Brigham City

In an October General Conference in 1853, Lorenzo Snow was called to help the struggling saints in Box Elder (now Brigham City). He was to choose fifty families to go with him. The Rees family was one of those families. 

John D Rees was very active in Brigham City, both in service to the church and the community. He was one of only two home teachers and sent money to help Welsh emigrants. He held many civic positions as well.

From the Biography written about his life, it states:

"In the February election of 1869, six months after his return from Wales, John D. Rees was elected to the city council, and again in 1873. It was during his second term as councilman that he participated in a ceremony at South Willard on February 5, 1874, which celebrated the completion of the Utah Northern Railroad line between Ogden and Brigham City. 'The last spike, which had been made by John D. Rees, was driven in place by Judge Samuel Smith.'"

"In 1875, John D. Rees was elected Brigham City's second mayor, succeeding Chester Loveland. During his term of office as mayor, 'some of the civic accomplishments were the organization of a fire department, fencing the cemetery, parking and planting locust trees from the Courthouse to the West Depot. He set aside parking grounds and gave the city Pioneer Park grounds, specifying that it was to be used as a public park,' As a mark of respect for the gift it was officially named Rees Park. (This in later years was changed to Pioneer Park, and still later, about 1934 to Rees Pioneer Park.)"

Saving a Man

One Sunday, my father told a story about John D Rees in his priesthood meeting at church. After the meeting a ward member, Bob Merrill, came up to him and told him he had heard that name before. Later,  he found my father again and said he had found a story of John D Rees in a book about Marriner Wood Merrill, his ancestor. To hear the story, click on the podcast link.

Who knows where either family would be if this small miracle of pulling him out of the river had not occurred. It is amazing the connections that can be made through learning about our ancestors.

(Utah Pioneer and Apostle: Marriner Wood Merrill and His Family, In Possession of Robert Merrill, pg 30).

The Census

One of my favorite records to search when I am researching a family is census records. I love finding relationships and other very pertinent information to help me get an idea of what the family was like during that time.

At one point during my research, I wondered how families with multiple wives would be listed on a census record. I wondered if they would list them all as wives or as separate head of households. I did a search for John D Rees and his families in the 1860, 70 and 80 census. I was a little surprised at what I found...

From looking at different pages and families on census records, I found with a plural marriage family, the Husband is listed with one of his wives under his name, then the other wives would be listed all under the same surname. The only difference is the family numbers on the side would change indicating a different family. As you can see from these two records of the 1870 US Federal Census, at the bottom of the first one, Lorenzo Sann is listed and then his wives and children. The family continues on the next page with more wives and children.

I thought this would be the same for John D Rees and his family. He is listed at the bottom of the second page with his third wife Sela. I thought the rest of the wives must be listed on the next page. When I went to the next page, no other Rees family was listed. I did find his first wife in the same area but listed in a different place on the census.


By the 1880 Census, John had passed away. All of his wives are listed as widows in the census but again in different places. Two of them are still in Brigham City but on different pages. The other wife is in Idaho (refer to previous post to understand why).

To sum up, in 1860, he was listed with his first wife Mary. In 1870, with his third wife Zillah. He was not in the 1880 but again the wives were not listed together. I would love to understand one day the relationship that the three wives and children had together.

1. 1870 US Federal Census, Brigham City, Box Elder, Utah Territory. John D Rees. pg. 10 (Ancestry.com accessed 10 Oct 2015). NARA microfilm publication M593_1610.

When John D. Rees joined the church in 1846, he probably did not have a full understanding of the sacrifices he would make throughout his life for the gospel. He sacrificed living in his home country to live with the Saints in the United States. He was later called a missionary to go back to Wales and had to leave his family behind. He also had to leave his family behind when he was called to be in a Bishopric in Idaho.

In the biography created about his life it describes his dedication as such, "This call was a hard trial for John D. Rees, as his families were in Brigham City, also his civic and private interests; but true to his trust and the religion he loved, he went willingly, taking Cecelia and family with him the other two families remained in Brigham City. He drove back and forth, as there were no railroads in that direction, making trips as often as possible."

Along with this being said about his character overall:

"He was the father of twenty-seven children. They all remember him as always kind, cheerful, and thoughtful, often bringing them candy and gifts when he had been away. John D. Rees was five feet nine inches in height; had a broad, well-proportioned body; dark hair, laughing brown eyes, regular features, and such a genial disposition that all pronounced him a handsome man."

Even though I did not know him personally, I feel a connection with the example and legacy he left behind. He was a great man who made many sacrifices all because he believed in God's plan for him.

The Mission

As I said in an earlier post, one moment that linked me closer to John D Rees was finding his mission journal.

John D Rees was part of a group called during a general conference to serve in Europe. The following day they were given their specific assignments as to where in Europe they would be serving. He was called to go back to where he was from in South Wales.

Things were done a little differently back then for missions. Since the church was newer at this time, they not only needed men to spread the gospel but to be church leaders. At one point on his mission he was assistant to the President which back then meant something a little bit different. He was not only able to spread the gospel but                                                                    establish the church in South Wales.

He was married to at least two of his wives at this time and had some children. I love hearing of the sacrifices that my ancestors made for the gospel. It inspires me to follow his example.

A Mini Family Reunion

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to have a family reunion with all of your ancestors? I would love to have one with all of the descendants of John D Rees. John D Rees has affected so many lives, I would love to meet him one day and ask about his experiences. He changed so much in his life that has been passed down to generations. I love hearing his story.

John Davis Rees was born in Glamorganshire, South Wales on March 4, 1815. He was the third child of Meredith and Mary Davis Rees. When the first missionaries were called to spread the gospel in Europe, John and his first wife Mary Morgan were the first in their family to join the church. John and Mary were married on July 4, 1842 and had a few children before they discovered the church. It is not known how they were first introduced to the gospel, but they were baptized around the year 1846. In 1849, they traveled with the first group of emigrants from Wales to America.

They eventually made it to Utah and were able to be sealed together in 1852. John was advised to take a second wife. He married Mary's sister Jane the next month.

The story does not end there though. John was asked a few more times to take wives and had 4 wives overall. It is a long, interesting story that has been somewhat pieced together through research.  My line comes through his fourth wife Cecelia Howe.

When I do family history work and find new stories about my ancestors, I feel like I am having a mini reunion with that ancestor. I am able to learn about them and what they experienced in their lives. I am able to see their traits in my own family members.We all may not be sitting together face to face sharing stories, but I am able to feel closer to my ancestors the more I find. I hope to one day be able to all come together for a huge family reunion, but for now I will continue enjoying my mini reunions.

And so the interest began...

John Davis Rees was born on March 4, 1815 in Glamorganshire, South Wales. Around the year 1846, he and his wife Mary joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They were part of the first group of saints who emigrated from Wales to the United States. This Welsh Heritage is known throughout the family since he was the first ancestor to come to America.

My interest in this ancestor began in the Special Collections area of the BYU library. The only thing I knew about this area of the library at that time was that it stored old documents that need to be handled with care. A search online led me to find a journal for John D Rees stored here. Even though this was not related to my research, I felt a need to go and look at this journal. I found out this was not just any journal but his missionary journal which he kept while serving in Wales. Since he was called to serve in South Wales, he was able to teach some of his relatives and bring them into the church.

At that time in my life I was in the process of filing out paperwork for my own missionary service. I felt a real connection to this ancestor and felt like this was a confirmation from the Lord that I was supposed to serve a mission.  

Information about his life can be found in this pamphlet compiled by the family. (John Davis Rees Pamphlet)