William Howell (September 1816 – 21 November 1851) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

Mormon missionary. He was the first missionary of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) to preach in France. Note, due to a flourish in his penmanship, some historians use 'Howells'. However, his descendants use, as is shown through genealogy, the singular version of 'Howell'.

Early life

Howell was born in

Penmark Penmark ( cy, Pen-marc) is a rural village south-west of Barry near Rhoose in the Vale of Glamorgan, in South Wales. The village is a parish and is a linear village. It has a parish church along the main road running through the village. Penmar ...

, in the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...

, and was christened at St Donats on 18 September 1816. He was raised as a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

and married Martha Williams in September 1839. Howell became a store-owner and was financially successful. For a brief period of time he was a Baptist missionary in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

, where he learned to speak French.

Mormonism

In 1847, Howell was intrigued by a vigorous dispute in the area between Mormon missionaries and Baptist ministers. Howell obtained some of the missionaries' pamphlets and came to the determination that the Mormons were correct. He was baptised by Dan Jones. Jones was a fellow Welshman, who had emigrated to the United States, joined

and had returned in 1845 as a missionary to Wales. By 1849, Howells had baptised 100 of his family and associates into the LDS Church. In 1849, Howell was ordained a high priest and sent to France as the first missionary for the LDS Church in that country. He preached first in

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

, where he baptized Augustus Saint d'Anna as the first French convert. After a month of preaching, Howell returned to Wales to visit his family, returning a few weeks later with his daughter Ann, who preached with him for the next three months. They were joined by William C. Dunbar a Scottish convert who had been sent to France via the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

to aid in the missionary work. In 1849–50, Howell briefly returned to Wales three more times, each time returning to France to continue his preaching. Howell completed his mission in 1851, upon which he and his wife decided to immigrate to

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...

. They sailed from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

in March 1851 and arrived in Council Bluffs, Iowa in June. Howell opened a store in Council Bluffs and grew sick and died there in November.

Early life

Mormonism

See also