Our Davis heritage begins in Wales, a principality on the westside of England. This lush, hilly country was anciently inhabited by slight, short, dark people, possibly of Iberian origin. (Iberia was the area of Spain and southern France where the present day Basques had their beginnings.) About the beginning of the fifth century B.C., these people were conquered by the taller, fair haired, blue or gray eyed Celts, creating a mixture of genetic and personality types to form a distinctive people. The Celts were a war-like people originating in southeastern Germany who invaded and settled northern Switzerland, France, and eventually moved north into Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales. The Welsh language, still spoken today by 20% of the Welsh population, is a dialect of the ancient Celtic language.
By 100 A.D., the Romans had occupied Wales and exploited its vast mineral deposits of coal and tin. But the war-like Welsh often attacked and kept the Roman legions busy fortifying their holdings. After the Romans left Britain about 400 A.D., Wales was divided into tribal kingdoms and many of the tribes began moving out of the hills and into the flatter English Midlands. Here they had conflicts with the Anglo-Saxons and were pushed back into the hills, while the Angleo-Saxons built up castles, fortifications, and in the eighth century, the ruler Offa built a dike to separate his people from their Welsh neighbors. These fortifications helped to separate the Celts in Wales from those in Cornwall and northern England.
Celtic missionaries began spreading Christianity throughout the Welsh hilly tribal communities, so that by the time of the Council of Whitby in 664 A. D., the church in Wales and other parts of Great Britain was enough in line with the Roman Church that a more direct line of communication could be established. The Welsh people have taken a strong religious interest ever since.
The Normans invaded Glamorganshire in southern Wales in 1072 and began occupying it in 1093. Because of the Welsh assistance to the Anglo-Saxons against the Norman kings, a consistent effort for English control over the Welsh tribes and lands resulted in Edward I’s overthrow of Llewelyn, Prince of Wales in 1282. To keep the country in subjection, Edward built a number of castles and named Edward (later Edward II) his son and heir to the throne, the Prince of Wales in 1301. The British monarchy has retained this title for the male heir to the throne ever since.
Wales enjoyed peace for a time, but was a pawn in the power struggle during the Wars of the Roses. The country gained a more lasting peace when Henry VII, himself partly Welsh, came to the throne as the first tudor king.
Religion continued to be a prominent part of life in Wales, and though the country moved smoothly through the Protestant reformation of Henry VIII and the Puritan Revelation. Methodism was becoming prevalent by the beginning of the 1700’s.
While the religious fervor was stirring the spiritual awakenings of our Welsh ancestors, the Industrial Revolution was changing their lives as well. Though predominantly a country of pastoral grazing lands, its rich deposits of coal, iron, and tinplate soon changed the quiet region of southern Wales and Glamorganshire into a heavy industrial region. Pit mining for coal changed the green hills and valleys into dirty industrial towns with cramped row houses within one generation. Farm families moved from ancestral lands to work in the mines, and the shipbuilding industry along the coast increased to supply the growing needs of England’s Empire and her Imperial Navy that dominated the seven seas in the 1700’s and through Queen Victoria’s reign in the 1800’s.
All of these events combined in various ways to affect our Davis ancestors. It is speculated that the Jeremy line is descended from the Norman conquerors. The Jeremy’s were already a prominent merchant family, but they became wealthy as well when they purchased stock in shipping and manufacturing companies. One ancestor wanted to become a sailor but became a master shipbuilder instead, and most of the others were engaged in farming, mining, or a combination of both.
Most of the available records of births and marriages for our family are in Independent Methodist churches, showing their early involvement in religious awakenings. The first L.D.S. mission to Wales was opened in approximately 1845, and some of the Davis family were members by 1848, and others by the early 1850’s.
A characteristic of the Welsh people evidenced as early as the 6th century is their love of culture in poetry, laughter, wit, instrumental music,singing, dancing, and storytelling. The travelling minstrel would provide entertainment for the villagers whose homes were nestled in remote valleys, as well as becoming a source of communication and information. Festivals, called eisteddfods, were held regularly on a local level, and by the time Queen Elizabeth I was the reigning monarch, she decreed that only the winners of the eisteddfods would be allowed to make a living as minstrels and musicians–the others would have to go home. Our Welsh family had talents in music and verse as well, and these interests continue to be part of our family’s heritage today.
Now that some of the history and character traits of the Welsh people have been outlined, let’s take a closer look at our own Welsh ancestors. Though the records of some of the family lines extend back to approximately 1650, I have chosen to focus on our ancestors who joined the L.D.S. Church and then emigrated to America.
David William Davis was the fifth in a family of eight children born to William and Mary Samuel Davies. He was born March 18, 1828 in Hirwain, Glamorganshire, Wales. When he emigrated to America, he changed his name from Davies to Davis. David’s father, William, was born near Neath, Glamorganshire, probably on his family’s farm, and then moved to work in the coal mines. William was very strong and would lift a 180 lb. man with one hand and could lift a wagonbox alone. He was a champion pugilist. It is suspected that his death was caused in part by a blow to the head he received during one of the bare knuckle boxing matches he was engaged in during lunch breaks at the coal mines.
The Welsh pit mines provided work for many. David began working in the mines with his father and brothers when he was twelve years old. Some children began working as early as eight years of age–depending on their family’s need for income. David worked in the mines until he was twenty five years old.
When the gospel came to Wales, the Davis family accepted it quickly. Although his father William never joined, his wife Mary did. David was baptized in June of 1844. William died in December of 1848, and the family began saving money and making plans to come to America.
David had many spiritual experiences throughout his life. One happened while he and his brother were working the night shift in the mines. Two men came to relieve them. David said his brother wanted to keep working, but “the Holy Spirit prompted me to leave, as we both changed shifts. That night the mine exploded and sixty five men were burned to death.” Explosions were common in the mines. It is no wonder David often remarked after coming to America, “It is good to be on top of the ground.”
A coal miner’s station in life is humble, but David chose to fall in love with Charlotte Nott Jeremy, a beautiful girl with dark hair and eyes who was accustomed to wealth. Charlotte, born December 10, 1828 in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales, was the fifth child of ten born to Evan and Eleanor Davis Jeremy. The Jeremy’s were reportedly descended from the Norman invaders. Charlotte’s father and a relative from her mother’s side, General William Nott, owned a number of warehouses and were under contract with the British government to outfit ships. They became very wealthy.
Though Charlotte was accustomed to wealth, she chose David, the coal miner, above all her other suitors. It is said on one occasion David came to take her to church and another young man was already there. David was not sure which of them would get to walk her to church. They both walked out the door with her, but Charlotte took David’s arm and the decision was made.
Charlotte and David were married July 18, 1853 at Mickaelstone Super Avon Parish Church in Glamorganshire, Wales. The next year their first child, David Peter, was born on May 29, 1854 at Aberaman, Glamorganshire, Wales.
David’s mother, Mary, and the rest of his family were planning on coming to America to join the saints in Utah. Charlotte and David saved their money to go as well. They all left Wales April 17, 1855 on the ship Chimborazo. The ship set sail from Liverpool, England and crossed the Atlantic in thirty one days, finally docking in Philadelphia. Mary and the rest of David’s brothers and sister continued west and settled in Prove, Utah in the fall of 1855.
David and Charlotte settled in Pottsville, Pennsylvania in May of 1855 so David could work in the coal mines and earn money to bring his little family West. On August 30, 1856, David and Charlotte were blessed with the birth of their second child, their daughter Mary Ann. While in Pennsylvania, an army recruitment was going on to increase the number of soldiers. Each man was to draw a slip of paper from a box, those with numbered slips were expected to enlist. When David drew a blank paper, the officers were quite disturbed to see such a healthy man escape enlistment. David was very relieved not to have to enlist, and this incident hurried their departure for the West.
A second daughter, Ellen Jane, was born August 8, 1860 in Almatown, Illinois. She died a year later on June 25, 1861 three hours before the family was to move up the Missouri River by steamboat. The boat captain wouldn’t wait, so they left seven dollars with the undertaker, who promised to see her buried, and then they continued with the boat up the river. Ellen Jane was buried in Hermann, Missouri, in the River Cemetery, grave 767.
The boat captain carried both a Union and a Confederate flag because the Civil war was on. Once he raised the wrong flag and the boat and passengers were held prisoners for three weeks. The Davis family’s supplies ran out while they were in captivity, so they had to buy more provisions before the boat moved on.
The Davis family paid a fare and joined a company of saints moving by ox and wagon across the plains. Everyone who could had to walk, and they would travel as far as the children could walk in one day. Charlotte was ill and had to ride. Some of the horses ate alkali grass, became sick,and died along the way. Fort Bridger in Wyoming was burning when they arrived there. The Indians had attacked and set fire to it. David and his company of Saints met Johnston’s Army as they were returning East without supplies and on foot.
When David and his family reached Salt Lake City, they camped in Pioneer Park and David worked on building the Salt Lake Theater for a year. Then they headed for Provo where he tried to farm and sold willow baskets he had made for one dollar a piece. He had no experience with farming because he was a coal miner, and he had a hard time making a living at first.
The fourth child, Hannah, was born at Provo on June 23, 1862. At this time the family was destitute. David’s mother, Mary, who had come to Provo in 1855, was a midwife and delivered the baby. There was nothing in the house to eat except one pan of flour, and David couldn’t find any work. He was so dejected the tears fell from his eyes. His mother said, “Don’t cry, Davey–the Lord will provide.” A short time later he walked down by the Provo River. There he saw a school of fine trout, and stripping off his clothes, he jumped in and threw out all the fish he could with his hands. By trading and selling some of the fish he was able to get some food for his family.
Seven weeks later, David moved his wife, family, and newborn daughter to Cedar Fort, now called Logan. Their home here was built of logs with a straw roof and a dirt floor. When it rained the family had to walk around a puddle in the middle of the floor caused by the leaky roof, and huddled by the fireplace to keep warm. Their home was on a city lot in the south west section of town, and they had some farmland in the northeastern part of Logan, just about two blocks west of the temple site.
While living in Logan, David’s grain crop was eaten by crickets two years in a row. He tried hard to pay his debts, but it was difficult without a crop. He owed a peck (¼ bushel) on each bushel of grain to pay for the seed. He got a job making adobe bricks and was to receive a certain amount for making the bricks. After the bricks were made, the man who ordered the bricks sent another fellow to haul them. This man wasn’t very careful and a lot of the bricks were broken. The man who had ordered the bricks would only pay for the perfect ones, but he used all of them.
When William Gomer was born June 14, 1865, the family was destitute again. Charlotte was unable to nurse the baby and he was so delicate that his parents considered giving him away so that he might have a better chance to live. When the people came to have Charlotte and David sign the adoption papers, the other children made such a fuss that the parents couldn’t go through with it. They decided to keep him and do the best they could with him. They must have done well–he lived to be almost eighty eight years old, was the father of eight children, and lived a life of active service to both church and community.
Baby William was nearly lost on another occasion. Mary Ann, about age ten at the time, took him with her when she went to help her father in the hay field. She laid him under a bush after he fell asleep, and an Indian found him and carried him away. Mary Ann ran screaming to her father. David grabbed an axe, jumped on the horse and went after the Indian. Out of fear the Indian put the child down and ran away.
David Peter, the oldest son, became friendly with the Indains, although they were considered dangerous. His father raised melons and David Peter would give them away to the Indians, without his father’s knowledge.
George, another son, was born on October 7, 1867 to David William and Charlotte while they lived in Logan.
During this same time word came of a place in Idaho where the grass grew to the knees and the soil was rich. So in the spring of 1868, the Davis family along with Thomas R. Roberts, Taliesin Hughes, and James Thomas moved to Samaria, Oneida County, Idaho. These other families had come over from Wales on the same ship as David and Charlotte. Charlotte traded a box of fine clothes she’d brought from Wales for some cattle. Her silk dress bought a buggy, a team of horses, and a wagon. David homesteaded a 160 acre tract of land where he raised hay, grain, sheep, and cattle. He took care of the cattle and Charlotte took care of the chickens, sold eggs and the butter she had made. She was also a fine seamstress.
The Bannock Indains became very troublesome in southern Idaho, including the area around Samaria. They would steal cattle at night and beg for food and clothing during the day. If they ever asked for a cow it was usually the best one in the herd. President Brigham Young had advised “It is cheaper to feed the Indians than to fight them.” It was only by keeping a food-bin for the Indians to draw upon that most of these early settlements were able to survive. After a large group of Bannock Indians gathered just twelve miles north of Franklin and attacked a company of miners returning from the Salmon River area, authorities sent for troops from Salt Lake to help. One day before Colonel P. E. Connor and 200 soldiers arrived in Franklin, the Bannocks rode into Franklin, secured twenty four bushels of flour, and terrorized the town. Early in the morning of January 29, 1863, Connor and his men surprised and attacked the Indians from three different directions and killed nearly 300 Indains in a few hours. The Indians that were left were never quite as aggressive after the Battle of Bear River, but there were still some individual raids and problems during the 1870’s.
The early settlers in Samaria were mostly Welsh. Thomas Samuel Thomas was made the first presiding elder of the branch with David William Davis and James Thomas sustained as teachers. They helped form the United Order for the purpose of helping the new saints that moved in. David was the treasurer for this group. The people worked together as a community very well. When Elder Lorenzo Snow came through the area July 12, 1869, he was so impressed by the hospitality of the people in caring for the trappers, Chief Pocatello and other Indians, and weary travelers, that he said the saints here showed the true spirit of Samaritans. He said “This place shall be called Samaria!” This was how the new little town, laid out in square blocks as President Brigham Young had suggested, received its name. When the Logan Temple was being built, the people of Samaria were asked to raise all the money they could to help in building the temple. One thousand two hundred and six dollars were raised, a large amount in those days for such a small community.
Another child, Charlotte, was born in Samaria to David and Charlotte on March 9, 1870. She lived three years before she died on June 28, 1873 and was buried in the Samaria Cemetery.
Though prosperity never came to David and Charlotte, life became more comfortable. When William Gomer was fifteen, he hauled freight from Krilton, Utah to Wood River, Idaho, and drove wagons of iron ore down the sttep [steep] dugways from the mines. He earned six dollars a day and sent home one hundred fifty dollars a month to his parents. From this earnings David and Charlotte bought bricks to build a fine red brick home. The walls were three bricks thick. At the time it was built, in 1880, it was the finest home in Samaria.
Davie and Charlotte lived on in Samaria, even though most of their children left. Their daughter Mary Ann Hughes stayed in Samaria and raised her family until she died in 1894 at age forty two from an epidemic of typhoid fever. Charlotte died at home in Samaria May 10, 1903. David lived for a while with his son George, and then when he became more feeble from arthritis he stayed with Hannah. He passed away at Hannah’s home on October 30, 1907. He was seventy nine years old. He was buried next to his wife and small daughter in Samaria.
While growing up in Samaria, Hannah experienced Indian scares, plagues of grasshoppers and crickets, wolves and coyotes that came right to the door, gathered wool for her mother to make clothes, and felt the thrill of her first store bought material for a dress. Opportunities for education were poor. School was held for such a short time and her mother needed her help at home so that she didn’t get much education, but she did learn to read and write.
Hannah married Parely John Davis of St. John, Idaho on April 30, 1884, in Mendon, Cache County, Utah. The newlyweds soon loaded their belongings into a wagon and moved up to the Snake River Valley with Hannah’s brother, David Peter, and Parley’s brother-in-law, Tom Coles, to make their homesteads. Her brother George also later settled in Idaho Falls. William Gomer lived in Burley, Idaho and later in Logan and Salt Lake City, Utah.
Parley John Davis had also come from Wales. He was born May 27, 1857, in Tredegar, Monmouthshire, Wales, the ninth in a family of eleven children. His parents, John E. Davis and Margaret Edwards Davis, were very poor. Little is known of Parley’s early life, except that it was shaped and directed by the restored gospel of the L.D.S. Church.
Since the Welsh mission was formally opened in 1845, and conferences were held in Merthyr Tydfil, the home town of Parley’s paternal grandmother (Martha Williams Davis), we can suppose that the excitement and opposition aroused by Mormonism was not long in becoming an issue in Parley’s home. This opposition ended when Margaret, Parley’s mother, finally accepted its truth. John E. Davis had been attracted to the gospel message when he first heard it. He later became the presiding elder in Tredegar.
We can assume that by Parley’s birth both parents and most of the older children were members of the church. Just after Parley was born, his father came home declaring, “I have found a name for our baby. We will call him Parley, after that good man who has just been killed in America, Parley P. Pratt.”
Parley attended school until he was eight, and then began working in the coal mines with his father and brothers as an errand boy. The struggle to make ends meet was a vivid memory for little Parley. He remembers his mother giving him a piece of bread with a bird or animal thinly outlined on it with sorghum. He always chose an animal with legs because it took more sorghum.
The Welsh members of the church were emigrating to America by the hundreds–the only restraint being the price of passage. Two of Parley’s sisters left at an early age–Phoebe in 1862 and Rachel in 1868. Parley was allowed to come in 1869 when he was twelve years old and could still come for half fare.
Elias Morris had been appointed to preside over the entire Welsh mission in 1868, and when he was released in 1869 he was put in charge of a company of 338 saints who were coming to Utah. Parley was in this company. He was described at this time as a weak, delicate little fellow with big dark eyes and spindly legs.
One memory of his trip across the ocean was finding a warm place to sleep above one of the ship’s boilers. He curled up, still wearing his shoes, and soon fell asleep with his feet hanging down. When he awoke he found that his shoe soles, made of some gummy substance, had stretched and were hanging down from his shoes. He had to really work to gather up the soles and try to push them back into shape again. Most of the people were very kind to this young boy traveling alone.
When the company arrived in Omaha on June 23, 1869, Elias Morris sent the following telegram to President Brigham Young, “Will take cars for the West at six o’clock this evening. We expect to be in Ogden on Friday.” This was the first company of saints to travel by rail on the newly completed transcontinental railroad.
When Parley arrived in Ogden he went immediately to his sister Phoebe’s home in Willard. She was married to R.J. Davis at the time. She had cooked a big supper for him, but when Parley was asked what he would like to eat, he said he just wanted some bread and milk, so that’s what he had.
With plenty of fresh air, warm sunshine, exercise, and good food, the little boy of the coal mines grew into a handsome youth. He made many friends in Willard, many of these young men were also Welsh. Evan Stephans and Alonzo and Josiah Call were some of his best friends. He was as welcome in the Call home as if he was one of their own sons. The Calls later moved to Rigby, Idaho.
Among his memories of those days in Willard is the time he was riding Zephaniah Jones’ ox team. (His sister Phoebe later married Zephaniah Jones.) As the oxen lumbered along their big sides came together, pinching Parley’s leg as it hung down between. Parley had a little pointed stick with him. He put it between the oxen, hoping it would hold their sides apart so his leg wouldn’t get pinched. As their sides came together, the stick dug each ox in the ribs and they bellowed, kicked up their heels and ran off. Parley rolled off the side. Zephaniah rushed up to him full of concern, and wondered why those old oxen were acting up. Parley never could bring himself to tell.
In 1872 Parley helped build the first telegraph line from Monida to Idaho Falls (then known as Eagle Rock). He remembers Taylor’s toll bridge across the Snake River. He also did a lot of freighting between Corinne, Utah, and the gold fields of Montana. It was during this time Parley acquired the bad habits of smoking and drinking.
In 1873 Parley’s father, mother, and the rest of the family came to Utah. When Parely was nineteen, his father homesteaded 120 acres of land near Devil Creek, about seven miles west of Malad, Idaho. This area later became known as St. John. Parley and a friend lived on this place until his folks came from Willard. These young men worked days and then walked seven miles to Malad to go to school at night. Parley was quick and eager and in a short time made much advancement. He also became a good penman. His church activities during this period are not well known, but he was ordained a deacon by James Shivers, and was ordained an elder in 1873 by John Morris Jones of Cherry Creek, Idaho.
When his folks came they all worked together to clear the sage and make a pioneer home. Parley was handy and ambitious and spent a good share of his time at the saw mill selecting trees and running the saw to turn them into lumber. He probably worked at the Summit Canyon Sawmill built in the 1870’s in what is now Power House Canyon.
He was a fine looking young man, and so erect his sister said she would like to put a saucer on his head because she was sure it wouldn’t fall off. Parley stood about five feet eight inches tall, weighed 190 pounds, and had a droopy moustache and dark eyes. He was in great demand at socials. He had the Welsh ability to sing and a natural talent for step dancing. He was naturally friendly and had a personality that mixed well. He seemed to be a favorite among his own family, and was a great help with the work.
His father’s family had a struggle to keep up financially. Parley always enjoyed telling about his sister Rachel, who was keeping company with a very polished young man, Albert Merrick from the East. Rachel was very proud and unwilling to let their humble circumstances be known. Her escort was with the family when they were going to some pay entertainment. Rachel hurriedly shoved her purse to Parley, wanting him to get the tickets. He got up in front but got so tangled up with the fancy strings of her purse that Mr. Merrick paid the bill.
Parley became acquainted with Hannah Davis from Samaria, a community at the southern end of Malad Valley, and several times he walked down to Samaria to see her, a distance of about seven miles. They were married April 30, 1884 in Mendon, Cache County, Utah. At first they lived with his family at St. John, but this was not a happy arrangement, and when Hannah’s brother, Dave, and Tom Coles were interested in coming up to the Snake River country, Parley and Hannah came with them and took up a homestead of 160 acres in the section that later became Milo, Bonneville County, Idaho.
Parley chose this section because the sage was as tall as a cedar and the Anderson Swale ran through the land. Travel was all done by wagon or horseback, and in early summer he brought his young bride to the homestead and they began to prove up on their home. At first they lived in the wagon box with a willow bowery for a roof, while Parley took the challenge to turn this wilderness into a home. Hannah remembered how the wind would blow the dishes off the table and into the sage. They were living there when Charlotte Rachel, their first child, was born November 21, 1884. All summer Parley had been hauling logs from the canyon on the running gears of the wagon. He finally completed a cabin with a dirt floor and a grain bin in one end. They moved in shortly after Charlotte’s birth.
There was no crop the first year–in fact very little for three years because of lack of ditches and water. Parley and his family went back and forth to St. John where he would work at the sawmill to earn money for machinery, fence supplies, and other necessities. Their second child, Parley John, was born at St. John on Feb. 16, 1887. During one of these periods of working at the saw mill, Parley got an infection in his eyes. When the soreness cleared up, Parley’s eyes had changed from brown to a blue-gray. They stayed this new color for the rest of his life.
Finally, Hannah stayed in Milo with the two children and Parley worked at St. John and at Milo on the homestead. Hannah was often alone and had the responsibility of both home and family with only a trusty dog for protection against wolves, coyotes, Indians, and claim jumpers. She remembers some fellows coming by at night and moaning and groaning outside her cabin to try to scare her away. One time she was so hungry for fresh meat that when the old mother cat caught a half-grown rabbit, Hannah took the rabbit away from the cat and cut off the hind legs. She cleaned and cooked the rabbit’s hind legs and gave the cat back the rest of the rabbit. Once the Indains came to her door painted with war paint and wearing feathers. They seemed a bit frightened by the dog with its shaggy hair and brown eyes. They wanted biscuits, so she gladly gave them some and was happy to see them go.
Since Parley had built the cabin by the road, she now had to carry water one half mile for her use. One day when she was returning from getting water, she found that Charlotte had fed the baby, Parley, so much bread that he could not close his mouth and was turning black in the face and gasping, “Baby hungry–cries,” was Charlotte’s explanation. Hannah quickly cleared the baby’s mouth of the bread and averted a tragedy.
Charlotte often talked about growing up in this rough and undeveloped county. Her mother gave the children strict rules not to play near the creek or to wander into the sage where a “Bitey might get them,” (A Bitey was a coyote or any other animal that might be on the prowl.) Once as the children were walking to school, a coyote did come out of the sage and began following them. Frantic cries for the dog brought him to their rescue and the coyote left without doing any harm. Hanna didn’t have to stress her warnings very often when reminders like this emphasized their purpose.
Their third child, Margaret May, (known as Maggie) was born January 21, 1889 at Milo. She was killed at age fourteen on July 1, 1903 when the horses bolted from the wagon she was driving. She was thrown from the wagon and both wagon wheels ran over her. She had been driving to Idaho Falls with her father to sell some wheat and get new shoes for the 4th of July celebration.
Parley and Hannah both enjoyed building their own home, family, and the community. In this new land everything needed to be done–schools developed, canals dug, churches started, and roads built. Men with vision, ambition, dependability, and a willingness for service were needed. Parley had all these qualities and now the opportunities came to develop them.
He assisted in the establishment of the first school and served as a trustee and later as a clerk. This school, known as the Leorin School, was located southwest of where he lived. He was always interested in the water and the building of canals. He figured out the diking system to water the land. In 1891 he became a director of the Great Feeder Canal System and helped to establish it. He served on this board for thirty-nine years and also served as President of the Harrison Canal for some time. He was a director of the Protective Board to protect the water rights of the people of the Upper Snake River Valley. He had the first hay derrick in the valley and also helped to run the first horsepower threshing machine.
Sometime during these years he became disgusted with his habit of smoking. He came into the house one day and told Hannah if she would burn his pipe and tobacco, he would quit. She opened up the stove and threw them in right then, and that ended his smoking. On September 11, 1889, Parely, Hannah, and their first three children were sealed in the Logan Temple.
During these years of busy building, the rest of Parley and Hannah’s children were born, and many sorrows were felt. Their fourth child, Dehannah was born July 3, 1891. She died November 13, 1898 at age seven when her clothes caught fire as she was trying to help burn the sage. Dehannah was buried on the homestead. Later Parley donated two acres of land to become the Milo Cemetery. Her body was moved into the new cemetery and was the first grave there. David Evan Davis was born March 29, 1893. He had an infection in his right eye, and without advanced medicine, eventually lost it. Mary Ann was born March 3, 1895. She grew up, married Lewis Bird and had a small family before she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died March 24, 1924 at the age of twenty nine. Caroline Davis, the seventh child of eleven, was born March 29, 1897. She was one of the six children that lived to maturity. Lewis Ephraim was born March 3, 1899 and died October 6, 1899. Ellen Sariah was born August 7, 1900 and died December 12, 1900. Malinda June was born June 8, 1902. She lived to adulthood and raised a family. The last child, Gomer Watkin, was born April 26, 1904 and died September 19, 1904. Of eleven children only Charlotte, Parley John, David Evans (known as Evan), Caroline, and Malinda June (known as June) were alive when their parents died. Neither Parley nor Evan ever married. Parley served in World War I. All of the children except June are buried in the Milo Cemetery. June is buried in the Ucon Cemetery.
Parley was involved in helping the L.D.S. Church became established in this section of the Snake River Valley. When the Shelton Ward was organized in 1892, Parley was chosen as first counselor to John R. Howard. In 1900 the Milo Ward was organized and Parley was selected as the presiding elder. He held this position from February 18 to September 23, when in a conference at Lewisville Elder Heber J. Grant ordained Parley as the first bishop of Milo Ward. He served as bishop for seventeen years. He loved to sing, and with his counselors, W. R. Huffaker and A. S. Newman and Julie Newman at the organ, he took part in many ward programs. He was released from being the bishop on February 18, 1917. He served as a member of the High Council in Idaho Falls as long as his health permitted.
Parley was called on a mission to the Northern States, headquartered at Chicago, and served from January 8, 1910 to March 1912. He took a leave of absence from the bishopric, but still retained his position. He had hoped to go to Wales, but said nothing about it and just went where he was called. Part of his mission he served in Joliet, Illinois, mostly among Welsh people.
Parley’s farm was a good one, and with much hard labor on his part and that of his family, they began to acquire material substance. He built a nice home for his family and planted an orchard of apple trees. He was handy at carpentry, and made the cupboard, washstand, wood box, and the table that was used in this house until 1916 when they built a modern home on Milo Road on one of the other farms he owned there. Parley could also do many jobs in the farm shop, and with his forge he saved money for himself and neighbors with his blacksmith ability.
He often felt handicapped because of his lack of education, but his depth of reasoning and his ability to summarize more than made up for others any lack of formal schooling he may have felt. Parley wanted his children to have a good education. After getting as much education as was possible in the Leorin School, he sent his children to Rexburg to attend the Ricks Academy. He bought an organ and had his daughter Charlotte take organ lessons.
Hannah had never been much of a public person. Her work was behind the scenes raising the family, seeing that they had the opportunities for things she had missed, and trying to keep things going at home. With Parley’s many church and community activities, this was no small task. When her husband Parley served his mission from 1910-1912, he left Hannah in charge. Charlotte worked as her mother’s bookkeeper and drove with her mother once a week to Idaho Falls to sell Hannah’s butter and eggs. This round trip would take a full day with a horse and wagon. Parley J. ran the farm. He was instrumental in getting much of the land leveled and easier to water. Hannah was always ambitious and seldom idle. She raised chickens, ducks, fruit, and a colony of bees. She was a small woman, about five feet two inches tall, had brown hair and brown eyes, and weighed between 115-120 lbs. When she grew older her hair became white. Her shoulders and back were very straight and she always stood erect.
In 1926 Parley was diagnosed with diabetes. The doctors didn’t give him much promise, but he still had a great interest in life. His patriarchal blessing said he would live as long as life was desirable to him. He lived until 1932, when he passed away in the L.D.S. Hospital in Idaho Falls on October 16, at the age of seventy five. He was buried in the Milo Cemetery near his young children on the land he had homesteaded.
Hannah continued to live in the modern home with her two sons Parley and Evan. She continued her activities in church and home. Her eyes grew dim with cataracts and her step labored, but her memory and mind remained clear until her death on August 2, 1951 at the age of eighty nine. She is buried in the Milo Cemetery near her husband and young children.
From the lush hills and coal fields of Wales to the fertile plain of the Snake River Valley, the Davis family used their talents and hard work to build a good life for their posterity. The gospel was the center of their social and spiritual lives, and no sacrifice was too great for the Lord or their children. This Welsh heritage of hard work and living life to its fullness through community service and musical enjoyment is one we can all be grateful for as we build our own lives upon their legacy and example.
This history has been compiled from the following sources:
Collier’s Encyclopedia, 1963 ed.
Wales, American Geographical Society Series. Nelson Doubleday, Inc. 1970.
Personal Family Histories of Hannah Davis, Parley John Davis, Charlotte Rachel Davis Campbell, David William Davis.
The Pioneer History and Development of the Milo Ward. 1960.
Malad Idaho Stake Centennial History 1888-1988.
History of the State of Idaho. C. J. Brosnan. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1918.
The Samaritans: Centennial History, 1968.