Daniel E.
Price was born November 17, 1852 at Talgarth,
Breconshire, South Wales.
The son of John Evan Price and Ruth Williams. Daniel's
father John Evan was serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints
and was asked to move his family to Talgarth, so in September
1852 they moved to Talgarth, where two months later
Ruth gave birth to Daniel. He was the 6th child born, and was the
first of 3 boys to live. He has three older sisters, Esther, Ruth and Mary
(two brothers born before him Isaac, and David died in infancy), and a younger
brother and sister, John Evan and Ann Marie.
Daniels
early life was spent moving constantly while his father was serving as a missionary
for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. When Daniel was only about
two and a half months old the family moved again. Quoting
John Evan Price dairy, "I went to seek a house and work to the Bulch. January 30, 1853 we moved.
April 6 we
moved from the Bulch to Talbout
in Blober." Ruth, Daniel's mother was a loving,
kind and patient person. She cared for Daniel and his 3 older sisters while her
husband was preaching the gospel. They had very little money and worldly possessions.
But their home was filled with an abundance of love, and the gospel of Jesus
Christ. When Daniel was 2 years old his father was called to be the Branch
President on January 9, 1854 in Talbout.
Life in Wales was very hard for the children.
When children reached the age of 6-7 years they would usually work in the coal
pit. Money was very scarce. Every shilling and pence would help the family. At
a very young age Daniel worked in the coal pit. Quote from Mary Anderson (Daniel's
daughter, Aunt Maine
we called her), "There was little opportunity for schooling. Even small
children were carried into the mines to pick up coal and be errand boys.
Sometimes they never saw the sun for weeks." This was the type of life that
Daniel and his brother experienced. On Daniels 8th birthday November
17,1860 he was baptized a member of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints by his father John Evan Price. When he was 12
years old, he broke his leg while working in the coal pit. He recovered and
went back to work with his father and brother John. Earlier that year enough
money had been saved for his two older sisters Ruth 16 years and Mary 14 years
to go to Salt Lake City.
The trip cost 30 pounds. Daniel missed his sister very much. Soon Daniel and
his family would be emigrating too, but not yet. The time finally came, enough money had been saved for the voyage. In May
1865 Daniel was only 13 and' years old. They left from Liverpool, England
on the ship Bridge Water. The ship Bridge Water was on the sea for 5 weeks and
2 days, it arrived at New York.
Daniel and his family went to Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. By this time all of
the money was gone. They stayed with the Welsh people in Pittsburgh. The Welsh people were so good and
kind to them, they helped John (Daniel's father) to find work. John worked for
7 months and two weeks, while in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. They stayed there
for 11 months. Then in July of 1866 John Evan and his family were asked by
President Miles, with forty-five others, to meet the emigrants at Detroit and go with them to Salt Lake City. Quote from John's dairy,
"On the 18th of July we left
Wyoming, Nebraska
for the prairies with ox teams in Captain Holliday's Company". Quote from
Mary Anderson, "They encountered many hardships on the plains". Daniel
was 14 years old, John was 11 and Ann Marie was 7. Quote from John's dairy, "On
September 25th, 1 866 we
reached Salt Lake City.
The next morning President Brigham Young with several others,
visited us in the tithing office yard shook hands with all of us and Bishop
Hunter ordered food, for all the people were very liberal toward us." They
left Salt Lake City and went to Brigham City, John and Ruth came down with mountain
fever and were in bed for two months. In February 1867
Daniel and his family left for Malad and stayed with
his sister Ruth who was married to Fredrick Thomas.
From John's
dairy he said, "Brother Peck February 10, 1868, I took up 160 acres of
land eight miles west of Malad. I went with my sons
(Daniel and John) and built a dugout on the claim. On April 16, 1 868
I moved my family here and we were the
only
white residents." Daniel was now 15 years old.
Daniel and his brother John worked hard in their youth, clearing
sagebrush from the land, to get things ready to plant. They both went with
their father to the canyon, to get logs for their home and other buildings.
They always tried to use the logs the day they brought them down. Daniel and
John helped their father build a sawpit also known as a hand sawmill and sawed
the logs at night. The lumber from that mill was used in many of the first homes
that were built in the area. They were known to have been able to make an
average of eighteen trips to the canyon in three weeks.
When Daniel was 22, he saw a petite beautiful woman, blue eyes,
with almost black hair by the name of Mair. She was
only 16 and ° years old. Mair is the daughter of Anna
Evans and Thomas Williams (Anna's second husband). Anna's first husband was
David Jenkins (who died in an explosion in the mine at Cwmbach,
Aberdare, South
Wales).
Mair carried the last name of Jenkins as her parents were
separated in Wales.
She was christened Mair, which is Welsh for Mary and
was known as Auntie Mair to all who knew her. She was
beautiful, ambitious, and a quick learner. She loved to sew, cook and clean.
Daniel and Mair fell in love and were married on
March 15, 1875 in Salt Lake City,
in the Endowment House.
Their first home was in Samaria.
It was a small log cabin. Daniel and Mair worked hard and were very thrifty and soon had
enough money to replace their log cabin with a beautiful red brick home. They built the brick home on the same land replacing
their log cabin. The brick home had 5 rooms with a summer kitchen. One of
Daniel's friends Tom Hawkley made the bricks in a kiln,
westand
north of Samaria.
The first payment for the bricks was a fat pig. Money was not easily acces-sible so the exchange in labor or products was the mode
of payment at that time. Later, came paved sidewalks
around most of the home. Their home was the first to have a bathroom with
electricity and running water. All of these modern conveniences became a great
asset to their family. Their home became the center of family gatherings.
Strangers passing by would stop in and visit them. Daniel and Mair were very active and always busy helping. Quote from
Mary Price Anderson (daughter of Daniel and Mair Price),
"The night was never too dark or the hours too short to visit a friend or
relative when there was sickness. With no streetlights in the coun-try village, people found their way about at night by the
aid of lanterns which used kerosene for fuel. It wasn't unusual for a knock on
the door and to find a neighbor there with the lantern to guide my mother to a
sick bedside. Great sorrow had come to our home at the death of my two little
brothers, and mother seemed to get solace in helping others".
Our home seemed to be a beehive of ac-tivity
because there was so much to be done. Father always planted a large garden. We
had an orchard that produced pears, several varieties of apples, plums, prunes,
and cherries. In the summer there seemed to be no end to canning, but in winter
it was a great pleasure to visit the well stocked cellar and to look at the
shelves of fresh canned fruit, pickled beets, mustard pickles, and preserves
and jelly. On the shelves there were also jars of honey as well as boxes with
honey in the comb. No pioneer family felt secure without a few hives of bees
and my parents were no exception. When looking at the preserves, my sister and I
almost forgot the long hours spent picking the gooseberries and currants when
other children seemed to have so much time for play. Mother was noted all over
the valley for the fine quality of butter and cheese that she made and she had
more orders than she could fill. She sold eggs by the case and helped with the
expenses in many ways. For several years the schoolteachers boarded at our home
and all of them were full of praise for mother's cooking. Mother cooked some of
the special things that Welsh people were
so fond of eating. Her currant bread or bara brith, as it is known
in Wales,
was very special. Her brothers David and Evan (Jenkins) seldom left her home without
a loaf when she had done her baking. Some
of the cousins have told me that they have never eaten apple pie to
equal my mother's."
Daniel and Mair had 8 children; Anna
born April 26, 1877-died at age 51, Ruth born July 18, 1879-died at age 2 °,
Jane born March 23, 1883-died at 3 days, Mary born May 29, 1886, Daniel born
December 21, 1888-died at age 4, Sarah born July 7, 1891-died at age 54, Esther
born July 23, 1994-died at age 20, and David born May 6, 1898-died at 9 months.
All of the children were born in Samaria, Oneida, Idaho.
Out of 8 children only 4 children reach maturity.
Daniel E. like his father was a very successful farmer and
cattleman. He managed his affairs well and as his father liked to excel in all
things. He too wanted to be the first to get his crops in and have them be as
good as possible.
Mair and
Daniel were dedicated to serving the Lord. Whether it was a church calling or
just caring for the neighbors, they were always helping others. Daniel served
in many callings in the church. He served as a councilor in the first Mutual Improvement
Association at Samaria
and was set apart on January 11, 1878. Almost 10 years later in February 1888
in the first conference of the Malad Stake, Daniel
was called to be a member of the High Council, and was ordained by Lorenzo
Snow, George Dunford and Seymour B. Young. Then 3 years
later in January 1891 Daniel was called to be the treasurer for the Samaria
Ward. In September of 1891 he was called to be the President of theMutual Improvement Association.
A call from the Church came in February 11, 1895, it was a mission call for
Daniel to go toGreat Britain. He was only 43 years old.
This left Mair to care for the children by her self
while he was gone for over 2 years. When Daniel left for his mission his
children were the ages of: Anna 18 years, Mary 9 years, Sarah 4 years and
Esther 8 months.
Daniel went to his native Country of Wales. While there he had
many wonderful experiences. Many of his friends from Malad
and Samaria
asked him to visit their relatives, this he
did. While in Wales
he was able to go to many of the same places that his father John Evan
Price went and preach the gospel. He was even able to teach at Talgarth, where he was born.
When he returned from his mission, he found his 2 daughters Mary
and Sarah recovering from the measles. He had only been home for about 2 hours
when the Samaria Brass Band came over and played several tunes to welcome him
home. The evening was spent with family, relatives and many friends, singing,
shaking hands and lots of gospel teaching. Daniel was home not even 1 month when
he was called to be the Bishop of the Samaria Ward, on June 13, 1897. He served
faithfully in this position for 16 years. In 1902 the new Samaria Church
building was built, and he accepted this responsibility as over seer of this
construction as the Bishop. After his calling as Bishop he was called again to
serve on the High Council.
Daniel E.
and Mair were loved throughout the area. Through
their hard work, and their thrift, they gained financial security. They avoided
debt and embraced hard work to their success. Daniel E. Price lived to be the
age of 74 years old and passed away at his home in Samaria on February 18, 1 926
and is buried in the Samaria Cemetery.
Daniel's beloved wife Mair lived to the
age of 80 and passed away at her home in Samaria
on April 21, 1939 and was laid to rest in the Samaria Cemetery,
by the side of her wonderful, beloved husband Daniel Evan Price. Family and
community felt a great lost at the passing of these two wonderful individuals.
Their service to the Lord, their family, and community were missed.
Submitted by:Ina Thompson, Great Granddaughter
