Sarah Williams Bennion (1836-1854)

by Leon Williams and Helen Madsen

Little has been known of Sarah Williams, Samuel's second wife, until recently when descendants of Sarah's brother made contact with us. From early correspondence they had learned that Sarah had married a Bennion. In searching the archive records of the LDS Church they located the records submitted by the Bennions, listing Sarah, her sealing date to Samuel, and the possible of the birth of a son, Richard. It appears that both Sarah and Richard died in childbirth in 1854. It was therefore with great interest that we met with the Williams descendants to learn of Sarah, her parents and her history. Portions of that information are presented here.

Charles Williams, Sarah's father, was born May 28, 1805 in Hindford, Shropshire, England. He was the son of Thomas Williams and Mary Parry. He had one sister Ann (1805), and three brothers William (1808), John (1809), and Edward (1812).

The Whittington Parish records show that his parents were married September 7, 1801, and they lived in the vicinity of Whittington, Shropshire, England. From 1802 through at least 1812 the family lived in Ebnall, a small town about a half mile northwest of Whittington. In 1805, when Charles was born, they lived in Hindford, near Whittington. When Charles was a young man he was quite a sprinter and on one occasion while living near Whittington, he was riding in an open railroad car when his hat blew off. He hopped off the train, retrieved the hat and caught the train and got on again.

When Charles was 24 years old he married Mary Griffiths in the Parish of Whittington, on March 3, 1819. Mary Griffiths was born in May, 1810 in Hindford, the daughter of William Griffiths and Elizabeth Parry. She had four brothers Edward (1805), William (1807), John (1812), and Joseph (1816).

Charles and Mary were the parents of seven children: William (1829), Elizabeth (about 1832), Edward (1833), Sarah (1834), John (1840), Joseph (1843) and Charles (1847).

Charles Williams was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England on December 30, 1842.

On September 19, 1848, Charles boarded the ship "Sailor Prince" for passage to New Orleans. Leaving their oldest son William with Mary's parents, Charles and Mary took Sarah, 13, John, 8, Joseph, 5, and Charles, 1 with them. Edward had died in infancy and the whereabouts of Elizabeth is unknown. The ship sailed on September 24. The 950 ton ship was of British registry and captained by Master Allen McKechnie. The LDS Company leader was Lorenzo D. Butler, a returning American missionary. There were 311 persons on board. Three infants died during the voyage. The ship arrived in New Orleans on November 20, 1848, taking 57 days.

On November 24 Elder Butler and company sailed for St. Louis on the steamer "Grand Turk." There they obtained housing and employment for the winter. During the month of December cholera infected thousands of people in New Orleans and St. Louis, and Charles' wife Mary died at this time in St. Louis.

In the spring of 1849 Charles and the four children traveled up the Mississippi to Nauvoo, only to find the majority of the saints moving across the state of Iowa to Winter Quarters. During the trip across Iowa, the two youngest children, Joseph and Charles, also died. The father Charles, with Sarah and John, arrived in Ferryville, Iowa in the fall of 1849. There Charles met up with Mary's younger brother Joseph Griffiths and his wife Anne. Joseph Griffiths, Charles' brother-in-law, had come to Nauvoo in 1842 and following the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith had moved to Ferryville, near Winter Quarters. Joseph Griffiths and family had been making preparations to leave for Salt Lake in the spring of 1849, as soon as Charles and Mary and family arrived, but the sicknesses and deaths caused the trip to be postponed until the spring of 1850.

In a letter written on November 1, 1849, from Ferryville, Charles stated that "even though his troubles have been great his faith remains unshaken." In company with the Griffiths family, Charles and his two remaining children arrived in Salt Lake in the fall of 1850 and settled about 12 miles south of Salt Lake City in Union (Little Cottonwood). Charles was rebaptized October 19, 1850 in Little Cottonwood by James McClenahan and reconfirmed the same day by Silas Richards and B. Jones. Charles was a member of the Little Cottonwood Ward, according to the Bishop's Census of 1852. By 1853 he is listed as owning a wagon, oxen, steers, cows, sheep, pigs, farm tools, furniture and real estate in Little Cottonwood.

A letter from Charles Williams to friends back in England reveals a very strong testimony of the gospel. In spite of the trials and misfortunes that befell him, the loss of wife and children, he encouraged his friends to be strong, entreated them to come join the Saints, and pleaded with them to be obedient to gospel principles. He stated: "it is the same with me as it was when i have spoken to you to do before concerning the Principles of Eternal i hope you will be obedient to them and think it Not a idle talk."

A letter from Joseph Griffiths, Charles' brother-in-law, states: "Charles says that although his troubles has been great yet his faith is un shaken & He says he wants you to come on he would like to see you."

From the sealing records of the Endowment House, we learn that Sarah became Samuel Bennion's second wife on February 13, 1853. Sarah passed away in December, 1854, and word of mouth family history tells us that she and a child died in childbirth.

The Union Cemetery records show that Charles Williams is buried there with his second wife and his daughter. Since no evidence is known of children from the second marriage, and no other record of Sarah's burial is found in any other cemetery in the Salt Lake Valley, it is presumed that Sarah is the daughter referred to in the Union Cemetery records. If she and a child died in childbirth, it would be logical for the baby to be interred there also, but no mention of such is made in the cemetery records.

Additional information on Sarah may be forthcoming at some point. Leon Williams, a descendant of Sarah's brother John, has seen correspondence between the brothers of Sarah's mother, telling of Sarah's marriage to a baker from Liverpool, and there was a response telling of the grandparent's disapproval of the polygamist marriage. It is hope that we can obtain copies of these letters. They should give us further insight regarding Sarah, who is a little less of a mystery to us now.