Biography of Mary Priscilla Griffiths
Biography of
Mary Priscilla Griffiths
Willes Farnsworth
By Mildred Gaye Whitney Nelson
Wife of Jack William Nelson, Great, Great, Grandson
Note: Because information about Mary Priscilla Griffiths is very
limited, this history also includes information taken from Church
historians, journals and other histories regarding the events and times
that she was a part of. In this way I feel we, her descendants can gain
a better understanding of her circumstances, thus gaining a greater
understanding and appreciation of her. She must have been a woman of
great courage and faith. ~Gaye Nelson
All italicized type is taken directly from the “Biography of Mary
Priscilla Griffiths Farnsworth”
written by Mary Priscilla F. Petersen, Granddaughter.
PART I
Mary Priscilla Griffiths Willes Farnsworth was born 7 May 1831 in
Sherborne, Dorset, England. Sherborne was a market town and parish in
the hundred of Sherborne, 120 miles from London. Her mother, Matilda
Langdon was from Henstridge, Dorset, England, and her father, Evan
Griffiths, was born in Cardiff, Wales and later moved to Sherborne.
Mary was one of seven children born to Evan and Matilda. There was
William (abt 1829), Mary Priscilla (7 May 1831), Lewis (20 Feb 1833),
James (23 June 1835), Ann (2 Nov 1836), Essie (1842), and Elizabeth (10
Mar 1844). All children were born in Sherborne, Dorset, England. They
lived in a small house on a modest income.
Mary was given a good education and became a milliner and dressmaker,
working with a girlfriend who sewed for Queen Victoria.
Mary was converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
in November of 1851. She was baptized at the age of 20. Mary was the
only member of her family to join the LDS Church.
During the early years in church history, converts to the church were
encouraged to gather in Zion –or what became to be known as the state of
Utah. Mary Priscilla was one of approximately 10,000 who sailed from
Liverpool during 1852 and 1856. The Church had established the
Perpetual Emigrating Fund to help the poorer Saints emigrate to the Salt
Lake Valley. The church leaders helped to book passages and make
necessary arrangements. Because of crop failures in Utah and tight
money, the people would come by handcarts instead of wagon trains.
Mary sailed on the ship Thornton, which was bound for New York harbor.
There were about 761 emigrants aboard. Each company maintained strict
discipline during the lengthy voyages. They were divided into groups
and met together often for meetings, gatherings, prayers and singing.
They were presided over by a returning missionary, Elder James G.
Willie. Four hundred and eighty-four were PEF emigrants and expected to
cross the plains in handcarts.
All in all, there was a general feeling of joy and rejoicing for the
length of the voyage, despite the many hardships. The voyage was
especially difficult for those who were old and sickly. Everyone’s
desire to gather to Zion was so great that they underwent many
hardships, and desired to go even if they knew they would not be able to
make it to the Salt Lake Valley.
There were many difficulties that they encountered. Nearly everyone
suffered with seasickness for many weeks. Once the ship was in ‘a
calm.’ The Saints fasted and prayed and the Lord showed forth his
power in their behalf. They called on Him for their preservation when
the ship caught fire and he also came to their deliverance in a terrible
storm. One week was so stormy, the ship was driven back 500 miles.
This was a big setback.
On board ship they made what preparations they could for when they
reached America. President Richards had purchased a large quantity of a
heavy cotton fabric called “drill” or “drilling” from the cotton mills
in Lancashire. From this we were able to start making the tents and
covers for the wagons and the handcarts that we would need in America.
Work crews were assigned-the men cutting up the heavy cloth and the
women stitching it together. Doubtless Mary’s experience in sewing
helped in this effort. It must have been quite different from the
fabrics she was used to working with.
“The sea voyage took 6 weeks. This was a long time to live aboard ship
in cramped quarters. Food was at a premium. Their Captain didn’t treat
them ill, but he was a very cruel man and many times they witnessed his
abuse to his crew.
In a way, this experience strengthened them for more severe trials
ahead. In all there were seven deaths at sea, three marriages, one
birth, and four babies blessed.
Note: The history written by her granddaughter says: “Mary must have
had tremendous faith and courage to start out for Zion alone. However,
many English and Scandinavian saints traveled with her across the
Atlantic. She crossed the ocean on the ship Horizon. They landed at
Castle Garden and then journeyed on to Iowa City where they joined a
handcart company.”
I believe she came on the ship Thornton for several reasons. Captain
Willie was the leader on the ship Thornton when it set sail in England.
So it is likely that she stayed with the same group all the way. There
was a short period of time that both the Willie and Martin Companies
were in Iowa City, so it is possible that she switched companies.
However, further investigation shows that the ship Horizon went to New
Orleans, where as the Thornton made harbor in New York at Castle
Gardens. Therefore I will conclude that she sailed on the ship
‘Thornton’. If anyone has any other evidence, one way or the other,
please let me know. ~Mildred Gaye Nelson
PART II
The ship Thornton entered New York harbor June 14 (15), 1856 at 8:00
am. A doctor came aboard just off Staten Island and pronounced the
passengers fit and healthy with no need of quarantine. This was a
fortunate circumstance, for some ships were held up for days while they
awaited their health inspection. Some doctors would often quarantine
anyone who didn’t look perfectly fit for a week or more. If there were
any signs of real illnesses, such as small pox or cholera, a whole
shipload of passengers might spend a month or more in a quarantine
center. Already being very late in the traveling season, that would
have been disastrous for these emigrants going to Utah.
Equally remarkable, the official from the New York Customs House came
on board and passed off all of their luggage with out an inspection of
any kind. And so by sundown, after forty-two days at sea, they docked
at Castle Garden. This was a large building set aside specifically for
incoming emigrants. Names were called out individually and each had to
state where they were going, what money they had, and other particulars.
This information was entered into a book, then they were allowed to
pass into the house.
Elder John Taylor greeted them at Castle Garden and spent a good part
of the day giving them instruction and counsel.
Next they prepared for a thousand mile journey by railway car and
steamboat from New York to Iowa. Railway cars had to be secured,
luggage arranged for, tickets purchased and people assigned. Food
enough for the first day or two was brought in, but after that they
would have to secure food at the various stops along the way. Luggage
and items were sorted and the heavier items were sorted out and left
behind to be shipped by the Church agents in freight cars, then carried
under contract by independent Church wagon companies that were also
going to Salt Lake that season.
That evening, when all were finally ready, they loaded on board the
harbor boat and sailed up the Hudson River a few miles to Piermont.
They arrived there about 11:00 pm., unloaded and made their way to the
railway station, which was just a short distance from the dock. Their
journey across America by rail was about to begin.
There were not funds to purchase first-class coach tickets for the
groups of emigrating Saints so they had to ride in what the railroad
called ‘emigrant cars.’ They were the last six cars of the train which
were nothing more that freight cars. They had been outfitted with tiers
of benches around all four sides (like seats in a circus tent). The
cars were no more than 30 to 40 feet long and 10 to 15 feet wide. Each
car would house 80 passengers. They rode for 2 days till they arrived
at Dunkirk, which is a port on Lake Erie.
On June 19 1856 they boarded the Jersey City steamship at Dunkirk,
which is on Lake Erie. They departed the following morning, with about
700 people in their company.
Brother Willie and his counselors had booked all of the steerage space
and put the women and children there. The men had no place to sleep but
on the open decks. After two night of trying to sleep on the narrow
benches of the ‘emigrant cars’ with soot and cinders pouring through the
windows and the violent rocking, at least they had a place to lie down
and sleep. The ship moved along at about 10 miles an hour. The boat
stopped at Cleveland, Ohio for a short time to buy more supplies for the
passengers.
Purchasing food sufficient for their numbers was an ever-present
challenge for the leaders. Coming across New York was not so difficult.
Each place where the train stopped, a whole growing market designed to
provide food for the rail travelers was springing up. But coping with
700 passengers at once often tested the local resources. In several
places the agents bought up all the bread the village had to offer.
Twice they had been favored by the “butcher boys,’ or food vendors who
worked on the trains themselves. They sold bread, cheeses, and various
smoked and dried meats, but most of the emigrants could not afford to
purchase much at those prices and had to be content with what the agents
provided.
The steamship took them to Toledo, Ohio. There they boarded another
train and went to Chicago, Illinois and then on to Rock Island. In
Chicago they were treated very badly by the rail conductor. He insisted
on putting them off in the street, baggage and all, and then he refused
to direct them to any shelter, even though a heavy thunderstorm was
threatening. Brother Willie finally found the railroad superintendent
and prevailed on him to let them take shelter in an empty warehouse for
the night.
It was difficult to face these persecutions when one of the reasons
they had left their homelands to come to America was to escape this very
thing.
On the 23rd, the company left Chicago by rail in two divisions, one
leaving a few hours after the other. So far they had traveled forty-two
days at sea, another 9 or 10 days from New York.
At Pond Creek the emigrants learned that the bridge at Rock Island had
collapsed while a train was passing over it. Apostle Erastus Snow and
other elders from Utah were on the train when the accident happened, but
escaped unhurt. This is where they crossed the Mississippi River.
However, due to this circumstance, it was necessary for them to ferry
across the river. The ferry ran constantly all through the night in
order to get everyone across.
On the other side of the river they boarded the train again. It took
them all the way to Iowa City, almost 60 miles away. This is where the
rail line ended. It had just been completed that spring, so they were
saved an additional week or two over what others had to do in
previously. All together it is about a thousand miles from New York to
Iowa City.
From the Willie Company journal, Thursday, June 26, 1856, Iowa City,
Iowa, we read, “The group had traveled by railroad from New York City,
by steamboat on Lake Erie, and by railroad to the Mississippi River in
Illinois. This morning at 7 a.m., we left and crossed the Mississippi
by the steam ferry boat, and at 9 a.m. we left by rail for Iowa City.
We arrived there at 1:30 p.m., and camped on the green, but in
consequence of a thunderstorm approaching, we obtained possession of a
large engine shed and remained there during the night, it raining in
torrents all night. Many of the brethren from the camp visited and
cordially welcomed us, and on their return, took a large number of the
sisters to the camp with them.”
As the long line of weary immigrants passed through town, many of the
townspeople taunted and laughed at them as they walked by. They walked
to what the Iowa City resident called the ‘Mormon Campground,’ located
two miles south of town. This was considered the edge of the frontier.
Four brethren with the Perpetual Emigrating Fund were there to help
them prepare for the next part of journey. However, they were not
expecting such a large group of people so late in the season. They had
already outfitted and sent off three handcart companies in the last six
weeks, the last one had just left a few days prior. They thought that
was the last and were in fact packing up their things and getting ready
to start west themselves. To have that many people show up unexpected
that late in the season really taxed their abilities. Their resources
and funds were nearly gone.
Brother Richards had written to tell them that this group was coming
but mail from Europe to the American frontier was not very reliable and
the letter hadn’t arrived. In addition to this they found out that
Elder Edward Martin was bringing another shipload and would be arriving
in a few weeks.
President Young had counseled that they were to send no groups west if
they could not leave from Florence by June first. It was now June
twenty-sixth and they had just arrived and there were many preparations
yet to be made. To be on schedule they should have already left
Florence, which was yet another three hundred miles farther on from Iowa
City. However, President Richards had done the only thing he could do
under the circumstances. These Saints had quit their jobs or were let
go for being Latter-day Saints. Most had sold everything. When they
came to Liverpool expecting passage, they had nowhere to stay, no way to
make a living in England. England’s laws were very strict and many of
them would have been thrown into the poorhouse.
A few in the group had sufficient means to travel by wagon. They would
be forming one or two independent wagon companies–independent meaning
that they could travel on their own without having to go with the
handcarts. However, those in that category were asked to delay their
departure in case the weather turned cold. The wagons were able to
carry more food and supplies than a handcart. They would follow after
the handcart companies to give them aid if needed.
However, even with this distressing news, the Saints put their faith
and trust in the Lord and began preparations for their journey. The
leaders went to work to secure the supplies that were needed, to find
lumber, secure funds and locate flour.
For three weeks they built handcarts, sewed tents and gathered
supplies. The women were taught such things as building a fire and
cooking a meal over it, yoking up a team of oxen, pitching a tent, and
tips for doing laundry in the middle of the wilderness. Also about half
the women were taught how to take care of a butchered animal. The men
would kill, clean, skin, and butcher a beef cow then it would be up to
the women to tan the hide and smoke the beef so that it wouldn’t spoil
on the trail.
Construction of the carts was kept simple. However, they were not
only short on lumber but much of what they had to use was ‘green,’ which
meant it had not been dried and cured properly. This would be problem
out on the trail where it would begin to dry, causing it to shrink and
warp.
The hub is the most critical part of the handcart. On the trail ahead
there would be a lot of sand and sand is very hard on a handcart. It
can grind an axle or the hubs away in a matter of days. Usually they
lined the wheel boxes–the place where the axles are connected to the
wheels–with tin to prevent that from happening. Unfortunately, due to
the short supply of tin, many of the boxes had to be lined with leather.
Normally they used axle grease to lubricate the boxes, but that was
also in short supply so lard, bacon grease or soap would be used as an
alternative.
When done the cart itself weighed about sixty pounds but it would
easily hold three or four-hundred pound loads, which could be pulled by
one or two people without a great deal of effort. They generally
planned for five people to be assigned to each handcart.
Between the Willie Company and the Martin Company that was following
they needed about two hundred and fifty carts. Each handcart cost under
ten dollars, where a wagon cost about fifty or sixty dollars. Oxen
sold for about seventy dollars a yoke and each wagon required at least
two yoke. Supplies were estimated at about fifteen dollars per adult
and half that for children. Some people who had planned on coming with
the immigrant wagon trains chose to come by handcart and give their
extra resources to a common fund so more people could be taken this
season.
Church agents were able to obtain flour from a mill in Iowa City. The
normal allowance for an adult was one pound of flour per day. Children
got about two-thirds that amount. Their company consisted of about 500
people so that would be just under 500 pounds of flour per day. It
would take just under a month to travel to Florence, where they could
resupply. So just to get to Florence they needed about fifteen thousand
pounds, or around eight tons of flour. Since they only had five wagons
and they could not carry that much, they planned to purchase some flour
as they crossed Iowa.
From Florence to Salt Lake would take about seventy days, so the whole
company would need about thirty-five thousand pounds, or seventeen or
eighteen tons for that portion of the journey. However, once they left
Florence there would not be any more places to purchase more. From the
Iowa Campgrounds to Florence the wagons would carry the flour, allowing
the people to toughen up a bit. However, after that each handcart would
be expected to carry a hundred-pound sack.
With that amount they would still be seven or eight tons short, however
the First Presidency knew from the beginning that handcarts could not
carry enough food for the whole distance, so they sent out resupply
wagons from Salt Lake. They would expect to meet the supply wagons
somewhere between Fort Laramie and the last crossing of the North
Platte. Generally this was at Deer Creek, west of Fort Laramie, which
was about five hundred miles from the Iowa campgrounds. From here they
would be loaded up again with enough to get them to Fort Bridger, where
another group of wagons would be waiting.
Each company was sent with about fifty beef cattle that could be
butchered along the way for meat. Hopefully they would be able to kill a
few buffalo along the way and possibly some deer and antelope here and
there. Also, each group of a hundred would have a milk cow. That would
give them a little butter and some milk for the smaller children.
Although no one would grow fat along the trail, they were expected to
survive.
The church leaders assigned to help, Brother Kimball and others, helped
the company be on their way. Then they raced ahead to Florence in
light wagons and carriages to buy supplies and make arrangements for
their arrival there. Elder Franklin D. Richards was returning from
England and would meet them in Florence, then they would all go ahead to
Salt Lake to make sure they knew that others were still coming. So far
this plan had worked well and was a marvelous organization to help
other Saints to gather in Salt Lake.
8 July 1856 the second group of emigrants under the direction of
Brother Edward Martin had arrived at the Mormon campground. There were
now more than a thousand people in camp. It was like a small town, with
more than fifty tents set up. Those with Brother Willie had been at
the Mormon Campground just over two weeks now. There were now enough
tents and handcarts completed for this company, with a few extra that
could be used by Brother Martin’s group.
The Willie Handcart Company, with five hundred people, was the fourth
company of the season. Brother James G. Willie was greatly respected
and well-liked, he would serve as their captain. The people were
assigned to five groups of hundreds. Within each group there would be
about five people per handcart, which meant twenty handcarts per hundred
on the average. There would be four handcarts per tent, five tents per
hundred. Each handcart group would also be their ‘mess group,’ or the
group you cook and eat with. As much as possible, they kept families
together.
Each hundred in the company had a small number of people—mostly those
without other family members—who were not assigned to a handcart. In
some cases it was because they weren’t bringing much more than what they
wore and didn’t need a cart to carry it. Others felt that they were
not physically able to pull a handcart but could walk. A few were the
odd-numbered ones who couldn’t be placed easily with any other family
group and its cart. They had a tent group and a mess group but not a
handcart. The rest of the company had quickly dubbed them the
“footmen,” or the “walkers.”
Sub-captains were asked to serve over each group of a hundred. Brother
Millen Atwood was assigned to be over the first hundred. Brother Levi
Savage, a missionary who had been sent to Siam and was now finally on
his way home, was over the second hundred. Brother Atwood and Brother
Savage, along with Brother Willie had been over the trail several times
and were experienced and confident captains. Brother William Woodward
was over the third hundred, made up mostly of the families from
Scotland, with a few from England. Brother John Chislett was captain
was over the fourth hundred and John or Johan Ahmanson led the fifth
hundred, a group of Scandinavians.
The handcarts were limited in how much they could carry. Each adult
was allowed seventeen pounds, ten pounds for children and seven pounds
for infants. For now they would only have to carry their own personal
belongings. The tents, flour, tools, and other foodstuffs would be
carried in the five wagons that would accompany them.. At Florence,
Nebraska, that would change, but for now the lighter loads gave them a
chance to toughen up, to get into physical shape before they started
across the wilderness. When they arrived at Florence they would each
have to carry an additional hundred pounds of flour in the cart, or they
would not have enough to see them through to the point where they would
meet the supply wagons from the Valley.
PART III
Tuesday, 15 July 1856
At last it was time to leave the Mormon Campground. After almost three
weeks of nonstop effort they were ready to move on. The handcarts were
built, tents completed and supplies packed. Each wagon was filled to
capacity. The Martin group bid them farewell. They would follow in a
few weeks when their preparations were complete.
Captain Willie was at the head of the column, mounted on his horse.
Teamsters climbed onto their wagons. Drovers prepared to herd the
cattle. The walkers hoisted their packs and bags. Men and women
stepped into the shafts of their handcarts and raised them up to chest
level. They began the trek to the Salt Lake Valley, almost 1,400 miles
away.
Once they were on the trail, the groups of hundreds would rotate their
position in the train so that one group did not have to be last all the
time. But for the first day of the march the companies of hundreds had
been asked to line up in order
On the trail each morning the camp bugle woke them at 4:00 am. At
first the going was very slow, sometimes they only traveled two or three
miles a day. The teamsters on the wagons were inexperienced and the
oxen were young and unbroken. For those pulling the carts muscles were
sore, arms ached, feet and hands had huge blisters. After about ten
days the emigrants began to toughen up and began to make better
progress. Now they could travel twelve miles a day or more.
The days were difficult and hard. In the first few days there were
several people that gave up and didn’t continue on. Some promised to
come later when they were better prepared, others just dropped out.
Sister Mary Williams from England, who was about fifty, died of a severe
stomach ailment. They carried her body to one of the nearby small
towns and buried her in a cemetery there. At times local residents
would come out and harass them as they passed by.
By 25 July they had come seventy-five miles. Now when there were no
delays they often went sixteen miles or more. Some days they were
slowed because of needed repairs to the handcarts. Rough roads and the
green lumber of the handcarts caused many problems and repairs were
needed often. The green lumber was drying and cracking in the heat.
Time and again they had to stop and put them back together. The effects
of long hot days in the sun were felt by all.
An entry from the company journal on 25 July 1856 reads as follows:
“Traveled as far as Muddy Creek, 13 miles. Stopped twice by the way to
rest. The weather being very warm. Just before we camped, we were
overtaken by the Sheriff with a warrant to search the wagons, under the
idea that the women were detained contrary to their wishes, with ropes.
After showing their authority, they had permission to examine any part
of the company, and were fully satisfied that the report was without
foundation, and they left us.”
On Friday, 1 August they camped at a place called Timber Point, Iowa,
one hundred and sixty miles and sixteen days out of Iowa City. There
were trees to offer shade and fresh water from a creek. They were not
always this fortunate. At times they had to be content to camp near a
buffalo wallow, which was nothing more than a low spot. During the
spring rains these places would fill with water and mud. The buffalo
would come and roll in them to help keep the bugs away. Usually they
could dig a hole and eventually water would seep into it. This was known
as a ‘prairie spring.’ Also they often had to use ‘prairie firewood,’
which was of course buffalo chips. It actually burned hot and clean and
made a good fire.
They arrived at Kanesville, or what was first known as Council Bluffs,
and ferried across the Missouri River to Winter Quarters or Florence,
Nebraska. They had to go on reduced rations several days prior to this
because their food supply was getting low. Here they were able to
restock their food supplies, repair their carts, mend clothes and make
other necessary preparations. Winter Quarters was the place where the
Saints had lived when they had to flee Nauvoo. There were still
hundreds of abandoned shelters that they were able to stay in. There
was a sense of urgency to move on so they all worked quickly and hard.
This was the last town they would see, there was nothing ahead but
wilderness.
Brigham Young had built a grist mill at Winter Quarters almost ten
years earlier so they were able to get all the flour they needed. The
challenge was how to take enough to last them until they could reach the
first place where the supply wagons from Salt Lake would be waiting.
To aid in this, each handcart was given additional sacks of flour to
carry.
On Wednesday, 13 August, the third day at Winter Quarters a ‘monster’
meeting was held. There had been talk of staying at Winter Quarters or
Elkhorn River, which was not far off, for the winter and then continuing
on in the Spring. The issue was openly discussed along with the
possible hardships and tribulations but Florence was not equipped to
take care of a group this size, especially with the Martin Company still
behind them. Adequate food would be difficult no matter where they
were, but they would not have the supply wagons from Salt Lake all the
way out in Florence to resupply them. Ahead were the high plains, being
so late in the season it was almost certain they would see some severe
weather.
Knowing what lay ahead, even with the possibility of death, they voted
to “go forward regardless of consequences, to continue on to Zion, as
commanded.”
Brother Levi Savage who had petitioned for the group to remain in
Florence for the winter gave this heart felt message after the vote was
taken. “Brothers and sisters, I, like you, have seen the vote of the
congregation. I just want to say this much more. What I have said I
know to be true. But seeing you are to go forward, I will go with you.
I will help all I can. I will work with you. I will rest with you. I
will suffer with you, and if necessary....................I will die
with you. May God in his mercy bless and preserve us.”
Brother Savage was true to his word; no man worked harder than he to
alleviate the suffering which he had foreseen, when it came upon them.
Such was the faith and commitment of these Saints.
One of the most difficult portions of the trail was still ahead. Seven
days and one hundred and thirty-five miles west of Florence, they came
to the crossing of the Loup Fork of the Platte River. They ferried
across the river. On the other side the river bottoms were too marshy
or choked with underbrush to allow travel so they had to take the higher
ground where there was hill after rolling hill of sand dunes. The
additional sacks of flour they had gotten in Florence added to their
burden, making the carts that much harder to pull.
Sand was death to a handcart. They needed more grease for the hubs,
but what little axle grease they had been able to obtain in Florence was
gone by the fourth day, neither was there anymore bacon left. Now when
they needed lubricants more desperately than at any time since leaving
Iowa City, there were none to be had. Soap, made of animal fat and lye
and as solid as a rock, had to be used for a lubricant for the axles.
Life on the trail was quite monotonous. Everyday was the same as the
one before. Rise at dawn. Get breakfast (often cold), strike the
tents, pack the carts, roll out at eight or nine o’clock, later if the
stock had strayed. At midday they would stop or “noon,” to rest and eat,
roll out again, stop somewhere before sundown and make camp.
Occasionally a new baby was born, and sometimes a death.
One day that stood out was the day of the Indians. Thursday, 4
September 1856, they were near North Bluff Creek in Nebraska Territory.
Some Indians approached the company. They were friendly, but carried a
letter from an army captain stating that a small wagon train he was
escorting had been attacked by a marauding band of Cheyenne. Two
soldiers and a small child were killed, and a woman was carried off
captive. This caused some worry and concern, but the captains assured
them that even warring Indians would not attack a company as large as
theirs. None the less, children were kept close, the stock was watched
with greater care, and those few men with weapons kept them close at
hand.
Later that day, as the company moved on, the Indians rode along with
the train, fascinated by the carts. One old chief who spoke a few words
of English kept pointing and laughing as he said over and over,
“little wagons, little wagons.”
The day of the Indians ended that evening when sub-captains Millen
Atwood and Levi Savage rode to the Indians’ camp. There they bartered
for a supply of buffalo meat. That night the company had their first
taste of the sweet meat, which they had all heard so much about. But
even that experience quickly lost its novelty, before long seeing
buffalo was almost as common as seeing the ever-present prairie dogs.
The great shaggy beasts came close to camp often enough that buffalo
meat became a regular supplement to their diet.
Once again life on the trail grew quite monotonous. However, about the
time they reached Wood River, a few miles above Grand Island, Nebraska a
significant incident occurred. Here they encountered a large herd of
buffalo. The whole country seemed to be alive with them. One evening
as they were preparing to stop for the night, a large herd stampeded,
heading straight for their carts. At first it sounded like thunder as
the big black animals came towards them. They were so scared it was as
if they were rooted to the ground. One of the Captains, seeing what was
going on, ran for the carts which were still coming into camp. He
jerked some of them out of the line to make a path for the steady stream
of animals to go through. They roared past them like a train. If it
weren’t for the quick thinking of those men, surely many of them would
have been trampled to death.
The cattle also ran off with the buffalo herd. The men started out on
foot to look for them but they soon lost sight of the herd. Those left
behind began to set up camp. That night a terrible storm came up. A
strong wind tore the tents out of their hands and sent everything
flying. There was thunder and lightning like they had never seen
before. The noise terrified the children and it was all they could do
to keep track of each other. Everyone ran for any shelter they could
find. Soon the rain came pouring down and in a matter of minutes
everyone was soaked to the skin. The men came back from searching for
the cattle empty handed. All went to bed that night wet and cold.
They spent several days looking for the cattle but they were never
found. This proved to be a serious situation for the company. Their
supply of meat was now gone. With no oxen or mules to pull the wagons,
it was necessary to hitch the milk cows to the wagons. The stock was
wild and could not pull the load that the oxen could so it was necessary
each handcart to take on an additional hundred pound sack of flour.
They again began their trek. Every man, woman and child worked to their
utmost ability to push forward but their progress was once again slowed
because of these circumstances.
George Cunningham commented about this time. “The children who were
not able to walk were put on the handcarts also, and we who were able
had to haul them. Here we plodded along through the mud with all the
courage that we could muster. Our bright young sisters helped us by
doing all they could to encourage us in every shape, and whenever an
opportunity afforded, they would try to cheer us along with their
beautiful strains of vocal music. They seemed to have songs very
appropriate for every occasion. This was much help to us under stiff
circumstances. Some of their words I can well remember yet such as:
Some will push and some will pull,
As we go marching up the hill,
So merrily on the way we go
Until we reach the valley-o.”
On Friday, 12 September, Franklin D. Richards and his party of two
wagons and three carriages met up with the Willie handcart company just
before dusk. They were traveling lightly and could move along quite
rapidly. He congratulated them on their progress, even though they had
suffered serious setbacks. He gave them words of encouragement and
promised them that though they may encounter hardships, if they would
press forward and be obedient and hearken to the counsel of their
leaders to the very letter, God would be their helper. Through their
united faith and diligent works, they would be enabled to go through.
They may have some trials to endure as proof to God and the brethren
that they have the ‘true grit’ it takes to come through. He promised
that though it might storm on their right hand and on their left, the
Lord would open the way before them and they should get to Zion in
safety.
Because of the recent concerns about Indian trouble at this time the
leaders decided to cross the river and travel in the main part of the
Oregon Trail. The military reported that all of the incidents of
trouble were on the north side of the river, because it was the
lesser-traveled route, so it was decided that crossing to the south
would be the safer way.
Because word had not reached Iowa City of the coming of additional
emigrant companies, Brother Richards was concerned that word had not
reached Salt Lake either. If that was so, it was likely the First
Presidency would have called in the resupply wagons. Brother Richards
and his group with their light carriages and wagons were able to move
quite fast so they went on ahead. He left with a promise that once
President Young learned of their presence, supply wagons filled with
flour, food, and warm clothing would be on their way to meet them. He
left with a reminder that in the meantime they must go forward in all
haste and in faith and obedience. He told them to listen to the counsel
of their leaders, follow that counsel and press forward with all
diligence so that they may claim the promises of the Lord.
In the next weeks they passed other markers along the trail such as Ash
Hallow, a famous stopping place with plentiful wood and water; Chimney
Rock, rising majestically some four hundred feet above the plains and
Scott’s Bluff, which marked the end of the Great Plains and the
beginning of the Rocky Mountains.
Their progress was slow but they continued forward. On September 30,
after six weeks and more than five hundred miles since leaving Florence,
they arrived at Fort Laramie. Their provisions were nearly gone. They
were able to buy a few provisions at the Fort but not as much as
needed. The price of goods was extremely high, for flour they had to
pay $20.00 per hundred pounds.
After leaving Fort Laramie they met a company of missionaries going to
the States. Elder Parley P. Pratt was among them. He came and talked
to them a while and tried to encourage them.
Though the emigrants were not yet into any kind of severe weather and
were back on full rations, the rigors of the trail began taking a toll
on the weak and the elderly. Note the following excerpts from the
Willie Company journal and other journals:
14 Sept 1856, Sunday: William Haley was buried this morning on our
yesterday’s campground.
21 Sept 1856, Sunday: ….W. N. Leason….died at 11:30 p.m., of canker in
the stomach. He was born 7 Nov 1854.
22 Sept 1856, Monday: W. N. Leason was buried this morning at 7
o’clock….Brother Jesse Empy….died from Scrofula {tuberculosis of the
lymph glands}, aged 31.
26 Sept 1856, Friday: ….Sister Ann Bryant, aged 69…, died this
afternoon of general decay of constitution. [Levi Savage’s entry for
this same day read: “Sister Ann Briant, 70, found dead in the wagon.
She was sitting up, appearing asleep.”]
1 Oct 1856, Wednesday: ….Brother David Reeder died, aged 54.…William
Read died coming into camp in a wagon. He was.…aged 63.
3 Oct 1856, Friday: ….Peter Larson, aged 43…. died during the day.
4 Oct 1856, Saturday: ….Benjamin Culley, aged 61.…died; also, George
Ingra, aged 68….died; Daniel Gadd, aged 2….died.
On 8 October, Elder Willie ordered another one of the cattle butchered
and the meat distributed through the camp. Since they had been forced
to use the milk cows to pull the wagons they had not produced very much
milk. With such a poor diet many were getting sick.
They camped at Deer Creek, a beautiful grassy spot with plenty of fresh
water and fire wood. Here is where the first supply wagons were
usually found, but none were here this late in the season.
Levi Savage made this journal entry in October. “Deer Creek. This
morning when we arose, we found the best ox on our train dead. In the
weak state of our teams, the loss impaired us much........Our old people
are nearly all failing fast.”
Brother Chislet, captain of the fourth company also comments, “Our
seventeen pounds of clothing and bedding was now altogether insufficient
for our comfort. Nearly all suffered more or less at night from cold.
Instead of getting up in the morning strong, refreshed, vigorous and
prepared for the hardships of another day of toil, the poor Saints were
to be seen crawling out from their tents looking haggard, benumbed, and
showing an utter lack of that vitality so necessary to our success.
“Cold weather, scarcity of food, lassitude and fatigue from over
exertion, soon produced their effects. Our old and infirm began to
droop, and they no sooner lost spirit and courage than death’s stamp
could be traced upon their features. Life went out as smoothly as a
lamp ceases to burn when the oil is gone. At first the deaths occurred
slowly and irregularly, but in a few days at more frequent intervals,
until we soon thought it unusual to leave a campground without burying
one or more persons.”
About one hundred and thirty miles from Fort Laramie the trail left
the North Platte River and made a sixty mile run to the Sweetwater
River. This had become known as the ‘Last Crossing. The Willie Company
arrived here 10 October. On 14 October, while they were camped between
Independence Rock and Devil’s Gate, in what is now central Wyoming,
they received a letter from Elder Franklin D. Richards saying that they
could not expect to see supply wagons before they arrived at South Pass.
With the condition of the people and the animals, this was a terrible
blow. In their weakened state, it would take them at least ten days to
make it to South Pass. The company voted unanimously to reduce their
rations even more.
It would have been about this time when some members of the company
reported such stories as using every particle of the cattle to make some
type of food, even scorching the hair off the hide and cutting it into
small pieces. One even tried cooking the tatters of her shoes.
Elder Franklin D. Richards had arrived in Salt Lake Saturday, 4 October
1856. The next day in conference President Brigham Young announced that
there were still two more handcart companies and two independent wagon
trains out on the plains, with twelve to thirteen hundred people. With
this announcement came a call for the people to prepare immediately to
save these people. Conference was dismissed and preparations began. By
Tuesday morning the first wagons were headed east with supplies. They
estimated that the handcart companies would be 130 miles east of Salt
Lake, when actually they were still at least 500 miles away on the
Mormon Trail.
As this rescue party traveled along, the weather became increasingly
colder with still no sign of the handcart companies. This caused great
concern so they decided to send an express party ahead in a light wagon
that could travel faster, find the companies and let them know that help
was on the way.
On the 19 th of October, a storm with wind, cold and snow was
settling in. The storm’s intensity increased throughout the day.
Monday, 20 October while camped at the Sixth Crossing, on the east side
of the Sweetwater, the situation was quite desperate. The rations of
flour were gone, all that was left was a barrel of hard bread Captain
Willie had purchased in Fort Laramie. Being surrounded by snow a foot
deep, out of provisions, many people sick and the cattle dying, the
decision was made to remain at this camp site until the supply wagons
reached them.
Captain Willie and one other man decided to go on in search of the
supply train. Unfortunately, the rescue party, didn’t know of their
condition and decided they couldn’t go on in the blizzard.
From John Oborn we learn of the conditions of the camp at this time.
“We passed through Fort Laramie on September 30, where a few supplies
were bought. We soon began to realize that we had started our journey
too late in the year. There were no more buffalo to be found, and our
rations were getting low. We were reaching the foothills near Rock
Springs. We had already had some snow and the weather conditions looked
unfavorable. Our scant rations had reached the point where the amount
ordinarily consumed for one meal now had to suffice for a full day.
From here on it is beyond my power of description to write. God only
can understand and realize the torture and privation, exposure, and
starvation we went through. Now word reached us that we must hasten or
winter would soon come upon us. Instead of speeding up, the weakened
condition of our older members slowed us down. Each day one or more
would die. A few more days and then came the most terrible experience
of my life. This was October 20th. Winter had come, snow fell
continuously. Movement in any direction was practically stopped. Our
scant rations were now gone. Ten or twelve members, faithful to the
last were buried in a single grave. Starvation was taking its toll. A
day or two later my own father closed his eyes, never to wake again.
He, too, had given his life cheerfully for the cause that he espoused.
We buried him in a lonely grave, its spot unmarked. This was not far
from Green River, Wyoming. During these terrible times it seemed only a
matter of days before all would parish. We resorted to eating anything
that could be chewed; even bark and leaves of trees. We youngsters ate
the rawhide from our boots. This seemed to sustain life. Already 66
of our members dead. Then when it seemed all would be lost, like a
thunderbolt out of the clear sky, God answered our prayers.”
On the day the rescuers arrived, John Chislett of the Willie Company
gives this account. “On the evening of the third day [actually the
second day] after Captain Willie’s departure, just as the sun was
sinking beautifully behind the distant hills, on an eminence immediately
west of our camp several covered wagons, each drawn by four horses,
were seen coming towards us. The news ran through the camp like
wildfire, and all who were able to leave their beds turned out enmasse
to see them. A few minutes brought them sufficiently near to reveal our
faithful captain slightly in advance of the train. Shouts of joy rent
the air; strong men wept till tears ran freely down their furrowed and
sun-burnt cheeks, and little children partook of the joy which some of
them hardly understood, and fairly danced around with gladness.
Restraint was set aside in the general rejoicing, and as the brethren
entered our camp the sisters fell upon them and deluged them with
kisses. The brethren were so overcome that they could not for sometime
utter a word, but in choking silence repressed all demonstration of
those emotions that evidently mastered them. Soon, however, feeling was
somewhat abated, and such a shaking of hands, such words of welcome,
and such invocation of God’s blessing have seldom been witnessed....That
evening, for the first time in quite a period, the songs of Zion were
to be heard in the camp, and peals of laughter issued from the little
knots of people as they chatted around the fires. The change seemed
almost miraculous, so sudden was it from grave to gay, from sorrow to
gladness, from mourning to rejoicing. With the cravings of hunger
satisfied, and with hearts filled with gratitude to God and our good
brethren, we all united in prayer, and then retired to rest.”
However, this was not the end of their trials, for the trail that lay
ahead proved to be the greatest ordeal that the James G. Willie
Handcart Company faced. On the 23rd of October, the day they crossed
Rocky Ridge it was snowing a little but the wind was blowing so ‘keenly
that it almost pierced them through.’ They had to wrap themselves in
blankets, quilts or whatever else they could get to keep from freezing.
They came to a place where the snow was knee deep. Here they had to
put their collective strength together to make it over the top of the
ridge. Those who were able put their strength together on a cart, moved
it forward a short distance, then went back and helped others along.
The ox-teams also moved along very slowly for they were laden with the
sick and helpless.
It has been estimated that the temperature was near zero or below that
day. Considering the wind chill, it could have possibly been thirty
degrees below zero. They were cautioned not to stop and rest for fear
of freezing to death. The emigrants suffered from sever frostbite due
to these conditions.
The effects of Rocky Ridge were great. That night thirteen people
died. Two more died while helping to bury their comrades. So 24
October it was decided they would stay in camp and bury their dead. By
this time many of the Saints had their feet and hands frozen from the
severe weather. Fortunately here they were met by six more wagons from
Salt Lake.
The last day of October, after leaving their camp on the Green River,
they met another ten wagons going east. They were back on full rations
and had a varied diet of onions, fattened beef, sugar, rice, dried
fruit, and potatoes. They also had more adequate clothing that made a
significant difference, but death still took its toll as they rolled
along. Many were still sick and weakened. The arrival of wagons meant
there was more space for baggage and people. Several of the most
unreliable handcarts were abandoned. At first there wasn’t room for
everyone to ride but walking along side was much easier than having to
pull a handcart. The wagons they had met were just the first of
literally dozens of wagons headed east to their rescue. Journals say
that all members of the Willie and Martin handcart companies were in
wagons before they reached the Salt Lake Valley.
The Willie Handcart Company arrived in Salt Lake City on 9 November
1856, thirteen days after Captain George D. Grant and his rescue
company found them at the Sixth Crossing of the Sweetwater. It is
estimated that of the original five hundred emigrants who made up that
company, sixty-seven died en route to the Valley.
Mary Priscilla’s youngest son, George Taylor Farnsworth, of Richfield,
Utah, then eighty-eight years old, told this story as his mother related
it to him.
“My mother, Mary Priscilla, was twenty-one (twenty-five) years old when
she crossed the plains. She walked all the way pulling her own
handcart. Their provisions were scarce and rationed. Before they
arrived, they had to kill their oxen which had pulled the provision
wagons thus far. The meat was very poor, but they were forced to eat it
in order to stay alive. One day as they journeyed they came upon the
bodies of people who had been massacred by the Indians.”
When she got to Salt Lake her feet were frozen.
The following are several comments about this episode in history that
are worth mentioning.
Many years later in a Sunday School class in Cedar City, Utah, there
was a discussion about the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies. The
teacher and some of the class members were sharply criticizing the
Church and its leaders for letting the two companies come so late in the
season. Even though this man was a member of the Martin Handcart
Company, I’m sure he speaks for all. The following recollection was
written by William R. Palmer, who was in attendance at the class.
“One old man in the corner [Francis Webster] sat silent and listened as
long as he could stand it, then he arose and said things that no person
who heard him will ever forget. His face was white with emotion, yet
he spoke calmly, deliberately, but with great earnestness and sincerity.
He said in substance, “I ask you to stop this criticism. You are
discussing a matter you know nothing about. Cold historic facts mean
nothing here, for they give no proper interpretation of the questions
involved. Mistake to send the Handcart Company out so late in the
season? Yes! But I was in that company and my wife was in it.....We
suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and
starvation...Every one of us came through with the absolute knowledge
that God lives for we became acquainted with Him in our extremities!
“I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness
and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I
have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have
said, I can go only that far and there I must give up for I cannot pull
the load through it. I have gone to that sand and when I reached it,
the cart began pushing me! I have looked back many times to see who was
pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the Angels
of God were there.
“Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No! Neither then nor
any minute of my life since. The price we paid be become acquainted
with God was a privilege to pay and I am thankful that I was privileged
to come in the Martin Handcart Company.”
Elizabeth Horrocks Jackson, of the Martin Handcart Company, who had
lost her husband at Red Buttes recorded these words. “I have a desire
to leave a record of those scenes and events, thru which I have passed,
that my children, down to my latest posterity may read what their
ancestors were willing to suffer, and did suffer, patiently for the
Gospel’s sake. And I wish them to understand, too, that what I now word
is the history of hundreds of others, both men, women and children, who
have passed thru many like scenes for a similar cause, at the same time
we did. I also desire them to know that it was in obedience to the
commandments of the true and living God, and with the assurance of an
eternal reward–an exaltation to eternal life in His kingdom–that we
suffered these things. I hope, too, that it will inspire my posterity
with fortitude to stand firm and faithful to the truth, and be willing
to suffer, and sacrifice all things they may be required to pass thru
for the Kingdom of God’s sake.”
Gerald Lund, while doing research for his novel, Fire of the Covenant,
noted, “I went back to the journals again, this time reading with new
eyes, this time searching for new insights…………
“There was evidence of the marvelous sustaining power of God. The
storms were not turned aside, nor did manna rain down from heaven, but
neither were those hapless emigrants forgotten by the Lord………
“Gradually I came to realize that there was an incredible miracle
taking place here, a miracle largely unseen and passed over without
comment by those who experienced it. It was not only that the marvelous
sustaining power of God was there, but that these exhausted, starving,
freezing emigrants never lost faith in that power, not even in the hour
of their greatest extremity….
“I found the fire of faith burning in the hearts of the people so
brightly that no amount of suffering could extinguish it. In like
manner, it burned in the hearts of those who left their homes and
mounted one of the most amazing rescue efforts in American history.”
[Fire of the Covenant, pp xiv-xv]
Author, Wallace Stegner, not a member of the Church, wrote: “Perhaps
their suffering seems less dramatic because the handcart pioneers bore
it meekly, praising God, instead of fighting for life with the ferocity
of animals…as both the Fremont and Donner parties did. But if courage
and endurance make a story, if human kindness and helpfulness and
brotherly love in the midst of raw horror are worth recording, this
half-forgotten episode of the Mormon migration is one of the great tales
of the West and of America.” [Faith in Every Footstep]
PART IV
After the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies arrived in Salt Lake,
President Brigham Young arranged with the bishops of different wards and
settlements to take care of the poor emigrants who had no friends or
family to receive them. Mary Priscilla was befriended by Mr. and Mrs.
Bassett of Salt Lake. Their kindness and those of others can not be too
highly praised.
27 January 1857, less than three months after her arrival in the Salt
Lake Valley, Mary Priscilla Griffiths married William Willes. They were
married by Brigham Young, in the President’s office. She became his
third wife.
WILLIAM WILLES
William Willes was born 5 July 1814 in Woolwich, Kent, England. He was
the seventh child of Thomas Willes and Sarah Hawkes. His father was a
plumber, painter and glazier at Woolwich, a suburb of London for thirty
years. He had an extensive business in which he employed a large number
of workmen.
By the time he was sixteen, both parents had passed away. He helped
operate his father’s business until the age of twenty-one. At this time
he sold his portion of the business to a brother. He then attended
college and became qualified to be a schoolmaster. His first
appointment was to take charge of a school of 160 boys in Cardiff,
Wales. Here his beautiful singing voice was discovered and he was able
to receive some training. He was always interested in education and
pursued this cause throughout his life. He taught in Europe, Asia and
America.
While in Wales he met Ann Kibbey. She became his wife 6 Feb 1839.
In 1846 he accepted the Mastership of the Woolwich British and Foreign
School. In the Fall of 1848 he was converted to the gospel and was
baptized in the River Thames.
When the school committee found out he had been baptized they gave him a
choice to abandon his new religion or resign his office at the school.
He could not abandon his new faith so he was found looking for a new
job to provide for himself and his family which now consisted of four
children. He was unable to find employment as a teacher but finally
found work cleaning dirty locomotives for a rail yard in Cardiff, Wales.
On weekends he traveled to surrounding villages to preach the gospel.
In the Spring of 1851, William Willes was called to the East Indies
Mission by Apostle Lorenzo Snow. He left behind his wife and four
children. During his voyage to Calcutta, India, he learned the
Hindoostan language from an elderly lady. He arrived in Calcutta 25
December 1851. He served a successful mission in India, laboring for
three and a half years. In order to purchase passage back to England he
opened a school in Rangoon and taught until he had sufficient funds to
purchase a ticket aboard a ship.
From England he left for the Great Salt Lake to be reunited with his
wife and children after four years and two month absence.
Once in Salt Lake, at the counsel of Brigham Young, he gave many
lectures about India. He was also a member of the committee to prepare
lessons and lesson books in the Deseret Alphabet. In April of 1856 he
was appointed by Brigham Young to see to the schools in the Territory of
Utah.
The following information is taken from William Willes’ journal.
12 November 1857 William Willes with his family, which consisted of his
wives, Ann, Sarah and Mary Priscilla and his sons Fred G. and John K.
and his two daughters, Annie and Harriet moved to Beaver, Utah. This
was at the time Johnson’s army was sent to destroy them.
In 1856, some of the colonists from Parowan had been called to start a
settlement in Beaver Valley. There was the possibility of good pasture
for cattle for there was plenty of water available. There was also a
great quantity of timber suitable for lumber. Twenty log homes were
built. During the first year crops were planted and there was a
bounteous harvest. A one-room log multipurpose building was
constructed. When a ward was officially organized, Phil T. Farnsworth
became the first Bishop
In 1857 the Willes family made the trip to Beaver in wagons drawn by
horses. It took them two weeks to make the journey. At Pine Creek they
camped out one fine starlight night, but, in the morning they had eight
inches of snow on their beds, which kept them quite warm. When they
arrived in Beaver they were very kindly met by Bishop Philo T.
Farnsworth. He allowed them to occupy the log meeting house until they
were able to build a dug-out with the aid of the brethren. They had
four rude bed boards built solid in the corners of the room; a chimney
at one end and a door at the other. The roof was covered with dirt.
The first snow storm lasted 60 hours during which time the roof leaked
and they were completely soaked: it was a trying time but they made the
best of it. William Willes was appointed clerk to the Bishop, Leader of
the Choir, and President of the Mass Quorum of Seventies.
During the winter they had good times in the underground cellar,
pleasant meetings and singing in the evenings.
Mary Priscilla gave birth to a son, Jesse Willes, 4 January 1858.
There arose friction between Bishop Philo T. Farnsworth and William
Willes. Bishop Farnsworth wanted William’s two daughters to be sealed
to him. When they refused, according to William Willes’ journal, he
became his bitter enemy. Because of this, William returned to Salt Lake
City, 4 November 1858. Here he obtained employment teaching school in
the 15th Ward. Several months later his family followed.
The marriage between Mary Priscilla and William Willes was not a happy
one. In his journal William Willis states, “Sarah and Mary were both
divorced 16 May 1859 at the suggestion of President Brigham Young, which
I ought not to have allowed, for they had been sealed to me over the
altar. They took their sons away with them. Sarah’s Walter John, 18
months and Mary’s Jesse, 12 days younger.”
Throughout his life, William Willes was always involved in education.
He was also a gifted singer and was frequently called upon to sing. He
wrote many songs and even published and sold many of them. Some of is
songs are still in use today. (See LDS Hymns, 1985 edition, #244 and
#278)
He was called on two more missions, one to England and a second time to
India.
One of his crowning labors of his career was his work in the Sunday
School with Brother George Goddard. These two elders were appointed as
Sunday School missionaries. They visited Sunday Schools from St. George
to Logan, preaching, singing and encouraging everyone, especially the
youth to live the commandments, in particular the Word of Wisdom. They
traveled from place to place in a one-horse buggy. He served in this
capacity during the 70’s and 80’s until his health began to decline in
1890, at which time he was released. He passed away 2 November 1890 in
Salt Lake City, Utah.
On Easter Sunday, 12 April 1859, in Sherborne, England, Mary Priscilla’s
father and mother wrote her a letter. In this letter they pleaded for
her to return. The following are a few lines from this letter.
“My dearest child, it is indeed a painful task for me to write these few
lines to you for you are constantly in all our thoughts. I very often
wish that you had never gone away as you would be so comfortable now.
You would have had your room quite to yourself now. My dear child
Willy and me often cry about you when we go to bed. We can’t ever be
happy about you. Oh that you could have come back again it would be
worth more than all the world to us, my dear child. I hope your health
will continue good and I sincerely hope that your poor toes are better
by this time. It must have been a great trial for you to have so many
miles to walk and I am sure it must have tried your poor weak frame. I
am truly thankful to think that you fell into the hands of such kind and
good hearted people as Mr. and Mrs. Bussell. Do please give our
kindest to them.
I do hope you will send and tell us that you are coming back in your
next letter as that would be more satisfaction to us than all. I do
often say that if I had wings I would flee to you. My dear child, we
would give you a good Easter cake if you were here but we would get you a
good one made by the time you could come. My dear, please write as
soon as you can, and send us all the good news you can as soon as
possible.
Affectionate Father, Mother, M & E Griffiths
[Wording modernized for easier reading]
After Mary Priscilla’s divorce, she moved back to Beaver. She married
Bishop Philo Taylor Farnsworth 15 June 1860 in the Endowment House in
Salt Lake City. She was his fourth wife. To them were born four sons,
Walter, Wilford, Lorenzo, and George Taylor.
PHILO T. FARNSWORTH
Philo T. Farnsworth had been baptized at seventeen years old. Because
of this he was disowned by his father. He made his way to Nauvoo to
join the body of Saints there. He went through the mobbings, drivings,
persecutions, and trials the Saints were called upon to endure. He
helped with the ******** of the Nauvoo Temple, was a member of the
Nauvoo Legion, and had many responsibilities and offices placed upon
him. When the Saints moved west, Philo and Margaret went with the
Franklin D. Richards family, who were good friends. They were married
shortly after their arrival in Salt Lake in 1848. They set up
housekeeping in a covered wagon.
About a year later he was asked to go to Pleasant Grove and help with
the settlement there. It wasn’t long until they were asked to move to
Filmore, Utah and help build the new stake house.
Again he was asked to move, this time to Beaver, Utah. Here they were
finally permitted to make a permanent home. After they had been there a
year he married a second wife, Margaret Adams. He married a third
wife, Agnes Ann Patterson, in 1858 and in 1860 a fourth wife, Mary
Priscilla Griffiths. He became the father of thirty children,
twenty-six of whom survived him. Phil T. Farnsworth of television fame
is his grandson.
He became the first bishop of Beaver and in addition to this office he
served as Probate Judge of the county of Beaver and was a member of the
Territorial Legislature. During the trouble with the Indians in the
southern part of the state, Philo often acted as interpreter, and his
wisdom and good sense saved the early settlers from much trouble. He
was often called upon to act as a doctor and left a wonderful reputation
for help rendered in that capacity. He spent most of his time working
for the public, leaving the rearing of his children mostly to his four
wives and sons as they became old enough to help.
Philo was arrested for polygamy but since the officers couldn’t prove
the charge, he was acquitted. He was a friend to everyone. He lived
beside the highway and his home was open to all travelers who came that
way. He was a great friend of the Piute Indians, loved them and acted
as peace maker for them repeatedly.
Because of Philo’s involvement in church and civic activities, along
with having three other wives, Mary Priscilla had the responsibility of
supporting and raising their family mostly by herself.
Mary Priscilla taught school many years in Beaver County. She was
very successful as a teacher and writer. A teacher’s certificate shows
that she was authorized to teach in the Beaver city and county schools
for the unexpired portion of the year 1875.
In the book “Monuments to Courage, A History of Beaver County” we read,
“A beloved teacher was “Aunt” Mary Farnsworth, a gentle, refined
little English lady who taught small children in her own home in the
west part of town. Those who attended say they were always very quiet,
yet very happy.”
In 1880 Philo moved his last two families to Joseph, Sevier, Utah.
They lived here for about four years and then moved to Pine Creek, which
was about twenty miles north of Beaver.
Some years later Mary Priscilla moved to Elsinore, Utah. People there
knew her as “the dainty little English lady who sewed all her own
clothes, could mend clothes that looked like new and was an expert at
making button holes.”
Mary’s son George Taylor, remembered his mother as a wonderful strong,
hardworking woman. Walter Willes, another grandson, remembered the
feather duster his grandmother always used. She had beautiful auburn
hair. She made the comment that she hoped to live to see one of her
grandchildren have auburn hair, this came to pass.
She died in Elsinore, Sevier, Utah, 27 February 1914, at the age of
seventy-nine. She was lovingly remembered as “Sister Farnsworth.” She
is buried in nearby Joseph Cemetery, Sevier, Utah. In later years her
son, Jesse was buried nearby.
Mary Priscilla lived a life of courage, faith, service, and sacrifice.
We, her posterity, owe her a great deal and can be very proud of her.
In this year, 2006, I dedicate this history to Mary Priscilla Griffiths
and all those who sacrificed so much that we could enjoy so many
blessings. To us, her posterity, I think the words to Hymn #255 Carry On
are appropriate for us to consider.
Firm as the mountains around us, Stalwart and brave we stand
On the Rock our fathers planted For us in this goodly land
A rock of honor and virtue, Of faith in the living God.
They raised their banner triumphant – Over the desert sod.
We’ll build on the rock they planted A palace to the King.
Into its shining corridors, Our songs of praise we’ll bring,
For the heritage they left us, Not of gold or of worldly wealth,
But a blessing everlasting Of love and joy and health.
And we hear the desert singing: Carry on, carry on, carry on!
Hills and vales and mountains ringing: Carry on, carry on, carry on!
Holding aloft our colors, We march in the glorious dawn.
O youth of the noble birthright, Carry on, carry on, carry on!
President Gordon B. Hinckley, speaking about pioneers said:
“I will never get over being thankful to them: I hope you never get
over being thankful to them. I hope that we will always remember them….
Let us read again and again, and read to our children or our children’s
children, the accounts of those who suffered so much.” [Church News,
31 July 1999 p.5]
Biography of
Mary Priscilla Griffiths
Willes Farnsworth
Handcart Pioneer ~ Willie Company ~ 1856
Compiled and written by
Mildred Gaye Whitney Nelson
Wife of Jack William Nelson
Great, great Grandson
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