Thomas Walton Price 

Born: 8 April 1793 

Whitbourne, Herefordshire, England 

Son of Thomas Price and Sarah Walton 

Married: Jane Rowley Colley 

20 May 1819 

Mill Creek, Utah 

Died: 4 December 1870 

Mill Creek, Utah 



Jane Rowley Colley 

Born: 15 May 1801 

Whitbourne, Herefordshire, England 

Daughter of John Colley and Emma Rowley 

Died: 2 February 1889 

Mill Creek, Utah 

Thomas and Jane Colley Price are the paternal grandparents of 
Wilford James Price who is the father of Ellis Ray Price. 

Thomas and Jane (Walton) Price came to the Salt Lake Valley on the Cyrus 

Wheelock Company in 1853. Their son John Walton Price traveled with them. 

Thomas was 60-years-old and Jane was 52. 



Thomas Walton Price was christened May 5, 1793 in Bromyard Parish, 
Herefordshire, England. The exact date of his birth is uncertain, but this date is 
taken from the parish register, so we must presume it to be correct. The record lists 
no father. It merely states that he was the child of Sarah Walton, which indicates 
that he was born out of wedlock. To us who have been accustomed to the American 
way of life, this casts a shadow over our heritage, but a study of British records and 
history lessens that shadow a great deal. 

For a long period of time — in fact, it still continues to some degree — the 
Church of England was almost the only means whereby a marriage could be 
solemnized so as to be recorded in the vital statistics and become a matter of record. 
To this day, if a Latter-day Saint wants his marriage in England to become a matter 
of record and to be accepted as legal and at the same time to be an eternal marriage, 
he first has to go to the Church of England or to another agency which that Church 
recognizes and be married by that agency before going to the temple. Our Pioneer Heritage 

Thomas Walton Price and Jane Rowley Colley Price traveled with the 
Cyrus Wheelock Company 1853. pg. 2 



There was a time when the Church of England was all powerful in that land, 
and it was during that time that Thomas Walton Price was born. Because of its 
power, the Church of England determined the price which was to be charged for the 
wedding ceremony. Since that price was too high for many of modest means to pay, 
many English people merely began to live together without the benefit of clergy. 
Later, when the Reformation became stronger, and other churches were started in 
England, many of the English were married in the "non-conformist" churches, but 
there was no way whereby the record of that marriage could be made legal. 
Mormons still find themselves in this unfortunate situation. 

This may well be the reason why there is no record of the marriage of Thomas 
Price and Sarah or Abigail Walton. The only proof we have that they were ever 
married is the fact that their last child was christened as the daughter of Thomas and 
Sarah Price. The first three children are listed as the children of Sarah Walton. This 
could indicate that the money necessary to have the marriage solemnized in the 
Church of England was finally saved and paid. One just has to know England to 
understand such situations. 

I am thankful that it fell our lot to spend two years in England and to learn 
some of these things for ourselves. The sheet of christenings from which I got some 
of this information has 15 christenings listed on it and five of them are listed as being 
born out of wedlock. That alone will give you an idea of the percentage of English 
people who were married in such a way as to be recognized by the Church of 
England. This confronts us with one of our greatest difficulties in properly 
connecting English families, and one runs into this problem during that period on all 
lines. 

As we gather information on these, our forefathers, we find that Jane Colley 
(christened May 24, 1801, Whitbourne, Herefordshire, England) is also listed as 
being born out of wedlock. She grew up using her mother's maiden name which 
was Rowley. When she and Thomas Walton Price married, both were married 
under their mother's maiden names. However, we can judge their worth when we 
find that they and their children were among the first to cast their lot with the 
Restored Church in England, being baptized in the year 1841, October 10. 

They could bequeath to us no greater heritage than membership in the 
Restored Church. We have been born of parents who have taught us the Gospel, 
and they have instilled in our hearts a testimony of the truth. All of this is a result of 
their accepting the Gospel at a time when such a step took courage and 
determination to do the Lord's will. Because they did this, they became "non- 
conformists," and they subjected themselves to ridicule and to unpopularity just as

Thomas Walton Price and Jane Rowley Colley Price traveled with the 
Cyrus Wheelock Company 1853- Pg 3 

the Saviour and His apostles did. By so doing, however, they may claim the 

. promised to those whom the world casts out. "If ye were of the world, the 
Id would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen 
you out of the world, therefore, the world hateth you." (John 15:19) Few of us, if any, 
had the privilege of their acquaintance, but we can honor them for what we know 
them to have been and we can be thankful that we came from some of the Lord's 
chosen people. 

Another thing we can all be thankful for is that because of the unpopularity of 
the Restored Church, they, like most of its English followers, left their native country 
and came to this land, which is a land choice above all other lands. Here they 
established themselves 116 years ago. England is a good country, but one has only 
to live there a very short time to know just how blessed we are who were born and 
raised in this land of freedom. One cannot fully appreciate this blessing until he has 
seen firsthand the land from which we came. 

Thomas Walton and his wife, Jane, became the parents of 10 children. We do 
not know how many of those children came to America with them, but we do know 
that they built their first home on what is now 3rd West and 33rd South in Salt Lake 
City. The last information I had concerning that piece of ground was that it is still in 
the hands of their descendants. I have had the privilege of walking over the ground 
where they first set their feet and as I did this I offered a prayer of thanksgiving in 
my heart for the blessings they vouchsafed to me and to all of us who have come 
after them. 

If it were possible to count the people who have sprung from these good 
people as well as the ones who have been brought into the Church by them and their 
descendants through missionary service, it is certain to number in the thousands. 
Thus, it is not strange that the Lord said that those who bring even one soul into the 
kingdom of His Father would be greatly blessed. 

And so we will close this history of Thomas Walton Price and his lovely 
companion, Jane Colley (Rowley) Price, and shall look forward to becoming better 
acquainted with them during the years when Christ shall reign on the earth. 

Written by Howard P. Price, great-grandson  

Many Waltons and Prices are buried in: 

Elysian Burial Gardens 
1075 East 4580 South 
Salt Lake City, Utah