John Mathews Walters 1808

JOHN MATTHEWS WALTERS 1808

John Mathews Walters was born 9 March 1810 at Pontsticell, Brecknock, South Wales. He was a son of Jenkin Walters and Jane Mathew Walters. He had one sister, Mary Walters Baxter, who was born in Wales and also died and was buried there. She died in 1905 and was 103. He was born of goodly parents with love and happiness in a home where parents, brothers, and sisters enjoyed each other and he enjoyed and lived a normal life like other children of his time and locality. He was taught to honor his parents and above all was taught to honor the Lord. Like others when he became of age he started working as a miner. There are many coal mines in the vicinity where he lived. He married Mary Jones, who lived in Dowlais, Glamorganshire, South Wales, on 7 February 1842. To this union six children were born: Lucretia, Walter, Mary Ann, Leucretia Jane, Catherine Ann, John
He was a member of the Methodist Church until the Elders came to his home and converted him to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was baptized 16 December 1846 and then began saving part of his earnings to bring his family and himself to America. All of his children died with the exception of one daughter. Then they took a little girl to raise, she was about six or seven, named Margaret Williams and in 1868 he got passage for his wife, daughter and adopted daughter to come to America. Not having enough money for him to accompany them he stayed and worked for one year, until he could join them on 2 June 1869 and he came to this country on the steamship Minnesota. There were 338 Saints and Elias Morris was captain. He had been laboring as a missionary in Wales. The immigrants were mostly all from Wales and the captain arranged for a special train to convey his company to Liverpool which was the port of embarkation from the port to the Minnesota ship. By doing so he saved all the Saints the price of lodging for the night. They arrived in New York, June 14, 1969, and traveled by train to Ogden, Utah, arriving there June 25, a little more than three weeks had brought them the whole distance of the weary way that once took almost a year to do so. This was the first company of Latter-day Saint immigrants who came all the way from the Atlantic Ocean to Utah on the railroad. Their journey will long be remembered. He joined his wife who was living in Lehi, Utah, and preparations were made to go to the Endowment House and on 8 November 1869 he and his wife had their endowments and were sealed to each other. A happy couple because they had waited so long for this blessing.
They then moved to Adamsville, Beaver County, Utah, where he built a log house and planted crops. A few years after, he became ill. From this time on he suffered with asthma and was unable to work much of the time.
He was a good Latter-day Saint and did all he could to promote the Gospel. He died 21 July 1879 and was buried in the Beaver Cemetery where so many of our faithful pioneers are buried.