Shadrach Jones: A Welsh Stonemason of Willard and the Journey from Breconshire to the American West

A Life Shaped by Coal, Faith, Migration, and Stone

Origins in the Welsh Coalfield

Shadrach Jones

Shadrach Jones was born on 17 November 1832 in Llanelly, Breconshire, the son of David Jones, a coal miner, and Ann Lawrence Jones. He was one of six children—John (1828), John G. (1830), Shadrach (1832), Adelaide (1834), and Eleazer (1837)—whose early years unfolded across the industrial counties of Glamorganshire, Breconshire, and Monmouthshire.

1851 Census

By 1851, the family’s circumstances had tightened. The 1851 Census records Shadrack Jones, aged 18, a Coal Miner, living with his widowed mother Ann Jones, 60, a Pauper and Coal Miner’s Widow, at Llanwenarth Ultra, Monmouthshire. David Jones had already emigrated to America several years earlier, intending to work in the mines and save enough money to bring his family across. His final letter home reported that he had nearly saved the full amount needed for their passage. Soon afterward, word reached Wales that he had been killed in a mining accident, and the money he had saved was never recovered.

Ann Jones was left to support her remaining children alone, a struggle reflected starkly in her census designation as a pauper.

Conversion and Emigration

In the midst of these hardships, John G. and Shadrach encountered the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints. They were baptized on 9 June 1849 at Nantyglo, John G. at twenty‑one and Shadrach at seventeen. Their conversion set the course for the family’s eventual migration.

Before leaving Wales, Shadrach married Mary Williams on 9 July 1853 in Llanelly, Carmarthenshire. Mary, born 16 May 1834, was the daughter of Thomas and Margaret Spencer Williams, a family already preparing to emigrate.

Shadrach and Mary crossed the Atlantic in 1856 aboard the Columbia, while John G., his wife Mary John Jones, and their daughter Adelaide had travelled earlier in 1854 on the Marshfield. Both families eventually made their way to Utah Territory.

Establishing a Home in Willard, Utah Territory

1860 United States Federal Census

The 1860 United States Federal Census records Shadrack Jones, 23, a Labourer, and Mary Jones, 25, living in Box Elder County, Utah Territory, with the Post Office of Willard serving their area. Willard—then a young settlement on the northern edge of the Great Salt Lake—had been founded in 1851 by Mormon settlers sent north from Salt Lake City. The community, first established near North Willow Creek, was relocated slightly southward in 1853, where a defensive fort was built due to tensions with Shoshone groups.

Renamed Willard in 1859 in honour of Willard Richards, the settlement grew into a small but industrious town of Welsh, English, Scottish, and Dutch immigrants. Its economy centred on agriculture, especially fruit growing, but worked stone and gravel excavation also became significant local industries—an environment perfectly suited to a trained stonemason like Shadrach.

1880 United States Federal Census

By 1880, the census shows Shadrack, 47, a Stone Mason, and Mary A., 44, still residing in Willard, with Caroline Williams, 16, Niece, living in their household. Caroline was one of several young relatives and community members who found a home with the couple.

A Household of Hospitality

Although Shadrach and Mary had no children of their own, their home became a place of welcome, stability, and affection for many young people. Caroline Williams lived with them from childhood until her marriage, while Evan Stephens, later one of Utah’s most celebrated musicians, spent part of his youth in their household, carrying mortar for Shadrach as he worked at his stone walls. Mary’s sister Margaret also found refuge with them, bringing her grandchildren Lizzie and Luther Jones, and their niece Dagmar Williams likewise became part of the extended family circle. The Jones home was remembered for its warmth, its music, and its ever‑open doors, a centre of quiet generosity in the growing community of Willard.

Master Stonemason of Willard

Trained in Wales, Shadrach Jones became one of the most skilled and influential stonemasons in northern Utah. Between 1862 and 1883, he quarried stone from the local rock cliffs and the alluvial fan exposed as ancient Lake Bonneville receded. His stone houses—more than thirty of which still stand—form the architectural backbone of the Willard Historic District, many now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

His walls, often two feet thick, were laid in lime mortar that hardened almost like cement. His craftsmanship was widely admired. In The Founders of Utah, Levi Edgar Young wrote:

“There was a humble old Welshman in early days who used to build rock houses. His name was Shadrach Jones.”

The Story of Utah likewise noted:

“A Welshman named Shadrach Jones was well known in those days as a builder of stone houses.”

Despite being stone deaf, Shadrach served as leader of a band and choir leader in Willard. He and Mary loved dancing, and at one point converted the upper floor of their two‑story stone home into a dance hall for the young people of the community.

Mission to Wales and Final Years

Shadrach Jones
Ravenhill Calfaria Welsh Baptist Churchyard, Fforesfach, Swansea credit - findagrave

In 1883, Shadrach was called to serve a mission to his native Wales. He left Willard on 10 April 1883, but two months later contracted a severe cold that developed into pneumonia. He died on 24 June 1883 and was buried in Ravenhill Calfaria Welsh Baptist Churchyard, closing a life that had travelled from the coal valleys of Breconshire to the stone houses of northern Utah.

His wife, Mary Williams Jones, survived him by thirty‑eight years, passing away on 4 February 1921. She was buried in the Willard Precinct Cemetery, remembered for her generosity, her hospitality, and the quiet strength with which she shaped the lives of those who lived under her roof.