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.