Gomer
Hughes was born July 28, 1846 at Georgetown, a
suburb of Merthyr Tydfill, Glamorganshire,
Wales,
the son of James and Margaret Jones Hughes. He had four brothers and sisters as
follows, named in the order of their births: Maria, Taliesin, Mary, who died in
Wales when a small child, Mathew, Lewis, Daniel, all born in Glamorganshire,
Wales and Sarah Ann born at Pottsville, Pennsylvania
On Tuesday
April 17, 1855 the sailing ship Chimborazo left Liverpool,
England for America. Gomer was nine
years old. After a pleasant and successful voyage the Chimborazo arrived in the
mouth of the Delaware River on the 18th of
May, being on the ocean thirty-one days. On the 22nd of May the ship anchored
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Some of the immigrants
continued on to St. Louis by the way of Pittsburg, but James Hughes and his wife, Margaret, and
family went to Pottsville, Pennsylvania where his father secured employment.
At this place Sarah Ann, the last child, was born. A short time later the
family moved to Illinois, just a few miles east of St. Louis at Caseyville, St.
Clair County, where the father secured work running an engine at a coal mine.
On September 5, 1858, Margaret Jones Hughes, died and was buried on the bluffs
over looking the Mississippi River near Caseyville,
Illinois.
Soon after
Margaret's death William Jones, Margaret's brother, returned to Caseyville, Illinois to
bring the family to Utah.
With the consent of James Hughes, he brought the children across the plains in
a company of Saints in charge of Captain Horton D. Haight
in August 1859. A record of their arrival was printed in the Desert News on Wednesday,
August 24, 1859 page 197. The father, James Hughes, did not accompany the
family to Utah, but remained in Illinois working and was
to follow later. Instead of coming to Utah, he
returned to Wales,
his native land, where he married a widow by the name of Margaret Jenkins. So
the children never saw their father again. Shortly after the arrival of the
Hughes children in Salt Lake City, they were taken
to Willard, Utah by their uncle, William Jones, with
whom they lived for a few years. Sometime in the early sixties the family moved
from Willard to Logan, Utah, which became their home for a number
of years. Gomer
herded sheep for a man named Harding when he was thirteen years old.
The home of the Hughes family at Logan, Utah,
was on the west side of town on or near Center Street not far from the Union
Pacific Depot. In the late 60s, thinking most of the best land was taken, he
decided to snake Malad Valley
his permanent home.
During the
time Gomer Hughes lived at Logan, he became acquainted with Jane
Roberts. They were married in the Salt Lake Endowment House March 3, 1872, he
being 26 and his bride 22 years old. After their wedding Gomer
took his bride and returned to Malad Valley
to live. On the west side of this beautiful valley, where all the Hughes brothers
decided to make their homes, a small settlement was formed which they named Samaria. It took considerable hard labor to clear an
acre of this brush land and prepare it for seeding. It was not uncommon to have
the women go into the fields to help the men with this work, Jane worked right
along with Gomer pulling, burning sagebrush and
driving the team.
The first
home Gomer provided for his bride was made of logs
cut and hauled form the nearby canyons. Each log was hewed and fitted to space and
further made tight with a plaster of clay.
Gomer Hughes was a devoted Latter-day Saint. He attended church regularly, paid a full tithing, always
offered the bishop his donation both in money and labor. He was always willing
to work in anyway that he could help out. He was very retiring and never took
part in the praying and preaching at church.
Gomer
Hughes died at Logan, Utah
March 13, 1923 at the age of 76 and
was buried at Samaria. At the close of his life he had a posterity of six sons, two daughters, forty-one
grandchildren, and one great grandchild. This account was written by his son -
Robert R. Hughes.
Jane
Roberts, daughter of David Roberts and Catherine uch
(meaning of daughter of) Thomas ap
Richard. first saw the light of day in North Wales, in
the little town of Llanfrothen,
Merionethsire, January 11, 1850. Jane had three older
brothers and two sisters, she was the youngest of six children, so had plenty of companionship and love.
When Jane was six years old they had saved enough money to take
them across the ocean and on to Utah.
On the morning of April 9, 1856, they left their home, putting their belongings
into a wagon, bid adieu to Festiniog, people and
relatives and commenced their journey. They arrived in Liverpool, England April
10, 1856, remained there until April 20th 1856 when they set sail on the ship Samuel
Curling for America. After a very rough voyage they arrived at Boston Harbor, Massachusetts
May 24th. They left Boston May 26th for Iowa City and arrived
there sometime in June and were assigned to Captain Edward Bunker's Company.
They were the third handcart company to leave for Utah. They arrived at Florence, Nebraska
July 1 9th and set out on their
journey across the plains on July 30, 1856. At this time Jane was six and one
half years old. She walked most of the thirteen hundred miles in her bare feet.
They arrived in
Salt Lake Valley
on October 2, 1856. A few days later the Roberts family moved to Farmington about twenty miles north of Salt Lake City, settling in a one room adobe
cabin with a dirt floor and roof. The
family contracted mountain fever and Jane's father was very ill. He died
November 9, 1858. In 1859 Jane's brother, Thomas, went to Cache Valley
and settled at Logan.
In the spring of 1860 the entire family was living in Logan. Here Jane grew to womanhood learning
to sew, weave, knit, and keep a home. Jane had little time for school. Through the experiences of life she gained
her education.
Jane
Roberts met Gomer Hughes, a fellow Welshman. Gomer tells of his proposal to Jane. He needed to get a log
chain welded at the blacksmith shop so he gathered up the chain and called for Jane
to take a walk with him. On the way he proposed to her. It was at Logan on Third West Street
between Second and Third North. He and Jane, traveled
by ox team to Salt Lake City,
Utah, and were married March 11,
1872 in the Endowment House. The honeymoon trip took one week. Soon after this
marriage they moved to Samaria, Idaho, located in Malad Valley.
Jane passed
away on May 27, 1925 at Logan, Utah.
She was laid to rest in the Samaria
Cemetery at the side of
her husband, Gomer who preceded her in death by two
months and two weeks. She was seventy-three years old at the time of her death.
A tribute to Mother Hughes as I knew her: She was small of
stature, with large brown eyes, lovely white hair, and a kind and gentle
nature: She was very firm in her ideas, stood for what she thought
was right. No one could turn her from the path of her
religious convictions. She had a wonderful love
in her heart for the Welsh people, and was a friend to all. Her firmness with
her children was a trait we
loved most dearly. May we love and honor our little pioneer mother always as a
family may we meet
her some future day.
Submitted by:
Rod Jones
