In August of the year 1807 in the land of Wales, a boy was born to Davie and Dinah Daniels. A few records put the date as the 3rd of August, but the majority of records indicate the birth date to be the 9th. The boy was named Daniel Daniels. He was born the fifth of seven children, four boys and three girls. Daniel was born in Llanpumsaint, a small town in southern Wales. The town lies in the county of Carmarthenshire, the largest county in Wales.
Life in Wales for the average person during the early 1800’s required hard work. The Welsh generally made their living through agriculture, fishing or mining. The country of Wales had long been fought over, conquered and re-conquered. The land was desirable because of its natural resources that could be mined and its harbors.
Growing up in Llanpumsaint, it can be assumed that Daniel developed a good work ethic as he would have been required to help out with the many chores necessary to manage a home during that time. Receiving an education proved to be difficult for many of the people of Wales. Under the control of England, the Welsh language was not supported. Most of the schools in the area were run by the English and therefore were taught in English. Because many of the people of Wales spoke no English at that time, the English-run schools were not well attended.
The people of Wales accepted Christianity as early as the 5th and 6th centuries. As Daniel was growing up, there were many reformation and revivalist movements taking place. Though we have no evidence, it is likely that Daniel was raised in a Christian home.
With the passage of time, Daniel grew up and learned a trade. He became a mason, a craftsman that worked with stone or brick. Probably between the age of 18 and 20, Daniel was married. He chose Mary Davis (Jeremy) to be his spouse. She was more than ten years his senior, born the 7th of February in 1796. Her birthplace, Llanegwad, lies about 15 miles from Llanpumsaint. Unable to find a date of the marriage, the assumption is that they were married in the mid to late 1820’s. The basis for this assumption lies on the date of birth of their first child, Ann. Ann was born to Daniel and Mary on the 22nd of October 1828. After less than three months on this earth, on the 14th of January 1829, Ann died. Two years later, on the 18th of January the couple was blessed with another child, a boy whom they named Thomas.
Another two years passed and Daniel and his wife received a baby girl into their home. Dinah was born June 17th, 1833. Unfortunately, she lived only seven months before passing away on the 28th of January of the following year. A fourth child, whom they named David, was welcomed into their home on the 18th of April 1835. It was three years later that Mary gave birth to their fifth child, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was born on the 8th of May in 1838. For almost seven years after this birth, Daniel and Mary were blessed to enjoy and raise Thomas, David and Elizabeth. However, on February 14th, 1845, Elizabeth died. Though grateful to have their two sons, they must have felt great sorrow at losing all three of their daughters.
The year 1847 proved to be one in which a significant event took place which changed the life of Daniel and his family forever. The first missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints arrived in Wales in 1840. These missionaries began their work in that part of Wales that lay closest to England. They were met with great success and during the ensuing years, missionaries spread throughout more of Wales. On the 7th of October 1847, Daniel Daniels, having heard and accepted the gospel of Christ, was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His wife’s brother, Thomas Jeremy, having been baptized previously, performed the ordinance. It was four months later, on February 5th, 1848 that Daniel’s wife, Mary, was baptized a member of the church.
After joining themselves to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Daniel and his family desired to join the saints and their gathering in the western United States. After making the necessary preparations, Daniel led his family from their home in the county of Carmarthenshire to Liverpool, a journey of 150 miles. His brother-in-law, Thomas Jeremy, and his family were also making the trip. There were 249 Saints that congregated in Liverpool in February of 1849 with the intention of sailing for America. On Sunday the 25th, they boarded the ship Buena Vista, under the command of Captain Dan Jones. Upon boarding the ship, they established themselves as an emigrating branch of the Church and divided the ship into eight companies in order to better manage affairs while traveling across the Atlantic. They did not set sail on Sunday, but held their first sacrament meeting on the ship.
The Buena Vista retreated from the port the following afternoon, Monday the 26th of February. That night and the following day nearly all ship passengers became seasick. Daniel and Captain Jones remained unaffected and therefore Daniel pitched in with preparing food (a gruel of oat flour) and tending to the sick.
The food distributed to each person consisted of much more than this gruel, but it was what most helped those suffering from the effect of the ocean. Daniel and his family (as well as all the passengers on the Buena Vista) were able to enjoy bread, sugar, cheese, butter, raisins, rice, coffee, molasses and tea during their voyage.
After nearly a week on the ship, most everyone had returned to full health and the group enjoyed a rather uneventful passage. The saints aboard the Buena Vista enjoyed pleasant weather for the majority of their trip. Each Sunday on the ship, the floating branch gathered for prayer, song and spiritual instruction. There were also occasional Thursday meetings. The meetings provided a welcome change from the monotony of daily life aboard the ship. It is recorded that during a couple of the meetings the saints were blessed to enjoy the gifts of the Spirit. At a Sunday meeting, on the 8th of April, Daniel Daniels was ordained an elder.
It was during the following week that the ocean voyage reached its conclusion. The saints had been sailing for nearly two months and were joyous to be greeted by a steamboat on the 16th of April. They were pulled to the mouth of the Mississippi and arrived at New Orleans on Tuesday, the 17th of April 1849. From there, they continued upriver on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. This leg of the journey took another month to complete, and the saints suffered extremely from cholera. It was the 17th of May when they arrived at Council Bluffs (Kanesville), Iowa.
(picture of two maps: Map of the United Kingdom, and Map of Wales (County Names)).
For the next month or so, Daniel and the saints busied themselves with preparations for the trek west. Daniel secured 3 wagons, 12 oxens, 6 cows, 2 pigs, 1 dog, 3 guns and 1 pistol for the journey to the Salt Lake Valley. Part of the preparation for the journey included organizing the body of the saints into companies for travel. Daniel and his family were assigned to travel in the company under the direction of George A. Smith. Dan Jones was assigned marshal in the company and Daniel and his brother-in-law, Thomas, were assigned captains of tens.
With preparations complete, the saints set off. During their travels, the George A. Smith Company traveled closely with Ezra T. Benson’s company. The two groups, with their teams of oxen, slowly wound their way westward. William Appleby met up with the Welsh Saints on the 15th of July at the crossing of the Elkhorn River. For the remainder of the trip, he traveled with them and from his written account, we have an idea of what Daniel and his family would have experienced as they completed the arduous journey.
One of the problems the George A. Smith Company experienced early on was stampedes. These generally happened in the middle of the night. William Appleby writes, “There are but few that can comprehend the terrors of a stampede. Picture to yourselves, three or four hundred head of frightened oxen, steers, cows, &c., running, bellowing, roaring, foaming, mad and furious – the ground shaking beneath their feet like an earthquake, chains rattling, yokes cracking, horns flying, and the cry of the guard, ‘every man in camp turn out.’” Daniel would have undoubtedly mounted his horse and joined the men in camp in pursuing the herd for an hour or two before being able to round them up and return to camp. After two or three occurrences, the company began to tie up their cattle, thus eliminating this terror.
The Entire journey from Council Bluffs to Salt Lake City would consist of 1032 miles. On an average day of travel, Daniel and his family would cover between 10 and 12 miles. The distance traveled was, however, greatly affected by nature. There were days of rain when the mud would pose such a problem that only 3-5 miles could be covered before the company would have to stop and rest the cattle and themselves.
On Sundays, the group would often rest from traveling. The camp would lay over, participating in spiritual meetings and performing necessary tasks of cooking, cleaning, washing and repairs. On weekdays, after a routine day of travel, Daniel, Mary and their boys would be involved in the normal evening activities of camp: watering cattle, gathering wood, carrying water, preparing meals, praying and singing.
Pioneers were often concerned with Indian encounters. Daniel’s group was surprised to travel for over a month before they ever saw an Indian. On August 7th, they saw two lurking in the grass near where they had their horses corralled, but nothing came of it. Later, on August 26th, they camped opposite a large company of Sioux Indians. Several of the Sioux came over to the company of saints in a peaceful gesture. The pioneers traded beans, meal, bread and biscuits in exchange for buffalo robes and moccasins. About a week later met up with hundreds more at Renshaw Trading Post and made more trades.
During the westward trek, Daniel and his family were occasionally blessed with a welcome addition to their diet. Daniel and his sons, Thomas (18) and David (14), would have had opportunities to use their guns to provide such meat as prairie dog, rabbit, sage hen, duck, antelope, deer and buffalo. They would have also had the opportunity upon occasion to try their hand at providing fish for a meal.
As they traveled along, Daniel, Mary, Thomas and David were generally blessed, as well as the rest of the company, with good health. For the first three months of travel, they also generally enjoyed decent weather. Of course, they faced the occasional rainstorm and some blistering hot days, but overall, they enjoyed favorable conditions.
Near the end of September, the George A. Smith Company passed Independence Rock (in Wyoming). As the group climbed in elevation even though it was still a bit early in the season, the weather turned quite cold. On October 2nd William Appleby records, “Just before night it commenced snowing and blowing severely and continued for about thirty hours, freezing everything it touched, until the snow in some places was about three feet deep. About 23 head of cattle died in our camp. …Chicken, pigs, etc. froze to death…. The women and children had to lie in bed in their wagons to keep from perishing during the whole time nearly with only a piece of bread or a few crackers perhaps to sustain nature.”
(Picture of a map with the following states; Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, Kansas. Heading says: Trail Map: Council Bluffs to Salt Lake City).
That month proved to be a rather cold conclusion to the westward trek. After four months of walking across the country, on Saturday, October 27th of 1849, Daniel Daniels, his family, and the Welsh company of saints arrived at the mouth of Emigration Canyon. From there, they were able to have their first glimpse of Salt Lake City, three miles below. Some of the group, eager to meet up with family, finished the journey that very evening. Others laid over on Sunday and descended into the city on Monday or even Tuesday. Eight months after leaving his homeland of Wales, Daniel Daniels joyously brought his family into Salt Lake City. It can be assumed he was grateful that his wife, Mary and his two sons, Thomas and David, had survived the journey and he was anxious to establish a new home with the saints.
Land records indicate that Daniel established his family in Salt Lake City (Plat A Block 43 Line 4 Lot 2). In Orson F. Whitney’s History of Utah, we have a record of the following incident. Lorenzo Dow Young, the youngest brother of the Prophet Brigham Young, stocked a ranch opposite Willow Creek, on the west bank of the Jordan. In the evening of the 1st of March, 1851, Mr. Young was riding and crossed White Bridge, which was located near present-day North Temple Street. A secret guard boisterously tried to stop him, but he mistook them for drunken campers and continued on his way. The guard fired at him and he took a hit to a main artery in his left arm and began bleeding profusely. He rode on, and in a half mile arrived at Daniel’s home. Daniel ran for Thomas Jeremy and the two laid hands on him. The bleeding stopped immediately and Mr. Young’s life was spared. This incident not only provides us with an idea of the location of Daniels’s residence, but also allows us to see the worthiness and faith of Daniel as he exercised the priesthood.
As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Daniel became aware of the blessing of eternal families. He, along with many of the saints, had a desire to receive his endowment and to have his marriage sealed for eternity. Though a temple site had been designated by the prophet Brigham Young in 1847, it would be another 40 years before its completion. From 1851 to 1855, the upper floor of the Council House (Salt Lake City’s first public building) served as an endowment house. On the 11th of August 1851, Daniel was able to receive his endowment and have his marriage sealed by Heber C. Kimball, the first counselor in the First Presidency of the church.
On the 20th of May, 1852, Daniel and Mary were blessed to see their son, Thomas, marry. He took to wife Mary Davis, who had been born in South Wales.
A year after his sealing, and less than three years after his arrival in Salt Lake, Daniel was asked to make a great sacrifice for the church. On the 28th of August 1852, a special conference was held in the tabernacle. The subject matter concerned missionary work. President Kimball spoke first, followed by Elder George A. Smith. At the conclusion of their remarks, the clerk read the names of 93 individuals who were to be called to serve foreign missions. Daniel Daniels was called to serve in Wales, as were Dan Jones and Thomas Jeremy.
Without knowing how long he would be away from his wife and children, Daniel accepted the call and prepared for his departure to Wales. Four months after the call was issued, Daniel Daniels and Dan Jones arrived in Wales to preach the gospel to their fellowmen. It was December of 1852.
For four years Daniel worked tirelessly, preaching the gospel to all who would hear. He bore solemn testimony, sharing his own conversion story and testifying of the truthfulness, peace and joy of the gospel. He worked under the direction of Dan Jones, who had been appointed President of the Welsh Mission.
Sometime during the year of 1856, Dan Jones left Wales to return to the United States and Daniel was called to take his place as President of the Welsh Mission. Daniel also became editor of the “Udgorn Seion” (Zion’s Trumpet), which was a periodical for the Welsh Saints. The following is an excerpt from a letter he wrote to President Pratt on the 23rd of November, 1856.
“Dear Brother-I avail myself of this opportunity to give you an idea of the situation of the Saints in Wales, and of what we are doing here towards rolling on the great latter-day work.
“I arrived on my present mission in December, 1852, in company with brother Dan Jones, who presided over the Welsh Mission until the last emigration season, when he left, having had the pleasure of seeing the work take a fresh start in Wales, after much labour and exertion both by himself and the Saints. I succeeded him in the Presidency, with the advantage of having the Church in Wales in a good, healthy, and promising condition-no jarring, rebellion, disunion, nor wickedness among its members; with the good seed of virtue and diligence sown and springing up, bearing encouraging prospects.
“It has since been my pleasing duty to water the plants of God’s vineyard; and I can truly say that He has blessed my labours, with those of brothers Evans and Ashby, my Counsellors, who have ever been faithful, true, and diligent, and also the labours of the Priesthood and Saints in general….
“Much good teaching has been given to the Saints in order to make them more fully acquainted with themselves and with the work which they have to do. The tithing has been gladly received and immediately adopted by many, whose good example was followed by others. It has, like the morning sun, risen rapidly, with increasing strength and glory, until it has almost reached its zenith. With its increase came an increase of the congenial heat and light of the Holy Spirit, in rich abundance. Fasting and more praying has become a favourite practice, and the result is, we are more sensitive of, and alive to our great and responsible duties in order to obtain our own and other’s salvation. New and increased exertions have been made to circulate tracts, preach the Gospel, and warn the people. The Lord has smiled upon us, and blessed our labours; frequently the spell has been broken, and baptizing commenced anew.
“…Oh! If all the Latter-day Saints were as united and diligent as they could be, what a work we would accomplish in the hand of the Lord….
“We are united and busy in the Office, translating, printing, and publishing your new Series of Tracts in the Welsh languages and brining out the Udgorn….
“Yours obediently in the Lord,
Daniel Daniels”
Daniel continued to serve faithfully in his homeland until he was released as the mission president in February of 1858. After completing an honorable mission, Daniel once again made the long trek from Wales to the Salt Lake valley. He must have been anxious to be reunited with his wife and children. He surely was anxiously awaiting the opportunity to meet his grandchildren-three had been born since his departure for Wales.
He again sailed from Liverpool, but this time landed in New York after sailing only 28 days. From New York, he traveled by train to Chicago and then on to Iowa and Nebraska by steamboat. Many Elders were returning from missions at this time, so the brethren were instructed to gather together in order to travel as one company across the plains. By the beginning of May, the group had sufficiently gathered and prepared so that the camp was organized and began to head west.
This being a much smaller company and composed almost entirely (if not wholly) of men, the group covered much more ground daily than had happened on Daniel’s first trip west. For about two months, the company of returned missionaries pushed their way westward, arriving in Salt Lake City on June 21st, 1858. Upon arriving, they found the city deserted and had to continue southward for two days before being reunited with family.
The reason for the abandoned city was that in March, Brigham Young had instructed the saints to pack up and move south in anticipation of the arrival of the US Army. President James Buchanan, who had received word of an uprising, had ordered troops westward to enforce installation of a new governor for the territory, and President Young had been made aware of the approaching soldiers. The saints abandoned Salt Lake City, leaving it ready to be burned if the need arose. Fortunately, there was a peaceful outcome to the Utah War and President Young led the saints back to their homes in Salt Lake City.
After nearly six years of being away from his wife and children, Daniel must have been overjoyed to be reunited with them. He would have been happy to become acquainted with his grandchildren and watch his family grow. In 1849, he was blessed with another grandchild, Thomas and Mary’s fourth child. In all, Thomas would father seven children with Mary and eight more with his second wife, Jennette Thomas. Another addition was welcomed into the family when Daniel’s son, David, married Hannah Thomas on the 18th of June of 1859.
Daniel was a humble servant of the Lord, striving always to follow the counsel of his leaders. Polygamy was practiced at this time among the saints and in 1861 and 1862, Daniel married three more women. On the 22nd of June of 1861 Daniel was married to his second and third wives, Mary Thomas and Ann James. Over a year later, on the 23rd of August of 1862, he was sealed to his fourth wife, Leticia Jones (Williams).
While his family was growing, he also suffered a great loss. Daniel and Mary lost their son David on the 2nd of July 1862. He was only 27 at the time of his death. Of the five children born to them, only Thomas remained. Daniel and Mary must have grieved immensely to lose another child.
As saints continued to gather in Salt Lake City, there were also other settlements being established. President Brigham Young called many saints to move with their families and found new towns and cities in other parts of Utah and surrounding states. Malad, Idaho was founded in April 1864 by John J. Williams and other Latter-day Saints. Daniel was one of the men to move with his family to this new town just north of the Utah-Idaho border. There was much work to do in establishing a new city, and Daniel assisted in building the first bridges and wagon roads in the valley.
(black and white headshot photo of Daniel Daniels)
In 1865 the Malad Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized and Daniel Daniels was appointed president. Over the years, the population of Malad grew, so the branch eventually became a ward and Daniel became the bishop. He served in this position until being released in 1877 after 12 years of leading the flock of saints.
In 1868 the Desert Evening News included a letter written by Daniel Daniels from Malad Valley. He writes, “Our Fall grain looks beautiful, and also our Spring grain. We have every prospect of an abundant harvest this Summer; no grasshoppers are to be seen here; and the creek channels are well supplied with water, indicating the hand of God. If you should get short of breadstuffs, in consequence of the grasshoppers, you now know where to come.”
The following year, another letter from Daniel was published which read, “Bro. Musser paid us a visit a few weeks past; preached twice, in his remarks introduced co-operation; kindled the fire; we got steam up, and today the institution is in full blast. One of the directors will be in Salt Lake City this week making the necessary purchases. All is peace and prosperity with us. No rows or drunks. The Hon. R.G.Evans, Justice of Peace, has to resort to the plow and harrow for an honest living; his court will not do it. Sunday meetings are crowded as usual; Sunday school, under the direction of Bro. Harrison is in a prospering condition. Our sixty is enlarging rapidly…”
As is alluded to in the above letter, the Malad Branch Co-operative Store was established in 1869. Daniel was elected president of the Co-op, which was a jointly owned commercial enterprise designed to benefit Malad residents at large. He served as president of the Co-op from 1869-1879.
On the 7th of July, 1873, Daniel obtained citizenship of the United States. He was a month away from turning 66.
Mary and Daniel had been companions for over 40 years, struggling and rejoicing together as they followed God in faith. On the 26th of September, 1874, Daniel had to say goodbye to his beloved wife. Her obituary in the Deseret News (dated the 14th of October, 1874) reports that she died of inflammation of the bowels. It also states that Mary, “was the mother of five children, and lived and died a firm and true Latter-day Saint. Her remains were followed to the grave by a great number of esteemed citizens of different creeds, the funeral being the largest ever seen in Malad Valley.”
Daniel would live and serve another five years before following Mary to the other side. His obituary appeared in the Deseret News on the 4th of September, 1879. “Brother Daniel Daniels, First Counselor to Bishop Dunford, and former Bishop of Malad Valley, died on Monday last, Sept. 1st, of inflammation of the lungs. He was in the 72nd year of his age. He died calm and content, and had his reasoning faculties and spoke quite sensibly to the last hour of his life. After informing R.G. Evans of a few items of tithing account, etc., that he wished him to attend to, his last words were, ‘Now I wish to depart.’ He laid down, and went calmly in [to] sleep in death. The funeral took place on Tuesday, September 2nd. …In the arrangement of the procession from the house to the cemetery, a distance of two miles, it was solemn, impressive, and of the most profound respect. About seventy wagons and carriages composed the procession. His intentions and labor for and in the Church were…numerous… He died a member of the Church of Jesus Christ and in full fellowship; his friends are numerous.”
From the moment Daniel Daniels embraced the gospel until the time of his death, he served the Lord faithfully. His commitment to God and His Church allowed him to bless the lives of many people. Because of his life and testimony, his posterity is blessed to know the gospel. His many descendents are indebted to this great man because of his faith and sacrifice and should strive to carry on the legacy he left.
(Picture of Daniels tombstone in the cemetery.)