Life of Thomas John and Family

Written by Rosella J. Smith; Historian for the Thomas John Family Organization. Presented to reunion in 1965

Thomas John and his wife Margaret Thomas, lived in a little town of Mathry, in Pembrokeshire, So. Wales. They had a family of nine children. Phoebe, William, Charles, Ann, James, Levi, Henry, Letitia, and Mary Jane.

Thomas John was a very religious man. His mother, having died when he was a baby, put him in the charge of his grandmother Elizabeth Murrow Phillips. She took a great interest in him and taught him to read at a very young age. When he was six years old an old gentleman came to their home, and he asked grandmother Phillips if the boy knew his alphabet. His grandmother quickly said, “His alphabet, why he can read.” The old gentleman said, “If he can read a chapter from the Bible for me without a mistake, I will give the lad a Bible for his own.” Thomas immediately picked up the Bible and read a chapter for him and did it so well that the man gave him a new Bible, at six years of age.

They belonged to the “Independent Church.” Thomas was very active in this church. He was superintendent of the Sunday School, which had an enrollment of about 500 people. He was a shoemaker and a very good one. He had so much business that it became necessary to teach it to his sons, William and Charles so they could help him. They went from house to house and made shoes for entire families, and also the servants in each household.

Thomas John Joins the Church

Thomas John, a humble shoemaker by trade, found it harder and harder to give his family the things of this world. In his shop where he worked long hours making boots for his selected customers, he had the time to listen to the tales and reports of the people as they came into his shop. The timely conversation was of the land of America and the opportunities that awaited the immigrant. He listened while they told and retold of the prosperity of this new world, where a man who had a mind to, could obtain lands and possessions unlimited. As he listened, he made a decision that he would go to this new land of opportunity. So in 1848, he left his family and signed as a cook on a ship to pay his passage and crossed the great Atlantic Ocean. Disillusionment met him. Work was not as plentiful as he had been left to believe. Then, to make matters worse, he took sick. He had a felon on his hand. He found a little work in the iron works in Pennsylvania. Wages were low, he was discouraged, and on every side he saw the marks of a new rising world--vices and evil. He decided that America was to wicked a place to bring up a family. Thoroughly discouraged, he returned to his native land and arrived in Liverpool in the spring of 1849. When he arrived at Liverpool, he met a group of men and women all fired up with the prospect of going to America. They asked him many questions about America but he tried to discourage them and stop them from going. They said, “It makes no difference what you say, we are going to Zion. The Lord has spoken to man again, he has restored the true and ever lasting gospel in that part of the world. It is Zion, and we are going.” Thomas thought, “Surely those people are crazy, for he had seen nothing but sin and wickedness.”

He left them thus returned to his home, but the more he thought about it, the more he was impressed with what they had said. One day soon after this, he was informed by his Aunt Mary Phillips, his mother's sister, that she had joined this group of believers who were called Mormons. She invited him to a cottage meeting. He attended this meeting and when a friend asked what he thought of it, he said, “I don't know what to think.” There were some strange things transpired. He told of the prayers offered in the meeting and of singing “Come, Come, Ye Saints” and “We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet.” Many stood up and bore their testimony to the divinity of the Gospel. Then an old lady spoke in another language. She spoke a pure Greek. When she sat down an old gentleman on the opposite side of the room arose and spoke in English and gave the interpretation of what she had said. It seemed the interpretation was perfect, yet he thought neither of them knew one word of Greek. Both Thomas John and Mary Phillips knew that the gospel light had entered their minds and were sure it was the Gospel restored again in the last days. Thomas and his wife continued to investigate the principles of Mormonism until they became converted. In the month of May 1851, he was baptized and confirmed a member of the church by Elder Phillip Sykes, who was on a mission from Spanish Fork, Utah.

They were all baptized and as soon as they became members of the Church, severe persecution was upon them. By working, saving and planning, they were able to leave this persecution behind and immigrate to America. The oldest daughter, Phoebe, had married James Cusworth and had moved to London. She was lost track of but the rest of the family sailed for America on April 16, 1861.

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Yes, business was good until he joined the Mormon Church. When his friends learned that they had accepted Mormonism, they left him. They mistreated the children at school and threw mud at their door and even beat the children at school, until the children had to be kept home. Of course, that also affected the shoemaking business.

He struggled with the world to support his family, but now it seemed that the world had closed every avenue of support against him. When even his friends had turned against him, he was quite in despair, so one day while he was working on his shoes in a room by himself, he paused a moment and offered up a prayer. He said, “Father, if I have done wrong and offended thee, please forgive me and let me know and I will retrieve my ways.” Immediately he felt a light resting on his head and he felt is if warm oil was flowing down over him and all doubt left him. This heavenly feeling continued to flow down over him until it reached his waist, when he felt a joy unspeakable and he cried out, “Father, I am satisfied.” His son Henry said, “Father never doubted since that day.”

They moved from place to place and continued making shoes, and as soon as it became known that they were Mormons, they would be driven out. But they continued until they had saved enough to come to America. They left Wales in March 1861.

Their trip was indeed no pleasure trip, for they encountered many severe difficulties on their way. They were 33 days on the ocean, which was considered pretty good in those days. They sailed on the New York Manchester. This was an old vessel and it sank soon after this trip.

The Civil war was on when they landed in New York, so they found plenty of work making shoes, boots, nap sacks, belts, cartridge boxes and other military equipment. They saved enough to pay their way to Winter Quarters, Nebraska. After staying in New York about 14 months, they boarded an immigrant train for Florence, Nebraska. The engineer hated the Mormons, and consequently he was heard to say, “I'll send these Mormons to hell before night comes.” Shortly after this, a fire started in the baggage car and swept throughout the train. What a sight it must have been seeing those poor immigrants searching through that burning inferno to salvage at least part of their belongings, so precious to them.

Thomas John recognized the carpet in which their belongings were bundled, but it was almost completely burned. The only thing they saved out of the entire bundle was a few balls of thread for sewing shoes. They remained in Florence about 6 weeks, then were taken to Utah in church trains, In their group there were 60 wagons and about 700 immigrants. On their journey to Utah they were given rations of food, supplied by the Church in Salt Lake City. Thomas advised his family to save as much of their ration of flour as they could. He had heard that there was a trading post somewhere along the way, and he thought inasmuch as their clothes and bedding had all been destroyed, they could trade some flour for some buffalo robes or Indian blankets.

Their captain, Mr. Miller, was very selfish and unfair, and when he learned that they were saving the flour, he told them that they could have no more until they had used what they already had. He later took the flour from them and when they arrived at the trading post, it was Mr. Miller who drove away with the new buffalo robes rather than Thomas John. He had used their flour to trade in. But Grandfather was heard to say, “I will never grumble if I can get to the valleys, even if I don’t have a shirt to my back.” His son Henry said, “I believe Father kept his word for I never did hear him murmur, though at times he surely had cause to do so.”

They arrived in Salt Lake City October 17, 1862, and that very afternoon they took off for Wellsville, Utah. They arrived in Wellsville October 22, 1862. A Conference was being held there, and when Brigham Young saw the John family, he came over to their camp and invited them to go to church with him. Thomas made the excuse that they were too dirty and they had no clean clothes to change into, but President Young said, “We’re all dirty,” and he took his arm and walked off to church arm in arm.

The meeting was held in a small building, a school, and it was so crowded that the children had to stand outside. While they were standing there, a Brother Maughan walked up to them and took them all to his home for dinner. The dinner had been prepared for President Young, but for some reason, he did not come. The children received the benefits from it. They said they were quite embarrassed because they were dirty and Mrs. Maughan’s home was immaculately clean and she was dressed in the finest clothes that could be bought in those days. She had a beautiful white table cloth on the table. It had been months since this family had been privileged to sit around a table to eat. It was a real treat for them.

A Brother Rigby offered them a house to live in. It was 14 x 16 feet, with a dirt floor and an opening for a window, but no glass in the window. They were as happy as though it had been a mansion. They divided the room off by hanging a sheet across the center. Henry and Levi slept on one side and Letitia and Mary Jane on the other. Charles and William had hired out to drive church teams to bring immigrants across the plains, and Ann and James had also found jobs in Wellsville. They were willing to work and they found plenty of it right then, threshing, digging potatoes, grinding sugar cane, and hauling wood and doing housework.

There was a famine on flour in that area so they lived on potatoes. They fixed them every way they knew--even ate them with molasses on them. Thomas started making shoes again with what thread he had been able to save from the fire. They had been there a year before they ever saw a dollar.

All new arrivals in the valley had to be rebaptized. So, late in November 1862, Thomas and his family, along with other newcomers, made their way to the Cub River on a Sunday afternoon. It was a cold day. Frost was on the ground. A hole was made in the ice and the sacred ordinance was performed. Shivering and cold in thin wet clothes, they walked a mile back to their log house and had a pleasant surprise awaiting them. While they were away, a kind neighbor had come in a built a big fire of maple wood in the big fireplace. As they had no clothes to change into, they had to stand before the fire to let their clothes dry, but none of them caught cold from the experience. Such were the blessings of the Lord manifest repeatedly in this little family.

After 5 or 6 years in Wellsville, they with several other families, moved to Hay Town, later known as Portage, Utah. Henry John tells how excited they were as they prepared for this adventure. Henry was so eager to go with them but his father and brothers, William, Charles, James and Levi left with the other families and told Henry he would have to stay at home to help his mother with the work there. He was about 15. But in September, his father informed him that now he could come for they needed him to help haul fence posts to fence in the hay stacks and make corrals.

He came over with Cumor Green who was coming over with ox teams. In fact, everyone used ox teams at that time. They drove all day and he was anxious to see his new home that he arose very early the next morning to look upon his new home, but it was a disappointment to him--he was surrounded by sage, wheat grass, and an abundance of alkali. One little log cabin could be seen about a mile off to the south. It was the cabin of Jarvis Mansfield. He also could see the crooked river meandering southward down the lonely valley. He made up his mind if it was good enough for his father and brothers, it was good enough for him. There were two long rows of hay stacks that were put up in the old fort style. This was done on account of the hostile Indians. This little colony put their hay up somewhat after the United Order system, some mowed, some bunched, and others hauled it in. Each received amounts of hay according to his labors.

This was called East Portage--later they moved to the west side of the valley for irrigation purposes. Thomas John and his boys took up a Homestead on the north edge of Portage. It reached from the foothills on the west to the river on the east, and it was one and one-half miles long. About in the center of this they built a house. It was a log house with a fireplace in it. It had a dirt roof and a wheat bin on the west end of it. Thomas John and family live in this and raised their family there. They later built a brick house. The brick house served three generations--Thomas John and family, Henry John and later Henry’s daughter Rebecca Howell and family. Rebecca Howell’s family lived there until it burned down in the winter of 1931.

The original log house was later used for a horse stable and is still standing at this time on the property of Thomas and Asael John. Thomas’s married children settled all around him. North of him was Charles. He had two log houses for his wives. He also built a red brick granary. It still is in use. This is the place that Thomas Parley John later owned. It is now owned by Thomas Asael John. Next to this was Levi. He had a two story brick house. It still is in good condition. It is owned now by Henry Roderick, a grandson of Henry John. On the south of Thomas was the home of James, and next to him was Mary Jane, and then Ann. Farther south, on the property that is now owned by N. James John, William lived with his two wives, Sarah Ann Ashton and Mary Landon. Henry John lived on the east side of the road, just east of his father.

The boys and their father worked together. When they were ready to plant their crops, Thomas called his boys together and prayed over the land, invoking the blessings of the Lord upon it and asking his help in growing the crop. Then majestically, he lifted a handful of soil, let it sift through his fingers and uttered these words: “This is more than just dirt; it is a piece of American, a small piece of America, where we can build our future. Let us plant.” And with that he thrust his hand into the sack, slung over his shoulder, took out a handful of golden seed grain and sweeping his arm in a wide arc, began to broadcast the first wheat planted in the Malad Valley.

This land was called Johnstown in honor of Thomas John. It is still owned mostly by the John family. They worked hard to get the land in production and building homes. They bought the water down from the canyon to irrigate their farms. They also dug a canal to bring water from the Samaria Lake. They dug this canal with oxen and mules, with pick and shovel, plows and scrapers, hard work and honest sweat. In some places it was 22 feet wide and was 12 miles long.

Thomas John was a man of culture. He was interested in having schools for the children. He provided a one-room building. He also built, by hand, two benches and a long table for this room, and here was the first school in Johnstown--just for the John children. He was the first teacher.

There was quite a discussion as to where to build the school house. The Portage people wanted it in Portage and the Johnstown people, of course, wanted to have it in Johnstown. It was built in Portage, about in the middle of the public square. The school house that Thomas John built in Johnstown was later used as a granary and has later been used as a home for some of Rebecca Howell’s children.

These families became prosperous farmers. They also took leading parts in the community like and church activities. William John owned the first team of horses in Portage. People came from miles around to see them. It was quite a sight as everyone had been using oxen and mules up to now. William also was a High Councilman in the Stake. He was a good violinist and he played for the dances. Charles was a good singer and step dancer. His wives also were good singers.

Henry was Justice of the Peace, a School Trustee, on the Stake Sunday School board, and he also filled a mission to California and to Great Britain. He had a dairy farm up in middle canyon, where they made butter and cheese. They kept the shearing crews supplied and sold some cheese and butter to the store. He went back to Great Britain on a mission in 1898. He records in his diary that he met many of his old friends and relatives that he knew before he left there to come to America. He loved to write poetry, and he wrote many poems while he was in Wales on his mission and while he was home.

Thomas was a firm believer in temple work. He passed this testimony on to his family, for we find that many of them have done a lot of temple work. He married Aunt Jane in 1872. He provided for her a home just north of his home. They all thought a lot of Aunt Jane, and she of them. But living in polygamy presented a serious problem. I have heard my father tell how G. Grandfather lived in constant fear of the officers. At one time he was working in the potato field when he saw some strange horses coming down the road. It seemed they had fancy bridles, etc., so who else cold it be but the officers. He immediately dropped down in the ditch and , though it was a hot day, he stayed there until he felt reasonablely sure he would be sage to go home. He knew that the officers meant business and they couldn’t take any chances.

Charles had a sad experience in his polygamous life. He was arrested, and life became very sorrowful for his three families, for the law was continually searching for him. It was finally agreed by the three wives that they would abide by the law of the land (still knowing in their hearts that God’s law had been the best).

Agnes was very ill from a fall she had taken years before and she had to walk on crutches. Elizabeth and Edith thought it best for Charles to take Agnes with him so he could care for her. Elizabeth was expecting her eleventh child, so Charles waited until the baby was born. It only lived a few hours. Then he gave to Edith and Elizabeth papers stating that he would never live with them again. No doubt his heart was heavy as he had to leave his land and his family never to see them again. Many tears were shed as he bid them goodbye and drove away.

He owned quite a lot of sheep and cattle so he left some for his wives and took the rest with him. He took with him two covered wagons. With this he and Agnes and their 8 children started out in search of a new home. Two more children were born on the journey. His first new home was on the Portneuf River. This did not seen to be what he wanted so he moved on from place to place, finally settling in a little Mormon settlement in Mancos, Colorado. Most of the people there were, like Charles, getting away from the law for living in polygamy.

Their youngest child, Walter, became ill and had to be taken to Salt Lake City for an operation. Agnes and one of the older boys drove the long road but they boy died. After the funeral, Agnes visited with her sister, Elizabeth, who was now in Lava Hot Springs. One day while they were going into town in a buggy, the horses became frightened and ran away, tipping the buggy over, and Agnes was badly hurt and lived only a few hours. The next year Charles started to Utah to visit his family and became sick and had to return back to Colorado. He died soon after of cancer of the stomach and was buried in Mancos, Colorado, August 12, 1909.

William was also a polygamist. He took one family, Mary Landon, and went down into Arizona. The other family, Sarah Ann Ashton, lived out near the Utah-Idaho line. Scott Hall later bought this home and now it is owned by Woodrow Clark. William died in Arizona. His family settled in Arizona and some of them in the Malad Valley.

James married three wives--Hannah Abott, Mary James, and Emily Mitton. He moved to Logan, Utah. He did a lot of temple work there and his doors have been ever open to his nieces and nephews who have gone to Logan to school. His family is scattered through Pocatello, Malad, Portage and Logan.

Ann married Edward Smith. They lived in Portage for a few years and later moved to Logan. Edward was a school teacher. He was the first teacher in Portage.

Mary Jane married Joseph Hawkley. They later moved to Pocatello.

Levi married Mary Ann Hall and Ellen Greene. They lived as neighbors to us most of his life, in Johnstown. They had a big lazy susan built in their table so they could serve themselves when they ate. I well remember this and how fascinating it was to me. He was a tall thin man. They moved to Logan in his later years, where he died.

Letitia married William H. Gibbs and lived in the south end of Johnstown. Her family settled in or around Portage.

Henry married Margaret Rees. They settled in Portage.

Great Grandmother was called an angel of mercy. She was always ready to leave her work and run to help with sickness. With the blessings of healing in her hands she lovingly toiled among the people sharing her joys, her tears, and her song. No one knows how many babies she delivered, but it was many.

She taught her daughters well. They could all do the household tasks pertinent to girls at that time. They learned to take raw wool, clean it, dye it, spin it into yarn, and then knit it into clothing. They knit their socks and underwear and also made their dresses and suits for the men of the family.

It was a sad day for all when Thomas John died January 25, 1890. He died and was buried in the land that he loved so well in Portage.

When Thomas married his second wife, Jane Greene, the two women lived side by side and worked together for the common good of the whole family. After G. Grandfather died, his family was good to their mother and to Aunt Jane Greene. In reading Henry John’s diary some common statements are: “Chopped wood for mother and Aunt Jane.....Aunt Jane sick, so we administered to her today...killed a pig for Aunt Jane....Ann was over from Logan today to see Mother...Mother went to Logan with Ann.”

G. Grandfather’s life was always full of hope for the future. His hopes were always bright. He had kind words for all. It was his philosophy that the mansions in his father’s house were built to suit us all.

Written by Rosella J. Smith.