A Welshman in Wyoming

A Welshman in Wyoming

Reverend John Roberts was born at Llewerllyd Farm, Dyserth, on March 31st, 1853. Son of Robert & Elinor Roberts. He was educated at Ruthun Grammar School and St David’s College, Lampeter and graduated with a BA in 1876. In 1878 he was ordained to the Deaconate in Lichfield Cathedral.

For a short time, he was a curate at Dawley Magna in Shropshire. He then went to the Bahamas in 1878. There he was ordained to the priesthood and became chaplain of St Matthew Cathedral; he also worked hard amongst the coloured people especially in the leper colonies.

Although this work was hard, he sought a greater challenge. But during this time he met his future wife who was organist at the cathedral (more about this later). Two years later he sailed for New York and applied “To minister to the American Indians”, he asked Bishop John Spalding of Wyoming and Colorado for missionary work “in your most difficult field”. He was told he could go to the Shoshone and Bannock Indian Agency in Wyoming Territory. Years later it became known as the Wind River Indian Reservation.

Firstly, Bishop Spalding sent John Roberts to Greeley Colorado and then on to Pueblo to work amongst the coal miners. At Pueblo he was appointed rector of Trinity Church and in 1882 established Trinity mission in South Pueblo. Whilst there, an outbreak of smallpox occurred. For several weeks he had to work at the hospital as they were all quarantined.

On February 1st, 1883, he left Pueblo by train and travelled via Cheyenne to Green River Wyoming. On the 2nd of February the Stage coach could not leave Green River for the Shoshone and Bannock Indian Agency because of a ferocious blizzard. The agency was 150 miles away. But the mail had to be delivered. Four horses were harnessed to a big dry goods box on runners. Hay was spread on the floor of the box. The driver was almost ready to go when he noticed a young man with his dog. The man told the driver that he wanted to go as soon as possible. His name was John Roberts.

They had a terrible journey; it took 8 days instead of 36 hours. The stage stations were about 15 to 20 miles apart and were hard to find because of the high drifts. John kept warm by shovelling snow. The temperature at Fort Washakie registered at 60 degrees below zero (F), when the exhausted party arrived.

John Roberts soon settled to a very primitive way of life. The Indians were very poor and he was kept very busy with the two tribes on the Reservation. The Shoshones were mountain Indians and the Arapahoe were Plains Indians and they were not very friendly towards each other. Fort Washakie was about 20 miles from where the Arapahoe’s lived. The Shoshones were settled around Fort Washakie.

He gradually gained their confidence. He learned both their languages and wrote down their vocabulary.

Unlike many other missionaries Roberts was concerned that the Indians retained their

culture, identity and languages, at the same time preparing them to cope with the modern developing world around them. He also wrote about the many characters he came to know and love during his work.

It took several years before Christian burials became the norm. Chief Washakie, Chief of the Shoshone tribe was quite a character and changed his religion several times. In 1887 he gave John Roberts 160 acres of land to build a mission school and house about 2 miles from the Fort. The government had already given money for an industrial school near the Fort, but no furniture. The boys were to be taught to make furniture for the school.

He sent begging letters to people who he hoped would sponsor his project. He built a large house of bricks, made on site, which looked similar to the farmhouse where he was born in Dyserth. They took in boarders mainly Shoshone and Arapahoe girls.

During his first year he sent a letter to his fiancée Laura Alice Brown in faraway Bahamas telling her that under no circumstances was she to follow him out to Wyoming. The winters were atrocious and she would not survive the primitive conditions out there. She was from a wealthy family in Nassau and was used to servants and private tutors. She replied and said she was coming and would arrive at the end of the year.

At the age of 19 she travelled 5,000 miles via Liverpool and New York and as far as Rawlins, Wyoming, the nearest railway stop to the Reservation. Roberts had to guess as to her date of arrival at Rawlins. He left the Fort on December 24th by stagecoach and arrived on the 25th in the afternoon.

Laura had arrived that morning. It had been 3 years since they had seen each other and at first she did not recognise him under his large buffalo hide coat. They were married at 4pm that day and it was the first wedding at the new St Thomas Episcopal Church. They were strangers in town, but the Church was full and the congregation wished them well in their new life together. They left the next day for the two day trip to the Reservation. They rested for day at Lander before finishing their journey.

For a few years they lived in a tiny cabin until they moved to the Mission House where they lived in 2 small rooms. She supported her husband well in all that he did but was very lonely at times as he was often away. She lost her first child a boy who only lived a few hours. He is buried in the Military cemetery at the Fort. She had 5 other children, Eleanor, Gwen, Marion and Gladys and 1 son Edward. All the children became fluent in both the Indian languages and were taught alongside the native children.

John Roberts established Churches in Lander, Milford, Dubois, Thermopolis, Hudson, Riverton, Ethete, and held services in Atlantic city, Lyons Valley, South Pass to name but a few.

Chief Washakie is also buried in the Military cemetery. He died in 1900 at about the age of 100 years old and was very helpful in the first few years of John Roberts mission. It is said that he is the only Indian chief to have had a military funeral and was held in high esteem by the soldiers at the Fort. The Rev. Roberts officiated at his funeral.

The second year he was at the Fort he was asked to go and see a very old Indian woman whom he was told was Sacajawea. She had been a translator and guide to the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1803-6, who found the route from the east of the USA to the Pacific. She was also about 100 years old.

On April 9th, 1884, Sacajawea died and her burial was officiated by John Roberts.

She is buried in a cemetery about 2 miles from the Fort near where the mission house was to be built. A large headstone was erected many years later and it is visited often by tourists.

John Roberts was given several honours for his pioneering work and his untiring efforts in teaching. In 1932 he was awarded a Doctorate of Laws in Wyoming and a Doctorate of Divinity at Evanston, Illinois.

In 1933 in honour of both Mr and Mrs Roberts the flag of Wyoming was presented to the great choir of the National Cathedral in Washington. He died in 1949, he and Laura are both buried in Lander with some of their children buried around them.

This is a condensed version of a story on my website, with many photos, written by Heulwen Jones of Old Colwyn. While in the USA she and her husband came across a book about John Roberts and visited the area. www.dyserth.com

Pete Robinson