the leaders of the church say, and I would never have cause to regret and would never apostatize.'" Which advice she has proven to be true.

Maria Williams Davis died on Monday, the ninth of August, 1926, at the age of eighty-six. Her granddaughter, Jessie Clark Henry writes of her passing:

The night my grandmother died my mother Alice went to help her into bed. She was deeply religious and wanted to say her prayers before retiring, so after her nightcap was on, which she always wore, she knelt to say her prayers and then she said she would call when she was through. My mother became alarmed after some time had passed and went to check to see what was wrong and found her mother dead. She had passed away while she was saying her prayer. She passed away at my mothers home and was buried in Panguitch, Garfield County, Utah.

(Journals and histories quoted in this work have been quoted verbatim, with the original spelling, grammar, and punctuation.)

None

Immigrants:

Williams, Maria

Davis/Davies, Joseph Cadwallader

Davis, Margaret Ellen

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