Charles Ramsden Bailey and Susannah Hawkins

These are Steve's great-great-great grandparents, married in 1863 in Salt Lake City. Charles Ramsden Bailey was born in Honley, Yorkshire, England, August 31, 1839.  Susannah Hawkins was born on 8 Mar 1847 in Kensington, London, Middlesex, England.

The Story of Charles Ramsden Bailey

Charles grew up in a religious family with a mother who always attended church and loved the Bible. He began to go to Sunday School at a young age, and the family worshiped in the Church of England.

He was an exceptionally fast runner (I mention this because Steve also has this talent), and at age 14 he won 13 out of 14 races.  When he was 13, his family moved to Lancashire  to work in the cotton factory. The family received two visitors while living in Lancashire who are an important part of their conversion story.

The first visitor was Charles' cousin Mary A Weelock. She was the first member of the Church Charles had ever met. She stayed with their family for about two months, talking with different people about the gospel. Two of his sisters were baptized into the Church at this time. The first sermon Charles ever heard was an open air sermon by Cyrus H Wheelock.

The second visitor came a few months later: Uncle William Broomhead, who was currently a Branch President. He visited Charles' family one evening on his way to Liverpool and spent the night. This night was a memorable one for Charles as he heard him preach. the next morning when his uncle left, he told Charles that it wouldn't be long before he came into the Church. Charles thought of those words often, and it wasn't long before they came to pass.

In May of 1852, Charles and his sisters went on a visit to some of their relatives living in West Broomwick.  They planned to stay about 10 days, but after a week they received a letter from their mother. She told them she and their father were having trouble and that she was going to leave him and would join them soon. His father was a good man, although he was very easily led by company to drink. In June of 1852, Charles and his mother were baptized in the West Broomwick Baths.  Elder John Taylor baptized them and they were confirmed by Elder James Bowers.

After 10 months, the family moved to Manchester where his mother and sister found work.  There were 400 saints in Manchester. They wanted to go to Zion, and were excited to hear of an opportunity in Liverpool in 1854. Unfortunately their first attempt was foiled with a damaged ship, but another opportunity came a few months later, and they bid farewell to England.

The voyage was long and hard. Charles said, "I had no fear for I knew the God would watch over us".  They arrived in New Orleans in March after eight weeks crossing the ocean. They then went to St. Lewis by steam boat, where cousin Benjamin Broomhead took them to his home for six days to rest.

The next stop was Atchison where they worked for six weeks before going to work in Missouri. Thousands of Saints were now gathering at Hickey Grove, later called Mormon Grove.  By now the Saints had started to immigrate, and those gathering numbered in the thousands. Charles and his family left in 1855 to travel across the plains.

While they were traveling along, the little Blue River Charles' Sister Mary Ann had an accident. She was sitting on the wagon tongue, giving Charles a drink of water, when she fell in front of the wheel.  It went over her chest and the hind wheel went over her jaw, breaking it. Charles ran and picked her up--she appeared to be dead. He called upon some of the Elders to administer to her and prayed to God to restore her to life.  She soon showed signs of life.  An old man set her jaw.  She was a little disfigured,  but otherwise recovered.  There were eleven accidents on the journey. Food was very  poor. A stampede broke 16 of their wagons, which had to be repaired. They ran out of provisions and that night, they were met by a wagon of wheat and flour.  They were so thankful that they danced into the night.

After ten months of their journey, they were 15 miles from Salt Lake City. President Young and others of the twelve came to greet them.  They told them what to do and what to expect and warned them that they may find living difficult for a while.  Cousin William Broomhead came with a team and wagon and took them to his home where they stayed for the winter.

In 1859 Charles moved to Cache Valley and settled in Wellsville. He knew this was the place he wanted to live. He was well liked by many and died peacefully in Wellsville, Utah on 16 Jan 1910.

The Story of Susannah Hawkins

James Richard Hawkins

Susannah Hawkins Bailey came to America with her parents in 1853 when she was six years old. Her parents were James Richard and Ann Sewell Hawkins. They heard the gospel in 1851 through Eli   B Kelley who was a missionary there at the time. They decided to be baptized and sold all they had  and prepared to go to Zion.

They spent 61 days crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a sailboat. They crossed the planes with the Jacob Gate company, reaching Salt Lake April 4, 1853.   They first settled in Tooele, moving to Wellsville six years later. Susannah and  Charles were married in 1863.

One of Susannah's great-grand daughters shared the following memory about Susannah Hawkins: "I remember, not long before her death, how she stood up in a family reunion and bore her testimony as to the  truthfulness of the Gospel.  She bade her posterity to ever be faithful and diligent in the work of the Lord." At the time of her death--at age 85--Susannah was the oldest pioneer woman living in Wellsville.

(source, source, source, source, and source)
Charles Ramsden Bailey, by Jay and Betsy Long

William Harman and Jane Davies (with mother Mary Sibley)

William Harman

William Harman is Steve's great-great grandfather, born Nov 22, 1820 in Merthyr Tiddvel, Wales. He worked in the coal mines, beginning as a very young boy. He heard the gospel for the first time from two young Utah elders on the streets of his native city. He immediately sensed the truth of the words spoken and was baptized a member of the Church in 1847. He was a very enthusiastic member and was very anxious to share the wonderful truth with others. He would spend all of the week days down in the dark coal mines, and all day Sunday in the service of the Lord. He loved the work--it was life to him at its best.

William’s life was filled with many faith promoting events and he always fervently bore testimony to the truth of them. They filled his life with joy and thankfulness. Notwithstanding these wonderful experiences in his life and sincere attempts to share the gospel with his wife and children, not one member of his family could see the truth.

One of William's uncles was extremely wealthy, and he had no children. He was getting old when he called William to his home and said, “William, I have looked over all my relatives and I have chosen you to be my sole heir. You must begin now to take over my responsibilities, but there is one condition. You must promise that you will renounce this Mormonism and never go to Utah.” William said without hesitation, “If I must renounce my faith and promise never to go to Zion, then you may keep your wealth for I choose my religion and Utah.”

From the time he joined the church he had a great desire to go to Utah, but he wanted his family to go with him. Time passed and he could see that his wife and family had no intention of joining the church or leaving Wales. His children were now grown, and he had done everything he could to get them to see the light, but to no avail. Finally he told them that unless they showed some intention of listening, he would go to Zion alone. Even this did not stir them, so he left on his own.

When he arrived in Utah, he learned that his wife had died, even though she was healthy when he left. William felt terrible and sought the Lord in grief, asking if he had done the right thing to leave her. He received a wonderful answer to his prayer. He saw the spirit world. He saw his wife and friend sitting sewing. They were conversing while sewing and his wife said, “Yes I made a great mistake. I know the Lord is displeased with me, my husband was right, now I know the gospel is true and I am full of sorrow for the part I played in opposing the church. I was in the wrong.” This answer to his prayer was a great consolation to him and he thanked the Lord for it. He had his wife sealed to him in the temple.

After a few years he married Jane Davies, a widow. They had four children. After coming to Utah he first worked on the Temple Block in construction, and later, after the completion of the temple, in caring for the grounds. He lived to be 80 years old, full of faith till his death on Dec 31, 1900 in his home in Salt Lake City.

Jane Davies

Jane Davies (also known as Martha Jane Thomas) is Steve's great-great grandmother, born September 18, 1843 in Ffynnon Tydfil, Glamorganshire, Wales. Her father died of cholera when she was eleven years old. When Jane was twenty years old she and her mother, Mary Sibley, listened to the Latter-day Saint missionaries preach at a street meeting and were later baptized. Jane married Richard Henry Thomas who was also a member of the LDS Church. They came to America and were married in Salt Lake City in 1872. They had their first child in 1873, and Richard died the same year. Her child died in 1875 at the age of two.

When Jane was thirty-three, she married William Harman on October 12, 1876. After William's death in 1900, Jane stayed in Salt Lake City, a devoted member of the Church, and died there on 2 November 1909 at age sixty-six.

John Stock and Jane Adams

John Stock and Jane Adams are my great-great-great-great grandparents. John Stock was born October 12, 1820 in the English possession, Capte Town, South Africa. His parents left their home at Rams Gate, Kent England as newlyweds to colonize in the distant land of South Africa. The English government gave each family a grant of one hundred acres of land and a loan of fifty pounds as an inducement to settlers. John was born in their first year of hardship in their new land.

John became interested in the fur business and eventually owned and operated three tanneries. Occasionally new colonists arrived from England, including Dr. and Mrs. Poyntz Adams and their lovely cultured daughter, Jane. John and Jane were married in 1842.

On April 18, 1853, the first Elders of the Church arrived in South Africa. The Elders were Jesse Haven, William H. Walker, and Leonard I. Smith. They brought the gospel to John and Jane and they were baptized. John took an active part in the church affairs and became Branch President of the Mission.

John paid the money to make it possible for he and his family to travel to America. They left many of their friends, their home with all of its comfortable surroundings and faithful devoted servants and left for America in 1860. After sixty days they reached America, landing in the harbor of Boston. The most difficult part of the journey was still before them.

William Budge acted as guide across the plains. Mile after mile they trudged along in all kinds of weather. Although they were not among the first pioneers, they still had the same long trek over barren wildernesses, crossing streams, and climbing steep, winding, rough, rocky roads. The entire journey from South Africa took them six months and eight days.

John later served a mission back in South Africa, and after he returned he took his family and went to Paris, Bear Lake County, Idaho in May 1864. About a year later Jane died when their youngest daughter Claudia was only a few months old. She was the first woman buried in Paris, Idaho. Later the family moved to help settle Fish Haven, Idaho, where John spent the remaining part of his life.

(Source and "Life of John Stock", a record made from information from his children, his own diary, and dates from family records)

William Henry Harrison Heap and Sarah Ann Marsh

William Henry Harrison Heap

William Henry Harrison Heap is my great-great-great grandfather, born in Indiana in 1838. His father, William Heap, came to America with his parents in 1819 from Liverpool, England. His mother, Margaret Beesley, daughter of Joseph Beesley and Rebecca Herrod from Lancshire, Englad came to America around 1830. His mother Margaret had heard and accepted the Gospel in Indiana in 1844, although none of her family joined with her.

William didn't join the Church until after his marriage to Sarah Ann Marsh in 1867 in Salt Lake. He had come West in 1866 with an Ox Team Company. They met at a dance at Blackrock, Utah (located on the bank of the Great Salt Lake) and were later sealed in the Endowment House.

Almost immediately after William and Sarah were married, they were sent by Brigham Young to Dixie, in Southern Utah to help settle that section of the state. They left Dixie six years later because of sickness and moved to Bear Lake, Idaho. William and Sarah moved several times with the last move being to Thayne, Wyoming where they are buried.

Sarah Ann Marsh

Sarah Ann Marsh is my great-great-great grandmother, born in 1852 in Salt Lake. Her gospel heritage appears to go back a few generations, beginning with her grandparents Sarah Searcy and James J Miller. I cannot find an account of their conversion, although James is believed to have died while working on the Nauvoo temple. I also found a record of their daughter Martha Ann Miller remembering being taught by the prophet Joseph Smith. Martha crossed the plains in 1852 with the early Utah pioneers and settled in Star Valley, Wyoming in 1879 where she died. This is the heritage of Sarah Ann Marsh, and therefore my own, for which I am grateful.

(source and source)

Gustaf Emil Hanson and Martha Heap

Gustaf Emil Hanson (who went by Emil), is my great-great grandfather, born in 1859 in Goteborg, Sweden. The Mormon missionaries came to his family's door with the gospel of Jesus Christ when Emil was a child. They were taught the gospel and baptized. Emil's father, Elias, died later from typhoid fever when Emil was still a youth.

The city of Goteborg where Emil grew up is on the coast and is in a shipping center. Emil liked to watch the ships sail into the harbor and out again. His mother always told the children not to go to the harbor, but they were more interested than ever because some of their relatives had come to America. Emil couldn't resist going to the harbor, even though it was against his mothers advice and he was punished for it.

This punishment hurt his pride and his feelings, so he ran away from home at the age of 13 and managed to get aboard a ship sailing for America. On board he hid until the ship was far out to sea. An Uncle of Emil's was on board by the name of Lars Hanson, so after the discovery of the stowaway, the uncle took responsibility of Emil and brought him to America with him.

Emil managed to get as far as Ogden, Utah and walked from Ogden to Logan where some of his relatives were living. He made his home with Lars Hanson until he was 17. At this time, 1877, he sent to Sweden for his mother and the rest of the family. The family was glad to come where they could worship after the dictates of their own conscience, since there was severe abuse in Sweden because they had joined the Church.


Emil met his future wife at a July 4th celebration in Star Valley, Wyoming, where he worked laying railroad tracks. The program was going on under the bowery and during the community singing, someone heard Emil sing and urged him to sing a song. That was when Martha Heap (daughter of William Henry Harrison Heap and Sarah Ann Marsh) fell in love with Emil. She was 5'3'' tall with brown eyes and hair, and Emil had blue eyes and dark curly hair. They were married in Montpelier, ID in 1889. On September 15, 1897 they traveled by horse and wagon to Logan, UT with four of their children to be sealed for time and all eternity.

Charles Turner and Anna Mary Bosch

Anna Mary Bosch

Anna Mary Bosch is my great-great grandmother, born July 8, 1847, in Netherlands, Holland. The story of her conversion is best told through the history of her parents, Abraham Bosch and Anna Hak.

When Anna Mary's father Abraham was a young child, the French and Spanish invaded Holland. During this invasion, Abraham was found hidden in the bushes. He was found by a man names Houseman, who supposed that his parents had been taken prisoners. Houseman and his friends made an extensive search for his parents without success, and so he placed him in an orphanage for a short time and eventually their relationship grew into one of father and son.

Abraham and Mr. Houseman studied the bible together, and each had a burning desire to know the truth and attended many of the churches to try and get an understanding of the doctrines taught at each one. None of the churches appealed to them or to their friends who had the same opinion. As a result they formed an organization called the New Lighters where they taught the members to study the bible and be prayerful. They had a feeling the new gospel would be restored and were preparing for it.

In 1844, Abraham married Anna Hak in Holland in 1844. Her family was very opposed to their marriage and disowned her. Through the marriage she joined the New Lighters looking for the restored church.

In 1864, three elders came to Amsterdam. A Mr. Hystack owned a boat and carried cargo from one city to another. He heard the Gospel through Elders John S. Smith, Schutter, and Vanderwood. It was through Mr. Hystack that Anna and her family met the missionaries. Abraham suffered with health problems for most of his life and had died just a few years before his family first heard of the restored gospel. Anna met with the missionaries and was baptized, as well as the entire organization of New Lighters. These were the first Mormon emigrants to leave Holland for America.

With the death of her husband as well as three of her sons, Anna mourned her loss and had a burning desire to come with the rest of the converts to Zion. This was made possible through the kindness of Mr. Houseman, and they left for Zion on May 10, 1864. This was a journey of great sacrifice, almost beyond endurance for Anna and her five children. Anna Mary Bosch was one of these five children.

The family settled in Utah in the Weber Valley where many Dutch immigrants were moving. In this area there were many elderly members and Anna who was 18 was sent with others to care for them. On July 24th there was a large celebration the chairman of the committee in charge being Charles Turner, the current presiding elder. Anna was attractive with her dark brown hair and blue eyes. Charles, a widower twenty years older than Anna became and admirer and suitor and they were married after a short courtship.

They had 13 children and lived a happy life together in Utah. Anna was very devoted to her children and husband and to the gospel she embraced. She went through many hardships, knew poverty and also comfort. She entertained most of the Presidents of the Church at her home as well as the Apostles and other church officials. She was knows to be an amazing cook. I am full of gratitude to Anna Hak and Anna Mary Bosch for the gospel we have in our home today.

Charles Turner

Charles Turner is my great-great grandfather, born in 1827 in England. When he was in his early twenties, he had a job making drain pipe. Charles first heard about the Church in 1849 from one of the boys who worked for him in his job making drain pipe. Here is an excerpt from Charles' journal of his experience:

"Toward spring one of the boys who was working for me began to tell a strange tale about an old Parker who used to travel and peddle stockings through this village. This family had dealt with him for many years and the boy said he came last night to 'bid our folks goodbye, as he never expected again to return as he was going to Zion, in America.' He said that God had raised up a prophet, and the true gospel was being preached and that those who obeyed were called 'Latter-day Saints.' The boy said he backs up everything he says from the Bible and he makes it very plain. This was something new to us all, but was passed off again, and I never forgot the impression on my mind by the boy's story."

Here is an excerpt from 1850:

"During the summer I became dissatisfied with what was called religion and I withdrew myself from the Church of England. I concluded there was nothing in any of them but that my motto should be to do right by everybody and risk the consequences, but on hearing our brickmaker man, a Latter-day Saint, talk in a gathering of brickmakers, he set me thinking seriously. I already had a desire to know more about this strange people, and one more little talk with this strange man let me see that he outstripped any man I ever heard talk before.

One Sunday in December, Mr. Samuel Garret proposed to me that we go to Lemington and hear the Saints, to which we heartily responded. After listening a few seconds, the Lord showed me the beauty of the gospel and I believed. We also attended the evening meeting and in this meeting my mind was to learn more about it, and after a little due consideration, to be baptized."

Charles was baptized by Thomas Walder and was confirmed by Thomas A. Jeffery on April 27, 1851. Shortly thereafter he was ordained a Priest. Charles met opposition as those around him were bitter against him, including his father. He baptized his brother in 1853. He basically had to start a new life with new friends as he lost all his friends when he was baptized.

In 1861 he left with a number of saints to travel to Zion. First by train, then steamboat, then by wagon to Salt Lake. The entire trip took about five months. He married later in the year, but his wife died in 1865. He married Anna Mary Bosch later that year.

Hugh Findlay and Catherine Ann Taylor Partington

Hugh Findlay

Hugh Findlay (pictured above) is my great-great-great-great grandfather, born in Scotland in 1822. He was baptized in Scotland in 1844. He was married in 1844, but his wife died a few years later after the birth of their second child.

His first mission took nine years. He started in England and Scotland, and from there went to India where he was the first missionary for the Church. He also served in China before finishing his mission, and then went California and from here crossed the desert into Milford and then to Salt Lake City. He married Catherine Ann Partington in Salt Lake in 1856. They had nine children.

In 1878 he was called to fill a mission to open the mission on the Shetland Islands. While here, he was called to preside over the Scotch mission. He had no money to pay his steamboat passage to Scotland, but he showed unwaivering faith. He packed his suitcase, ready to obey, and walked to the wharf where he was to sail. As he passed the post office he asked for his mainland received a letter from a strange lady who wrote him of her interest in articles he had written for the Millenial Start and enclosed for him a five pound note.

In the Fall of 1869, Brigham Young called Hugh Findlay to help settle the Bear Lake country, where he helped settle Fish Haven, Idaho along with Henry Howell.

Catherine Ann Taylor Partington

The story of Catherine is told through her parents (my great-great-great-great-great grandparents), Ralph Partington and Ann Taylor. Ralph Partington was born in 1806 in England, and Ann Taylor was born in 1810 in England. Ann was among the first English women to join the Church when she was baptized in the River Ribble in 1837. Ralph and Ann immigrated to Nauvoo with their four children aboard the ship Swanton in 1843. When they landed, they both came down with malaria, which kept them from supporting their family for a time.

They were forced by mobs to leave Nauvoo in 1846, and they ended up in Iowa with no provisions to cross the plains. They moved to St. Louis where Ralph worked as a carpenter until they had enough money to leave for Utah. The family traveled as part of the Mclawson Company and arrived in Utah in 1853, when their daughter Catherine was 20 years old. It was in Salt Lake that their daughter Catherine married Hugh Findlay.

(source and source)

William Hyde and Elizabeth Howe Bullard

William Hyde is my great-great-great grandfather, born September 11, 1818 in Livingston County, New York. When William was about seven years old, his family settled in Freedom, Cattaraugus County, New York, where his father, Heman, established a successful business in wool carding and cloth dressing.

Around the year 1830, Heman heard about the Book of Mormon for the first time, as well as the setting up of the Kingdom of God on the earth in the last days. Most of the information the Hyde's learned about the church was from Warren A. Cowdery, brother of Liver Cowdery.

In 1834, Joseph Smith and Parley P. Pratt came to the Hyde's home. They preached two or three times in the neighborhood and talked with many people in private. The first to be baptized was William's oldest brother, who went to Zion's Camp. In April of 1834, Heman and William were also baptized, and soon after that, the rest of the family was also baptized. The family was convinced previous to being baptized that God had set to his hand for the last time to prune the Earth, and that in fulfillment of his word, He would gather together a people who would serve him, and be prepared to escape the distress that should come upon the nations as well as for the coming of the son of man, when he should be revealed in the glory of this father.

About two years after baptism, William moved with his family from New York to Kirtland, Ohio. After being driven from Kirtland and from two other counties, they settled in Nauvoo. In 1840 he left on a mission to New York and Philadelphia. He met his wife, Elizabeth Howe Bullard, while returning from his mission. She was with a group of converts traveling to Nauvoo. They were married in February of 1842.

In 1846 William joined the Mormon Battalion. It is very ironic that the government would offer no help to the Mormons when they were being driven, but then come to their camps and ask for 500 men to fight in the war. Here are Williams thoughts about joining in the cause:

"This Government of the United States were at this time at war with Mexico, and not being satisfied with either having assisted, or by their silence acquiesced in driving and plundering thousands of defenseless men, women and children, and driving them from their pleasant and lawful homes, and of actually murdering, or through suffering causing the death of hundreds, they must now send to our camps...and call upon us for five hundred young and middle aged men, the strength of our camp, to go and assist them in fighting their battles. When this news came I looked upon my family, and then upon my aged parents, and upon the situation of the camps in the midst of the uncultivated, wild Indian country, and my soul revolted. But...when our beloved President came to call upon the saints to know who among all the people were read to offer the case; I said, 'Here am I, take me.'"

William returned to his family in 1847 after traveling 5000 miles and suffering greatly, especially hunger and thirst. In 1860 Brigham Young asked William and his son-in-law, Simpson Molen, to settle an area in Cache Valley five miles north of Logan. William was appointed Bishop, and the new location was called Hyde Park.

Elizabeth Howe Bullard

Elizabeth Howe Bullard is my great-great-great grandmother, born October 2, 1813 in Holliston, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Her father was a well-to-do farmer who did not belong to any church, but was a generous and kind man. He died at the age of 55, leaving his wife with seven children. Elizabeth's mother was beloved by all who knew her. She was a member of the Congregational Church and taught her children to love and fear God, and to be honorable and industrious.

Elizabeth wrote the following concerning her conversion to the Church:

"I was a subject of serious impressions from my earliest recollection. I would often go to my chamber and pray that God would direct me how to obtain a change of heart, which the ministers told us we must obtain in order to be saved, but they did not tell us how to obtain it, not knowing themselves, thus proving they were blind teachers of the blind. I continued pray- ing, however, until I felt that light had broken into my mind, and I thought I had obtained what I had so anxiously been seeking after. Accordingly I manifested a wish to become a member of the church to which most of our family belonged. This was when I was seventeen years old...

...I was either a pupil or teacher in the Sabbath School in the church to which I belonged until I became connected with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After completing the district school, in 1833 I went to Amherst Female Seminary.

The first Mormon elders that I saw were Brigham Young and his brother Joseph, who were relatives of our family. This was in the fall of 1837. They stayed at our place and conversed upon the subject of their belief and sang beautifully, 'Now Let Us Rejoice In The Day Of Sal- vation.' The next elder to come to our house was Willard Richards. He was also a relative of the family. He too, preached the restored gospel, which brought with it the spirit of investigation.

I had faith in God that if I would humble myself before Him in an acceptable manner, He would manifest unto me the truth. I accordingly spent many hours each day in my chamber searching the Scriptures, and asking in earnest prayers that if this was the work of God, I might know it myself. I had thus been employed when at last, on one special occasion, I arose from my knees and opened my Bible to the 15th Psalm, 5th verse, which reads, 'Gather my saints together unto me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.' Those words were accompanied with the Spirit of God to such a degree that my heart rejoiced, and I knew for myself that this was indeed the work of God. I was then ready for baptism. I was willing, and even anxious, to leave my pleasant home where I had spent so many happy days, and gather with the Saints of God. This rejoiced the heart of my dear mother, for she, being a true Israelite, believed the work from the first.

We accordingly went forth and were baptized on the 30th day of June, 1838, by Elder Joseph Ball, and from that day to this, September 24, 1904, I have never for one moment doubted this work or regretted the sacrifice, if it can be called a sacrifice, of leaving friendly neighbors and home."

Following her conversion, Elizabeth journeyed to Illinois. On her way she met William Hyde, and they were later married by Heber C. Kimball. The Prophet Joseph was absent from Nauvoo when they were married. When he returned and heard about it, he said he had expected to perform the ceremony himself.

Elizabeth also wrote an account of hearing the prophet Joseph Smith speak:

"The first Sabbath which I spent in Nauvoo, we attended a meeting held in the grove, and everybody was an entire stranger. There was no one near me that I had ever seen before. There were several elders on the stand. Some of them had spoken, when the Prophet Joseph Smith arose and commenced to speak. A feeling like electricity passed through me, and his words thrilled my whole being. I knew for myself that he was a Prophet of God. I was at this time twenty-eight years of age. I shook hands with the Prophet. I heard him speak many times."

Source: The Journal of William Hyde, and a comilation by Myrtle Stevens Hyde from An autobiography of Elizabeth Howe Bullard (Hyde), written in 1904, published by Kate B. Carter in Our Pioneer Heritage, Volume 7 (1964), pages 430–434 as well as a shorter semi-autobiography, written in 1912, appearing in The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Volume 3 (1912), pages 206-208.

Rose Ellen King and Ephraim Hatch

Rose Ellen King is Steve's great-great grandmother, the wife of Ephraim Hatch (son of Ira Stearns Hatch). She was born in Ohio in 1843. In 1830, her grandfather, Enoch King, and several other family members joined the Church (most noteworthy is her uncle Thomas Jefferson King).

The King family traveled west in 1862 after the first pioneers. Enoch King did not continue when his wife (not a relative of Steve's--she had died some years earlier) who did not have much faith in the gospel decided she would go no further. This was about 40 miles from Mount Pisgah. The rest of the family made their way to Utah, but did not stay.

The Kings decided to leave Utah because they were not impressed with the farming conditions there, and instead of going directly back to Ohio they apparently decided to try their luck at finding some gold. So they traveled North to Virginia City, Montana.

Rose Ellen met Ephraim Hatch while traveling from Salt Lake to Montana. Ephraim and his brother were grocers and they hauled produce by wagon to the miners in in the Nevada City area during the gold rush. The King family and the Hatch brothers joined together while traveling in order to protect themselves against some rough-necks along the trail.

It is said that Rose Ellen had a dream or a blessing telling her she would be the only one to stay in Utah. She married Ephraim Hatch at Nevada City in 1864 and they returned to Salt Lake where they were sealed in the endowment house. The rest of her family returned to Ohio after traveling to Montana.

I was not able to find the conversion story of Rose Ellen King, although I am assuming she came to know the church through her grandfather and other relatives who joined the church in 1830. Although her parents apparently traveled west with her and later returned to Ohio, records do not show that they were ever baptized into the Church. I am grateful for Rose Ellen and Ephraim Hatch who made it possible for our family to have the gospel in our home today.

(source and I received this information from a history collected by Ephraim and Verena Hatch who live in Provo, UT. Included in this history was a history of The King Family written by Gary Ephraim Hatch in 1977).

David and Lydia Reeder and James and Eliza Hurren

David Reeder is my great-great-great-great Grandfather, born Dec. 21, 1801 in England. He married Lydia Balls in 1828, who is my great-great-great-great Grandmother, born De. 26, 1803 in England. David and Lydia had three sons and three daughters.

David's wife Lydia died at the age of 36, soon after her youngest daughter Caroline was born in October of 1839. David Reeder hired some farm labor in later years, one worker being James Hurren, who later married his daughter Eliza. James Hurren and Eliza Reeder are my great-great-great grandparents (pictured above).

James and Eliza had anticipated that their lives would follow the same pattern as their parents and forebearers before them, of earning a living in a well established way, cooking at an already much-used hearth, and of probably dying in the same village where they had been born.

But events of 1851 were to cause momentous changes for them. In March of this year, James and Eliza had a baby boy who only lived one day. This was very grievious for them. At this time they had a cottage of their own near the Reeder home.

It was at this time that two strangers, Mormon missionaries from America, came into the countryside and preached about a peculiar new religion. These men stirred the East Suffolk folk with the things they told about, and caused many a heated conversation and argument. The men belonged to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

James Hurren, Eliza, and the Redders, listened and disussed, along with the others, and becamse interested in learning more and more. Though many people seriously doubted the truth of the missionaries' message, those of the Hurren and Reeder households were among the first to declare that they belived the gospel principles they were being taught. On June 28, 1851, James Hurren was baptized in a small pond at Chediston, along with Eliza's oldest brother. They were later ordained priests in the Aaronic Priesthood.

James and George were excited about their new religion, and actively helped the missionaries in contacting and teaching other people in the area. Many local residents were converted. In October of 1851, Eliza and her father David Reeder were baptized. Perhaps one of the reasons Eliza had put off being baptized until now was because she had been expecting a child, which arrived in February of 1852.

The Church membership continued to increase, and in March of 1852 the Chediston Branch was organized. James, at the age of 25, was alled to be the Branch President. Eliza's brother Robert and sister Caroline were also baptized into the church over the next few years. James was the only member of his family to join the Church.

Conversation in the Hurren and Reeder cottages, after their conversion, revololved around the Church, the wonderful new concepts they were learning, the things expected of them, and always of going to Zion. The family was able to travel to America using the Perpetual Emigrating Fund. The company arrived in New York on June 14, 1856, after six weeks of crossing the ocean. They traveled by railway to Iowa. Here they waited for handcarts and began the trek to Utah under the direction of Captain James G. Willie. It was late for handcarts to start on this dangerous journey and some of the company coubted if the journey could be made before the bad weather set in. Another Company was following the Willie Company, led by Captain Martin.

In October of 1856 the company was near Laramie, Wyoming. This is where David Reeder died, and this is what his son Robert said about him: "My father, David Reeder would start out int he morning and pull his cart until he would drop on the road. He did this day after day until he did not arise early October 7, 1856." On many occasions he had given part of his rations of food to others. His fortitude had never failed, though he was often cold, hungry and exhausted. His family would miss him.

Eliza wrapped a cherished sheet around him and the family placed him in a shallow grave. Caroline Reeder died two weeks later at the age of 17 at Three Crossings Sweetwater and was buried in Wyoming. There were many deaths throughout the journey.

James and Eliza, many times, when inquiry was made as to how they felt about their handcart ordeal, were quick to reply: "With all our trials, our weary traveling, burying our dear ones, piling our clothing and bedding by the wayside and setting fire to them, we have never once felt to murmur or complain or regret the steps we have taken."

The family eventually settled in Hyde Park where they lived the rest of their lives. As their posterity, let us echo, and live worthy to realize the fulfillment of the words penned by James Hurren in 1852: " The prayer of my sould is to my Lord and my God that we may all be Thine for ever and ever."

(source and "James Hurren and Eliza Reeder" Complied by Myrtle Stevens Hyde, 1979")

Johanne Marie Mathiasen Lundgreen

Johanne (Hanna) Marie Mathiasen Lundgreen is Steve's great-great grandmother, born in Denmark in 1872. Her husband Hans Madsen (Steve's great-great grandfather) was born in 1870 in Denmark. Hans died of diabetes at the age of 33, leaving Hanna a widow with four children.

When Hanna was a child, some LDS missionaries came to the home of her family. Her oldest sister and two of her brothers joined the Church, and then came to Zion. They often wrote to Hanna, begging her to come too; but she didn't want to leave their mother, as their father had passed away.

After the death of her husband, Hanna worked as a seamstress to provide for her family. Her husband Hans had been a tailor, and she had worked with him, so she continued to sew in their shop. She later moved to Glamsbjerg with her two daughters to work as care taker for a Lutheran meetinghouse. Her sons worked at a bakery in Køng.

At this time, Hanna's nephew Peter C. Lundgreen came from America came to Denmark as a missionary for the Mormon Church. Hanna had heard some about the Mormons and wanted to know more. Peter stayed with Hanna for several days and explained everything to her. She understood it perfectly and would have been baptized then, but she wanted her children to know about it first. And besides, she was currently taking care of the Lutheran church. She later gave up the care of the church and moved back to Odense.

One day years later, Hanna was taking the train home after visiting her sons. She found a seat and a man came and sat across from her. Hanna was reading a newspaper. He started to talk to her and said he was from America, but Hanna didn't pay any attention to him. She didn't want anything to do with anyone from America; they didn't mean anything to her. She kept reading her paper, and he kept talking. He said he was going to visit a sister in Odense. This is when she looked at him. He had a pin on his tie with a picture of a woman on it. She looked again and recognized her sister-in-law she hadn't seen in 28 years. She said, "Oh, that is Aunt Chrstina." He stood up and came over and put his arms around her and said, "Then you are my own little sister." Many on the train who had witnessed it all were deeply moved by the unusual meeting of a brother and sister after such a long time.

Hanna's brother Peter Mathiasen Lundgreen was serving a mission for the Mormon Church and had Come to preach the gospel to his relatives. When they got to Odense, the girls and Max (Anna's future husband) came out to meet them. She told her daughter Martha this man was from America. She didn't tell them he was her brother. Martha didn't even want to shake hands with him. Hanna said, "Well, Martha, you will have to do better than that, because this is my own brother, and your uncle from America!" Then they all threw their arms around him and made him very, very welcome.

He stayed with them for many days and taught them the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Martha was the first to be baptized. Hanna sought her Heavenly Father earnestly in prayer, to know if this was really His true church. One day she knelt down by her sofa and prayed with all her heard and said to God, " Like Jacob of old, Oh God, I will not give up before you bless me with the knowledge whether or not this is the true church." And God did bless her with the knowledge and assurance that this was the true church. She then wrote to her brother and told him she was ready to be baptized.

Anna and her fiance Max (Marinus Christensen) wanted to be baptized too. They were baptized along with Hanna on the same couldy night, with the wind blowing and the water cold. Later that year, both of Hanna's sons were also baptized into the Church. It was a real joy that all in their family now belonged to the true church.

The family came to America, and Anna and Max (Steve's great-grandparents) waited until they came so they could be married in the temple. They were married September 5, 1918 in the Manti Temple.

They all went to the temple the same day and had their temple work done. Hanna was sealed to Hans, and all of the children were sealed to their parents.

One more experience, written by Steve's Grandmother Lillian Christensen Hatch, pg. 128 (source listed below):

After the death of Hans, "Hanna was beside herself with grief! She visited Hans' grave often and asked her Heavenly Father to take her to heaven too. Then one night, while walking in their back yard, she suddenly felt someone beside her. Turning quickly, she saw her beloved husband, Hans, standing there in a beautiful white suit (Because she had helped Hans in his tailoring business, she noticed that suit immediately.) 'Oh, Hans, why did you have to go and leave me here to take care of our four little children along?' she asked him. He told her he was doing some very important work where he was, but he had to come to tell her that there would com a day when they could be sealed together for eternity! He told her not to miss that opportunity. Then he asked about their children, and she told him, through her sobbing, about them. When she looked up to talk to him again, he was gone! But this visitation by her beloved Hans made her realize she must be both a mother and father to their four small children."

When Hanna's brother came to Hanna, he saw how active they were in the Lutheran church and "wondered what he could tell them about the LDS Church that would attract their interest in it. That night, as he prayed, he asked Heavnly Father what he could talk about that would interest them in knowing more about the Church; and he received an answer: "Talk about eternal marriage." So the next day after breakfast, he told them about how Hanna could be sealed for eternity to her beloved Hans. Hanna said her heart runed over when her brother Peter told them this, and she remembered seeing her husband, Hans, in their backyard, and how he had said to watch for the opportunity for them to be sealed for 'all eternity.' (pg. 134)

The highlights of Hanna's life in her own words:

"What are the hopes that have grown with the years, nourished in pain and born of our sorrow, christened by grief, baptized with our tears, clothed with resolve and faith in the morrow. Yes, our lives are full of mysteries so deep that we cannot fathom all the years may bring. The angels must have some secrets which they keep. We hear the music but not the words they sing: our mothers' songs of the long ago, old fond memories today. Sing them tenderly, sweet and low; hear the echose far away, calling up scenes of days that are past, pictures in shadow, true to the last."

"Nothing means more to me in this world than the faith I have in the Lord Jesus Christ. I say this with thankfulness in my hear to God. I know that Christ lives, and is the Son of the Living God. And through all my weakness, I know that I am His child. With dearest love to my children and their children." (pg. 45)

Source: "Our Danish Ancestors Hans and Johanne Madsen, Their Forebears and American Descendants" Edited by Harold S. Madesn

James Davenport and Almira Phelps

 

James Davenport

James Davenport and Almira Phelps are Steve's great-great-great-great grandparents. James was born in 1802 in Vermont, and Almira was born in 1805 In New York. They were married in 1822 in New York when he was twenty and she was seventeen. They had eleven children. Shortly after the church was organized, they were baptized. Unfortunately, nothing more is said of their actual conversion, although their life after baptism shows a great amount of faith.

James worked as a blacksmith and a farmer in Nauvoo before leaving for Winter Quarters with his wife and small children in order to escape persecution. It was in Winter Quarters that Brigham Young invited James to join the first company of Pioneers going to the Salt Lake Valley. This meant that James had to leave his family behind until he could return for them.

Although James was in the Pioneer Company, he did not enter the Valley with Brigham Young. He served as a blacksmith for the company and was among nine men (coincidentally, one of my ancestors was also one of these nine men!) left to operate the upper ferry of the Platte River, later known as Fort Casper. This group was instructed to ferry the companies across and charge those who could pay.

Late in July, after the ferry had ceased operations due to the end of the high water season, James headed back to Winter Quarters for his family. In 1850 they joined with another company and went west to settle in Grantsville, near Tooele. James traveled across the plains twice more to help bring wagon trains of converts.

The family later moved to Wellsville, and finally Richmond, in Cache County, Utah. Some of the children did not come west, and James and Almira spent some time visiting with them in the Midwest. Both died and were buried in Richmond.

(source and source)

Jeremiah Leavitt and Sarah Sturdevant

Jeremiah Leavitt was born May 30, 1796 in New Hampshire. Sarah Sturtevant Leavitt was born September 5, 1798 in New Hampshire as well. They are Steve's great-great-great-great grandparents, married in 1817 in Vermont. After their marriage, the Leavitt's moved to Hatley, Canada, where his parents were already living.

 

Mormon elders were in Canada in the 1830's, but none of them found their way to Hatley. Sarah was raised by Presbyterian parents and regularly studied the Bible and prayed on her own. She was seeking a church similar to the early church described in the New Testament. 

A traveler who had attended a Mormon gathering somewhere else loaned the Leavitts a copy of the Book of Mormon. "We believed them without preaching," Jeremiah Leavitt later wrote. About 1838, the extended Leavitt family, including nine children of Jeremiah and Sarah, started as a group to gather with the Saints in Missouri. Delays kept them from joining with the Saints at Far West, but they later moved to Nauvoo, and finally to Utah.

Here is an excerpt from Sarah's journal:

"I read the Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and all the writings I could get from the Latter-day Saints. It was the book of Doctrine and Covenants that confirmed my faith in the work. I knew that no man...that could make such a book or would dare try from any wisdom that man possessed. I knew it was the word of God and a revelation from Heaven and received it as such. I sought with my whole heart a knowledge of the truth and obtained a knowledge that never has nor never will leave me."

During the 13 years it took to move from Hatley, Canada to the Salt Lake Valley, several of the Leavitt's died, including Jeremiah. Sarah continued the journey with her family, and through much travail and sacrifice eventually settled and colonized the Santa Clara River area.

In 1998, a bronze statue of Sarah  was unveiled in a park in Santa Clara, Utah on what would have been Sarah's 200th birthday. "Sarah was a noble woman and a matriarch to more family than perhaps any other person in the LDS Church. She suffered and sacrificed all she had, that we, her posterity, could enjoy life as we do today."

"The monument's purpose is not only to honor Sarah Sturtevant Leavitt, but also to enable her posterity, now and in the future, to have a place where they can come and feel a sense of the connection that exists to each other, and also to the remarkable ancestry so well represented by Sarah. Ours is a rich heritage.   It is hoped that we and our children will learn to love, honor, and cherish it."

(source, source and source)

John Moses Wyatt and Sarah Caroline Horsecroft

John Moses Wyatt was born May 22, 1829 in England. Sarah Caroline Horsecroft was born on January 25, 1829 in England as well. They are Steve's great-great-great grandparents, married on December 25, 1838.  About three years after they were married, John Moses was coming home from work in the evening when he was attracted by two Mormon missionaries who were holding an open air meeting. He afterward reported that the truth of their message came to him with great force. It seemed to him that the message they brought was what he had been waiting for. When he got home he said to his young wife, "Sarah, I have heard the true gospel that has been restore to the earth. Tomorrow evening we will go together and hear these messengers again." Without reservations they accepted the gospel and were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on June 21, 1852, by Frederick Moore and confirmed by Henry Hollis. The spirit of the Gathering was immediately manifest in their lives and preparations for immigration to America were made. They were immediately met with opposition. Their families became very bitter toward the church and tried to prevent them from bringing their young son John (Steve's great-great grandfather) with them by hiding him. Fortunately the boy was found in time for the family to leave with a company that sailed from Liverpool, England on February 23, 1853.   There were four hundred immigrants cramped in this small vessel. This was stormy season on the Atlantic. The passengers endured many hardships in the ten long weeks they were in crossing. The company reached New Orleans on April 23, 1853. They traveled up the Mississippi River to Iowa where they were organized in an ox team company and walked most of the way across the plains, experiencing many of the hardships incident to pioneer life. The threat of attack from Indians was ever present. Food and water was often scarce. Their second son, Charles, was born September 2, 1853 in Green River, Wyoming. They were not able to stop for the birth of the child because of the urgent need of water for camping. When they left England they were not aware that a child was on the way and had made no preparation for its arrival. As a result it was necessary to use pillow slips, underwear, and other available articles to provide for the infant's clothing. They struggled on in the face of these hardships and arrived in Salt Lake City, October 5, 1853, almost nine months from the time they left Liverpool. Before leaving England, Sarah had a dream in which she saw Brigham Young. As the company entered Salt Lake Valley they were met by Brigham Young. She pointed him out and said "there is the leader, and the man I saw in my dream". They lived in Salt Lake City for seven years working for Brigham Young. Five years after their arrival, in 1858, Brigham Young led the entire population of Salt Lake City as far south as Provo because of the threat posed by Johnson's Army. The saints took all their livestock with them. When they returned the Wyatt family found their home and garden in good condition. In the year 1860 they moved to Cache Valley. Their plans were to go to Providence but the Little Bear River was in flood, so they remained in Wellsville. The first year they lived in a dugout in the hill just east of the fort. Later they moved into the fort. The houses were close together because of the danger of Indian attacks and the men took turns acting as sentries to insure their safety. After some time the town was surveyed into blocks of ten acres each with eight lots to the block. The families purchased lots and built houses of logs with dirt floors. John Moses Wyatt bought the lot across the street west from where his son John Horsecroft later lived. A few years later the family moved to Franklin where they stayed only one summer. They returned to Wellsville and made this their home until their deaths. John Moses worked on the Logan Temple as a rock mason for one year and later he helped to build the school house. His wife Sarah, was always ready and willing to aid the sick and needy. She went many times to help sisters in confinement. She was the mother of eleven children, seven boys and four girls. Three of these children died in infancy. Two of her sons, John and Franklin filled missions to their native land of England. The family did much to build and sustain the Church and community in this pioneer period. Sarah was a brave and hardy woman. On one occasion after they had moved to Wellsville, she had left her baby outside the cabin while she gathered firewood. On returning she found two Indian braves with her baby. They threatened to take the baby if she did not give them sugar. Instead of being frightened into granting their request she chased them away with a rolling pin. The next morning the chief and the two braves came to her cabin with a gift of venison and the chief called her a "brave squaw." (source)

Josephine Fritz and Carl Johan Larsen

Josephine Fritz is Steve's great-great grandmother, born in Lundberg, Litslene, Uppsala County, Sweden on February 18, 1849. She was the oldest of six children and lived on a small farm that was the source of their living.

Josephine's parents were Lutheran. In order to join the Lutheran church, she had to be able to read the catechism before the reverend minister, so her parents let her go to school to learn to read and write. They wanted her to learn just enough reading so that she could be confirmed a Lutheran, since women were not given a chance to become educated. So when her parents occasionally asked Josephine if she could read, she told them not very well because she was so anxious to learn all she could.

At the age of 28, Josephine joined the church on February 15, 1878. Here are her own words about this event:

"My mother said she would disown me when I joined the Church and thought I had turned crazy when I went to the priest for genealogy records, because I would not let the dead alone. The river was frozen over where I was baptized, a hole having been chopped in the ice the preceding evening. I had my first faith-promoting experience at that time. As I stood on the bank, I shuddered and thought, "I will surely take cold going in such cold water. But when I entered the icy water, I felt no cold, nor did I get a cold."

Josephine worked with a few other women in the home of a well-to-do professor in Stockholm. Because of the unpopularity of the church, she cleverly concealed her conversion from the women she worked with. Eventually they found out where she was going on her Sunday evenings off, and they were anxious to hear this new gospel from America that was led by prophets and apostles. When they heard the gospel, it rang true in the hearts and ears of these women.

Lovisa was one of these women, a good friend of Josephine's who was also baptized. Lovisa and Josephine wanted to come to America. They started to save their money, but they didn't have enough. They decided one of them would go and work, and then send for the other. So Lovisa loaned Josephine enough money that when combined with her own savings was enough to go to America.

Josephine left Sweden for America on June 8, 1883. The water was rough and the journey across the ocean took two weeks. She then traveled to Salt Lake on a railroad car, a rather miserable trip. She went to work doing laundry in Park City for almost two years. Each time she was paid, she sent money to her mother and Lovisa in Sweden. When Lovisa had been repaid, Josephina sent her enough extra money so that she too could come to America. They were lifelong friends.

Concerning her mother, Josephine said, "I sent money to my mother for years after coming to Amerca. She wrote and said she received almost $20 for every $5 I sent her. I was forgiven, but she never expected me to come back to Sweden."

Josephine met her husband, Carl Johan Larsen (Steve's great-great grandfather) at a Scandinavian meeting in her Ward in Salt Lake City. Carl was born July 13, 1844 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He immigrated from Denmark to America in 1880 after being baptized around 1865 by a brother Lundberg, a member of the 3rd Quorum of the Seventy. (The Autobiography of Anna Larsen Kolts)

Ira Stearns Hatch and Wealtha Bradford

Ira Stearns Hatch and Wealtha Bradford are Steve's great-great-great Grandparents. Ira was born in 1802 in New Hampshire, and Wealtha was born in 1803 in Maine. They were married in 1825 and lived at the Hatch Farmstead in Farmersville, NY.

The family didn't belong to any specific church, as Wealtha said she hadn't found one on the earth that agreed with her conviction. In 1830 Elders Oliver Cowdrey, Peter Whitmer, Jr., Ziba Peterson, and Parley P. Pratt were visiting the nearby Catteraugus Indians and preaching about the Book of Mormon. Wealtha obtained a copy of the book and said “That’s what we have been looking for." Being thoroughly convinced of its origin, she desired to be baptized immediately. Her husband and family convinced her to wait, which she did with a hope that more of her family would be converted.

Although they may have wanted to be baptized, none of the other relatives were ready to join the unpopular sect. In early 1832, Wealtha was baptized in a hole that had been cut in the ice of the river. She was confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at this same time and  became the first in the Hatch family and the second person in the neighborhood to join the Church.

Ira was cautious about joining the Church because of the persecution against it. At this time, the Kirtland Temple was under construction and Ira and Wealtha decided to make a contribution to it. They traveled to the headquarters of the Church in Kirkland, Ohio, where they could make their contribution and examine their leader, Joseph Smith. They prepared to make the trip to Kirtland, taking their contribution of $200.00 with them. The trip took them three days. When they arrived at Kirtland, Ira went to the grove where they were cutting timber for the Temple where he was told he could find the Prophet. As he approached the workmen, one of them stuck his axe into a tree and came toward him. When close enough, he shook the hand of Ira Stearns Hatch and said "Brother Hatch, I have been expecting you for three days; the money you have brought will be used to build the pulpit in the Temple." Thus, left with no chance for doubt, Ira Stearns Hatch was convinced that Joseph Smith was indeed a true Prophet, and his testimony was steadfast for the remainder of his life. Ira was baptized into the Church in 1834.

Both Ira and Wealtha hoped that Ira’s parents and brothers and sisters would join the Church, but they did not. When Ira and Wealtha decided to leave the family farm and follow the “Saints” west, it caused a great deal of distress and uproar in the family. The brothers, to whom Ira and Wealtha had sold the farm, said they would give the farm back if they would stay. But Ira shook his head and replied, “No, I will go West.”

Wealtha died from cholera in Nauvoo. Her devotion to the Church was an inspiration to her family. Her spirituality was ingrained in the characters of the young children she bore. She endured the persecutions and trials of pioneering, and yet always held steadfastly to the Church. Ira continued west, where he settled in Utah with the rest of his family. He passed away on September 30, 1869, after a long and useful and active life. 

(source and source)

George Spilsbury and Fannie Smith

The Conversion of Fannie Smith and George Spilsbury

Rather than tell the story of Fannie Smith and George Spilsbury myself, I will use words written by Maybelle Harmon Anderson. She wrote a history of Fannie in a story form as though written by Fannie herself, and titled it "You'll be Sorry--a story of a Christmas Present from God Delivered One Hundred and Twenty-three Years Ago In England". Here are some excerpts from this amazing story:

"'You'll be Sorry.' I can hear it just as clearly today as I did many years ago. The voice was that of my father, Richard Smith. The place was Liverpool England. Would you care to hear a true story about a fair, rather small young English Lady? It began about six thousand miles from here...The year was 1842. 

...My home in England was very comfortable because my father was a well-to-do squire. I was his only child and love was showered upon me. I loved him dearly, too. I was his Christmas present. I arrived on the soil of England...December 25, 1823. As my father cuddled me, his first-born and only child in his arms, he said: 'She is my Christmas present from God.'

As I grew up, our relationship was one of mutual admiration and love. Our household was taken care of by a housekeeper who trained me in the gentle art of beauty, culture and romances, as my mother wished her to do. She taught me sewing and fine embroidery work until I was a young lady. Then events electrifying and undeniable, seemed to take possession of me. 

Some girl friends came over to our house one evening and begged me to go with them to hear some funny men from America preach about a new religion that had started in America.

Now, it was a curious fact that they should ask me to go because I belonged to the Church of England. I was always filled with fear when they talked about Hell, and even our church's idea of Heaven seemed unreal and cold to me. I was truly not happy in my religion.

Well, we all went giggling to hear about the... religion and see the Americans. As the missionaries were Latter-day Saints, they preached of their prophet and the plates he had found in the hill Cumorah telilng of the civilization that existed on the American Continent in ancient times...everything he said seemed real and I was touched to the depths of my being. I believed every word I heard that night. Many nights after that, I sought out the preachers and attended their meeting. I wanted to join them, but knew that my father would never consent. If I joined, it would have to be done in secret.

Therefore, I went to them one night at meeting time and was baptized in a river where the ice had to be broken to perform the baptism. When walking home with my wet clothes freezing about me, my spirit carried me along as if I were a cloud...

Do you know who confirmed me a member of the church...? It was George Spilsbury, one of our own fair, curly-haired, blue-eyed English boys. Later when we became better acquainted, he told me that he was the fourth son of Joseph and Hannah Spilsbury and was born in Leigh, Worcestershire, England, April 21, 1823...

When George was sixteen he had a remarkable experience. He was lying under a large oak tree near his home when a voice declared: 'You shall be a minister of the gospel.' Consequently, he was ready and waiting when he heard Mormonism preached at the home of George Brooks in Leigh Parish. He was baptized and confirmed a Latter-day Saint that same evening, October 11, 1840. The following February he was ordained a priest and in July started on a mission in Wales, from which he returned in the summer of 1842, having baptized seventeen persons. 

I was one of those seventeen. My heart began its song of love as George and I spent more time with each other. We were joined in holy wedlock on the fifth of September, 1842... After our marriage, George went to work as a brick-layer and plasterer. I told my father of joining the church and he almost disowned me. He tried in every way he knew to dissuade me from my religion and husband. He now thought his gift from God was from the other place. He even tried to prevent me from leaving England for America.

He would not allow me to take any of my lovely things. How could my father feel so strongly against something which seemed so right to me? He made my life miserable until I went to work as a milliner. I was resourceful and soon became head milliner and saved the money that I earned to help pay our way to the home of our new religion. 

When we were ready to sail my father was broken hearted and came to me and said: 'Fannie, my daughter, if I cannot change your mind, I can warn you that those Mormons in their wild country are ruthless and will never allow you to write and certainly never allow you to come back to me. I will put this locket and chain around your neck. Send it to me as a sign and I will know that you are sorry, and I will make it possible for you to come home!'

As we sailed away from the shore, my young-girl heart ached and sorrowful tears streamed from my eyes. 'Farewell, my father, my mother, whom I knew such a little while, my native land, farewell!' I never saw them again.

My young-wifehood heart and eyes turned to my husband and together we turned toward the west, our new home and the hardships which we knew were ahead of us. Of course, we never dreamed of the persecution and tragedy we would have to endure as we sailed from Liverpool, England, on that day long ago. Would I be sorry? no, never. I shall have no regrets...

As my eyes start to fade as I near my eightieth birthday in my wheelchair, where I have been for some twelve years...I hold my locket in my hand and I can hear my father say, oh! so long ago: 'Fannie, you'll be sorry!' I wonder why he couldn't have known, as I did, that I was doing the right thing for myself and my children's children. I am glad that we are in America. We hope we have planted well, that our children's children might have the faith that was our choicest possession, and remember the last part of the thirteenth Article of Faith: 'If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.' 

My thoughts turn to things promised in this land of ours and the equal rights of all who come here, and, as my eyes grow dim and close to death this third day of June, 1903, I whisper: I was never sorry! No there are no regrets."

 A Few Accounts from the Journal of George Spilsbury

After arriving in Nauvoo, Fannie and George met the Prophet Joseph Smith. Here is a record in George's journal of this event:

"The question may be asked by some of my grandchildren, 'Did you feel disappointed when you saw him (Joseph) for the first time?' I will tell you. All my troubles and privations of leaving my father and mother, brothers and sisters and my native land seemed nothing compared with the joy I experienced when I first heard and saw him, the prophet Joseph, preach. I felt greatly blessed of the Lord in having such a glorious privilege. The first Sunday after our arrival, we attended a meeting on the first floor of the Nauvoo Temple...We were early in our seats and soon the leading men of the church began to arrive. It was not trouble to tell which was the prophet, not because of his fine clothes, but there was something grand and noble and innocent about this appearance. His very eyes seemed to look right through you. His very countenance beamed with intelligence. He was as bold as a lion, but humble as a child. He knew no fear."

George had a strong love for family, as shown in another journal entry:

"It is my wish that the family of George Spilsbury hold a reunion on my birthday every year and thereby renew our relationship and friendship with each other and not lose track of any of the family. Keep within close touch of each other by reunions and by correspondence. And those living in Old Mexico who can't come to the reunion in Toquerville, have all the family together in Mexico on my birthday, April 21st and at such meetings I want you to read my instructions to the family every year as long as the family are on earth. AND DON'T FORGET IT. I want you to forgive one another, be full of charity towards our own family and others. In case of sickness or accident or loss of property, help each other. If any should stray away from the Church, fast and pray for their return. (Tennant Family History, 54-65)

Appleton Milo Harmon and Elmeda Stringham

Appleton Milo Harmon

Appleton Milo Harmon was born in 1820 in Pennsylvania to Jesse Peirce Harmon and Anna Barnes. His mother Anna was baptized in 1833. The family moved to Kirtland, Ohio in 1837 where his father Jesse, sister Sophronia, and brother Amos were baptized in 1838. They all moved to Illinois and then to Nauvoo, where Appleton was baptized in 1841 by William Smith, one of the Twelve Apostles. Appleton was ordained an Elder in 1842 by William Richards served a mission in New York. Here is an account of his faith written by his grand-daughter, Maybelle Harmon Anderson:

"Baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when scarcely twenty-one, he made his religion the dominant force of his life. For it, he became a refugee from Nauvoo, a struggling pioneer in the Salt Lake Valley, a rugged crusader in the forbidding cities of England, an indomitable colonizer among the bleak wilds of southern Utah. Faith pervades every page of his journal. It swayed his thoughts, shaped his aspirations, and justified to him all his sacrifices. And what he gave in service came with spontaneous willingness and humility." (Appleton Milo Harmon Goes West, xii)

One account of Appleton's faithful and obedient spirit is when he and some other men were reprimanded by Brigham Young for playing cards and gambling in his tent. In response to the rebuking, Appleton recorded the events of the day, which happened to be his 27th birthday: "On it I received quite a lesson, which I hope will result in much good and profit."

Appleton is well know for making the odometer. He came out with Brigham Young in the first company that left Winter Quarters, although he didn't go all the way to Salt Lake. Instead, he was one of nine men who stayed at the Plat River in Wyoming where there is a tribute to him still to this day at Fort Casper. Coincidentally, one of Steve's ancestors was also one of those nine men!

Elmeda Stringham

The Stringhams were of English descent--early settlers in the New England States. The family lived on a farm in Jamestown, New York when my great-great-great-great grandparents George Stringham and Polly Hendrickson joined the church in 1832. Elmeda Stringham (my great-great-great grandmother) is one of their six children, born in 1829. The Stringhams later moved to Kirtland, Ohio, where Elmeda remembers gathering bits of glass and broken dishes for the building of the Kirtland temple as a young child.

Swen and Thilda Swenson

My great-great Grandfather, Swen Swenson, was born in Kristianstad Sweden in 1850. My great-great Grandmother Bothilda Pehrsson Swenson was born in Kristianstad, Sweden in 1848. They were married in 1873 (the picture above is them on their wedding day).

Swen became a schoolteacher, and my great-grandfather, Helge Vincent Swenson, was born while the family was living in the schoolhouse where Swen worked. Swen lost his teaching position after fifteen years, and the family was forced to find another home. They found a small cottage owned by a widow, who they later found to be a Mormon convert. It was through her that they met the missionaries.

When Mormon elders came to the Swenson's, they found them able to comprehend the glorious principles of the Gospel. The family treated the missionaries well whenever they came to their home. Here is an account written by Helge about the conversion of his mother:

"I still remember when the Mormon missionaries came to our home. Father seemed a little interested in their teaching, but mother was hesitant until one time when they came back to talk to father she went outside, and kneeling behind a lilac bush, she prayed that she might now if their message was from God. After that she never faltered but remained faithful and true to the gospel all her life."

In June of 1892, Swen and Thilda were baptized in a small lake near their home. The next evening three others were baptized, including my great-grandfather, Helge Swenson. Here is a brief record written by Helge of his own conversion:

"Father and Mother and my oldest sister had been baptized at the same place the night before. This night my brothers Orson and Dan and my sister Ada were going to be baptized, Father thought I was too young to understand the importance of such an sacred ordinance. As they were ready to leave, I said to one of the missionaries, 'If one is 8 years old and has faith, is one then not old enough to be baptized?' Brother Olof Monson the senior missionary said, 'You certainly are both old enough and ready for baptism', so mother had to go back into the house to find some clothes for me. (Swenson, 84-85)

Over the next two-and-a-half years, each member of the family (except for Swen, who went on a mission for the church), traveled to Utah and settled in Pleasant Grove. They made great sacrifices to earn money for the trip, including selling furniture, borrowing money, and selling Thilda's gold watch and earrings. (My Life and Loves, by Calvin Helge Swenson, pg. 5-8)

Fredrick Walter Cox and Jemima Losee

Fredrick Walter Cox was my great-great-great grandfather,  born in New York in 1812. He joined the Church while living in Ohio and was baptized by Thomas B. Marsh in 1838. After his conversion, Fredrick traveled to Far West, Missouri. From there he was driven to Lima Illinois, and then to Nauvoo after his home and property were burned by a mob.

Jemima Losee was my great-great-great grandmother, born in Canada in 1823. She grew up a Quaker, but was never satisfied with this religion. When she was 17 years old, she listened to a Mormon sermon for the first time, delivered by Elder Henry Lamnoreau. He baptized her parents David Losee and Lydia Huff. Three months later, Jemima was baptized by Elder George Johnson.

The next winter, Jemima left with her parents for Nauvoo. They arrived in 1841, weary and destitute. Shortly after they arrived in Nauvoo, everyone in the family but Jemima came down with with chills and a fever. This was a difficult trial for her, but she escaped the illness while nursing the rest of her family, and without any complaint.

Jemima learned privately of the revelation on plural marriage. At first she looked upon it with such antagonism that "she wished with all her heart she could die". She was a thorough believer in Mormonism, however, and it came to her gradually that this principle also was from God. She accepted it as such a thorough principle that she privately married Fredrick Walter Cox in 1844 as his second wife. She didn't even tell her mother about her marriage for nearly a year, and although she experienced trials and sorrows, never for one moment did she regret this step, nor doubt the principles of plural marriage.

After spending a year in Iowa, Fredrick was arrested and tried for practicing plural marriage. He was required to have only one wife or to leave the county. His response was "I will never desert these girls, so help me God!"

Fredrick was still preparing wagons to move west, so he had to find a place to move Jemima and another wife, Cordelia, and their five babies to keep the peace while he finished his work. He tried in vain to find a suitable home for his beloved wives. The only shelter he could find was a stable about 25 miles away. The room was about fifteen square feet with no place for a fire and no window for light. "Oh the misery of that home, and yet it became a hollowed place."

Fredrick made them as comfortable as he could and then left them alone in the care of "One who knows when a sparrow falls." God did not forsake them. Three documented miracles are evidence of this:

1. One night a mob came to burn down their home, but then left them unharmed after having a quarrel among themselves.
2. The stable was located on the road of the California gold seekers, so Jemima and Cordelia often did laundry for these men. One time a man demanded a gold piece he had left in his shirt, which they had not seen. They were afraid and Jemima went out to look with a prayer in her heart for help to find the gold. Jemima found it on the ground and thanked God for this miracle. 
3. After six weeks of living in the stable, Jemima was ready to deliver a baby. "She had no one to go to but her God who rules the destiny of all. The dreaded night came on February 29th, with no help and no chance of obtaining it. In the evening while Jemima and Cordelia were wondering what to do, someone knocked on the door. Cordelia opened it and a woman walked in. She asked how they were doing and and if she could do anything to help. 'Surely this was a Ministering Angel!' Who had sent her this cold winter night? And why, at this hour, so unexpected? She was a perfect stranger. They discovered she was a nurse and immediately gave her something to do. Before midnight, a baby girl was born. After performing her task and seeing that all was well, this woman departed as suddenly as she had come. They had never seen her before, and have never seen her since." Their prayers had been heard and answered.

Jemima and Cordelia were well cared for and protected from harm. Eventually they began the journey west with Fredrick. After a difficult journey that brought death to many, the Cox family arrived in Manti. Here Fredrick died in a logging accident in 1879, and Jemima died a "beautiful death" 22 years later at the age of 78. (Tennant Family History: 11-22)