by Robert R. Hughes ( a son)
Gomer Hughes was born 28, July 1846 at Georgetown near Merthyr Tydfil Glamorganshire South Wales, the son of James Hughes and Margaret Jones Hughes. He had four brothers and three sisters as follows– named in order of their birth; Maria, Taleisin, Mary who died in Wales when a small child, Mathew, Lewis, Daniel all born in Glamorganshire Wales. Sarah Ann, born at Pottsville, Penn. near or about 1850. The Hughes family was contacted by the Mormon Missionaries, and converted to this faith. Evidently, soon after becoming converts, they were imbued with a desire to gather to the headquarters of the church in America, so acting on their desire, they with many others, started on this journey, leaving Wales their native land in 1855 for their destination in the Valley of the Rocky Mountains.
On Tuesday the 17th of April 1855, the sailing ship Chimborazo, left Liverpool, England for America, among the passengers was the Hughes family. After a pleasant and successful voyage, the Chimborazo, arrived in the mouth of the Delaware River on the 18th of May being on the ocean thirty-one days. On the 22nd of may, the ship anchored at Philadelphia Penn. some of the emigrants continued on to St. Louis by way of Pittsburgh but James Hughes and his family went to Pottsville, Penn. , where the father secured employment working for some time, at this point a daughter, the last child was born. They named her Sarah Ann. A short time later the family moved to Illinois, just a few miles east of St. Louis at Kaysville, St Clair Co. where the father secured work running an engine at a coal mine. On Sept. 5, 1858, the wife and mother Margaret died and was buried on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River near Kaysville Illinois.
Daniel Jones and Mary Williams Jones, the parents of Margaret Jones Hughes, apparently crossed the plains before 1859. Soon after the death of the mother of the Hughes family, William Jones, Margaret’s brother returned to Kaysville, Illinois to bring the family to Utah, with the consent of James Hughes the father, he brought the children across the plains in a company of saints in charge of Captain Horton D. Hoights in August 1859. A record of their arrival was printed in the Deseret News of Wednesday August 24, 1859, page 197. Taliesin Hughes name was recorded, we know that all members of the family were on that train. Maria being the eldest of the family, acted as mother to them. The youngest Saraah Ann, was under three years of age. The father James Hughes did not accompany the family to Utah but remained in Illinois working and was to follow later. Instead of going to Utah, he returned to Wales, his native land where he married a widow by the name of Margaret Jenkins. So the children never saw their father again. Shortly after the arrival of the Hughes children in Salt lake City, they were taken to Willard Box Elder Co. Utah by their Uncle William Jones with whom they lived for a few years. Sometime in the early sixties the family moved from Willard to Logan Cache Co. Utah which became their home for a number of years.
The Journal of National Guard Records states that Gomer Hughes was enlisted in the National Guard to protect the settlers in Cache Co. against the Indians. The name of Gomer Hughes, 6th Private in Co. D 1st Platoon appears. The equipment was listed as one horse, one saddle, one rifle, one revolver, one pound of powder and four pounds of lead. The military organization was known as the “Cache Co. Brigade”. The men enlisted were given orders to assemble for inspection and drill, on 9, 10, 11 of November 1865. The home of the Hughes family at Logan Utah was on the west side of town on or near Center Street not far from the Union Pacific Depot. In the sixties, thinking most of the best land was taken in Cache Valley, and a new settlement was beginning in Malad Valley, Gomer went there to look the valley over, found some good land and decided to make Malad Valley his permanent home.
During the time Gomer lived in Logan, he became acquainted with Jane Roberts, after the usual time of courtship, they were married in the Salt Lake Endowment House on March 3, 1872, he being 26 and his bride 22 years old. After the wedding Gomer took his bride and returned to Malad Valley to live. On the west side of this beautiful valley where all of the Hughes brothers decided to make their homes, a small settlement was formed which they named Samaria. The name was undoubtedly taken from the Bible, a small town in Palestine near Jerusalem. Through the center of the valley, a small river the Malad, flowed south emptying into Bear River near Garland, Utah. Many small streams from the mountains and springs from the valley flowed into the River. On both sides of the Malad River, there is a strip of land which is covered with wild meadow grass which afforded the early settlers with an abundance of pasture for their livestock in summer and an ample supply of hay for winter.
I can remember my father saying many times that when he first moved to Malad Valley, the grass grew everywhere up to his waist line. The tableland on the land between the meadow and the foot hills consisted of a deep dark loam covered with a thick growth of sage brush. It often grew as tall as an ordinary man and six to eight inches in diameter at the butt. It took four or six good horses to plow the land in order to clear it from sage brush and get it ready for planting. It took considerable hard labor to clear an acre of this brush land and prepare it for seeding. It was not uncommon to have the women go into the fields with the men helping with this work. My mother Jane worked right along with my father in pulling and burning sage brush and driving the team.
Gomer Hughes filed his declaration of intention to become a citizen of the United States of America Nov. 18, 1873 and received his certificate of Naturalization on Nov. 28, 1891. The first home Gomer provided for his bride was one made of logs which were cut and hauled from the nearby canyons. Each log in turn was hewed and fitted to make the walls. Between each log a triangular piece of timber was placed to fill the space and further made tight with a plaster made of clay. The climate in Malad Valley was quite arid, the rain fall being almost fourteen inches per year, so in order to grow crops successfully, it was necessary to supplement the rain and snowfall with irrigation. The next step was to get permission from the State of Idaho for a right in a natural spring. Gomer Hutghes was one of the men to help with this. There was a large spring of water about fifteen miles north of Samaria Idaho. This was the water they filed on, then built canals to bring it to their fields. With Gomer’s help, a company was formed, stock issued, the men paying for it by building canals. This helped the new settlers as they had very little money. After the canal was finished no more stock was issued. Gomer Hughes was very active in all of his work being one of the large stockholders in the company. For several years he was director of the company, and also secretary and treasurer for the company.
My father Gomer Hughes, was a devoted Latter-Day Saint, attended Church regularly, paid a full tithing, offered the Bishop his donations both in money and labor, was always willing to work in any way he could to help out He was very retiring, never took part in the praying and preaching at church. Never criticized the church leaders, always upheld his Bishop and other ward leaders. He was honest in all of his dealings with all mankind, good to his neighbors. He was never at ease until all of his debts were paid, One could say that his word was as good as his bond. He had a host of friends; was always welcome and warmly greeted wherever he went. One thing I remember about my father was, he taught us never to waste food or clothing, he knew what it was to go without many things that makes life pleasant today.
He was the father of nine children, seven sons and two daughters, all grew to adult age except one Thomas, who died at the age of four years, the others all married, each raising a family. The children with their births are as follows; David born 24 March 1873, Daniel born, 22 Jan. 1875, James R. Born 27 Dec. 1876, Gomer born 27, Dec. 1878, Margaret born 22 March 1881, Robert born 17 Jan. 1883, Thomas William born 17 July 1886, died 15 Dec. 1889, Catherine born 31 March 1888 and Rowland, born 17 Jan. 1891.
Gomer Hughes died at Logan, Utah, 13 March 1923 at the age of 76 years, and was buried at Samaria Idaho. At the close of his life he had a posterity of six sons, two daughters, 41 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.