Ensign- April 1987
When Dan Jones was born in a mining area of Wales 4 Aug. 1810 in a mining area of Wales it seemed unlikely he would ever venture from there to America. But he became one of the most successful and widely known Latter Day Saint missionaries to the British Isles.
Dan was born the 6th of 8 children of Thomas and Ruth Jones, a miner, and was raised in the Methodist faith. The chronic lung disease which persisted throughout Dan’s life would suggest some time spent in the lead mines of Halkyn, North Wales.
At age 16 Dan exchanged the rolling hills of Wales for the waves of the sea and became a Mariner. On one of his trips back to Wales he courted and married 18 year old Jane Melling. Dan was 26 years old.
Dan and Jane later immigrated to the United States and by 1841 he became an American citizen.
He applied for a license to ply the “Ripple” a 38 ton steamer on the Mississippi river. He was part owner and Captain of the vessel. Six months later the “Ripple” struck a rock and sank. Dan immediately began construction of another steamer “The Maid of Iowa” and in Oct 1842 he was back in business.
About this time in a publication from Wales he began to notice negative comments about an obscure people called the Mormons. This made him start to investigate the accusations.
Purely by accident a segment of a letter written by Emma Smith started him to believing the Latter Day Saint beliefs. The impact of the letter was so great that Dan was not satisfied until he could talk to someone about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He was baptized 19 Jan. 1843.
Dan first met Joseph Smith as his boat docked at Nauvoo with more than 300 converts who had immigrated from Great Britain. He was eager to meet Joseph Smith and he started looking for him and even as a large comely man approached and shook hands with him and said “God Bless you Brother” he failed to recognize him. When Joseph Smith returned the second time Captain Jones recognized him as the person he sought. Joseph took him on a tour of Nauvoo and introduced him to his family. Dan Jones became one of his most ardent admirers and they formed a strong friendship. He was with Joseph Smith in the upper room of Carthage Jail the night before the prophet was killed. The prophet told him as they talked he would yet see Wales and fulfill a mission before Dan died.
2 months later Dan and Jane were on their way to Wales as Joseph Smith had said, Dan and Jane had no surviving children. 3 had died, seven more would be born and only 2 would reach maturity.
He was assigned to the Wrezham area of North Wales just 15 miles from Halkyn where he was born.
His first year was very frustrating with very few baptisms. In Dec 1845 he was appointed to preside over the Mission in all of Wales. After much controversy he was able to overcome a lot of problems and missionary work spiraled and during an 18 month period 1847 to 1848 the missionaries baptized 135 converts a month. There were 4,000 Latter Day Saints at this time and my Great Grandparents were among them.
In Jan 1848 Elder Jones prepared to leave Merthyr Tydfil to lead over 300 converts to America. A Baptist periodical said “Elder Jones will sail them to Cuba and sell them — every Jack one of them.” They arrived in New Orleans after a successful crossing with the death of one child from consumption and a 20 year old with Cholera. He wrote “all are healthy today and heartened and rejoicing in their privilege and desirous to move forward” but the next 3 weeks were filled with horror as 44 of the 249 passengers fell victim to the Cholera epidemic. (Dan’s printed comment to the tragedy was “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”)
The Jones settled with their fellow Welshman a few blocks from Temple Square after their return to Utah. The following winter they had moved to Manti where he was Mayor and farmed for 2 years. He was called on another mission byBrigham Young. This time he went without his family.
When he was released from his 2nd mission in April of 1856 he organized a body of nearly 600 Welsh Saints to accompany him on board the “Samuel Curling”. At this time my Great Grandmother and 2 little girls were in this group. After crossing the plains again this time in a handcart company he lived in various places in Utah for the next 5 years. He had married another woman, Elizabeth Lewis, after his first mission and after his second trip home from Wales he married Marth Matilda La Trielle from Londaon. His lung ailment worsened after his return and he went to an early grave 3 Jan 1862 at age 51. He left 6 living children, two by each wife and a host of Welsman who would be eternally grateful to him for having proclaimed to them in their own tongue the good news of the restored gospel.
Samaria first settled by John E. Price and 2 sons. Feb.10, 1868. The rest of his family joined him in April 1868 and in May 1868 four other families arrived and immediately set about building homes. My grandfather and others arrived sometime later at different intervals.