John Williams & Mary Parry

(Early Welsh Convert of Dan Jones, settler of Millcreek, UT)
John Wlliams was born in St. Aspeth, North Wales and married Mary Parry. He was a coachmaker by trade. Mary joined the church in 1848 after listening to
missionaries in the area lead by Elder Dan Jones about two years after her parents and brothers. John didn’t join until he reached Utah in 1870 later when he
was healed by the power of the priesthood and had that witness of it’s truth, “At Newmarket, John Williams, my sister’s (Mary’s) husband, had the lower part of his
mouth and most of his chin eaten away by cancer. After he tried everything in the power of man to be healed, he was finally persuaded to appeal to the Elders to
administer to him. He requested my sister to ask me and others to do so, which we did. We administered to him twice, and shortly he was healed, and got a new
part of his mouth and chin. “
In 1856 the family John 40, Mary 42, Elizabeth age 18, Sarah age 16, Anne age 14, and Jane age 12 to America on the ship Sanders Curling sailing for Boston on the
18th of April, with 707 souls of the Saints on board, under the presidency of Elders Dan Jones, John Oakley, and David Grant. In the company were a goodly number
of elders, who have for some time been laboring in the ministry in this country. President Dan Jones has, during his mission in Wales, succeeded in emigrating about
fourteen hundred of the Saints from the principality, of whom about 550 accompany him on the S. Curling. Mary’s father and some of her other siblings had already
traveled years before them.
As soon as the ship was fairly under way, the usual organizations were effected; several severe storms were encountered, and on several occasions the brethren
assembled for prayers and curbed the fury of the winds and waves by the power of the holy priesthood. During the passage six children died, and two were born.
On the twenty-third of May the Samuel Curling was towed to quarantine ground, at Boston. In a few hours the inspectors came on board welcomed by the spontaneous three cheers of seven hundred people, ‘and strange as it may seem,’ writes Elder Dan Jones, ‘called the names of all and passed them in less than one hour
and a half without any further complaint than that “I was taking all the handsome ladies to Utah.” The passengers were all remarkably clean, as well as the ship,
which commanded the admiration of all. In proof of the latter I would say, that I had made a wager with Captain Curling, upon leaving Liverpool, that the Lower
decks would be whiter than his cabin floors, and the quarantine doctor decided in my favor.’ On the twenty-fourth of May, President Jones contracted with the
railroad officials to take about four hundred of the passengers to Iowan City, for $11.00 per adult over 14 years old, children half price. The kind-hearted captain
allowed the passengers to remain on board the ship till Monday the 26th of May, when the journey was continued to Iowa City.
The family joined the Edward Bunker company – the third handcart company to set out. There were about 290 individuals, 58 handcarts and 3 wagons were in the
company when it began its journey from the outfitting post at Iowa City, Iowa. 23 June 1856. This company left Florence, Nebraska on July 30 and arrived in the
Salt Lake Valley 2 October 1856. At the time Albert Sidney blockaded the only way to the Missouri river. Governor Cummings however, arrived with supplies for the
group. The first day on the trail they put up their tents, it began to thunder and lightning, and they had the most awful storm that they had ever witnessed. After we
got dry the following day, we started again and traveled hard. Our ration of food was half a pound of flour a day and a little tea and sugar, and a very little of anything
else. We had a hard task to stand the journey from Iowa City to Council Bluffs, a distance of about 300 miles.
Once they arrived John converted to the Church and the family moved to Millcreek, Utah. John later posthumously was sealed 26 July 1870 to Mary’s deceased
sisters Elizabeth Parry who died at the age of 10 in 1821 and to Sarah Parry who passed in 1846 at the age of 36. John died in 1891 in Millcreek, Utah. Mary died two
years later.