THOMAS ROBERT GREEN WELCH 1857 THOMAS ROBERT GREEN WELCH 1 MY FATHER BY CHARLES WELCH My Father, Thomas Robert Green Welch, was the son of Robert Welch, who was born on May 11, 1805 at Shepton Mallet Sommersetshire, England and Isabella Friday who was born in 1815 at Shepton. He received a good education for his time and after his school days was apprenticed at the Dry goods business, this he mastered and went to Brighton, a seaport resort, to work. While there he came in contact with Mormon Elders and accepted the gospel in 1854. He was baptized by Elder William Driver who after coming to America lived in Ogden, Utah. My mother, Harriet Nash, had previously accepted the gospel. My father and mother were married August 27, 1855. On July 25,1856 a son was born, they gave him the name of Thomas Friday. On March 28, 1857 they set sail for America on the ship George Washington with 817 saints on board, under the direction of James P. Park. They came to Boston and from there by rail to the place of fitting out for the trip across the plains. They arrived in Salt Lake City, Sept. 12, 1857. under the leadership of Jesse B. Martin. Father joined the Nauvoo Legion and went to Echo Canyon to assist in keeping the soldiers out of Utah and mother went south with the Move, as it was called. After coming back from Echo Canyon, father went south and found his wife and they returned to Salt Lake City. in 1800 Father went up into Weber Valley to work for Jesse C. Little who was Bishop Hunter's Counselor. He left mother in the city and on October 4th, I was born. When six weeks old father took Mother up in the valley where he had worked and they first lived in what was afterward called Littleton. Later they moved on to the farm known as Welch's corner where they lived until 1866, when they moved to Morgan. 3 he was associated with Richard Fry on a contract for a portion of the Union Pacific Railroad. He was the bookkeeper of that company. He was Postmaster at Morgan from 1863 to 1868, at a salary of eight dollars per year. He was tithing clerk from 1864 to 1900; clerk and Recorder of Morgan County from 1867 to 1874. Assessor and Collector of the county from 1867 to 1874; County Road Commissioner from 1869 to 1872. He was County Superintendent of Schools for six years. He drew the plans and superintended the construction of the City and County Building; was fruit tree and bee Inspector for two years. He was City Recorder from 1868 to 1884; was a member of the Committee on Municipal Laws for sixteen years. He was a staunch Republican in politics and was a State Committeeman from Morgan County from 1892 to 1898. He was anofficer of the 3rd, House in the State Legislature of 1896, In religious affairs he was committeeman with W. W. Ciuff to select the officers for the Morgan Stake of Zion which was organized July 1, 1877. He was Sunday School Superintendent of the South Morgan Ward in early days. He was a member of the Stake Board of Education and Director and Secretary for six years. Was Secretary of the Church Association of the Morgan Stake from 1886 to 1894. He was President of the Elders Quorum from 1874 to 1877. He was a member of the High Council of the Morgan Stake of Zion from 1877 to 1906. On September 25, 1894 his wife died and two years later he married a widow, Mary Jane Toomer. He was the father of nine children and has 56 grandchildren and 223 great-grandchildren. He died September 23, 1916, at Morgan, Utah where he had lived for sixty-six years. He died of heart failure at the age of eighty-one years. 4 He was an educated man for his time and filled many positions of trust. He was respected and loved by all who knew him. He was an excellent provider and after the first few years of hardship always had plenty for his family to eat and wear. He was very exemplary in his habits and never used bad language of any kind. I never remember of hearing him swear in any manner, for he was a gentleman in every deed. His home on the main street in Morgan City was always the neatest in the whole county and the grounds surrounding it were kept in fine condition. Whenever any of the general authorities of the Church came to Morgan they always either stayed at his home or paid him a visit. He was member of the High Council of the Morgan Stake of Zion for twenty-nine years and kept the tithing books for thirty-five years. He died as he had lived, firm in the faith which he had espoused in a foreign land in the days of his youth and for which he had sacrifx c ed the society of all his relatives, for no others of his kindred as far as I know have ever joined the church. He was buried in the South Morgan Cemetary by the side of his first wife who had preceded him in death twenty-two years.