52 Ancestors - # 9 Edith Louisa Gill

Welsh Flag

While Wales is a relatively small country it plays a fairly significant role in my family history.  Lines on both sides of my family go back to this corner of the United Kingdom.  With mystic stories of the knights, wizards, Druid priests and bards, the heritage is colorful and fascinating. Beyond the tales of King Arthur, Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table, stories of the hard life of coal miner families, Tom Jones, the title Prince of Wales bestowed on the heir apparent to the English throne, I knew little about the country.

As I go back on my family lines, my great grandmother, Edith Louisa Gill Backman, is the first of my forebears on my direct line to have been born in Wales. So I decided it is high time to gather a few facts about this ancestral country. Continuous human history in Wales, or Cymru in Welsh, dates back to 9000 BC. With this extensive history I obviously won't have space or time to do more than mention a few highlights and perhaps some favorite tidbits of information I have unearthed.

The Iron Age was the period associated with the Celts who dominated the area until the arrival of the Romans in 43 AD.  The Romans retained control until the 5th century when they departed their outposts on the island.  This opened the door to invasion by the Anglo-Saxons.  In the subsequent splintering of the British language ad culture throughout the island, the Welsh people were the largest group to successfully retain their language and culture.  This continued through centuries of dominance by the English and incorporation into the United Kingdom.

The Welsh Methodist revival in the 18th century led the country to turn increasingly nonconformist in its beliefs and away from the UK's dominant Church of England.  The Industrial Revolution brought dramatic increases in population as a result of the explosive growth of the coal and iron industries.  I will stop here as it was in the late 19th century when my ancestors left Wales for the United States.

Dragons have always intrigued me so it was not surprise that the Welsh flag is one of my favorite national flags.  The white and green bars of the flag are associated with the Tudors who claimed Welsh ancestry while the dragon dates back to a dragon banner carried by the Welsh hero Cadwaladr in the 700s.  The flag is known as Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon.

The color white in flags is often used to represent peace and honesty while the color green is often used to denote hope, joy, and love.  In many cultures it also has a sacred significance.  The color red of the dragon is often used to represent bravery, strength and valor.

Let me introduce you to Edith or Edie as she was often called.  She was born July 20, 1870 in Pontypridd, Glamorgan, Wales.  Located in South Wales, Pontypridd is about 12 miles north of Cardiff and is the gateway to the beautiful valleys of south Wales.  It is also famous for its Old Bridge which has stood since 1750.

Edith Louisa Gill

Edie's parents were David Richard Gill and Sarah Ann Hodges Gill. At the time of her birth she had three older brothers; David Richard Gill named after his father, Thomas George and Henery (Henry) Hodges Gill, an orphaned cousin who was adopted by her parents.  Two other siblings, Sarah Jane and William Henry, had not survived childhood.  Four other siblings would be born after Edie:  Elijah, Emily Jane, Albert James, and Joseph John.

Prior to her birth, David and Sarah joined the LDS Church and the family left Wales and set sail for the United States in 1878 aboard the Nevada. Departing from Liverpool, the ship arrived in New York on July 10, 1878.  Next the family traveled by train to Salt Lake City and eventually to Fillmore, Utah.  They would return to Salt Lake City and make that their final home.

On November 26, 1890, Edie married William Jacob Backman in Logan, Utah.  Logan was selected as it was the site of the nearest LDS temple.  The Salt Lake temple was not dedicated until April 6, 1893.  The happy couple would welcome their first child almost a year to the day later.  Little William David Backman (Bill) was born November 19, 1891 in Salt Lake City.  There would be a little gap in additional children as her husband would leave to serve a mission in Sweden.

Following William's return in 1893, the family would continue to grow.  In 1894, Evelyn joined the family.  A second daughter, Edith Louise was born in 1896 followed by Richard Samuel in 1899.  Little Richard would not survive the day.  Three more sons would be born to the couple:  Franklin Gill (Bud) in 1901; Herbert Spencer (Spen) in 1903; and, finally George Siegfried in 1909.

As difficult as it was to deal with the death of little Richard in 1899, a more difficult time would face the couple in 1902 when little Evelyn would become ill and pass away on November 16, 1902.  She would be buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.  Her death was very difficult for Edith to come to terms with.

Hand-painted dish belonging to
Edith Louisa Gill Backman

Edith was a kind, loving mother.  Her daughter wrote of how grateful she was for the help her mother gave her with her children, Donna and Jack, who were born just 13 months apart.  She helped Edith again when she was pregnant with her second son, Bill who was born in January 1925.  Shortly after his birth Edie was diagnosed with liver cancer.  She had surgery in February but her condition continued to deteriorate until her death on December 13, 1925.

My grandmother, Edith Louise Backman Martin, gave me the hand-painted dish pictured at the right.  This dish had belonged to her mother and she remembered it being used on many occasions on her mother's table.  

David Richard Gill Family
Back row:  Elijah, David, Independencia Ruth, Albert, and Joseph
Front:  Sarah Ann, David R. Gill, Edith and Thomas
Photo from Amber McKean family collection