Biographical History

Thomas Howells (1831-1879) was a Mormon convert, stone-cutter, merchant, and mason in Utah.

Thomas Howells was born May 23, 1831, the oldest of six children to John and Gwenllian Price Howell. When Howells was nine years old, his father died and the family had to eventually sell the family farm. Howells helped support his family by working in a rock quarry. At the age of 18, he was baptized as a member of the Mormon Church, and immigrated to America for religious freedom and economic opportunity. In 1851, he crossed the plains from Missouri and arrived in Salt Lake City on June 6, 1861.

In Salt Lake City, Thomas Howells worked as a merchant and then as a stone-cutter and mason. He built one of the first apartments and was instrumental in the building of the Salt Lake Temple. In 1852, he was called and ordained as a member of the Seventy in the 33rd Quorum. In 1853, Howells met Ann Francis and they wed on October 12, 1853. Eventually they had thirteen children together, nine of whom survived into adulthood. Howells was incredibly dedicated to the Church, and in 1870, he was called on a mission to South Wales, where he served without his wife and children until 1872. Two years after his return, his wife Ann died of consumption. In 1880, Howells got remarried in the Salt Lake Temple to a woman named Agnes Chambers, and they had three children together. Thomas Howells died on October 17, 1883, at the age of 52.