A small part of the amazing Bennion Brothers History
The Bennion Brothers — From the Hills of Wales to the Fields of “Over Jordan”
In the mid-1800s, two brothers from the green hills of Hawarden, Wales—John and Samuel Bennion—embarked on a journey that would forever change the landscape of Utah’s west side. Converted to the LDS faith, the Bennion families joined the migration west with John Taylor’s Hunter Horn Company, arriving in the Salt Lake Valley in September 1847—just weeks after the first pioneer companies.
The brothers built their first home across from the old fort (today’s Pioneer Park)—a sturdy two-story log house they constructed themselves with timber hauled from the canyons. In true pioneer fashion, the family made efficient use of every resource: Samuel’s family occupied the lower floor, while John’s family lived upstairs. But the young settlement was constantly shifting. Within just a few years, the Bennions would move their same log home four times, each time dismantling and rebuilding it in a new location—from downtown Salt Lake to Parley’s Canyon Creek, and finally “over Jordan,” west of the Jordan River, where they found the open grazing land they needed.
Settling near what is now 3200 South, the Bennions became among the first families to call the area home. The region would later take the name Taylorsville, in honor of their friend and church leader John Taylor. The brothers established the Bennion Livestock Company, raising sheep and cattle that roamed the fields between the river and the Oquirrh Mountains. Their operation expanded to Rush Valley near Tooele, but their true home and heritage remained in “Over Jordan.”
Faith, family, and resilience marked their lives. John Bennion, a man of deep conviction, was later called to serve missions for the Church. In 1868 he journeyed to the rugged Muddy River region (in present-day Nevada) to strengthen the Saints and improve livestock efforts there. A few years later, he was sent back to England and Wales on a genealogy mission—an emotional return to his birthplace. There, he visited his mother’s grave in Hawarden and met Lady Catherine Gladstone, wife of Prime Minister William Gladstone, who invited him to the grand halls of Hawarden Castle to speak of his experiences in America and the growing Mormon settlements in the Rocky Mountains.
Samuel Bennion also served a mission to Wales, traveling with his daughter Alice Jane in 1874 to visit relatives and share their faith. Both brothers balanced their spiritual callings with their growing families and livestock enterprises. Between them, they raised large families and established a name that became synonymous with integrity, hard work, and pioneering spirit in Utah.
Though their beginnings were humble, John and Samuel Bennion left a lasting legacy that shaped the farming communities west of the Jordan River. Their descendants continued to serve in education, church leadership, and civic life—including John’s grandson Milton Bennion, who became Dean of the College of Education at the University of Utah and General Sunday School Superintendent for the LDS Church.
The Bennion name remains woven into the soil of Taylorsville and West Valley City, where their herds once grazed and their log homes stood as beacons of perseverance and faith.
