Jane Morgan, dark hair,
heavy dark eyebrows, not very tall and dark of skin. This must be somewhat of
what she looked like because those of the family I have seen have these same
features so they are recognized as belonging to the same family. Jane Morgan,
born the daughter of John Morgan and Margaret Lewelyn,
28 January, 1810 at Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorganshire,
South Wales.
Jane
married Jeremiah Price of Kellegory, Radnorshire, South
Wales. To them were born eleven children, Jane, Margaret, Josiah,
David, Sarah Ann, John, Isaac, Jemima, and the twins Mary and Martha.
The
childhood of Jane I do not recall hearing anything about. The first stories I
recall are the ones Sarah Ann, my grandmother told me. "Ah," She would say,
"Mother hated to see me leave to come to America
and Zion." Then
she would retell the story of the parting and voyage across the ocean. That is
her history and is apart from the history of Jane, except we know that she must
have been afraid to have Sarah, a child of nine and Josiah, a young man, go so
far away from home and just maybe she would never see them again.
The
home in Rhymney, Monmouthshire,
South Wales, was a two story brick house built
close to the walk and street. It had long narrow windows, and the door opened
directly onto the walk.
I
always thought of Great Grandmother as being very clean as the stories told me
of the way she scrubbed the floor with sand that made the boards so very white
and smooth. She lost the eldest child while scrubbing one day. The cow had got
out of the pasture or pen and a neighbor hurried in to tell her and she hurried
out to care
for it and left the scrubbing
pail on the floor and when she returned she found the baby, Jane, had fell in
and was drowned.
When a young girl, Jane was apprenticed to a dressmaker and hatmaker. She was so quick with her hands, and she
learned the trade easily, she was soon given work to do for money.
Jane
married Jeremiah Price at the age of eighteen. At the time of their conversion
to the Latter-Day-Saints
Church her husband was a overseer at some coal mine near by. They owned some
property around the home in Rhymney and were
considered quit well off.
Jeremiah
was a Methodist before the elders came to their home, and converted them to
Mormonism in about 1852. He and the family, except Margaret, who was married
and David who had been killed in a mine accident were baptized in the night. As
soon as it was learned they belonged to the Mormons he was discharged from the
mine and the decision was made to send Sarah and Josiah to Zion with some Saints and Elders that were
coming.
Jane
would help the family finances by buying cloth or hats at the market in Bristol and other larger
towns and cities where she would place them in the home and sell them out.
She
grieved a lot when Sarah and Josiah left and was ill for some time afterward.
She was not fully converted to Mormonism but complied with her husbands wishes
and was baptized with the rest.
The
rest of the family sailed on the ship Chimborazo
in the spring of 1855. While crossing she had another trial of faith. One of
the children was carrying
Mary up the ladder of the ship to the upper deck and dropped her,
killing her and she had to be buried at sea.
When
they arrive in Utah, they were sent to North Ogden and that winter spent there proved another
hardship. Food was scarce and Jane dug and gathered bulbs to eat. Her husband
was ill with rheumatism he had contracted while working on a canal before
crossing the plains and was invalid most of the time.
In
1860 she lost her husband, he being drowned while crossing Payson Lake
on the ice in the early spring. She and the family returned to North Ogden and tried farming. This sort of work she knew
nothing about. They went from there to Henderson Creek near Malad then to Malad City.
In about 1879 she went to Elkhorn, north of
Malad, to live with her son John till he married after which Jane came back and
lived with Sarah Ann in North Ogden.
During
these years she and some of the family joined the Josephites.
She also had rheumatism very bad and had to take laudanum until it had become a
habit with her. However she became determined to break the habit and did. She
was rebaptized to the L.D.S. Church
while living with Sarah Ann, her testimony having strengthened. Later she went
to live with Jemima Coleman, a daughter, who lived in Star valley and later
moved to Canada,
she going with them. She died there at the age of 96 in the year of 1904.
The
loss of the child and husband, also the hardships, hunger, and the sickness were very great ordeals
and it is not a wonder she lost faith. Especially having left home and property
that was a source of a good livelihood. The stories of our fathers do not always
have these choice words "but their faith was greater than their hardships," but
ones heart goes out to them and all they endured as we can understand why they
were overcome. I bow in reverence to her having been tried in so many ways and
finally too win out. I hope some day to meet her and tell her I am grateful.
By a G
Granddaughter, Myrtle
C. Swainston.
From stories told by Sarah
Ann Price Godfrey and Jemima Godfrey Campbell.
History #28
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