Ada Evans Williams
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| Ada Evans Williams |
Her parents were of the middle class. This term, as used in England and Wales of that day, meant that the family had a fairly good income and were in good standing in the civic, social and religious activities of the community.
It was not to be Ada's blessing to be raised in a home of the sort her parents offered. A home with kind, loving, parental care. Shortly after her birth her father died. A year or two later, Ada's father was followed in death by her mother. This left the three Evans children, Henry, Elizabeth, and Ada, orphans.
It was not completely tragic however. The children were taken into the home of their maternal grandmother, Hannah Ridden Bowering. In Mrs. Bowering's home, all of the love and care that the children had been deprived of by their parent's death was showered upon them by a devoted grandmother. This love and devotion proved to be the most wonderful that could befall three children. It changed their whole lives.
Grandmother Bowering owned a large estate near Cardiff, Wales. Here the children were raised amid everything necessary to make a very pleasant life. From the descriptions given by Ada in later life, this estate was a very beautiful place. Certainly, here Ada led a very sheltered childhood, receiving all the advantages of culture, education, and gracious living such an environment affords. All that she gained from such a childhood was reflected all through her life.
In 1849, missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints visited the Cardiff area. As their message spread through the countryside, Ada's family became interested. The Mormon elders were invited to the Bowering estate and, after a short time, the family accepted the teaching of this new religion. They were baptized into the LDS Church. Those who joined included Hannah Bowering, Hannah's daughter and her husband and their five children, Ada, Elizabeth and Henry Evans. Ada was eleven years old at the time of her baptism.
Living on the estate, employed as a gardener, was Ebenezer Albert Williams. He also heard and accepted the message of the Mormon elders and was baptized. Through his acceptance, it gave him a close tie to the Bowering family. This tie influenced his life very much because he later became the husband of Ada Evans.
Soon after the family's conversion to the LDS Church, plans were made to dispose of the estate. The family decided to sell the property in Wales so that they could move to the "gathering place of the Saints," the New Zion. It took some time to sell the estate. The sale took four years, but as soon as the estate was sold the family made plans to travel to America.
The family went to Liverpool, England to begin their journey to the New World. In Liverpool, Mrs. Bowering purchased tickets for fourteen people. Tickets were purchased for: Hannah Bowering, Esther Harris and her husband, the five Harris children, Henry Evans, Elizabeth Evans, Ada Evans, Thomas Howells, Thomas Jones, and Ebenezer Williams. The two Thomas' and Ebenezer were servants on the Bowering estate.
On February 5, 1853, the party boarded the sailing ship "Jersey"' for the trip to America. The crossing took six weeks. It is not known if the crossing offered any unusual experiences, but it can be assumed that the sea voyage was a fantastic experience for the land loving natives of Wales.
The Bowering party did not leave the ship when it docked in New York City. They stayed on the ship as it made a second U. S. call at the Port of New Orleans. In New Orleans the Bowering party went ashore. They stayed in New Orleans for several days, and then booked passage on a steamer traveling up the Mississippi River. There final destination was to be Keokuk, Iowa.
The party stayed in Keokuk until arrangements could be made to join a wagon train en route to the Utah Territory. Wagons were purchased and equipped. Provisions, such as food, clothing and seeds for planting had to be purchased also, Mrs. Bowering took charge of these purchases, and she insisted on buying the best that money could buy. Therefore, it was not an ill equipped group that joined the Claudius V. Spencer Company for the long trip to the valley of the Great Salt Lake.
The crossing of the Great Plains was made without incident. The party suffered the usual hardship that accompanied all who made such a trip, but they recorded no especially difficult experiences. The wagon train started from Iowa in March, and it was well into September of 1853 when they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.
The party was met by missionary friends who had taught them the gospel. They stayed in Salt Lake for a short period, and then moved to Provo, Utah for the winter.
While in Salt Lake City the first tragedy of the long journey hit them. Ada's sister, Elizabeth, died of what was called "Mountain Fever" just six weeks after arriving in the valley. She was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. While visiting in Provo, the Bowering party stayed with David Vincent. Mr. Vincent was the missionary who had baptized the family, and he proved to be a generous host to the weary travelers. The group spent the first winter in Utah living with Mr. Vincent and his family. The Vincent family were great friends, and the members of the Bowering party always spoke of the Vincent family with great gratitude for their kindnesses.
In the spring of 1854, Mrs. Bowering purchased a farm in Kaysville, Utah. Kaysville is located about 20 miles north of Salt Lake City. The city had rich farm land, and Mrs. Bowering purchased a farm there which was located on the mountain bench just east of the main Kaysville settlement.
The Bowering's lived on this farm for a short time, but eventually moved into the fort section of Kaysville because of the threat of Indians. Mrs. Bowering convinced Ebenezer Williams to stay on in her employ, and Ebenezer went from the town to the farm each day to plant the crops and tend the fields.
Two years after their arrival in Kaysville (1856), Ada Evans and Ebenezer Williams were married. Their first home was a small adobe house which stood in the block just north of the site where the present day Kaysville LDS Tabernacle now stands. The Williams' lived in this house until political unrest in the territory forced them to move once again to the Provo area.
After the political differences were straightened out, the Williams' moved back to the mountain road farm. A house had been built on the property, and into this home Ebenezer Williams moved his young wife and his aging grandmother-in-law. It was a comfortable home, and it was here that Hannah Ridden Bowering died in 1858.
Not long after Mrs. Bowering's death, Ebenezer and Ada purchased a home from Bishop Alan Taylor in the township of Kaysville. It was a large adobe house built in the pioneer style. It had two stories, with an upper and lower porch running across the length of the entire house. Minus the porches, the house is still standing today. Also, it is currently occupied.
Once the family was situated in the new home, Ada helped her husband start the first mercantile store in Kaysville. Their store was located on Main Street just one block east of their home. After the store got going, Ada ran a small hat shop in an addition that was attached to the main part of the store. In this hat shop, Ada made most of the hats that were worn by the women of the city. For a time, she hired other women to help her when the demand was strong; but, for the most part, she did all of the hat making by herself
Ada Williams was a very cultured and charming woman. She was very small in stature. This daintiness often belied her dynamic personality. Her hair was red, her eyes were blue, and she never in all of her eighty five years failed to stick to her convictions that personal care and good grooming were of the utmost importance. Some have called her proud. She was very active and quick in her movements, so this might have prompted the label "proud." However, with her keen mind and great energy she accomplished much. Perhaps some who labeled her as "proud" were a little jealous of her stamina and vigor.
Her devotion to her religion has been recorded in the many and varied contributions she made to her church. In the minutes of the first Relief Society in Kaysville, her name appears frequently recording testimonies she gave, prayers she offered and offices she held. She and Elouise Egbert were the first block teachers for that organization in the Kaysville Ward.
When the first Mutual Improvement Association (as it was called) was organized, she became its first president. This was in 1876, and she served in this position for six years.
In 1893, she was called to take a course in teaching for the Sunday School at the university in Provo. With her usual enthusiasm for a job and her great desire for improvement, she accepted the call. When she returned from Provo, she taught in the newly organized Sunday school for many, many years. As with the MIA, which she helped to establish, so with the Sunday School--she gave her very best.
In the life of the community, she was always an active member. Whether the activity was a social or a civic gathering, she did her part. Ever a lover of freedom and a champion of individual rights of citizenship, she was very active in politics. A club was organized in Kaysville which was strictly political in make-up. The club was called the Columbian Club. Its purpose was to interest the women of the town in the duties of citizenship. Ada served as its president.
Ada also worked for the right of the vote for women. She headed the Suffrage Association, and served as its president for many years. Never did she lose her interest in her country's affairs. She gave all that she had to her adopted country. She was never ashamed of being a Democrat, and she never missed a good, intelligent political argument when or wherever it appeared.
In her home, Ada was as efficient as in the other things that she did. From the testimonies of her children, we know that her home was a happy, well ordered home. She raised fourteen children, and her house was as happy and healthy a place as a home with that many children could be. All the things that made those pioneer homes so wonderful were exercised in the Williams home. Among the fond memories of Ada's grandchildren were the many family prayers that were offered by Ada and Ebenezer. Family prayer was a daily ritual in the Williams home, and the family was expected to gather at home for this event each night.
Ada's love of beauty was reflected in the things she kept in her house. She had a number of treasures that she had brought with her from her native Wales. The whatnot shelf was the delight of Ada's grandchildren. They continually pressed her for stories of her early life, and she never tired of telling about her treasures. Her story telling was enjoyed by everyone.
She often said that the hardest thing she ever had to do in her life was sell all of her lovely clothes in order to buy a spinning wheel. However, she learned to spin very well, and she made many very beautiful articles with the threads she spun on her wheel.
The flower gardens around the Williams home were the pride of the family. Ebenezer had been a gardener in his early life, and he and Ada spent many hours tending their beautiful flowers.
Ada was the mother of ten children-five girls and five boys. These children were: Henry Ebenezer, Thomas Edwin, Fred B., Orton A., Franklin, Matilda, Elizabeth Frances, Erminnie, and Elsie Victoria. Only Elsie Victoria died before reaching maturity.
In the early days of her marriage, Ada's husband took a second polygamy wife. However, this wife died quite young, and it fell to Ada to raise the children from this second family. When the children of the second family were still pretty small, their mother, Hannah Brandham Williams, died. Consequently, Hannah's children moved into Ada's home. From that day on, they were never referred to as her stepchildren. Ada would not allow this reference to be made. She treated the children of the second wife as if they were her own, and the children from the second family were very appreciative of this treatment. One of the boys of the second family, Alvin, died in his early youth, but the other four became part of Ada's family. These children were named: Horace, Jabez, Etta, and Mabel.
In the last years of her life, when other activities were impossible, Ada turned her attention to working in the LDS Temple in Salt Lake City. For several years, she journeyed to Salt Lake City each morning and returned at night, having spent the entire day in the Temple, However, one morning she failed to rise to this calling. She was found unconscious in her bed. She died on February 2, 1923 at the age of eighty five.
Thus ended the long, happy and useful life of one of Kaysville's first citizens.
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