Jane Ann Coles (pt3) Immigration and Life in the United States

Jane Ann Coles

    When we last spoke of Jane Ann Coles, it was 1890 and she husband Thomas had decided to immigrate to Utah. The death of their son Joseph and the realization that their sons would be stuck in the coal mines had alot to do with their decision to immigrate. Jane and Thomas worked for two years to save enough money for the trip.
    Thomas, and sons William (age 13), John (age 11) and possibly Thomas Henry (age 8) worked in the coal mines. They also had money sent to them by missionaries they knew who had returned home to Utah. Cost per person for steerage for the voyage to New York was between $25 and $30, which was a couple of weeks pay for a coal miner. $25 in 1892 is like $625 today. So for Thomas, Jane and five children the total cost would have been $4,375.
    The trip from Ynysybwl, Wales to Liverpool was 122 miles as the crow flies, or 216 miles taking today's roads. Then the Evans family boarded the Passenger Ship Nevada, which departed Liverpool, England on Aug. 27, 1892. The voyage to New York took 10 days. Their arrival in New York had some issues which Thomas explained in his history and shown below.
    "We arrived there on Thursday Night, Sept. 6th at 8 oclock. We thought to land on Wenesday [sic] Morning, but ware disipointed [sic] for when the Docter [sic] Came on Board he informed us that we could not Land. There was some German Ships in the Harbour that had Cholera on board...”

Passenger Ship Wyoming that was very similar to the Nevada

    After 12 days in the harbor, they were taken to Fire Island for five days. From the Passenger List we see that the Evans family of two adults and six children had 3 pieces of baggage. They really took very little with them as they had very little.

    After going through immigration on Fire Island they rode a train all the way to Utah, arriving on Thursday, Sept. 27, 1892. In Salt Lake City, they lived with David R. Gill for a few days. They found a house at a brick yard on Eight South and Third West. The whole family was rebaptized on Nov. 7, 1872, which was a common practice at the time. Thomas and Jane's family lived in Salt Lake City for about a year but could not find stable employment. When Brigham Young found out that Jane's husband Thomas had been a coal miner in Wales, he sent the family to the San Juan area of New Mexico to open up the coal mines there, according to a family story. They left Salt Lake City on Aug. 24, 1893, and arrived in Fruitland, New Mexico on Sept. 4, 1893. Thomas was the first white man to mine in that area. Thomas, Jane and their family lived and worked in the San Juan area for six years from 1893-1899.
    In 1899, Jane Ann, who had been suffering from congestive heart failure since living in Wales, was getting weaker. Jane wanted to go to the temple and have her family sealed to her before she died. When they were last in Utah upon arriving in from Wales, the Salt Lake Temple was not yet completed so they did not do their temple work at that time. For the journey to Salt Lake City, they made a bed for Jane in a small wagon, which was pulled by their only horse. They had no money so they walked each day until they would come to a community where they would do any work they could find until they could get enough food and supplies to make it to the next community. They cooked over a campfire and slept on the ground. They did this until they made it to Salt Lake City, a journey of about 400 miles. They arrived in June 1899, and they would have found a city that looked somewhat like the picture below.

   On June 28, 1899, they went to the Salt Lake Temple; Jane and Thomas went through the temple and had their family sealed for time and all eternity. This includes Joseph, their infant son who died in Wales. It would have been in a sealing room that looked something like the picture to the right.
    Jane wanted a remembrance of this special occasion so her family bought her a plate with a picture of the Salt Lake Temple on it. The plate would have looked something like the plate shown on the left.
    After the temple they returned to New Mexico the same way the traveled to Salt Lake City, walking and working. Jane died a couple of years later on Oct. 29, 1902 in Fruitland, New Mexico. She was 47 years old. Her husband Thomas lived another 39 years and he never remarried. It was obvious that he was still in love with Jane. There was only one picture of Jane which only shows her as a young woman. Thomas described his wife Jane as tall and lovely. Thomas carried the picture of Jane in his key wound watch. When he would show the picture to his grandchildren he would tell them it was his wife in a way that impressed them of his love for Jane.

Relationship Chart

Other Posts on Jane Ann Coles
    Jane Ann Coles (pt1) The Early Years
    Jane Ann Coles (pt2) Married Life in Wales

Sources/Notes:
1. A Biography of Thomas Evans by Richard P. Evans (1973).
2. List of Passengers is from the Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island foundation website http://www.ellisisland.org/
3. Jane Ann's Temple Plate, Story on familysearch.org.

Pictures:
Passenger Ship Nevada picture from www.immigrantships.net/v2/1800v2/wyoming18720422_1.html
Salt Lake City in 1910 Panorama from World Digital Library wdl.org
Salt Lake City Temple Sealing room from http://www.moroni10.com/LDS/Temple_Tour Antique Salt Lake Temple plate from picClick.com