FIRST GENERATION

WILLIAM PREECE (Father of Ezekiel Price)

William Preece was the first child born to Thomas Preece and Anne Collins Preece, of Richards Castle, Herefordshire, England. Although some Price family records indicate William was born on 4 January 1792 in nearby Aymestrey, Herefordshire, this early birth date does St. Bartholomew’s church, Richards Castle, Herefordshire, England, not accord with his where William Preece was christened on 21 February 1802. christening date, later census information, and his recorded age at death: church records indicate William was christened 21 February 1802, at St. Bartholomew’s (Anglican) Church in Richards Castle. This is likely near the time he was actually born. William’s six siblings all were born in Richards Castle; these brothers and sisters included: Jane, christened 7 September 1796; Thomas, christened 15 February 1799; John, born 7

The wedding certificate for William Preece’s parents, Thomas Preece and Ann Collins, dated 25 August 1794, in Richards Castle Parish. The rector, Thomas Baines performed the ceremony, witnessed by John Crawn and John Wigley (presumably friends of the couple).

3 December 1804; Mary, born 25 March 1807; Ezekiel born 11 June 1809; and Francis, born 27 February 1812.

William’s father Thomas Preece, is believed to be the son of Edward Preece (or Price) and Edward’s wife Sarah, both of Richards Castle. The Preece family name is Welsh, based on a remote ancestor whose Knighton, Radnorshire, Wales. William Preece and Mary Pugh were married at Knighton Parish Church in 1824. n ame was Rhys (pronounced “Reese”) and whose sons became known as “Ap Rhys” (“son of Rhys”). Members of this family seem to have lived for several generations in the general area where the Welsh border meets the English borders of both Shropshire and Herefordshire.

William grew up absorbing his father’s skills as a farm laborer. On 21 June 1824, when William was about 22, he married Mary Ann Pugh, the daughter of Evan and Mary Pugh of Radnor- shire. The marriage was recorded at Knighton, Radnor- shire, Wales. The parish record lists William as being Lower Lye Farm dates back to the 16th century. William was a laborer from Bucknell, at Lower Lye in 1833. (Sketch by William A. Green, www.ewgreen.org) across the border

4 A typical Radnorshire farmer watches over his animal charges as depicted in this early 19th century map decoration. in Shropshire (probably a working address), just a few miles away. The marriage was conducted by the minister, Bob Morris. Witnesses to this marriage were Edward Philfist and Anne Pugh. (Anne may possibly have been a sister of the bride.) Mary Pugh may have been about eight years older than William.

The first child of William and Mary was Henry Thomas Preece, born 5 April 1825 at Astley, near Stourport-on-Severn in Worcestershire. Two years later, a daughter, Ann, was born in Knighton, probably in 1827 (give or take one year). A second son was born, probably about 1830, and was named William, but the child died in infancy. Ezekiel Preece was born 5 February 1833 during the time when his father William was occupied as a farm laborer at Lower Lye Farm near Aymestrey, Herefordshire. The fifth child and fourth son born to William and Mary was William Evan Preece, born 24 January 1837 in Presteigne, Radnorshire, Wales.

In spring of 1840, missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints arrived from America and began preaching the Restoration of the true gospel in Herefordshire and surrounding regions. They created a local commotion. One missionary, Elder Wilford Woodruff, baptized over 600 converts in a pond at a local farm in just a few months’ time. A family tradition indicates that it was close to this same time that Elder Woodruff (or perhaps another Mormon elder) visited the Preece home (probably in Aymestrey) and found William’s wife Mary on her sickbed. Mary had been given up by the family as dying, but the Mormon missionaries gave her a priesthood blessing, and she unexpectedly recovered. Mary (and possibly her

5 daughter Ann) were baptized into the LDS Church at that time. (A 1923 account written by a grandson, William Henry Price, indicates that the family father, William Preece Sr., was also baptized at the same time.) The three youngest children in the family, Ann, Ezekiel, and William Jr., were also eventually Above: St. John and St. Alkmund (Anglican) Church in Aymenstrey, baptized into the Herefordshire, where Ezekiel Price, the son of William and Mary, Church. William’s was christened in April 1833. It is possible that William Preece may oldest son, Henry be buried here. Below: William’s death certificate. Thomas Preece, in his mid-teens, was the only family member who chose not to affiliate with the new religion.

The blessing given to Mary Pugh Preece included a promise that she would eventually come to America. Accordingly, the converts in the Preece family began

6 Aymestrey, near the Welsh border in Herefordshire, is still surrounded by verdant hills and fields. Flocks of sheep have grazed here for centuries. to look toward an eventual emigration to join the Saints in the United States; however, their economic circumstances were modest to the extreme. Both parents, William and Mary, had frail health, and it was extremely difficult to put aside funds toward emigration.

The 1841 Census enumerated William and his family while they were living in Shirley Place, Aymestrey, Herefordshire, England. William was listed as an agricultural laborer, age 40; Mary was age 45; the three children at home were Henry, age 15; Ezekiel, age 8; and William, age 5. Ann, then about age 14, appears to have been working as a servant in the home of John Davies in nearby Nether Lye.

Ten years later, the 1851 British Census found William and Mary living at Bach Brook Farm, in Aymestrey, Herefordshire. (Bach Brook Farm, by the way, remains a working farm even today.) William’s age was listed as 45 and Mary as 55. William’s occupation was that of a farmer. He farmed twenty acres.

During his last years, William Preece had become crippled by illness, his body slowly wasting away. He died of “consumption” (tuberculosis) on 7 March 1853 at Bach Brook Farm. His death certificate would list his occupation as “farmer.”

Present at the death was William’s oldest son Thomas Henry Preece, of Deerfold Bridge, Aymestrey. William’s last words reportedly were to Henry: “Henry, join the Church of Latter-day Saints.” It is not believed that Henry, ever his own man, ever followed his father’s deathbed admonition.

Undaunted, William’s wife Mary Ann Pugh Preece continued to encourage her family to prepare to emigrate to America. In April 1855, Mary and her three youngest children immigrated with other Mormon converts to Utah. Her story is told in the next section...

7 CHILDREN OF WILLIAM PREECE AND MARY ANN PUGH

1. Henry Thomas “Harry” PREECE (later STRANGWARD), born 5 April 1825, Astley, near Stourport-on Severn, Worcestershire, England; married 29 September 1853, Harriet Selina Taylor KEDWARD; died 20 July 1892, Westhope Hill, Canon Pyon, Herefordshire, England. 2. Ann PREECE or PRICE, born 5 June 1827, Herefordshire, England; married 1857-1858, William Brooks MASON; died 14 September 1899, Alpine, Utah. 3. William PREECE, born about 1830, England; died as an infant. [William’s sister Ann Price (Mason) sealed the child William to her parents in the Manti (Utah) Temple on 18 April 1889.] 4. Ezekiel PREECE or PRICE, born 5 February 1833, Lower Lye, Herefordshire, England; married 16 February 1862, Rhoda Elizabeth WATKINS; died 24 January 1892, Draper, Utah. 5. William Evan PREECE or PRICE, born 24 January 1837, Radnorshire (Powys), Wales; married (1) 27 February 1864, Rhoda Jane STONE; married (2) 4 December 1875, Amelia EKINS; married (3) about 1881, Rhoda Jane STONE; died 18 September 1903, Idaho Falls, Idaho. [

Henry Thomas Preece Ezekiel Price Ann Price Mason William Evan Price (Strangward)

Note: Henry Thomas Preece (Strangward) remained in England; Ezekiel, Ann, and William emigrated to the United States and joined with other members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, settling in Utah and Idaho.]

Resource: “Our Price Heritage,” written by Mary Lue Jewkes Gordon “Price Family History (From Preece to Price),” by Verna Lea LaMoine, Ellen Jorgensen, and Sandra Leah Price Family records of Lucy Ellen Williams Price Family records of Ruby Price Klenk

8 FIRST GENERATION

SIDEBAR: THE SIBLINGS OF WILLIAM PREECE

The following are known children of Thomas PREECE and Ann COLLINS:

1. Jane PREECE, christened 7 September 1796, Richards Castle, Herefordshire, England. 2. William PREECE [Detailed in preceding section]. 3. Charlotte PREECE was christened 27 April 1804 at Richards Castle, Herefordshire, England; married 25 April 1827 in Orleton, Herefordshire, William RADNOR who was christened 25 August 1805 in Orleton. They had the following known children: (1) Lettice RADNOR, born about 1830, of Orleton, Herefordshire, England. (2) Sarah RADNOR, born about 1833, of Orleton, Hereforeshire, England. (3) Ann RADNOR, born about 1836, Orleton, Herefordshire, England. (4) Elisabeth RADNOR, born about 1837, Orleton, Herefordshire, England. (5) Mira RADNOR, born about 1843, Orleton, Herefordshire, England. (6) William RADNOR, born about 1848, Orleton, Herfordshire; married before 1878, Bessie M. (or Mary B.) GREGORY of Stokesdon, Shropshire. Known children: 1. Reginald Charles R. RADNOR, born April/June 1878, Midsomer Morton, Somerset, England. 2. Gregory T.W. (or W.F.) RADNOR, born about 1881, Gwenepp (or St. Day), Cornwall, England. 3. Osmond E.J. RADNOR, born about 1887, Knighton, Radnorshire, Wales. 4. Gladys M.M. RADNOR, born about 1889, Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. 4. John PREECE was christened 7 December 1804 at Richards Castle, Herefordshire, England; married about 1827, Jane _____. Known children: (1) Mary PREECE, born about 1829, of Richards Castle, Herefordshire, England. (2) Anne PREECE, born about 1833, of Richards Castle, Herefordshire, England. 5. Mary PREECE, christened 25 March 1805, Richards Castle, Herefordshire, England. 6. Ezekiel PREECE was born 11 Jun 1809 at Richards Castle, Herefordshsire, England; christened 18 June 1809, Richards Castle, Herefordshire; married 23 February 1827 at Richards Castle, Ann WILLIAMS; he died February 1842, of Ludlow, Herefordshire; buried 9 February 1842, Richards Castle, Herefordshire. 7. Francis PREECE was born 27 February 1812, at Richards Castle, Herefordshire, England; christened 28 February 1812, Richards Castle; married Frances _____; he died before 1851, of Ludlow, Herefordshire. Known children: (1) Francis PREECE, born about 1834, Orleton, Herefordshire, England. (2) Ellen PREECE, born about 1837, of Orleton, Herefordshire, England. (3) Thomas PREECE, born about 1839, of Orleton, Herefordshire, England.

Resource: Personal records of Ruby Price Klenk

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