This is the record of the death of William Wagstaff, the father of Mary Ann Wagstaff Millington, Henry Wagstaff, etal.
XVIII. Death of William Wagstaff
STRANGE DEATH
On Wednesday night between ten and eleven, William Wagstaff, market gardener of Lower Caldecote, and his two sons went to the Grange to clear out a closet. When they had loaded the cart with the first load they went away to empty it and were absent about a quarter of an hour. On their return hey found their father at the bottom of the closet quite dead.
How he got in they were not able to say as he was left all alone. The hold is about three feet deep.
The Bedford Mercury, Sat. 19th January 1878 under Northill.
DEATH FROM SUFFOCATION
On Friday last, January 18th an inquest was held at the King's head public house before M. Piper, Deputy Coroner, on view of the body of William Wagstaff, aged 52 years, a notice of whose death appeared in our last. Arthur Wagstaff on being sworn said, "I live at Lower Caldecote in the parish of Northill. My father was a Market Gardener. On Wednesday night my father and my brother went to clean a cesspool out at the grange. We started at five minutes to ten. When we got there we began to fill two tubs. When we had filled them my brother and I went away to empty them in a field about a quarter of a mile off. When we got back we missed father. My brother called out to him but could not make him hear. We looked into the cesspool and found him with his head under the stuff. We could see his back; we lifted him out. He was quite dead. The stuff was four feet deep after we had taken a load away. My father was perfectly sober when we left him."
Francis Young said, "I am a surgeon practicing at Biggleswade. I was called to the deceased on Wednesday night last. I got to the Grange about ten minutes past eleven. I found him quite dead. He had evidently been suffocated."
The jury recorded a verdict of Accidentally suffocated by falling into a cesspool.
The Bedford Mercury, Sat. 2nd Jan. 1878, under Lower Caldecote.
Here are two newspaper reports on the death of William Wagstaff. The "other brother" was my grandfather Henry. Somewhere I have another article that show him by name.
Henry's children didn't know anything about this. They sensed that there was something unusual about him and my mother thought that he had probably committed suicide.
It must have made such an impact on Grandpa that he never would talk about it.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Otago Witness , Issue 2768, 3 April 1907, Page 22
The Witness began in Dunedin in January 1851 as a four page, fortnightly newspaper. It became a weekly in August that year. At this time illustrated weekly newspapers were a popular and important form of publication in New Zealand and the paper continued to be published until 1932.
LOVE AND FORTUNE.
ROMANTIC WILL CASE. LONDON, March 27. Mr Justice Kekewich has given judgment in favour of Mrs Jalland under Wagstaffs will. Mrs Jalland was convicted of bigamy in January last. An absorbing drama of love and fortune lies behind a charge of bigamy preferred against a wealthy woman named Dorothy Josephine Wagstaff of Elm plaoe, Kensington, and Manor Park, Potton, Bedfordshire, who was remanded at the West London Police Court on November 20. This lady astonished the officer in chage at the Kensington Police Station, High street, by walking in, accompanied by her private secretary, and calmly stating that she wished to give herself up for bigamy. To the officer she said: ''My second hueband, who is now dead, knew my first husband very well, and knew that he was alive. He persuaded me to do it." Mrs Wagbtaff is 45 years of age, and her action in surrendering herself on the present charge hinged on a lawsuit pending in the courts respecting the will of Mr Wagstaff, who died some time ago. Her father was an Indian officer, but her upbringing was left to friends in Dublin.' Whan a little, over 20 she met a medical student, Alfred Gibson Jalland, to whom, in 1884 she was married at All Saints' Church, Manchester. This marriage apparently was not a happy one, and the wife resolved to earn her own living, becoming; a nurse and gradually working her way up to the position of matron. Fourteen or fifteen years ago, as the result of a romantic meeting in the West End, an acquaintanceship sprang up between the pretty Irish nurse and Mr James Poole Wagstaff, a wealthy London landowner, and ultimately the couple went through the form of marriage at St. George's Church, Hanover square. Mr Wagstaff was then 50 years of age, a Fellow of the Geographical Society, deputy-lieutenant and sheriff of the county of Bedfordshire, and a justice of the peace. From his father, Mr James Wagstaff, who died in 1874, he had inherited a fortune of £170,000, which he himself by judicious investments increased. His town house was Grandsen Lodge, Highbury, now the electric railway station, and his country residence Manor Park, Potton, Sandy, Bedfordshire. Dying in 1903, he left estate sworn at £174,722, and probate of his will dated March 31, 1897, was granted in October, 1903, to his widow, Mrs Dorothy Josephine Wagstaff to whom practically the property was left in trust during her widowhood, the property then to revert to the children of his cousins, John and William Hardwood Wagstaff. The former nurse now found herself in possession of an income of between £10,000 and £12,000, and proceeded to act as a fairy godmother to the poor of the neighbourhood. For three years she enjoyed this income and took her place as lady of the manor. But all this time she was aware that her first husband was alive; the secret leaked out in the village, and finally reached the ears of persons interested in the estate. An action at law was commenced by Mr Berners Shelley Wagstaff, of Highbury Lodge, Highbury, eldest son of the testator's cousin, John Wagstaff, who claims the estate on the simple grounds that, as the then holder of the property, Mrs Dorothy Josephine Wagstaff had committed bigamy, who had never been a wife, and consequently could not be the widow of the testator, and that, therefore, she was not entitled to the property, which under the terms of the will ought to pass to him, being the issue of the cousin John Wagstaff. On November 5 the grant of probate of the will was revoked, and Mrs Wagstaff found herself merely in possession of a sufferance allowance of £500 a year pending the trial of the action. She defended her claim to the property by urging that the fact of her first husband being alive at the time of her second marriage was known to tho testator, who himself persuaded her to commit bigamy.
The Witness began in Dunedin in January 1851 as a four page, fortnightly newspaper. It became a weekly in August that year. At this time illustrated weekly newspapers were a popular and important form of publication in New Zealand and the paper continued to be published until 1932.
LOVE AND FORTUNE.
ROMANTIC WILL CASE. LONDON, March 27. Mr Justice Kekewich has given judgment in favour of Mrs Jalland under Wagstaffs will. Mrs Jalland was convicted of bigamy in January last. An absorbing drama of love and fortune lies behind a charge of bigamy preferred against a wealthy woman named Dorothy Josephine Wagstaff of Elm plaoe, Kensington, and Manor Park, Potton, Bedfordshire, who was remanded at the West London Police Court on November 20. This lady astonished the officer in chage at the Kensington Police Station, High street, by walking in, accompanied by her private secretary, and calmly stating that she wished to give herself up for bigamy. To the officer she said: ''My second hueband, who is now dead, knew my first husband very well, and knew that he was alive. He persuaded me to do it." Mrs Wagbtaff is 45 years of age, and her action in surrendering herself on the present charge hinged on a lawsuit pending in the courts respecting the will of Mr Wagstaff, who died some time ago. Her father was an Indian officer, but her upbringing was left to friends in Dublin.' Whan a little, over 20 she met a medical student, Alfred Gibson Jalland, to whom, in 1884 she was married at All Saints' Church, Manchester. This marriage apparently was not a happy one, and the wife resolved to earn her own living, becoming; a nurse and gradually working her way up to the position of matron. Fourteen or fifteen years ago, as the result of a romantic meeting in the West End, an acquaintanceship sprang up between the pretty Irish nurse and Mr James Poole Wagstaff, a wealthy London landowner, and ultimately the couple went through the form of marriage at St. George's Church, Hanover square. Mr Wagstaff was then 50 years of age, a Fellow of the Geographical Society, deputy-lieutenant and sheriff of the county of Bedfordshire, and a justice of the peace. From his father, Mr James Wagstaff, who died in 1874, he had inherited a fortune of £170,000, which he himself by judicious investments increased. His town house was Grandsen Lodge, Highbury, now the electric railway station, and his country residence Manor Park, Potton, Sandy, Bedfordshire. Dying in 1903, he left estate sworn at £174,722, and probate of his will dated March 31, 1897, was granted in October, 1903, to his widow, Mrs Dorothy Josephine Wagstaff to whom practically the property was left in trust during her widowhood, the property then to revert to the children of his cousins, John and William Hardwood Wagstaff. The former nurse now found herself in possession of an income of between £10,000 and £12,000, and proceeded to act as a fairy godmother to the poor of the neighbourhood. For three years she enjoyed this income and took her place as lady of the manor. But all this time she was aware that her first husband was alive; the secret leaked out in the village, and finally reached the ears of persons interested in the estate. An action at law was commenced by Mr Berners Shelley Wagstaff, of Highbury Lodge, Highbury, eldest son of the testator's cousin, John Wagstaff, who claims the estate on the simple grounds that, as the then holder of the property, Mrs Dorothy Josephine Wagstaff had committed bigamy, who had never been a wife, and consequently could not be the widow of the testator, and that, therefore, she was not entitled to the property, which under the terms of the will ought to pass to him, being the issue of the cousin John Wagstaff. On November 5 the grant of probate of the will was revoked, and Mrs Wagstaff found herself merely in possession of a sufferance allowance of £500 a year pending the trial of the action. She defended her claim to the property by urging that the fact of her first husband being alive at the time of her second marriage was known to tho testator, who himself persuaded her to commit bigamy.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
1. This blog was started in May 2010.
2. Addition branches of the family have been found.
a. Mary Ann Bullock Wagstaff had a sister, Elizabeth Wagstaff Shupe, who migrated before her and settled in the area of Ogden, Utah.
b. Marie Loveridge who married James Sheen was the daughter of Sarah Wagstaff and grandaughter of John Wagstaff and Elizabeth Larkins. The Sheens settled in Smithfield, Utah and their descendents spread out, e. g., Kaysville and Salem.
c. John Wagstaff married Sarah Ann Molyneux (previously married to Willam Shaw) of Evanston Wyoming in 1909 in Croydon. He was born in Lancashire, England in 1839. He seems to be another branch.
3. We have made several trips to local cemeteries in Utah and Wyoming. We have photographed several hundred headstones. Eventually they will be put up on Find a Grave.
4. I am trying to follow up on info from Willis Peterson about the Bedforshire Wagstaff descendant who was a sculpture and moved to China. He had two sons who died in WWII in the Orient. Anyone have more info? I got a little further info that his son was killed in the British defense of Hong Kong against the Japanese.
5. I am putting hundreds of images into my RootsMagic and hope to have post them here in this blog.
2. Addition branches of the family have been found.
a. Mary Ann Bullock Wagstaff had a sister, Elizabeth Wagstaff Shupe, who migrated before her and settled in the area of Ogden, Utah.
b. Marie Loveridge who married James Sheen was the daughter of Sarah Wagstaff and grandaughter of John Wagstaff and Elizabeth Larkins. The Sheens settled in Smithfield, Utah and their descendents spread out, e. g., Kaysville and Salem.
c. John Wagstaff married Sarah Ann Molyneux (previously married to Willam Shaw) of Evanston Wyoming in 1909 in Croydon. He was born in Lancashire, England in 1839. He seems to be another branch.
3. We have made several trips to local cemeteries in Utah and Wyoming. We have photographed several hundred headstones. Eventually they will be put up on Find a Grave.
4. I am trying to follow up on info from Willis Peterson about the Bedforshire Wagstaff descendant who was a sculpture and moved to China. He had two sons who died in WWII in the Orient. Anyone have more info? I got a little further info that his son was killed in the British defense of Hong Kong against the Japanese.
5. I am putting hundreds of images into my RootsMagic and hope to have post them here in this blog.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Mary Bathsheba Gillions Wagstaff
Mary Bathsheba Gillions Wagstaff was born October 13 1788, at Caldecote, Bedfordshire, England, the daughter of William Gillions and Bathsheba Lee.
She married Isaac Wagstaff on July 12, 1808. The following children were born to this union:
1. William Wagstaff, born 13 Jul 1909.
2. Mary Wagstaff, born 25 February 1811.
3. Elizabeth Wagstaff, born 31 December 1812.
4. Jane Wagstaff, born 8 October 1814.
5. John Wagstaff, born 25 April 1816.
6. James Wagstaff, born 11 May 1818.
7. Samuel Wagstaff, born 20 October 1820.
8. Martha Wagstaff, born 11 December 1822.
9. Sarah Wagstaff, born 2 September 1824.
10. Ann Wagstaff, born 23 March 1826.
11. Rachel Eleanor Wagstaff, born 20 May 1829.
Isaac died March 1, 1844, but his widow and her youngest daughter, Rachel, were permitted to continue living on the Harvey Estate where he had been employed.
When over sixty years of age, Mary Bathsheba trekked across the western plains in America where six of her married children in time made new homes as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She arrived here September 22, 1853. She lived the remainder of her life as a faithful member of the same church and died at the age of 68 at Lehi, where she was buried October 29, 1856. Her son William wrote that she was a devout Christian and insisted upon her children’s attendance at Sunday School no matter what the weather, which may account for their sincere religious convictions standing throughout their lives. Family tradition says she was a remarkably strong, healthy woman, full of energy and ambition, and is reported to have walked from Lehi to Salt Lake City to visit her children, and back again, even when carrying a basket of fruits to Salt Lake City and another basket of store groceries back to Lehi.
Her eleven children were also noted for their excellent health. All living and growing to maturity in a world that knew nothing of sanitation and very little concerning favorable health habits. Only one child of her eleven, Martha, died as young as 44. Three died in their 70's and tow reached 80. One, the oldest, living to be 88 lacking 2 months.
She was noted for her sincere outlook on life and her stimulating influence. No one of her household could be lazy or neglectful, and wrong doing of any kind was impossible in her presence.
Her children mourned her loss in death sincerely, and tried to glorify her memory by living sterling principles of integrity and righteousness which she had instilled into them far back in their childhood days.
Mary Ann Wagstaff Bullock
[The following was taken from histories deposited at the Daughters of Utah Pioneers.]
Born 20 Oct 1838 Cambridge, England
Death 31 Mar 1914 Warren, Weber, Utah
Parents Frederick Wagstaff & Mary Ann Stewart
Spouse Thomas Henry Bullock
Married 25 Jun 1864
Seath Sp. 23 May 1906 Warren, Weber, Utah
Children
Lillian Cora 2 Aug 1865
Maud Mary 16 Jul 1867
Henrietta Jane 9 Aug 1870
Thomas Frederick 2 Aug 1871
Walter William 8 Jun 1874
Henri Stewart 20 Aug 1876 (died infant)
Pamela 18 Oct 1878
Pearl Lida 23 Apr 1882
Year arrived in Utah 3 Oct 1863
Company of Daniel McArthur Handcart
Submitted by: June Ellen Wayment Orton
525 E 2850 N
Ogden, Ut 84414-2015
At 23 years of age, Mary Ann boarded the ship Amazon to come to America. She traveled alone but her sister Elizabeth Wagstaff Shupe and her aunt Elizabeth Stewart Marriott had come to America six months earlier.
She started walking across the plains with a handcart company, but a young teamster, rather liking her company, asked her to ride in his wagon, using the excuse for having her there, that she was mending his clothing and sewing on buttons etc.
She said in later years that it made the trip a lot easier for her but it gave her a guilty feeling because there were women much older than myself than had to walk all the way.
One day after arriving in Utah, that young teamster named Thomas Henry Bullock, announced to Mary that he was going to marry. When she exclaimed “who” he calmly answered “No”. Assuring her she would not live in polygamy because he did not want to either, she accepted. They were married in the Temple and went to Salt Creek to live. Their home was a one room cabin with a quilt hung over the opening for a door.
When Mary Ann was in labor with one of her babies, a tribe of Indians were passing by moving to new territory. As they came up even with the doorway,each Indian would put his head in the doorway and look around, curious to see what the Indian ahead of him had seen.
Thomas Henry explained the situation to the chief who then came to stand in front of the doorway untiall all the tribe had passed by.
Mary Ann did later accept polygamy as Thomas Henry was called to take a second wife. She was Jane McBride, an immigrant girl from Scotland.
The story passed down to the family was that when one of the babies died, pressure was put on Mary Ann to sustain Thomas to take a second wife, with the assumption that because she was dragging her fee in this respect was why the baby died
Jane McBride had hired as a household helper. It was she that was taken as his 2nd wife. When Thomas Henry bought a length of material for one wife a dress, he always bought enough of the same material for the other, Mary Ann always put her material aside and did not use it until Jane had made hers and worn it out.
Jane, much younger than Mary had the youngest family, so Thomas lived with them. Stories passed down from Jane's family were that she would get upset when Thomas would visit Mary Ann and one time threw the family Bible down the hole of that little house out back with the half moon cut in its door. Some one retrieved it. It was cleaned and restored and kept by the family.
Mary Ann was a thorough house keeper, a woman with a strong sense of fairness, and a warm heart. When her daughter Maud Mary died leaving a family of seven children, she cared for them as best she could, and took the baby Vern and raised him for a number of years. When Thomas was old and ill and wished to live out his last years with Mary Ann, she gladly took him in and cared for him until he died.
Mary Ann Wagstaff was born 20 Oct 1839, a daughter of Frederick Wagstaff and Mary Ann Stewart. She was born in Cambridge, England, and was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints while still living in England, Feb 1863. The ship Amazon lists her as 23 as she registered to sail to America. She crossed the plains as part of the Dixie Company led by Captain McArthur as this company crossed the plains in 1863. Thomas Henry Bullock had traveled east to become a teamster for this company.
I am indebted to Luretta C. Simpson for the following:
My mother Pearl Lida Bullock Cole, told me stories from the life of her mother, Mary Ann Wagstaff. Mary Ann Came to America alone. However, some family members were already here. She started walking across the plains with a company, but a young teamster, rather liking her company, asked her to ride in his wagon, and used tan excuse for having her there that she was mending his clothing and sewing on buttons, etc.
She said in later years that it made the trip a lot easier for her, but he gave her a rather guilty feeling as there were women much older than herself that had to walk all the way.
Mary Ann was a very well trained seamstress when she lived in England. There is still evidence of her neat hand sewing in a dress which I have that she made entirely by hand stitching.
The young teamster who asked her to ride with him and sew buttons on his shirts was Thomas Henry Bullock.
One day, sometime after they had arrived in Utah, Thomas Henry said to Mary Ann. “Well, Mary Ann, I'm going to get married.” To this Mary Ann exclaimed, “Really, who are you going to marry?” Calmly he relied, “I'm going to marry you.”
Mary Ann had already had several proposals of marriage to be plural wife to men who were of great respect in the church, but she had not wanted t be a plural wife. She let Thomas Henry know she'd had these proposals, and he assured her that if she married him she would not live in polygamy, as he also did not want to live in polygamy.
I imagine she thought it over carefully. Perhaps she had already done so. Judging from the exactness of her sewing, she would be that way about life in general. At any rate, she accepted Thomas Henry's proposal and on the 25 Jun 1864 they were married in Salt Lake City, Salt, Utah. They both received their endowments and were sealed for time and all eternity the 26 June 1876 in the Endowment House. After becoming his wife, they moved to Salt Creek, later called Warren, Utah, where they resided the remainder of their lives.
Mary Ann had an Aunt Elizabeth Stewart (Marriott), an Uncle William Stewart, and a sister Elizabeth Wagstaff (Shupe) who had come to America and to Utah six months earlier, so she was not without family when she arrived.
After their marriage, Thomas Henry and Mary Ann were living in a one-room cabin. It did not have a door, just a quilt or blanket hung over the doorway to give privacy. Mary Ann was in labor with one of her babies. At this time a tribe of Indians were passing by, moving to new territory. As they came up even with their doorway, each Indian would put his head in the doorway and look around, curious to see what the Indian ahead of hi m had seen.
You can imagine how disconcerting this must have been to Mary Ann or any others who might have been in the household to help. Thomas Henry knew something had to be done. He went to the chief of the tribe and explained the situation to. The chief came and stood in front of the doorway until all of the tribe had passed by.
I picture him standing straight a d tall with his back to the doorway, his arms folded across his chest and a stern look of authority on his face. At any rate none of the Indians tried to look in the doorway with him there.
Mary Ann did later accept polygamy as Thomas Henry was called to take a second wife. His wife was Jane McBride, an immigrant girl from Scotland.
Mary Ann was the mother of eight children, to of whom died in infancy. I have heard from a different source, not from my mother, that when one of her babies died in infancy probably Walter William Bullock born 8 Jun 1874 and died 3 May 1876, that pressure was put on Mary Ann to Sustain Thomas Henry to take a second wife, with the assumption that because she was dragging her feet in this respect was why the little boy died.
Jane McBride had been hired as a household helper when Mary Ann's child was born. I assume that the child Henri Stewart who was born 20 Aug 1876. It was 13 Oct 1876 that Thomas Henry took her for his second wife.
Mary Ann had a pine floor in the kitchen of her home. Mother said, every evening when the children were all in bed, Mary Ann would scrub her floor with hot lye water, thereby always keeping her floor white. One of her favorite sayings in regard to housekeeping was, “If you keep the corners clean, the center will take care of itself.”
In looking at Mary Ann's picture and the dresses she wore and also the sewing she had done, I picture in my mind as a medium to small women, very neat and orderly, perhaps even prim, but with a strong sense of fairness and a high self-esteem.
Mother told me when Thomas Henry would buy a length of dress material for one wife, he always bought another length of material just exactly the same for the other wife, But Mary Ann would put hers away and not make it up until Jane and made hers and worn it out. That is not unlike we women today, we do not like to dress exactly like other women. We are different and like to dress differently. This was probably to Jane's liking as well.
Jane, of course, was much younger that Mary Ann and her children were small while most of Mary Ann's were grown. As result, Thomas Henry lived with Jane and the younger children.
Then finally the day came when Thomas Henry was old and ill. Mother thought he probably had sugar diabetes a so many of his children have had, but it wasn't known in those days. At this time Thomas Henry came to Mary Ann and asked if he could come home to her to spend the rest of his life. Mary Ann told him he most assuredly could, and she took care of him until he died 23 May 1906 at 67 years of age.
I hope you get as much joy from reading this short history as I have received from writing it. We have so much t be grateful I having ancestors who braved the frontier and other dangers for the love of the gospel of Jesus Christ. May we always cherish their memory and love and live the gospel as they tried to do. …
Lureta C. Simpson
Mary Ann lived in a little home in Warren alone. I have heard stories from members of Jane's family that Jane would really get upset when Thomas Henry would go over to visit Mary Ann. One time Jane Threw the family Bible down the little house with the half moon out back. Someone retrieved it, and it was cleaned and restored. A member of Jane's posterity still has the Bible.
My Father, Chester T. Wayment, tells me of his mother who was Mary Ann's daughter, Maud Mary Bullock Wayment, becoming ill and dying from Typhoid pneumonia just a year after her husband, William T. Wayment, returned from a mission, leaving her little family of seven children, one of them just a new baby. Mary Ann, the grandmother, must have looked after this little family as best she could. She and her daughter, Pearl, took Uncle Vern, the baby., nursed him and raised him for a number of years. My father was four years old and he tells how he loved to go to his grandmother's home and play with Vern. The oldest one of these children was fifteen years old.
Their father William T. Wayment, married Elsie Wade, and they moved to Ogden to live. Leaving this young family to care for themselves.
Mary Ann passed away 30 Mar 1914, and is buried in the Warren, Weber County, Utah, Cemetery.
Ogden Standard …... Bullock
The funeral of Mrs. Mary Ann Bullock was held yesterday afternoon in the Warren Ward Meeting house. Bishop William Wayment presided and the speakers were F. F. Barrow, Joseph Wayment, Joseph Skeen, Patriarch George W. Larkin and Bishop Wayment.
Special music was furnished by the choir, Jesse Wayment and Herbert East. The internment was made in the Warren Cemetery.
Their children are:
Lillian Cora 2 Aug 1865
Maud Mary 16 Jul 1867
Henrietta Jane 9 Aug 1870
Thomas Frederick 2 Aug 1871
Walter William 8 Jun 1874
Henri Stewart 20 Aug 1876
Pamela 18 Oct 1878
Pearl Lida 23 Apr 1882
[The following was taken from histories deposited at the Daughters of Utah Pioneers.]
Born 20 Oct 1838 Cambridge, England
Death 31 Mar 1914 Warren, Weber, Utah
Parents Frederick Wagstaff & Mary Ann Stewart
Spouse Thomas Henry Bullock
Married 25 Jun 1864
Seath Sp. 23 May 1906 Warren, Weber, Utah
Children
Lillian Cora 2 Aug 1865
Maud Mary 16 Jul 1867
Henrietta Jane 9 Aug 1870
Thomas Frederick 2 Aug 1871
Walter William 8 Jun 1874
Henri Stewart 20 Aug 1876 (died infant)
Pamela 18 Oct 1878
Pearl Lida 23 Apr 1882
Year arrived in Utah 3 Oct 1863
Company of Daniel McArthur Handcart
Submitted by: June Ellen Wayment Orton
525 E 2850 N
Ogden, Ut 84414-2015
At 23 years of age, Mary Ann boarded the ship Amazon to come to America. She traveled alone but her sister Elizabeth Wagstaff Shupe and her aunt Elizabeth Stewart Marriott had come to America six months earlier.
She started walking across the plains with a handcart company, but a young teamster, rather liking her company, asked her to ride in his wagon, using the excuse for having her there, that she was mending his clothing and sewing on buttons etc.
She said in later years that it made the trip a lot easier for her but it gave her a guilty feeling because there were women much older than myself than had to walk all the way.
One day after arriving in Utah, that young teamster named Thomas Henry Bullock, announced to Mary that he was going to marry. When she exclaimed “who” he calmly answered “No”. Assuring her she would not live in polygamy because he did not want to either, she accepted. They were married in the Temple and went to Salt Creek to live. Their home was a one room cabin with a quilt hung over the opening for a door.
When Mary Ann was in labor with one of her babies, a tribe of Indians were passing by moving to new territory. As they came up even with the doorway,each Indian would put his head in the doorway and look around, curious to see what the Indian ahead of him had seen.
Thomas Henry explained the situation to the chief who then came to stand in front of the doorway untiall all the tribe had passed by.
Mary Ann did later accept polygamy as Thomas Henry was called to take a second wife. She was Jane McBride, an immigrant girl from Scotland.
The story passed down to the family was that when one of the babies died, pressure was put on Mary Ann to sustain Thomas to take a second wife, with the assumption that because she was dragging her fee in this respect was why the baby died
Jane McBride had hired as a household helper. It was she that was taken as his 2nd wife. When Thomas Henry bought a length of material for one wife a dress, he always bought enough of the same material for the other, Mary Ann always put her material aside and did not use it until Jane had made hers and worn it out.
Jane, much younger than Mary had the youngest family, so Thomas lived with them. Stories passed down from Jane's family were that she would get upset when Thomas would visit Mary Ann and one time threw the family Bible down the hole of that little house out back with the half moon cut in its door. Some one retrieved it. It was cleaned and restored and kept by the family.
Mary Ann was a thorough house keeper, a woman with a strong sense of fairness, and a warm heart. When her daughter Maud Mary died leaving a family of seven children, she cared for them as best she could, and took the baby Vern and raised him for a number of years. When Thomas was old and ill and wished to live out his last years with Mary Ann, she gladly took him in and cared for him until he died.
Mary Ann Wagstaff was born 20 Oct 1839, a daughter of Frederick Wagstaff and Mary Ann Stewart. She was born in Cambridge, England, and was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints while still living in England, Feb 1863. The ship Amazon lists her as 23 as she registered to sail to America. She crossed the plains as part of the Dixie Company led by Captain McArthur as this company crossed the plains in 1863. Thomas Henry Bullock had traveled east to become a teamster for this company.
I am indebted to Luretta C. Simpson for the following:
My mother Pearl Lida Bullock Cole, told me stories from the life of her mother, Mary Ann Wagstaff. Mary Ann Came to America alone. However, some family members were already here. She started walking across the plains with a company, but a young teamster, rather liking her company, asked her to ride in his wagon, and used tan excuse for having her there that she was mending his clothing and sewing on buttons, etc.
She said in later years that it made the trip a lot easier for her, but he gave her a rather guilty feeling as there were women much older than herself that had to walk all the way.
Mary Ann was a very well trained seamstress when she lived in England. There is still evidence of her neat hand sewing in a dress which I have that she made entirely by hand stitching.
The young teamster who asked her to ride with him and sew buttons on his shirts was Thomas Henry Bullock.
One day, sometime after they had arrived in Utah, Thomas Henry said to Mary Ann. “Well, Mary Ann, I'm going to get married.” To this Mary Ann exclaimed, “Really, who are you going to marry?” Calmly he relied, “I'm going to marry you.”
Mary Ann had already had several proposals of marriage to be plural wife to men who were of great respect in the church, but she had not wanted t be a plural wife. She let Thomas Henry know she'd had these proposals, and he assured her that if she married him she would not live in polygamy, as he also did not want to live in polygamy.
I imagine she thought it over carefully. Perhaps she had already done so. Judging from the exactness of her sewing, she would be that way about life in general. At any rate, she accepted Thomas Henry's proposal and on the 25 Jun 1864 they were married in Salt Lake City, Salt, Utah. They both received their endowments and were sealed for time and all eternity the 26 June 1876 in the Endowment House. After becoming his wife, they moved to Salt Creek, later called Warren, Utah, where they resided the remainder of their lives.
Mary Ann had an Aunt Elizabeth Stewart (Marriott), an Uncle William Stewart, and a sister Elizabeth Wagstaff (Shupe) who had come to America and to Utah six months earlier, so she was not without family when she arrived.
After their marriage, Thomas Henry and Mary Ann were living in a one-room cabin. It did not have a door, just a quilt or blanket hung over the doorway to give privacy. Mary Ann was in labor with one of her babies. At this time a tribe of Indians were passing by, moving to new territory. As they came up even with their doorway, each Indian would put his head in the doorway and look around, curious to see what the Indian ahead of hi m had seen.
You can imagine how disconcerting this must have been to Mary Ann or any others who might have been in the household to help. Thomas Henry knew something had to be done. He went to the chief of the tribe and explained the situation to. The chief came and stood in front of the doorway until all of the tribe had passed by.
I picture him standing straight a d tall with his back to the doorway, his arms folded across his chest and a stern look of authority on his face. At any rate none of the Indians tried to look in the doorway with him there.
Mary Ann did later accept polygamy as Thomas Henry was called to take a second wife. His wife was Jane McBride, an immigrant girl from Scotland.
Mary Ann was the mother of eight children, to of whom died in infancy. I have heard from a different source, not from my mother, that when one of her babies died in infancy probably Walter William Bullock born 8 Jun 1874 and died 3 May 1876, that pressure was put on Mary Ann to Sustain Thomas Henry to take a second wife, with the assumption that because she was dragging her feet in this respect was why the little boy died.
Jane McBride had been hired as a household helper when Mary Ann's child was born. I assume that the child Henri Stewart who was born 20 Aug 1876. It was 13 Oct 1876 that Thomas Henry took her for his second wife.
Mary Ann had a pine floor in the kitchen of her home. Mother said, every evening when the children were all in bed, Mary Ann would scrub her floor with hot lye water, thereby always keeping her floor white. One of her favorite sayings in regard to housekeeping was, “If you keep the corners clean, the center will take care of itself.”
In looking at Mary Ann's picture and the dresses she wore and also the sewing she had done, I picture in my mind as a medium to small women, very neat and orderly, perhaps even prim, but with a strong sense of fairness and a high self-esteem.
Mother told me when Thomas Henry would buy a length of dress material for one wife, he always bought another length of material just exactly the same for the other wife, But Mary Ann would put hers away and not make it up until Jane and made hers and worn it out. That is not unlike we women today, we do not like to dress exactly like other women. We are different and like to dress differently. This was probably to Jane's liking as well.
Jane, of course, was much younger that Mary Ann and her children were small while most of Mary Ann's were grown. As result, Thomas Henry lived with Jane and the younger children.
Then finally the day came when Thomas Henry was old and ill. Mother thought he probably had sugar diabetes a so many of his children have had, but it wasn't known in those days. At this time Thomas Henry came to Mary Ann and asked if he could come home to her to spend the rest of his life. Mary Ann told him he most assuredly could, and she took care of him until he died 23 May 1906 at 67 years of age.
I hope you get as much joy from reading this short history as I have received from writing it. We have so much t be grateful I having ancestors who braved the frontier and other dangers for the love of the gospel of Jesus Christ. May we always cherish their memory and love and live the gospel as they tried to do. …
Lureta C. Simpson
Mary Ann lived in a little home in Warren alone. I have heard stories from members of Jane's family that Jane would really get upset when Thomas Henry would go over to visit Mary Ann. One time Jane Threw the family Bible down the little house with the half moon out back. Someone retrieved it, and it was cleaned and restored. A member of Jane's posterity still has the Bible.
My Father, Chester T. Wayment, tells me of his mother who was Mary Ann's daughter, Maud Mary Bullock Wayment, becoming ill and dying from Typhoid pneumonia just a year after her husband, William T. Wayment, returned from a mission, leaving her little family of seven children, one of them just a new baby. Mary Ann, the grandmother, must have looked after this little family as best she could. She and her daughter, Pearl, took Uncle Vern, the baby., nursed him and raised him for a number of years. My father was four years old and he tells how he loved to go to his grandmother's home and play with Vern. The oldest one of these children was fifteen years old.
Their father William T. Wayment, married Elsie Wade, and they moved to Ogden to live. Leaving this young family to care for themselves.
Mary Ann passed away 30 Mar 1914, and is buried in the Warren, Weber County, Utah, Cemetery.
Ogden Standard …... Bullock
The funeral of Mrs. Mary Ann Bullock was held yesterday afternoon in the Warren Ward Meeting house. Bishop William Wayment presided and the speakers were F. F. Barrow, Joseph Wayment, Joseph Skeen, Patriarch George W. Larkin and Bishop Wayment.
Special music was furnished by the choir, Jesse Wayment and Herbert East. The internment was made in the Warren Cemetery.
Their children are:
Lillian Cora 2 Aug 1865
Maud Mary 16 Jul 1867
Henrietta Jane 9 Aug 1870
Thomas Frederick 2 Aug 1871
Walter William 8 Jun 1874
Henri Stewart 20 Aug 1876
Pamela 18 Oct 1878
Pearl Lida 23 Apr 1882
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Sarah Wagstaff Sears
Daughter of Isaac Wagstaff and Mary Bathsheba Guillians.
Sarah Wagstaff was born at Caldicote, Northill Parish, Bedfordshire, England, 2 September 1824. She died at Salt Lake City, Utah, 18 November 1902. In the year 1842 she married John Sears, and eleven children were born to them. The part played by the wife and mother was not one which occupied the center of the stage, nor was she ever in the lime-light. Yet her life was full of that quiet heroism which usually goes unsung. A wonderful helpmate, a devoted mother and a loyal friend. Patient in trial, uncomplaining in adversity and conscientious in all things. Her disposition was sunny and her love for the wild birds and flowers of England amounted almost to devotion. This feeling never left her and her hobby in later life was to have the finest flower garden in the neighborhood. The care of flowers sweetened her life and lengthened her life. All kinds of flowers and shrubs seemed to thrive and grow under her magic touch.The schools of rural England at the time of her girlhood were hardly worthy of the name, but she was endowed with a native intelligence, keen intellect, and quick perception. As she grew in stature and developed in mind there came a comeliness, grace, and beauty which caused many a swain to sigh and John thought himself fortunate when he led to the altar. Sarah came from stock that was as solid as the rock. The Wagstaffs were conservative, thorough going, and thrifty. Not brilliant, but honest, dependable people. Their name was a symbol of honor. With such ancestry and a reasonably favorable home environment, Sarah had the foundation for the part in life she played so well as wife and mother.
Heber J. Sears
by Drucilla Sears Howard
by Drucilla Sears Howard
John Sears
husband of Sarah Wagstaff Sears
John Sears, eldest son of Joseph Sears and Elizabeth Cutler, was born at Southill Parish, Bedfordshire, England, Oct 18, 1822 and died in Salt Lake City, Utah, April 1, 1902.
He married Sarah Wagstaff of Caldicote, Bedfordshire, England December 26, 1842. They had eleven children, Septimius W., Isaac, Maria, Nathan, Maria Ann, David, John, Mary, Sarah Elizabeth, Daniel John, Mary and Sarah Elizabeth died in infancy.
John grew to manhood in Bedfordshire following the occupation of a farmer. When married he lived in a little thatched cottage in Upper Caldicote. Here the young couple began housekeeping in three rooms; one upstairs and two down. In the south room, the largest, John taught school in the evening, for he enjoyed the distinction of being the best educated man in the family and perhaps in the neighborhood. His brother David has told of how clever John was in writing short-hand he gained the great speed of 60 to 70 words per minute. He was also a great reader and at times met clergymen in debates. David told of how John once held a four hour debate with a minister and still had plenty of argument left over.
It is said that John "set the pace" in reaping, mowing, or any kind of farm work. In those days all grain was cut with a scythe with cradle. At the house in Upper Caldicote, seven of the first eight children were born and the family struggled against adversity so common in those days and in that section of the country. As soon as the children were all taught to plait or braid straws for making hats, and this was their occupation until they were large enough to heavier work. The mother and children would plait every spare moment of the day and often well into the night.
In 1849 the whole family joined the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and here began a new epoch in their history. On June 3, 1864, John Sears with his wife and four children, Nathan, maria Ann, Heber and anna left England on a sailing vessel called the "Hudson". The Captain was Israel Pratt. It took them six weeks and six days to cross the Atlantic. There were about eleven hundred passengers on the boat. One thousand of them being Mormon emigrants. Needless to say that in the intimate companionship formed on this long sea voyage friendships were established which lasted throughout life.
They danced, they sang, played and held diving service on shipboard. The ship pulled into New York harbor on July 20, 1864. On the evening of July 21 they boarded a magnificent steamer, the first steamboat they ever saw, and went up the Hudson River, arriving at Albany, New York the next day. At Albany they took train for Buffalo. The trip from Buffalo was made in cattle cars.
The landed in Chicago on Sunday July 24 and as at that time no trains left Chicago on Sunday, they remained until next morning, when they went to Quincy, Illinois. But as there were no hotel accommodations they were compelled to stand up all night in a shed at the railway station. From Quincy they took a train fir St Joseph, Missouri. This was also a train of cattle cars, with no seats and with manure in some places a foot deep. The cinders from the engine poured in on them and one car took fire. The passengers all got out but the car was burned up. The train left in three sections and some accident befell each section. Two sections rolled down an embankment but no one was hurt. the railroad men said it didn’t matter much if some of them were killed as they were only Mormons. This was during the Civil War and travel was dangerous on account of many bridges having been burned by rebel soldiers. At St Joseph, Missouri, they were permitted to go on a steamer, on August 1, up the river to Florence. Here they were camped and ready for their journey across the plains with ox teams, which began on August 12th. These ox team companies were in charge of captains. There would be one captain over fifty people, and these fifty were again divided into tens, with a captain over each ten. The captain of the company in this special case was William Hyde, from Hyde Park, Cache Valley, Utah. John Sears drove one of the ox teams but his wife and children were in another wagon driven by Daniel Wolstinholme. The wagon was loaded with merchandise to the top of the double bed, with eight passengers besides the teamster in the bows. In this particular wagon was Sarah Sears with her children: Nathan, Sarah Ann, Heber and Anna R. Besides three other women. There were about thirty-five wagons in the train. some forty or fifty of the immigrants died on the way owning to change of food, cholera and hardships. The Indians were very hostile that year. Eleven men killed by them in a company of freighters just ahead of this emigrant train, but this company was not disturbed by the Indians. They had plenty of provisions and although buffalo were scarce at this time, the antelope were plentiful. One of the children, Heber, was sick all the way. He had measles when o the ship and did not fully recover from them. As they journeyed westward across the plains he grew gradually worse and on the day he was three years old they expected to have to bury him on the plains. However he served and lived to a greater age than any of his brothers or sisters.
They arrived in Salt Lake City, October 26, 1864, making their journey across the plains in fifteen weeks and one day. After being entertained for a few weeks by the wife’s brother William Wagstaff, who lived just opposite, west of what is now the City and County Building, (1933) the family moved to Morgan, Utah, but the winter was so severe that they left there and moved to Kaysville, Utah, where they found a friend in one Charles Layton, who divided his one room house by a partition and made them as comfortable as he could and for a year permitted them to farm part of his land on shares. The following fall they rented a neighboring farm belonging to Mr. Horton Haight and stayed there for two years. although he though the grasshoppers were a great pest, these years were prosperous ones.
The building of a rail-way down Weber Canyon created a demand for improved farm products and the financial condition of the family was much improved. live stock accumulated, corps were good and wild game was plentiful. At the end of two years they were persuaded to move to Pleasant Grove, to which place they went Oct. 1868. Here there last son John Joseph was born. This move was unfortunate as the land was poor and returns small. At the end of the year they decided to move to Salt Lake City and for a year or two the did a little farming on the bench south of the city.
In the year 1871, John Sears began to work for Zions Co-Operative Mercantile Institution. For a number of years he was manager of the produce department and stayed at the institution until 1888, when he resigned and retired from active business. During all this time the family ;moved in the 11th Ward and most of the time at what is now known as 746 East 2nd South St., while living there their last three children were reared so that number is known as the old estate of Sears family.
In 1888 John Sears made a visit to England which lasted tow months. The object of this trip was to visit again the haunts of his boyhood and to gather the family genealogy.
In the year 1890 Salt lake City had a real estate boom and the old home on 2nd south with had been occupied for more than twenty years was sold for a good price. With part of the proceeds they built a cottage in a southern suburb of the city on 5th east just below 17th south, and here they spent the remainder of their days. John Sears was a man of sterling integrity. One who rose from obscurity to a sphere of usefulness. From illiterate youth to a well-read man. From poverty to comfort. He rose above any of his brothers and sister in material, intellectual and spiritual attainments. He was a worthy citizen, a good neighbor and a devout Latter-day Saint. It is certain that the faith he espoused in his native land, fired him with enthusiasm, gave purpose to his life, and brought him to the land of opportunity. He lived to be 80 years old.
A Pioneer Home that Grew
by Drucilla Sears Howard
Isaac Sears, a Utah Pioneer of 1864, was born in Caldicote, Bedfordshire, England, 2 December 1845. His parents were John and Sarah Wagstaff Sears. He being the second born of their eleven children. At the age of twenty-two he married Sarah Jane Gailey in the Old Endowment House in Salt lake City and proceeded to Kaysville where these young people lived until there were two children. Returning to Salt Lake City he became an organizer and a part of the business firm of "Sears and Jeremy", dealers in hay, grain and seeds. This venture proved successful and as his life’s employment, enabled him to support his large and growing family to the end of this days.
The memorable trip from Kaysville to Salt Lake City was made in a wagon drawn by a horse and a mule and loaded with all kinds of accumulated possessions as well as the young family. Their precious cow was tied to the back of the wagon and so the twenty-five mile journey must have taken a whole day at least. Little Mary Ann, still only two years of age, kept asking her patient father to get out and milk the cow as she was so thirsty, which took additional time. However, they arrived and located in the Eleventh Ward where they pitched a tent to live in while building the first section of their pioneer home at 756 East Second South Street. This was built of adobe, two rooms, one above the other, but before it was finished their baby son died and this sad event was followed by further misfortune. While they were absent for their new home, all the furniture was stolen. But, they had pioneer courage and undismayed they plodded on together and in this small bedroom upstairs, four children were born: William G., Sarah Drucilla, Etta May and Jessie. the following were born later: Ira, Harold Ernest, Albert Eugene, Wilton Henry, Ethel Irene and Afton.
A summer kitchen or shanty was built at this time on the back of the first two rooms into which the kitchen stove was moved during hot July and August days. I remember standing in that uncomfortable spot washing dishes. Also we had a long metal bath tub with a hinged lid that we used fora a table when it was not in other use. Later on this tub was converted into a drinking trough in the barnyard for the horses and cows.
As our lot extended half way through the block, Father planted a number of fruit trees including plum, cherry, peach, apricots and apple trees, which flourished and gave us much happiness. The irrigation ditch was between the sidewalk and the street and provided water for the surrounding gardens. How we loved that ditch. There was no dearth of activity as long as we could make dams, tiny irrigation systems, waterfalls, water wheels and day dreams with the interesting and fascinating liquid treasure.
As the years passed by and children kept coming the house became too small ans so was enlarged by the addition of a two-story adobe part built in 1879, which contained four more rooms, two upstairs, and two downstairs with a commodious cellar and a fireplace in the parlor. One of the first telephones to be installed in the residential district was in this home and for a number of years the room in which it was placed became known as the "telephone room". In emergencies neighbors and friends from blocks around came to use our phone. I remember one local belle who came frequently to talk with her beau, and if mother was not close by so that she could reprimand us, we curious children listened in.
In 1886 still another addition was built back of the original two rooms. This new part was of brick and included a dining room, up to date kitchen pantry and bathroom. It did not show from the front of the house and so cannot be seen in the old photograph. By this time we had running water in the house with a kitchen sink, a larger water boiler attached to the range, and bathroom conveniences. How modern we felt. However, we still had kerosene lamps to fill and clean daily. When we went upstairs to bed we would carry lighted candles amusing ourselves with dropping tallow "warts" upon our hands.
Once a year, in the spring, we would clean house. All of the carpets must be taken up, carried downstairs and out of doors where they would be beaten and swept. Our heavy beds and ticks were similarly treated. After all walls, woodwork and glass were made spotlessly shining, aired and ready, new straw was spread upon the floors under the carpets and new straw also placed in the bed ticks. In the winter we frequently had fires burning continuously in four or five rooms, for which all of the fuel had to be carried into the house from the outside coalshed and when reduced to ashes and refuse, carried out again. Truly, the essential work in keeping up these early loved poems provided plenty of physical exercise.
Among the outdoor interests we were especially proud of our carriage steps. At first they were placed in front of the house near the street but later moved to the outside lane which led to the barnyard. The trick was to drive close enough for passengers to step easily into or from the vehicle, but, we children, when driving, had a way of hitting steps with the wheels and occasionally bringing upon ourselves ridicule and embarrassment.
Father built a large adobe barn in which were the harness room, the buggy room, and a large loft where several loads of hay could be stored. Along the south side of this barn were the stalls for the horses and good old family cow. We used to give neighborhood plays in the place where the buggy was kept, using the harness room for costume needs. Besides the barn there were wooden sheds for baled hay and straw and to house the sheep to be fattened for market.
Mother always canned and dried an abundance of fruit and in the winter made a barrel full of mince meat. There were ample stores of fruits in the cellar and a year’s supply of flour. The bins in the kitchen were enormous and were also kept full. Apples, molasses and cider, of which there was plenty, helped with informal entertaining, parties and general hospitality.
About the time when I was nearly grown "Block Meetings" were being held in some of the large-enough poems. Often they came to our home and such good times we had. After the formal meetings we pushed the big old dining table against the wall and danced to father’s accordion music, or one of the boy’s mouth organs. Quilting bees were also delightful occasions. Friends and neighbors would come and chat while they worked. We children learned many new strange things from just listening in while we threaded the needles.
One of the most popular home entertainments was the surprise party, at one time this was what was called "the rage" and it seemed as though everyone of any importance was being "surprised".
We had many good times in the old home but perhaps those at Conference times were the most memorable. All of our relatives would come from distant parts. Beds were made in almost every room of the house and the table and pantry were laden with favorite foods.
Mother was an excellent cook and father was most hospitable and generous. We had music, dancing, visiting, sermonettes, testimonies and family love which have left a golden treasury of memories which include all of life spent in the dear old home that grew.
RACHEL ELEANOR WAGSTAFF HAYES
DUP Book, "Women of Faith & Fortitude"
Birth: 20 May 1829, Old Caldicote, Bedford, England
Death: 31 Oct 1884, Pleasant Grove, Utah, Utah
Parents: Isaac Wagstaff & Mary Bathsheba Gillions
Spouse: John J. Hayes
Marriage: 23 Feb 1853, on board ship "Elvira Owen"
Spouse Death: 7 Dec 1897, Pleasant Grove, Utah, Utah
Children:
John Joseph, 6 Aug 1854
Hadahiah, 27 Jul 1855
Eleanor Jane, 14 Jul 1856
Elizabeth, 29 Dec 1858
Isaac John, 19 Nov 1860
George Samuel, 23 Oct 1862
William Lehi, 19 Jan 1865
Henry Nephi, 28 Jan 1867
Sarah Emma, 5 Nov 1871
Rachel was the youngest in a family of eleven, four boys and seven girls. They lived and worked on the estate of Esquire Harvey. Her father died when she was eight years old. On account of her father’s years of faithful service, the landlord gave the family the privilege of living in their home rent free as long as her mother lived.
Rachel attended the village school and also learned to braid straw hats. At the age of seventeen she took a severe cold which resulted in a serious illness. She was bedfast till she was twenty years old.
While sick, her brother, John, never failed to visit her on Sunday. Once when he came he said, "Rachel there are some strangers in the neighboring village who claim to heal the sick by the laying on of hands, they claim to teach the true and everlasting gospel."
Rachel was very interested and wanted to hear more about them. She began pleading with her mother to let these men visit their home, but her mother was a faithful member of the Church of England.
As Rachel lay upon her bed thinking and pondering she saw a scroll let down upon the wall of the room and as it unrolled she could read it. It was a quotation from the Bible, James 5:3-17. Rachel could no longer doubt and would not give her mother any peace until she consented to let the elders come and administer to her, which they did. Soon after, Rachel decided to be baptized and was carried to the water and baptized and was immediately healed from her sickness and she walked up out of the water and was entirely well. After this great manifestation of healing power, her mother could doubt no longer and was baptized into the Church.
Soon after joining the Church they began preparation for emigrating to Utah. Rachel became acquainted with the Latter-day Saints missionaries, among whom was John J. Hayes to whom she became engaged and he started with them to Utah.
In the Spring of 1856, when Rachel and John went to Salt Lake City to receive their endowments, Sister Eliza R. Snow, general president of the Relief Society, gave Rachel a special blessing in which she said she should have a daughter who would live to be a blessing to them in their old age. Some weeks later Eleanor Jane was born and was the only daughter that lived to maturity.
Rachel did her best in helping to make a home and good living condition in every way she could. Her special work was millinery, not only braiding straw and making hats but she made beautiful artificial flowers from straw and trimming. She also taught braiding school for girls.
Rachel labored as a teacher in the Relief Society for many years and taught her children to be true Latter-day Saints. She was a very tender gentle woman, religious, very jolly and hospitable, and a devoted wife and mother.
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