Born 17 January 1804, Hirwain, Glmr, Wales 

Died 15 July 1862, Brigham City, Utah 

Evan Evans was born January 17, 1804, the second of eight children born to Rachel Morgan Evans and David Evans in Hirwain, Wales. Evan was a mason by trade, building many beautiful buildings. 

Evan married Jennet (Janet) Jones of Penderyn, Wales, on May 15, 1826. They spent most of their married life in Merthyr, Tydfil and were the parents of 11 children; three of the children died while they still lived in Wales. 

The Evans family heard of a new religion, Mormonism, and began to investigate this new religion. The church had already become a stronghold in England from Wilford Woodruff’s first baptism in 1837 and was beginning to stretch its forces into the small country of Wales. At a conference held January 7, 1845, Dan Jones, who had recently arrived from America, was appointed President of the Wrexham conference. He was a native Welshman from Flintshire and had already embraced the gospel and journeyed to Zion. He was now being brought back to teach his own people in their own language. President Jones was a guiding influence in bringing thousands of people into the Church and helping them migrate to Utah. During the first year of his ministry there were 700 members baptized within Wales. The next year he then assumed leadership in Merthyr Tydfil, which had experienced enormous economic growth during the past two decades. It was during this time that Evan and Janet joined the church. Besides Evan and Janet and their 8 children, his brother Edward D., sister Mary Rowland and her family and a niece Rachel also joined the church. Many of their family were very upset over their decision and tried to keep them in Wales. 

Evan and Janet soon decided that staying in Wales was becoming harder and harder for them. The Mormons were being persecuted because of their beliefs. Many of the local ministers and townspeople had threatened to do to them what was done to Joseph Smith. They longed to be with the Saints in Utah. President Jones’ stories of the State of Deseret continued to excite them and they prepared to leave with the Saints aboard the “Buena Vista” in February of 1849. Their brother Edward D. and their niece Rachel Rowland and her family were with them. 

The boat with President Jones in charge set sail from Liverpool on February 26th, 1849, with 249 enthusiastic, rejoicing Welshmen singing a special farewell song. Left behind were some of the Saints who were unable to board the “Buena Vista” due to lack of room. They had to wait to book passage on the “Hartley” which sailed ten days later. 

Some of the Saints were a little apprehensive of the trip. A message in a Baptist periodical had made the prediction that after receiving enough money to get a ship of ships to voyage to California, their chief, President Dan Jones, will sail them to Cuba, or some place like it and sell them as slaves, every jack one of them. It would serve them right, every jack of them for having such little respect for the book of Christ and giving it up for the Book of Mormon. They had a good laugh about it as they watched the boat pass Cuba and land in New Orleans. 

The ship landed in New Orleans on April 18th, and the passengers prepared to make their way to Utah. Tragedy was waiting for the group, for on their trip up the Missouri River, Cholera struck, 44 of the passengers died including their little two year old Evan, Evan and Janet’s little son. He was buried on the bank of the Missouri River. 

The family lived in Council Bluffs for three years and then made their way to Utah in 1852 with the William Morgan Company. Evan was chosen to help lay the cornerstone of the Salt Lake Temple, and helped in its construction. 

Evan died July 15, 1862, in Brigham City, Utah. Janet died Nov. 14, 1879, in Brigham City. They are both buried in the Brigham City cemetery by two of their little grandchildren. 

Their son, Edward Jones Evans, my Great Grandfather was one of the first settlers in the Malad, Idaho valley. 

Children of Evan and Janet:  

David Phillip Evans	B: 21 July 1826
William Jones Evans	B: 18 March 1828
Margaret Evans	B: 21 Oct 1830
Rachel Evans	B: 1933
Morgan Evans	B: 1835
Edward Jones Evans	B: 30 Jan 1838
Richard Evans	B: 1839
Mary Evans	B: 1840
John Evans	B: 1842
Mary Evans	B: 1844
Evan Evans	B: 1847