MARY MORGAN
Grandma, Mary Morgan, was the first of my Morgan
ancestors to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was just
a girl of thirteen years when she was baptized in 1849, Victoria Branch, Monmouthshire, England.
According to family tradition, she used to sneak out of the window to attend
Mormon services. When she was baptized, she was ordered to pack her things and
get out. Where she found refuge, I don't know, but it was during this period
that she met Grandpa, David Morgan, who was not yet converted to the Gospel.
She was born 31
March 1836 at Tredegar, Monnouthshire, England,
a daughter of John Morgan and Ann Williams who came from Breconshire, South
Wales. They had the following children: David, John, William,
Joseph, Margaret, Gwenllian, Thomas (died an infant),
twins, Mary and Sarah (Sarah died an infant), another Sarah named for the one
who died. Mary was the only one of this family to join the church. Her older
sister Margaret was bitter all her life toward the Latter-day Saints. She lived
in West Elizabeth, Pennsylvania,
the home to which Grandpa came when he first arrived in America.
Margaret had a daughter who was baptized. They moved West.
Margaret wrote to them urging them to give up their religion and promised to
set them up in business. This they refused to do. She never forgave them and
cut her daughter Jane off with only one dollar. She may have been the one who
was opposed to Grandma's joining the church. However, she did treat Grandpa
well when he lived in her home for awhile earning money to come West.
I have read the 1851 census for the town of Tredegar, Parish of Bedwellty, Mormouthshire,
England taken on March 30, 1851. I found our Mary at
home with her family; her age was given as fourteen years. (She would have been
fifteen the very next day.) Her father, John, was a widower at this time. This
gave me the clue I needed to find the death certificate of Ann (William ) Morgan. She died April 1, 1849. This is the very year that Grandma was
baptized. It may have been that the lonely little girl, seeking consolation
from the death of her mother, found peace and security in the gospel of Jesus
Christ. Whatever the reason, she remained a faithful member all her life, and I
was happy to know that she had been taken back into the family circle. Margaret
was married and in a home of her own in 1851.
I remember Grandmother as a little old lady dressed in
black with one of those dear old-fashioned bonnets tied under her chin. This
was her Sunday outfit. She wore around the house a little red and black plaid shawl
with fringe all around, folded three cornered over her shoulders. Her dresses
had long sleeves, and she wore an apron that tied around the waist. She had a
heart of gold, but was quick tempered and over it in a flash. We used to go to
their home often; she was always fussing around the kitchen. She made a large
sweet griddle cake with currants that we children enjoyed eating. I must have
been fascinated as a child with butter making, because I remember the large
pans of milk from which she skimmed the rich cream and the old-fashioned churn
that dashed up and down. Mother often helped Grandma with cooking for the men
working on the farm, with housework, washing and ironing. Mother said that
Grandma had a beautiful voice and used to love to go to church and sing hymns,
often doing solo parts. For many years, she was a block teacher in Relief
Society.
After Grandpa's death, she spent much time in Logan,
living with her daughter's family (Elvira and Andrew Nelson). She often visited
us there, too. She died at Aunt Elvira's home 22 May 1905, and was buried in Samaria
beside her husband.
I am grateful to be a descendant of this courageous
little girl who did not falter in the faith, although meeting opposition at
home. Hers was a hard life, losing so many of her children, sending her two
teenage children out on the ocean to a strange land, then for a year being
separated from Grandpa who left for Zion in order to prepare the way for her to
come later. She was a true pioneer, stood the test of every harship
[sic], and remained strong in the faith to the very end. I'm proud to be her
granddaughter. I am glad that I knew her well when I was still a child.
- Catherine M. Hess, granddaughter
