Article from: Mormons from Orcop
James was baptized when he was about 19 on October 9, 1840. He must have saved his money and made the decision to gather with the saints, and on May 14, 1946 (according to the Mormon Migration Index), at age 25, he arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois. The main body of the saints had begun to leave Nauvoo in February 1846, and when James arrived it was in a dire situation and he followed the saints west with a wagon train that was ready to go. On June 2, 1846, President Polk of the United States had decided to use the Mormons to help fight the Mexican War. On June 26, 1846, James Allen rode into Mt. Pisgah and begun mustering a battalion. James probably mustered in sometime in July, and our English 'grandfather' joined the battalion probably per Brigham Young or another leader's encouragement.
Notes from History of James Bevan - Pioneer of 1847 - Octobert 19, 1821 to October 26, 1894 - written by Alice Bates Herron, granddaughter with comments by June Bevan Garrard and J. Alex Bevan:
In almost every city of village there are some outstanding citizens who are remembered long after their death for their work and achievements in the community where they lived. James Bevan was such a man. He was the son of John Bevan and Ann Burford of Herefordshire, England. He was born in Orcop Herefordshire, England. He had five brothers and one sister, Betsey (Elizabeth). The family had lived in this community for generations. When Leo Bevan (grandson) was on his mission, he visited the place and said it had a wonderful location among rolling green hills and peaceful valleys. John Bevan was living in the same house. Leo saw the brook or stream where grandfather was baptized.
The family origin and name is of Welch extraction, and as was the Welch habit, a man was called Ap, meaning 'son of'. Our ancestors were named Evan and were ApEvan, son of Evan, and then took the form of Bevan and was procounced Bev-an.
James was just a young man when he heard the Mormon missionaries preach the Gospel in his home town and like many other young men in those days, he longed for adventure and a chance to make a start in life for himself. He believed the doctrice of the missionaries and was baptized a member of the Mormon Church on October 19, 1840. After a sad farewell to his loved ones at home, he started on the long voyage across the ocean to America along with many other converts to the church.
When the converts reached America, and the home of the Saints at Nauvoo, they found conditions very bad because the Saints were being driven out of the city by the mobs of unbelievers. James Bevan believed in the Gospel and wanted to help. They had about 500 wagons ready to start the journey across the plains to the west.
About this time the United States was having trouble with Mexico, and Captain James Allen of the United States Army arrived in Mt. Pisgah on June 26, 1846, with the request for five comnpanies of volunteers to help fight the war with Mexico. Under his direction 541 soldiers, 35 women (20 of whom were designated as laundresses), and 42 children began their march to Fort Leavenworth on 21 July 1846. From the Church History Student Manual, we read "Before they left, the officers, all of whom had been selected by Church leaders, met privately with members of the Twelve. The Brethren promised them that their lives would be spared if they were faithful. Sergeant William Hyde reported that they were charged “to remember their prayers, to see that the name of the Deity was revered, and that virtue and cleanliness were strictly observed. [The troops were instructed] to treat all men with kindness … and never take life when it could be avoided.”Church History in the Fulness of Times Young James Bevan was a member of this group. They received their arms and camp supplies; they began their long march to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The march was a long and dangerous one, over rough territory where roads had to be made. Sickness took many lives, but the Battalion could not stop for sick men and women. Those who died were buried by the way while others traveled on. One of the companies of the Battalion consisted of the families of the volunteers.
There were so many sick people in the Battalion that they decided to divided it into two groups. One was for the able-bodied men and the other was for the sick and weak. On October 18, 1846, the sick detachment, consisting of about ninety men, left Santa Fe for Pueblo under the command of Captain James Brown. James Bevan was a member of the group, having been chosen to help care for the sick.
The march was one of hardships and suffering because of the lack of food and water, and as a result, many died on the way. Although James Bevan was a strong man, he also became ill, and was left by the side of the road as dead. He often told his children how he lay there alone and saw a man on horseback approach him. The man left his horse and came and administered to him, giving him something to drink and some medicine. James began to feel al lot better and so started on his way again. He found the camp of the Battalion and was geeted with surprise and wonder. They all believed that a messenger from God had saved his life. The messenger was believed to be one of the Three Nephites.
The sick Battalion wintered in 1846 in Pueblo, Colorado. They joined with a group of Mississippi Saints who were already wintering there awaiting the arrival of spring and Brigham Young's company. They joined Brigham Young a few days after he arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, probably July 28, 1847
On or before 1850, James Bevan returned to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he met and married Mary Shields, May 9, 1850 She was the daughter of John Shields and Primrose Cunningham, and was born October 29, 1827 in Glasgow, Scotland. (His grandson, J. Alex Bevan, says in a short history that he wrote that James went back to Council Bluffs in the fall of 1847. . He also stated that two of James Bevan's brothers came to America after him and settled in New York State, although they did not join the church, and preferred to stay in a more civilized area of the country.
After James and Mary Shields were married, they stayed in Council Bluffs and their first child, a son, John Alexander, was born February4, 1851. They returned to Utah, traveling in the company with Mary's family, her parents and others of the Shields family.
They arrived in 1852 and settled in Tooele where the following children were born to them: Mary, on November 17, 1852; Primrose, on January 8, 1855; Elizabeth, on November 6, 1860, Joseph Shields on February 15, 1862m, Eliza on December 29, 1864, Margaret on August 30m 1866m, Archibald on September 8,m 1868 and Violet on October 8, 1872. The first child, John alexander, was born in Council Bluffs, as mentioned above.
James married Isabella mcPherson as his second plural wife, on November 3, 1859. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland on September 27, 1837 and was a girlhood friend of Mary Shields. The children born to them were: Isabella on October 16, 1860; George on September 4 or 24, 1862; Annie on September 11, 1864; Hugh on January 20, 1866; twins, Martha and Mary on February 18, 1868; Charles on September 11, 1870 or 1871; Sarah on October 15, 1872; Alexander on March 31, 1874; Mariah Jane on November 13, 1876; and Amos on July 26, 1879.
James also helped to rear two other children besides his own. They were a happy family in spite of the early pioneer hardships. Their home was made of logs, with a thatched roof, candles were used for light and wood for heating. The home was built where the Amos Bevan home stands today, on South Main Street, between 1st and 2nd South in Tooele,
Like all early pioneers, James'chief occupation was farming. A man acquired a tract of land, planted fruit trees, raised his grain for bread, had bees to supply their honey, and raised cows, sheep or pigs for their meat. Each family had chickens and sold eggs at the market.
Sometimes he would earn extra money by hauling logs for the hills to build new homes in the village. One time while he was in the canyon loading logs in his wagon, he paused in his work to fry some pancakes for his lunch. It was necessary in thoe days to carry some flour, a frying pan and othe provisions with them in the hills.
This time he had made the fire and had a pancake cooking when he was startled to hear a noise behind him. He turned quickly to investigate the noise and was face to face with Weiber Tom, a very large and fearsome Indian who was feared by all the settlers in the area. The Indian looked very mean, raised his tomahawk and said, ...I kill you.... James Bevan was not a coward, but he feared the Indian because he was unarmed and no match physically for such a large Indian. He offered a silent prayer to God,m and then he reached over to the fire and handed the cooked pancake to the Indian, saying, ...You eat.... To his relief, Weiber Tom took the offered cake and said, ...Me eat.... James baked more pancakes for the Indian until he was well fed. Then, to his suprise, Weiber Tom walked to the wagon that he had been loading with logs and helped him load them. When the load was completed, he climbed on the load with James and rode out of the hills to James' home where he met the family. He was given more food, and from that time on, he was friend of the Bevan family. It was a common sight to see the Indian at their home. He would ask if Cap Bevan was home; if not, he would wait out in the yard, and when he saw James coming with his team and wagon, he would run out to meet him like a child.
Later on, James Bevan hauled ore from Stockton, Utah to Salt Lake City by team. One time, about where the Eagle Gate is today, his team became frightened and caused the load of ore to tip over on top of him. When he was picked up, they thought he was dead because every rib in his body was broken. He was taken home to die, but the elders administered to him and told him he would be spared because he had work here on earth to do, and God would spare his life for a purpose.
At times when the heavy rains came, the roof of the house would leak and the beds would be too damp to sleep in. As soon as possible the thatched roofs were replaced by tight ones made of wood.
The Bevan children wer kept very busy in the fall of the year, cutting peaches, apples, and prunes for drying; racks were built to dry the fruit on and when it was dired it was sacked and sometimes taken to Salt Lake to sell. It was a thrilling time when a family ha enough fruit to sell because they could exchange it for sewing material, sugar and other necessities which were very scarce in those days.
James Bevan was a kind but stern father, and when he made up his mind it was hard to change it, One time when the fruit was all dried and ready for market, he told the family he would take them to Salt Lake with him to sell the fruit. At daybreak, the horses were hitched to the wagon, the baskets of dried fruit were loaded, and then the family found places to sit. It was a long, tiresome ride to Salt Lake, but the children enjoyed the changing scenery along the way. They arrived in Salt Lake City in the late afternoon. The fruit was exchanged for other needed articles and then the children thought that they were allowed to stay all night and camp, as the other traders had done. Their father decided, however, that they should return home at once. Greatly disappointed they started on the homeward trip and were home by morning. It was a long trip to be made by team in those days and most people camped in a large cave situated in some low hills along the road by Garfield.
James Bevan and his family did not stop at this cave but traveled right on, thus making a much quicker trip. The neighbors were greatly surprised to see them home the next day and wouldn't believe they hade made the trip until they were shown the things they had bought while in Salt Lake City.
James Bevan was used to hardships and when Johnston's Army made the hostile entrance into Utah in 1857, he was captain over ten men in the Echo Canyon Campaign. It was winter and the men were poorly clothed for battle. Shoes were hard to get those days and rubber boots unheard of. The men wrapped their feet with burlap sacks and marched in the snow. Once again he returned home safely after being on guard in Echo Canyon through the winter.
James Bevan lived the Word of Wisdom. He never tasted tea, coffee, tobacco or liquor in his life. He was Senior President of the 43rd Quorum of Seventies for many years. He expected his children to also live their religion and obey the principles of the Gospel.. He has a large posterity of about eight hundred at the time of this writing (1947). Many of his children and descendants have served missions for the church and as members of bishoprics, patriarchs, etc. In World War II more that forty descendants served in the armed forces of the United States.
James kept in touch with his brothers and their families back in New York State. Since it was difficult for him to write, not having much schooling in his younger life, he had his daughter Mariah Jane write the letters for him.. Her daughter, Emily Bolschwiler Sterzer had letters that her mother had received from the children of these brothers as the families kept in touch over the years. J. Alex Bevan, son of John A. Bevan, told of looking up the families of the two brothers who lived in New York State. He mentioned they had a strong resemblance, and treated him fine and were interested in the Utah family, Some of these family members visited the Utah family of Bevan's in Tooele several times and kept in touch with various family members in Tooele.
Death came to James Bevan at the age of seventy three on October 26, 1894. He was loved and respected by all those who knew him. He used to bless all his grandchildren, and I (Alice Bates Herron, daughter of his daughter Sarah) was the last child to receive his blessing.
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[Heading is missing from the copy of the Obituaty, but it assumed it's from the The Tooele Transcript Bulletin]
Obituary: James Bevan
How familiar is the name of James Bevan to the older residents of Tooele county. His name recalls a man of strong character of robust nature, of determination - a true Mormon Pioneer.
James Bevan was born in Herefordshire, England, on Oct. 19, 1821, 'the son of John Bevan and Ann Bairfoot,' both of Herefordshire. He was about 25 years of age when he joing the 'Mormon' Church and started on that great pilgrimnage to the unknown West. Mr. Bevan was at Council Bluffs at the time of the government's call for volunteers to aid in the war with Mexico. He was among the first to enlist and served in Company A, under command of Jefferson Hunt. The Mormon Battalion was discharged in Loa Angeles in July 1847, and Mr. Bevan arrived in Salt Lake City the same year. He then returned to Council Bluffs, Iowa, with the Battalion boys. He was not long in Council Bluffs, for in 1852 he returned to Utah and settled in Tooele, where he spent the rest of his life. In tooele Mr. Bevan proved a useful citizen. He was an active Church worker, serving as senior president of the Forty-third quorum of Seventy for many years. His occupation was farming, and in this line he became very skilled. He was helpful in the development of atriculture in Tooele County. He died in 1894 at the age of 73.
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James Bevan
James Bevan was the son of John and Ann Bairfoot Bevan of Herefordshire, England where he was born October 19, 1821.
When he was twenty-six years of age he heard the Gospel as preached by the Mormon missionaries and was baptized. He left his native land with other converts, hoping to join the Saints in Zion.
James Bevan was among the volunteers to join the Mormon Battalion. When the sick detachment was sent to Pueblo, James Bevan was a member of the group. although James was a strong young man, he became ill, and was left by the side of the road. He often told his children how he lay alone until he saw a man on horseback approching him. When the man saw him he discounted, gave him some water and medicine, then disappeared as quicky ashe had come. James began to feel better and started on his way again. He found the camp of the Battalion and was warmly greeted. Many believed that a messenger from God had saved his life. He arrived in Salt Lake Valley, July 1847.
In the year 1850, James returned to Council Bluffswhere he married Mary Shields on the 9th of May. Upon his return to Salt Lake he acquired a tract of land and took up farming.
During the period of the Johnston Army episode, James was Captain of ten men stationed in Echo Canyon. He was Senior President of the 43rd Quorum of Seventies for many years, Death came to James Bevan at the age of seventy-three on October 26, 1894.
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Notes from The Tooele Transcript Bulletin, Tooele, Utah, Tuesday, July 22, 1947:
Bevan Family In Utah, 100 Years Next Monday
Descendants of James Bevan, Pioneer, will observe the Centennial of his arrival into Utah next Monday, July 28th. The annual family reunion is scheduled here for Saturday at 8 p.m.
His posterity, all men and women of sterling quality, now number 800 souls and are one of the outstanding families of the state of Utah both in numbers, and service to community, state and church.
James Bevan was born in Herefordshire England, October 19, 1821, the son of James Bevan and Ann Barefoot, both of Herefordshire.
He was about 25 years of age when he joined the Mormon church. He came to America and was at Council Bluffs at the time of the government's call for volunteers to aid in the war with Mexico. He was among the first to enlist and served in company A under command of Jefferson Hunt.
He went as far as Santa Fe and was sent back to Pueblo, Colorado with some of the Battalion boys who were sick and was there when the first Pioneers, under Brigham Young, made their trek to Utah. Wilford Woodruff sent two men by horseback to Pueblo to notify them to come north until they struck their trail, then to follow them through, which they did and arrived in Salt Lake Valley July 28, 1847.
He returned to Council Bluffs the following spring with some of the Battalion boys. Here he met the Shields family and was married to Mary Shields. John A. Bevan was born at Winter Quarters.
Forty two of his descendants were in the service during world war two. They were grandsons or great grandsons, one great granddaughter served as a nurse during the war. Two daughters and two sons are still in the service.
The surviving daughters and sons are Sarah Bevan Bates. Annie Bevan Speirs, Amos Bevan, County Commissioner, and Archibald Bevan, druggist.
He endured all of the hardships and poverty of the new community - helped in killing the snakes and building the bridges, made roads into the canyons, dug irrigation ditches, helped build the mud wall, cut and hauled logs for the log house and poles for the fences.
He owned an irrigated farm west of the town and cut the grain with a cradle and thrashed the bundles with a flail to obtain the wheat. Wild hay was hauled from Six Mile and Fishing Creek northeast of Grantsville, to feed the horses and cattle in the winter. James Bevan brought the first lucern or alfalfa seed from California which eventually replaced the wild hay.
The deceased children were Isabell Elkington, George Bevan, who was never married, Martha England, Marya Boshweiler, Mary Fennell Mahken, John A. Bevan, Primrose Walters, Heber J. Bevan, Joseph Bevan, Eliza Skelton, and Violet Johnson.
His posterity number over 800 at this time.
Ancestors traced back to Mormons
Sue
Rice lives at Orcop near Garway in Hereforshire and she has found out
it was a busy place for the Mormon missionaries back in the 1840s...
Nearly
two thousand local people were converted to the Mormon faith and left
their homes for what they thought was a better life in America.
A woman from Herefordshire has traced her family tree back to one to one of those original converts.
Sue Rice isn't a member of the Mormon church but is fascinated by what she's found out about her ancestors.
Sue Rice recording her story
On her Mother's side of the family she is related to one of the first converts who emigrated from this area.
James
Bevan was a Mormon Pioneer of 1842 and he helped build the Old Fort in
Salt Lake which is the site of Pioneer Square today.
He also fought for the US army with the Mormon Battalion and somehow during this time he also managed to father twenty three children!
"I have discovered that there were five young men from Herefordshire who were amongst the 500 who formed the Mormon Battalion which marched 2,000 miles from Iowa to California, supposedly one of the longest treks in military history.
"They were the first group to bring wagons west across the deserts and are given credit for forging the first east-to-west road through the region."
Sue continues: "Garway Hill, where I live, is fairly central to the area covered by these preachers, which is probably the reason why they spent so much time here.
"From the top of the hill there is a magnificent view to the Cotswolds and Malverns on one side and the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons on the other.
"From here it is staggering to see the vast distances they were travelling on their missions."
Sue's mum has a copy of James Palmer's diary because he met and married into her family when he was in this area.
He was a stonemason by trade so, when he arrived in Salt Lake, he worked on the building of the great Salt Lake Temple.
Sue said "A large number of the Holley family converted and emigrated from here, and there are still relatives of these living in the area.
"We held a Holley reunion a few years ago with descendants coming from America and meeting their relatives from England and Wales."
A woman from Herefordshire has traced her family tree back to one to one of those original converts.
Sue Rice isn't a member of the Mormon church but is fascinated by what she's found out about her ancestors.
Sue Rice recording her storyHe also fought for the US army with the Mormon Battalion and somehow during this time he also managed to father twenty three children!
"I have discovered that there were five young men from Herefordshire who were amongst the 500 who formed the Mormon Battalion which marched 2,000 miles from Iowa to California, supposedly one of the longest treks in military history.
"They were the first group to bring wagons west across the deserts and are given credit for forging the first east-to-west road through the region."
Sue continues: "Garway Hill, where I live, is fairly central to the area covered by these preachers, which is probably the reason why they spent so much time here.
"From the top of the hill there is a magnificent view to the Cotswolds and Malverns on one side and the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons on the other.
"From here it is staggering to see the vast distances they were travelling on their missions."
Sue's mum has a copy of James Palmer's diary because he met and married into her family when he was in this area.
He was a stonemason by trade so, when he arrived in Salt Lake, he worked on the building of the great Salt Lake Temple.
Sue said "A large number of the Holley family converted and emigrated from here, and there are still relatives of these living in the area.
"We held a Holley reunion a few years ago with descendants coming from America and meeting their relatives from England and Wales."
Harvest in Herefordshire
The Spirit led Wilford Woodruff to a field prepared by the Lord.
Wilford Woodruff could not help but wonder what would be the effect of the inspiration he felt that March day in 1840, during his first mission to England. He and Elder Alfred Cordon were already having some success at their missionary work in the Staffordshire Potteries district. But the voice of the Spirit was telling him to go elsewhere.
Wilford Woodruff.
In February of 1873, he recalled:
“I went one evening to fill an appointment at the town hall, in the town of Hanley. There was a very large congregation, and I had appointments out for two or three weeks in that town and adjacent villages. As I went to take my seat the Spirit of the Lord came upon me and said to me, ‘This is the last meeting you will hold with this people for many days.’ I was surprised, because I did not know, of course what the Lord wanted me to do. I told the assembly when I rose, ‘This is the last meeting I shall hold with you for many days.’ They asked me after meeting where I was going. I told them I did not know. I went before the Lord in my closet and asked him where he wished me to go, and all the answer I could get was to go to the South. I got into a stage and rode eighty miles south, as I was led by the Spirit of the Lord.” 1
This response to inspiration initiated one of the most fruitful missionary journeys in the history of the restored Church.
President Woodruff spoke of the ensuing months in Herefordshire as one of the highlights of his life. He rejoiced in the revelation that called him there, always acknowledging the hand of the Lord in the rich spiritual harvest he helped gather.
Wilford Woodruff was born and grew up in Connecticut. In 1832 he moved with a brother to New York, where, a year later, he was converted to the Church after hearing two Latter-day Saint missionaries preach on the restoration of the gospel. Shortly after his baptism in December 1833, he journeyed to Kirtland, Ohio, where he first met Joseph Smith and other early Church leaders. He participated in the Zion’s Camp march to Missouri in 1834 and labored as a missionary in Arkansas and Tennessee that fall and the next year. He was back in Kirtland by the fall of 1836. In Kirtland, he saw the temple, received his patriarchal blessing from Joseph Smith, Sr., and married Phoebe Carter in April 1837. He continued to do active missionary work, including traveling to the Fox Islands, off the coast of Maine. 2
While proselytizing along the Atlantic Seaboard in 1838, he received notice that he had been called to become a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and to prepare himself to preach in England. Delayed by illness and the tasks of organizing the immigration of about fifty of his converts to Missouri, Wilford was unable to get any farther than Rochester, Illinois, when he learned of the forced expulsion of his fellow Saints from Missouri, late in 1838. He stayed in Illinois, moving his family to Quincy in the spring of 1839.
To fulfill an earlier commandment that those leaving for the British Isles ought to depart from the temple site in Far West, Missouri (see D&C 118:5), Wilford and his fellow missionaries traveled back to the area from which the Saints had recently been forceably evicted. On 26 April 1839, Wilford, along with George A. Smith, was ordained an Apostle. He then returned to Illinois, settled his young family in Montrose, Iowa, and in spite of serious personal illness, started for England on 8 August 1839. 3 With several other members of the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Woodruff arrived in Liverpool on 11 January 1840.
The first LDS missionaries had arrived in England in July of 1837. Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, and several others had concentrated their efforts in the areas north and east of Liverpool, particularly in Preston and Manchester. By early 1840, there were approximately 1,500 members of the Church in England. The coming of the group of apostolic missionaries would see the work greatly expanded.
Six days after his arrival, Elder Woodruff was assigned by a conference in Preston to accompany Theodore Turley to the “Potteries,” where they were to preach and further organize branches of the Church. Several months later, Elder George A. Smith wrote of the Staffordshire Potteries: “The greater portion of China and Earthen ware sold in America is made in this district; about 70,000 persons obtain a good living when there is employment but vast numbers are now out of work, in consequence of the depression in trade; consequently, in a state of starvation. I have seen more beggars here in one day than I saw in all my life in America. I have seen delicate females gathering manure to get a living for their famishing children.” 4 Elder Woodruff described a similar situation in Manchester as he was heading south: “There is trouble this morning in this town. … About 3,000 souls is flung out of employ at the factories because of the pressure of time & the lowering of the wages & they are standing in every corner of the streets in groups counciling what to do, & their are at the present time (I have been informed) thousands of Souls [who] are almost in a State of uter starvation.” 5
On January 22, when he was in the midst of the Potteries, he wrote in his journal, “The potteries include the following Market towns: Tunstell [Turnstall] Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Laneend, & several other villages. The whole population of the Potteries in 1838 was 65,000.” The area to the south was even more industrial. He described the consequences of the Industrial Revolution for that area in detail:
“It would be a difficult task to give a description of the country from Birmingham to Woverhampton. I never saw any thing that comes so near the description of the Lake of fire & Brimstone Spoken of by the Revelator John as several miles of that country for it is one universal mass of coal pits & Iron mines & while thousands of human beings are under ground at work in the midst of fire, Brimston, sulpher, Gas & cole &c. the whole face of the earth & heavens air & horizon men, women, & houses, are filled & Coverd with the composition of fire, cinders, Gas, sut [soot], & smooke of their miserry & labours that assended up out of their piles, firnesses, & pitts from day to day & from year to year.” 6
Maps show detail of the Herefordshire area.
His missionary work in the Staffordshire Potteries illustrates the proselyting techniques of early missionaries. Traveling without purse or scrip, they usually made their first contacts with Church members, or members’ friends or relatives. Various individuals willingly shared their houses and food with the missionaries. Then the elders used these homes as bases of operation for sorties into the regions nearby. Elder Woodruff thus preached at William Hume’s home in Stoke, dined and slept at Isaac Whittaker’s in Burslem, and preached at a Brother Wood’s in Newcastle. Through these people, he gained access to dozens of other homes.
He preached basic principles of the gospel, rehearsed the early history of Joseph Smith, discussed the Book of Mormon, and bore testimony about the importance of the Restoration. He answered questions, sometimes dodged rotten eggs from hecklers, and distributed tracts to those who wished to read further about the restored gospel. Almost all his traveling was done on foot. He regularly recorded in his journal the distance he had walked; during this period he averaged between four and eight miles per day.
From January 22 to March 2, Elder Woodruff worked hard as a missionary in the various towns around Stoke-on-Trent. Of particular interest was his relationship with William and Ann Benbow in Hanley. William was the keeper of a provision store at the Hanley Market Place. He and his wife had already joined the church through the efforts of Alfred Cordon and were strong in the faith. It was probably through the Benbows of Hanley that Wilford learned of John Benbow of Herefordshire—and more particularly of the United Brethren, of which John was a member.
The day after he celebrated his thirty-third birthday, Elder Woodruff recorded in his journal, “The Lord warned me to go to the south.” 7 And so he began his eighty-mile journey. Herefordshire would subsequently prove to be one of the most successful missionary areas in nineteenth-century Britain.
Unlike the Potteries area, Herefordshire was predominantly rural, with most of the land devoted to agriculture, particularly to a variety of fruit orchards. Its farms and orchards helped to supply industrial towns with foodstuffs; no doubt William Benbow’s store in Hanley was supplied with Herefordshire produce.
William’s brother John was a well-to-do farmer who lived near Ledbury. He seems to have been a tenant farmer, essentially leasing about three hundred acres of land. (Following his conversion to the Church, he was evicted from the property.) Thus, in company with William Benbow, Wilford Woodruff arrived in Herefordshire and sought out John Benbow.
It was John Benbow’s home that provided Elder Woodruff his first preaching location in the Herefordshire area. 8 This was particularly important because of John Benbow’s connection to the United Brethren, a break-off from the Primitive Methodists. It was a connection that soon opened many other homes to Elder Woodruff.
In a real sense, the United Brethren were to early LDS missionary work in Herefordshire what the Campbellites had been to Latter-day Saint proselytizing in 1830 in Ohio. 9 For here was a group, just like the followers of Sidney Rigdon earlier, who had been prepared for the message of the Restoration. About six hundred individuals living in the larger Herefordshire area, many of them from among the poorer classes, had broken with the Methodist movement begun by John Wesley because of its growing wealth and formalism. They had gathered around the leadership of Thomas Kington, and about 1834 the group had been expelled from the Primitive Methodists, a smaller schism from the Methodist movement. They had about forty lay preachers who were providing leadership and preaching when Elder Woodruff arrived in March 1840.
Members of the United Brethren were living in Herefordshire, Worcestershire, and Gloucestershire and had formed into two conferences (circuits), centered at Froome’s Hill and Gadfield Elm. Influenced by John Bunyon’s Pilgrim’s Progress, the early Puritan work which stressed deep personal piety and the need for the true Christian to view this life as a pilgrimage back to God’s presence, this group was open to the new revelation Elder Woodruff brought. Their habit of daily prayer and their stress on family life also assured his message a warm and honest reception. 10
Elder Woodruff took every opportunity to preach to these people after his arrival on March 4. By March 16, he had obtained a preaching license from a local magistrate. The fact that many of the homes of the United Brethren had been already licensed as preaching locations provided ready-made centers for his work.
The pivotal convert was Thomas Kington, Superintendent of the United Brethren. Elder Woodruff recorded that on March 17 he “lade the whole work of the fulness of the gospel before him & he seemed to receive the testimony.” On March 21, Brother Kington was baptized, and the next day Elder Woodruff ordained him an elder.
Within a short time, many members of the United Brethren followed his example, investigating and joining the Church. In April, with the work well underway in Herefordshire, the young Apostle returned to Preston for a general conference. At this conference, a more formal organization was given to the Church in England, and it was decided to publish a hymnbook and to begin a periodical. Representing 160 members of the Church in Herefordshire, Elder Woodruff gave a detailed report of the work there. Its prospects were so good that Brigham Young and Willard Richards decided to return with him. Elder Young used this opportunity to acquaint himself with the area and its members. Several times he and Elder Woodruff climbed to the top of Malvern Hill to pray, meditate, and plan more carefully their activities in England. From a point called the Herefordshire Beacon, they could survey the surrounding countryside and enjoy the solitude of an area that is still generally rural. 11
During Brigham Young’s visit, the Church leaders obtained from John Benbow a donation of £300 to be used for printing the Book of Mormon. 12 This first European edition consisted of 5,000 copies and appeared in 1841. (Always a generous man, Brother Benbow later gave £100 to help about fifty individuals emigrate to America.) Shortly afterward, Brigham Young returned to Manchester to see several publishing projects through to completion.
John Taylor, writing from Liverpool about this time, provided Church leaders in the United States with a glimpse of Wilford Woodruff’s activity: “Elder Woodruff, has lately left the Potteries where he was and has gone to another neighborhood, and is making Methodist preachers scarce, he baptised 32 persons in one week thirteen of them were Methodist preachers.” 13
By the middle of May 1840, it is estimated that more than 320 people in the area had joined the Church. 14 Elder Woodruff’s journal records the variety of spiritual experiences that accompanied this growth. There were healings (a woman, Mary Pitt, who had walked only with crutches for eleven years, was healed through the laying on of hands) and various visions and dreams that united new members and strengthened their faith. These experiences helped to create more fully a community of Saints.
By June it was clear to Elder Woodruff that a more formal organization was needed for the Church in the area. Using the two conferences established by the United Brethren (since a large percentage of the converts were from this group), and following the counsel of Brigham Young, he organized them into LDS conferences. On 14 June 1840, the Gadfield Elm Conference (in Worcestershire) was organized. It consisted of twelve branches, at Dymock, Kilcott, Twigworth, Haw Cross, Bran Green, Lime Street, Ryton, Deerhurst, Apperly, Norton, Leight, and Gadfield Elm; about half of them were on the south side of the River Severn, the rest on the north side. 15 One week later the Froome’s Hill Conference was organized, consisting of twenty branches. 16 Thomas Kington was made president of both conferences. In his journal on 22 June 1840, Elder Woodruff wrote that total membership for the area was 541; of these, he had personally baptized 300. 17
In July 1840, Elder Woodruff traveled to Manchester to attend a general conference. On July 6, he reported 1,007 members in the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire areas. 18 Four days before, he had recorded in his journal a vision of Ann Booth, 19 in which she had seen the redemption of John Wesley and many of his followers. Perhaps he sensed a connection with his own very successful work among the United Brethren.
With a firm foundation established, Elder Woodruff felt no need to confine his activities to this area. Thus, after a short visit to the Ledbury area, he left to help open the city of London to the gospel on August 17. He visited the Herefordshire area briefly again in September, but feeling the members there were remaining strong in the Church, returned to London.
He stayed in London until February 1841, helping to lay the foundations of the Church there. He once again visited the Herefordshire area in March on his way to Manchester for a final conference prior to returning to America. On 6 April 1841, Elder Woodruff reported 1,410 members in the Gadfield Elm and Froome’s Hill Conferences. 20 Combined, they were the largest single group of LDS converts in those early years.
In 1875, Elder Woodruff looked back on his work among the United Brethren and recalled, “They as a people were prepared for the word of the Lord, and I wanted to catch them in the gospel net.” 21 He took great delight in his later years in proclaiming that very few of the converts from this area had left the Church. 22 But he took no credit to himself for their conversion. “I brought eighteen hundred into the Church in that mission, and I will say that the power of God rested upon me and upon the people. There was a spirit to convince and a people whose hearts were open and ready to receive the gospel.
Notes from History of James Bevan - Pioneer of 1847 - Octobert 19, 1821 to October 26, 1894 - written by Alice Bates Herron, granddaughter with comments by June Bevan Garrard and J. Alex Bevan:
In almost every city of village there are some outstanding citizens who are remembered long after their death for their work and achievements in the community where they lived. James Bevan was such a man. He was the son of John Bevan and Ann Burford of Herefordshire, England. He was born in Orcop Herefordshire, England. He had five brothers and one sister, Betsey (Elizabeth). The family had lived in this community for generations. When Leo Bevan (grandson) was on his mission, he visited the place and said it had a wonderful location among rolling green hills and peaceful valleys. John Bevan was living in the same house. Leo saw the brook or stream where grandfather was baptized.
The family origin and name is of Welch extraction, and as was the Welch habit, a man was called Ap, meaning 'son of'. Our ancestors were named Evan and were ApEvan, son of Evan, and then took the form of Bevan and was procounced Bev-an.
James was just a young man when he heard the Mormon missionaries preach the Gospel in his home town and like many other young men in those days, he longed for adventure and a chance to make a start in life for himself. He believed the doctrice of the missionaries and was baptized a member of the Mormon Church on October 19, 1840. After a sad farewell to his loved ones at home, he started on the long voyage across the ocean to America along with many other converts to the church.
When the converts reached America, and the home of the Saints at Nauvoo, they found conditions very bad because the Saints were being driven out of the city by the mobs of unbelievers. James Bevan believed in the Gospel and wanted to help. They had about 500 wagons ready to start the journey across the plains to the west.
About this time the United States was having trouble with Mexico, and Captain James Allen of the United States Army arrived in Mt. Pisgah on June 26, 1846, with the request for five comnpanies of volunteers to help fight the war with Mexico. Under his direction 541 soldiers, 35 women (20 of whom were designated as laundresses), and 42 children began their march to Fort Leavenworth on 21 July 1846. From the Church History Student Manual, we read "Before they left, the officers, all of whom had been selected by Church leaders, met privately with members of the Twelve. The Brethren promised them that their lives would be spared if they were faithful. Sergeant William Hyde reported that they were charged “to remember their prayers, to see that the name of the Deity was revered, and that virtue and cleanliness were strictly observed. [The troops were instructed] to treat all men with kindness … and never take life when it could be avoided.”Church History in the Fulness of Times Young James Bevan was a member of this group. They received their arms and camp supplies; they began their long march to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The march was a long and dangerous one, over rough territory where roads had to be made. Sickness took many lives, but the Battalion could not stop for sick men and women. Those who died were buried by the way while others traveled on. One of the companies of the Battalion consisted of the families of the volunteers.
There were so many sick people in the Battalion that they decided to divided it into two groups. One was for the able-bodied men and the other was for the sick and weak. On October 18, 1846, the sick detachment, consisting of about ninety men, left Santa Fe for Pueblo under the command of Captain James Brown. James Bevan was a member of the group, having been chosen to help care for the sick.
The march was one of hardships and suffering because of the lack of food and water, and as a result, many died on the way. Although James Bevan was a strong man, he also became ill, and was left by the side of the road as dead. He often told his children how he lay there alone and saw a man on horseback approach him. The man left his horse and came and administered to him, giving him something to drink and some medicine. James began to feel al lot better and so started on his way again. He found the camp of the Battalion and was geeted with surprise and wonder. They all believed that a messenger from God had saved his life. The messenger was believed to be one of the Three Nephites.
The sick Battalion wintered in 1846 in Pueblo, Colorado. They joined with a group of Mississippi Saints who were already wintering there awaiting the arrival of spring and Brigham Young's company. They joined Brigham Young a few days after he arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, probably July 28, 1847
On or before 1850, James Bevan returned to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he met and married Mary Shields, May 9, 1850 She was the daughter of John Shields and Primrose Cunningham, and was born October 29, 1827 in Glasgow, Scotland. (His grandson, J. Alex Bevan, says in a short history that he wrote that James went back to Council Bluffs in the fall of 1847. . He also stated that two of James Bevan's brothers came to America after him and settled in New York State, although they did not join the church, and preferred to stay in a more civilized area of the country.
After James and Mary Shields were married, they stayed in Council Bluffs and their first child, a son, John Alexander, was born February4, 1851. They returned to Utah, traveling in the company with Mary's family, her parents and others of the Shields family.
They arrived in 1852 and settled in Tooele where the following children were born to them: Mary, on November 17, 1852; Primrose, on January 8, 1855; Elizabeth, on November 6, 1860, Joseph Shields on February 15, 1862m, Eliza on December 29, 1864, Margaret on August 30m 1866m, Archibald on September 8,m 1868 and Violet on October 8, 1872. The first child, John alexander, was born in Council Bluffs, as mentioned above.
James married Isabella mcPherson as his second plural wife, on November 3, 1859. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland on September 27, 1837 and was a girlhood friend of Mary Shields. The children born to them were: Isabella on October 16, 1860; George on September 4 or 24, 1862; Annie on September 11, 1864; Hugh on January 20, 1866; twins, Martha and Mary on February 18, 1868; Charles on September 11, 1870 or 1871; Sarah on October 15, 1872; Alexander on March 31, 1874; Mariah Jane on November 13, 1876; and Amos on July 26, 1879.
James also helped to rear two other children besides his own. They were a happy family in spite of the early pioneer hardships. Their home was made of logs, with a thatched roof, candles were used for light and wood for heating. The home was built where the Amos Bevan home stands today, on South Main Street, between 1st and 2nd South in Tooele,
Like all early pioneers, James'chief occupation was farming. A man acquired a tract of land, planted fruit trees, raised his grain for bread, had bees to supply their honey, and raised cows, sheep or pigs for their meat. Each family had chickens and sold eggs at the market.
Sometimes he would earn extra money by hauling logs for the hills to build new homes in the village. One time while he was in the canyon loading logs in his wagon, he paused in his work to fry some pancakes for his lunch. It was necessary in thoe days to carry some flour, a frying pan and othe provisions with them in the hills.
This time he had made the fire and had a pancake cooking when he was startled to hear a noise behind him. He turned quickly to investigate the noise and was face to face with Weiber Tom, a very large and fearsome Indian who was feared by all the settlers in the area. The Indian looked very mean, raised his tomahawk and said, ...I kill you.... James Bevan was not a coward, but he feared the Indian because he was unarmed and no match physically for such a large Indian. He offered a silent prayer to God,m and then he reached over to the fire and handed the cooked pancake to the Indian, saying, ...You eat.... To his relief, Weiber Tom took the offered cake and said, ...Me eat.... James baked more pancakes for the Indian until he was well fed. Then, to his suprise, Weiber Tom walked to the wagon that he had been loading with logs and helped him load them. When the load was completed, he climbed on the load with James and rode out of the hills to James' home where he met the family. He was given more food, and from that time on, he was friend of the Bevan family. It was a common sight to see the Indian at their home. He would ask if Cap Bevan was home; if not, he would wait out in the yard, and when he saw James coming with his team and wagon, he would run out to meet him like a child.
Later on, James Bevan hauled ore from Stockton, Utah to Salt Lake City by team. One time, about where the Eagle Gate is today, his team became frightened and caused the load of ore to tip over on top of him. When he was picked up, they thought he was dead because every rib in his body was broken. He was taken home to die, but the elders administered to him and told him he would be spared because he had work here on earth to do, and God would spare his life for a purpose.
At times when the heavy rains came, the roof of the house would leak and the beds would be too damp to sleep in. As soon as possible the thatched roofs were replaced by tight ones made of wood.
The Bevan children wer kept very busy in the fall of the year, cutting peaches, apples, and prunes for drying; racks were built to dry the fruit on and when it was dired it was sacked and sometimes taken to Salt Lake to sell. It was a thrilling time when a family ha enough fruit to sell because they could exchange it for sewing material, sugar and other necessities which were very scarce in those days.
James Bevan was a kind but stern father, and when he made up his mind it was hard to change it, One time when the fruit was all dried and ready for market, he told the family he would take them to Salt Lake with him to sell the fruit. At daybreak, the horses were hitched to the wagon, the baskets of dried fruit were loaded, and then the family found places to sit. It was a long, tiresome ride to Salt Lake, but the children enjoyed the changing scenery along the way. They arrived in Salt Lake City in the late afternoon. The fruit was exchanged for other needed articles and then the children thought that they were allowed to stay all night and camp, as the other traders had done. Their father decided, however, that they should return home at once. Greatly disappointed they started on the homeward trip and were home by morning. It was a long trip to be made by team in those days and most people camped in a large cave situated in some low hills along the road by Garfield.
James Bevan and his family did not stop at this cave but traveled right on, thus making a much quicker trip. The neighbors were greatly surprised to see them home the next day and wouldn't believe they hade made the trip until they were shown the things they had bought while in Salt Lake City.
James Bevan was used to hardships and when Johnston's Army made the hostile entrance into Utah in 1857, he was captain over ten men in the Echo Canyon Campaign. It was winter and the men were poorly clothed for battle. Shoes were hard to get those days and rubber boots unheard of. The men wrapped their feet with burlap sacks and marched in the snow. Once again he returned home safely after being on guard in Echo Canyon through the winter.
James Bevan lived the Word of Wisdom. He never tasted tea, coffee, tobacco or liquor in his life. He was Senior President of the 43rd Quorum of Seventies for many years. He expected his children to also live their religion and obey the principles of the Gospel.. He has a large posterity of about eight hundred at the time of this writing (1947). Many of his children and descendants have served missions for the church and as members of bishoprics, patriarchs, etc. In World War II more that forty descendants served in the armed forces of the United States.
James kept in touch with his brothers and their families back in New York State. Since it was difficult for him to write, not having much schooling in his younger life, he had his daughter Mariah Jane write the letters for him.. Her daughter, Emily Bolschwiler Sterzer had letters that her mother had received from the children of these brothers as the families kept in touch over the years. J. Alex Bevan, son of John A. Bevan, told of looking up the families of the two brothers who lived in New York State. He mentioned they had a strong resemblance, and treated him fine and were interested in the Utah family, Some of these family members visited the Utah family of Bevan's in Tooele several times and kept in touch with various family members in Tooele.
Death came to James Bevan at the age of seventy three on October 26, 1894. He was loved and respected by all those who knew him. He used to bless all his grandchildren, and I (Alice Bates Herron, daughter of his daughter Sarah) was the last child to receive his blessing.
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[Heading is missing from the copy of the Obituaty, but it assumed it's from the The Tooele Transcript Bulletin]
Obituary: James Bevan
How familiar is the name of James Bevan to the older residents of Tooele county. His name recalls a man of strong character of robust nature, of determination - a true Mormon Pioneer.
James Bevan was born in Herefordshire, England, on Oct. 19, 1821, 'the son of John Bevan and Ann Bairfoot,' both of Herefordshire. He was about 25 years of age when he joing the 'Mormon' Church and started on that great pilgrimnage to the unknown West. Mr. Bevan was at Council Bluffs at the time of the government's call for volunteers to aid in the war with Mexico. He was among the first to enlist and served in Company A, under command of Jefferson Hunt. The Mormon Battalion was discharged in Loa Angeles in July 1847, and Mr. Bevan arrived in Salt Lake City the same year. He then returned to Council Bluffs, Iowa, with the Battalion boys. He was not long in Council Bluffs, for in 1852 he returned to Utah and settled in Tooele, where he spent the rest of his life. In tooele Mr. Bevan proved a useful citizen. He was an active Church worker, serving as senior president of the Forty-third quorum of Seventy for many years. His occupation was farming, and in this line he became very skilled. He was helpful in the development of atriculture in Tooele County. He died in 1894 at the age of 73.
[side article]
James Bevan
James Bevan was the son of John and Ann Bairfoot Bevan of Herefordshire, England where he was born October 19, 1821.
When he was twenty-six years of age he heard the Gospel as preached by the Mormon missionaries and was baptized. He left his native land with other converts, hoping to join the Saints in Zion.
James Bevan was among the volunteers to join the Mormon Battalion. When the sick detachment was sent to Pueblo, James Bevan was a member of the group. although James was a strong young man, he became ill, and was left by the side of the road. He often told his children how he lay alone until he saw a man on horseback approching him. When the man saw him he discounted, gave him some water and medicine, then disappeared as quicky ashe had come. James began to feel better and started on his way again. He found the camp of the Battalion and was warmly greeted. Many believed that a messenger from God had saved his life. He arrived in Salt Lake Valley, July 1847.
In the year 1850, James returned to Council Bluffswhere he married Mary Shields on the 9th of May. Upon his return to Salt Lake he acquired a tract of land and took up farming.
During the period of the Johnston Army episode, James was Captain of ten men stationed in Echo Canyon. He was Senior President of the 43rd Quorum of Seventies for many years, Death came to James Bevan at the age of seventy-three on October 26, 1894.
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Notes from The Tooele Transcript Bulletin, Tooele, Utah, Tuesday, July 22, 1947:
Bevan Family In Utah, 100 Years Next Monday
Descendants of James Bevan, Pioneer, will observe the Centennial of his arrival into Utah next Monday, July 28th. The annual family reunion is scheduled here for Saturday at 8 p.m.
His posterity, all men and women of sterling quality, now number 800 souls and are one of the outstanding families of the state of Utah both in numbers, and service to community, state and church.
James Bevan was born in Herefordshire England, October 19, 1821, the son of James Bevan and Ann Barefoot, both of Herefordshire.
He was about 25 years of age when he joined the Mormon church. He came to America and was at Council Bluffs at the time of the government's call for volunteers to aid in the war with Mexico. He was among the first to enlist and served in company A under command of Jefferson Hunt.
He went as far as Santa Fe and was sent back to Pueblo, Colorado with some of the Battalion boys who were sick and was there when the first Pioneers, under Brigham Young, made their trek to Utah. Wilford Woodruff sent two men by horseback to Pueblo to notify them to come north until they struck their trail, then to follow them through, which they did and arrived in Salt Lake Valley July 28, 1847.
He returned to Council Bluffs the following spring with some of the Battalion boys. Here he met the Shields family and was married to Mary Shields. John A. Bevan was born at Winter Quarters.
Forty two of his descendants were in the service during world war two. They were grandsons or great grandsons, one great granddaughter served as a nurse during the war. Two daughters and two sons are still in the service.
The surviving daughters and sons are Sarah Bevan Bates. Annie Bevan Speirs, Amos Bevan, County Commissioner, and Archibald Bevan, druggist.
He endured all of the hardships and poverty of the new community - helped in killing the snakes and building the bridges, made roads into the canyons, dug irrigation ditches, helped build the mud wall, cut and hauled logs for the log house and poles for the fences.
He owned an irrigated farm west of the town and cut the grain with a cradle and thrashed the bundles with a flail to obtain the wheat. Wild hay was hauled from Six Mile and Fishing Creek northeast of Grantsville, to feed the horses and cattle in the winter. James Bevan brought the first lucern or alfalfa seed from California which eventually replaced the wild hay.
The deceased children were Isabell Elkington, George Bevan, who was never married, Martha England, Marya Boshweiler, Mary Fennell Mahken, John A. Bevan, Primrose Walters, Heber J. Bevan, Joseph Bevan, Eliza Skelton, and Violet Johnson.
His posterity number over 800 at this time.
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