Rees Price WIlliams & Gweny Lloyd — Don’t Give Up — Follow Your Dreams!
Compiled by Wendy Kay Smith
Rees Price Williams and Gweny Lloyd Williams and their family had moved from Merthyr Tydfil Wales to Stockton-on-Tees, Durham England. Rees was offered a good job as an overseer in the large iron works there. In 1882 Rees and Gweny decided to follow their dream of going to America to be with the Saints in Utah. Rees left Gweny and kids to go to America and to get work and earn money to bring the family to Utah on April 12, 1882 he left Liverpool abroad the SS Nevada with 343 Saints. (1)
He arrived in Utah on May 1st and got work in the smelters where they were smelting silver coming out of a mine in southern Utah. The only shift he could get were night shifts for $1.25 an hour. (1) After working for four months, he become so ill that he spent the next 2 months in St Mark’s hospital recuperating from being “leaded” (lead poisoning). (2) Once he was well enough to leave the hospital, he borrowed some money and he left Utah and travelled back to England in Oct 1882. His daughter Mary Williams Stephens said of her father “Discouragement would have downed a man of less character.” (1) Rees did not let this setback discourage him and keep him from his dream. He spent the next five years recuperating and earning money to bring the family to Utah.
The Williams family would experience more struggles and trials before Rees’s dream was realized. During those five years, they lost four of their children. Two older boys, Mordecai died in 1883 at the age of seventeen and Thomas died in 1884 at the age of sixteen both in mining accidents which represented a significant portion of the family income and two other young children Ellen in 1885 at age two and another son named Mordecai in 1887 at age two.
In May 1888, Rees and his son James, my great-grandfather who was eighteen years old at the time left Liverpool on the “SS City of Rome” bound for New York. They arrived in New York on May 11, 1888. (4) They headed to Scranton Pennsylvania to work in the Steel Mills to earn money to bring the rest of the family. They worked there for several months and then made their way to Utah and settled in Ogden. With the money Rees and James had earned in the Steel Mills and the money that Gweny received by selling their household goods in England as well as the kind heart of Sister Richards who loaned Rees the remaining money to make it possible. (2)
Gweny and the kids (John, Mary, Gweny, Hyrum, Ann) were able to come with a group of Saints on the Steamship Wisconsin. They left Liverpool on Oct 20, 1888 and arrived in New York on Oct 30, 1888 and took the train to Ogden, Utah arriving there on Nov 7, 1888. (6)
I can only imagine the joy that the family felt when they embraced each other at the Railroad Depot in Ogden that day. For Rees and Gweny, it had been a long hard road to see their dream fulfilled. They did not get discouraged but kept pushing and working towards their goal and were finally able to see it come true. Can you imagine how Gweny would have felt to have her family together again and to be able to embrace her husband and feel his love as they mourned the loss of their young son who died just before they left England.
The lesson that we learn from Rees & Gweny is to never give up on our dreams. All dreams do not immediately come true sometimes there are struggles and sacrifices that must be made along the way. Instead of letting discouragement take hold it is important to focus on the positive and keep making progress on the path to success. We need to remember to have faith and trust in the Lord’s timing.
Sources:
1. List of Passengers, Deseret Evening News, 1882-05-02, Page 1, column 2; digital images, Utah Digital Newspapers. (https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/details?id=23174691): accessed 14 Jan 2024. Sailing from Liverpool, per S.S. Nevada, Wednesday, April 12th, 1882 in charge of John Donaldson
2. Richards, Annette, “Rees Price Williams” page 7-8, https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/127910617: accessed 14 Jan 2024
3. Saint Mark’s Hospital patient registers, 1872-1890, ACCN 1789, Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
4. “New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1891” , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVSL-9L3G : Accessed 14 Jan 2024
5. The Immigrants: “Names of Saints Enroute to Utah”, Deseret Evening News, 1888-11-02, Page 3, column 3; digital images, Utah Digital Newspapers. (https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6p30z8x/23183641): accessed 14 Jan 2024. List of immigrants sailing from Liverpool October 20, per Steamship Wisconsin, John Quigley President of the company
Figure 1: Photo of Rees Price Williams in possession of Wendy Kay Smith
Figure 2: Photo of Gwennllian Lloyd Williams in possession of Wendy Kay Smith
Figure 3: Photo of Steamship Nevada, https://saintsbysea.lib.byu.edu/mii/voyage/296: accessed 14 Jan 2023
Figure 4: Photo of Murray Smelters, https://utahhistoricalmarkers.org/c/slc/murray-smelting/: accessed 14 Jan 2024
Figure 5: Photo of James Williams in possession of Wendy Kay Smith
Figure 6: Photo of Ogden Railroad Depot, Utah State Historical Society, https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6057vr3: accessed 14 Jan 2023