earnestly desired to gather to Zion; but fearing I might be forcibly
detained if I attempted to leave home directly for America, I obtained
my parents' consent to visit my sister, Julia--who had already gone to
Northampton (quite a long distance from home) hoping that the way would
open up, so we might earn enough to emigrate. There for the first time
I enjoyed religious freedom and there also I took my lessons of hard
times; preparing me for greater hardships in store.
"In the month of May, 1856, we sailed for America on the ship,
_Thornton_, Captain Collins, commander; Brother James G. Willie had
charge of the Saints, (a company of eight hundred) and a good captain
he was. We had a pleasant trip with the exception of one heavy storm
which I would not have missed for a great deal.
"From New York we traveled by rail and by way of Lake Erie to the
camping ground in the neighborhood of Iowa City; there we were obliged
to wait till the companies were ready to start, and surely if we had
been natural or unnatural curiosities we could not have been commented
on or stared at any more by the people surrounding us. 'Mormons, men,
women and children, and worse, a lot of young girls, bound for Salt
Lake and going to pull 'hand carts!' Shocking!'
"Yet, for the potent reason that no other way seemed open, and on the
principle of 'descending below all things,' I made up my mind to pull
a hand cart. 'All the way to Zion,' a foot journey from Iowa to Utah,
and pull our luggage, think of it! Anonymous letters, and warnings
from sympathizing outsiders were mysteriously conveyed to us, setting
forth the hardships and impossibilities of such a journey, and offering
us inducements to stay. Many who started out with us backed out in a
few days; my sister broke down and was unable to walk and I remember
asking myself (footsore and weary with the first week of walking and
working) if it was possible for me, faith or no faith, to walk twelve
hundred miles further. The flesh certainly was weak but the spirit
was willing, I set down my foot that I would try, and by the blessing
of God I pulled a hand cart a thousand miles and never rode one step.
Some thrilling scenes I could relate incident to that journey, but must
forbear for want of space. Suffice it to say that after a long and
wearisome journey, being entirely out of provisions, we halted for want
of strength to proceed, and never should I have beheld (with mortal
eyes) 'the city of the Saints' had not the compassionate people of Utah
sent out a number of brave-hearted brethren with food and clothing to
our relief. May they all be everlastingly blessed.
"In the month of June, 1857, firmly believing in the principle of
plural marriage I entered into it. The result of this marriage was one
child only, for a little more than three years after said marriage,
my husband went on a mission to England, and after I had worked for
upwards of four years to maintain myself and little one, my husband
himself sent me word that he never intended to set foot in Utah again.
And here I must be allowed to say in behalf of myself and other true
women who have endured such separations, and to whom, perhaps, it is
counted as nothing, no one can realize what such an ordeal is, unless
they have passed through it. All that I had hitherto suffered seemed
like child's play compared to being deserted by the one in whom I
had chosen to place the utmost confidence, who himself had fixed an
impassable gulf between us by ignoring the very principles by which he
had obtained me, leaving myself and my little one (for all he knew) to
sorrow and destitution. Harder still, was it for me to believe that
this abandonment had been deliberately planned. I could not accept the
fact till President Young, (speaking to me of my husband), emphatically
said, 'Don't you know he asked for his mission? If he hadn't I wouldn't
have sent him till the day of his death!' That was enough for me, I
comprehended all that it meant, and independent of Brigham Young's word
I was forced to believe it.
"I had striven hard to keep out of debt,--determined to do my part
as a missionary's wife, that when my husband came back he might not
be hampered on my account. Nevertheless 'hard times' stared me in
the face, and I was almost overwhelmed by circumstances beyond my
control. During the winter season of 1863-4, (owing to the war and many
circumstances combined) provisions and other necessaries commanded
almost fabulous prices, and I could not see how I should ever be able
to keep 'the wolf from the door.' To add to my trouble, the house I
occupied (and to which I had been led to believe I had some claim,) was
sold over my head and thus I had the prospect of being homeless, at a
time when rents were going up double and treble. One night when I was
so weary with overwork and anxiety, pondering what to do, these words
impressed me as if audibly spoken, TRUST IN GOD AND THYSELF. Instantly
I arose and composed the following lines:
A priceless boon! is a friend indeed
Greet him as such when his face you see;
But those who fail thee in time of need--
Shun them, as false friends should shunned be.
They proffer this, and they promise that,
But promise, alas, is a doubtful elf.
So would'st thou weather the storms of life--
Trust thou in God! and thyself.
Keep a brave heart, though the waves roll high,
Let thine aim be true as the magnet's steel;
Look unto God! with a steadfast eye,
And trust Him always, in woe or weal.
Man may deceive, but God! is true;
Mortals may pander to love of pelf,
Like "Angel's visits" firm friends are few,
Trust thou in God! and thyself,
Should friends, nor fortune, nor home be thine--
Cringe not for this, nor beg for that;
The earnest seekers will surely find
Something to thoroughly labor at.
'Tis a cheering maxim to keep in view--
That diligence leads to plenty's shelf;
And whatsoever thy hands pursue--
Trust thou in God! and thyself.
What! though thy flesh and thy strength should fail?
Surely 'were better to wear than rust;
Than never to try, 'twere better to die,
In striving bravely to fill our trust,
But fear not thou, for God! is good--
He is the giver of strength and wealth.
When faithless feelings or friends intrude--
Trust thou in God! and thyself.
"Immediately after this my way opened up before me, almost within the
week I secured another home, which if not very commodious had for me
the satisfying charm of being _my own_.
"On May 7, 1864, I again entered into plural marriage, and was sealed
by Heber C. Kimball to Joseph Woodmansee, to whom I have borne four
sons and four daughters. Two of these died in infancy, leaving me a
family of seven, including my first born.
"Nearly twenty years have rolled by since my second marriage, during
which time I have seen many changes of fortune which I cannot now
relate, but I will say this much of my children's father. Misfortunes
that have befallen him have never affected his faith, he has proven
his allegiance to the principles and priesthood of God at considerable
sacrifice to himself and family, enduring reverses uncomplainingly.
"Of my children I need say but little, but I fervently hope that each
and all of them may seek and obtain for themselves a knowledge of
the truth, (called Mormonism) for I know it can make them wise unto
salvation, and may they be willing if needs be to endure reproach and
privation for principle's sake. I doubt not that all my troubles have
been for my good, and to-day I am more than thankful for my standing in
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."
And wherefore should I cease to sing
Of Zion and the Latter Day?
I could not find a nobler theme,
Nor choose a lovelier, loftier lay.
Too insignificant is my praise--
Too feeble is my lyre and tongue,
For of these longed for, Latter Days
Have royal bards and prophets sung.
Ne'er shall our hearts ungrateful be;
Ne'er shall our songs be void of praise,
For God has suffered us to see
"The Zion" of the Latter Days.
Though all the world in scorn deride--
Our numbers shall not cease to flow;
Our soul's sincerest, purest love
Thrills unto Zion's weal or woe.
When she is sad, then I am sad;
When she is bound I am not free;
When she is glad then I am glad
And all things prosper well with me.
I love to see her power extend,
Her influence and her reign increase--
Then wonder not, "for Zion's sake--
Will I not hold my peace."
"I desire to live to make up for past short-comings by future
diligence, that I may help (in my humble way) to build up 'the kingdom
whose dominion, power and greatness shall be given to the Saints of the
most High! who shall possess it forever and ever.'"
The faith of the Saints shall astonish the world
And puzzle the wise to explain it;
Hosannah! hosannah! Truth's flag is unfurled,
And the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.
HANNAH T. KING.
"The University town of Cambridge, England, I am proud to say, is the
place of my nativity. I was reared among its classic shades and bowers.
For the last thirty years America has been my adopted country, and I
love her with a loyal and devoted appreciation, but the home and the
haunts of childhood and youth leave on every mind indelible impressions
and when brought to a focus upon the past as at the present moment,
'The distant spires and antique towers' rise up before me in all their
vividness by the power of that most wonderful faculty, MEMORY.
"I was born and reared in the High Church of England, and nothing but
the high Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints could have caused
me to secede from its high tenets and truly liberal principles; it
stands second to none of the churches of the world.
"Any son or daughter might have been proud of such parents as mine,
they were fine in person, highly moral, and intellectual, were
descended from a highly born family, and were honored and respected
by all who knew them; they reared their children with great care and
watchfulness, giving them such an education as would fit them for all
good society of whatever grade. Blessed be their memory!
"I was married at the early age of seventeen, but in my mind and
character I was older than many girls at twenty. I have lived long
enough to authorize the woman to sit in judgment on the girl.
"I had a sweet, happy home, for I had the faculty to make it so; I
had ten beautiful children but death robbed me of several. We gave
the surviving ones a liberal education with accomplishments; as
they grew up they repaid us in being all we desired. From a child I
had been accustomed to write much--keeping a journal and a book for
choice extracts, etc. My father was unavoidably much away from home
on business, but he enjoined me to write frequently to him, and to
do _his_ bidding was my delight, for he was my _beau ideal_ of all
that was good. Since at nine or ten I became a letter writer, and the
thousands I have written in my long life would form a towering paper
pillar. After some years of my married life I became a writer for the
local papers and also wrote two books, one for my girls and the other
for the boys, 'The Toilet' and the 'Three Eras,' dedicating them to
each. These books were patronized by the aristocracy of England. I also
wrote considerable poetry all my life.
"In 1849, 'a change came o'er the spirit of my dream.' I had a young
woman who had worked for me eleven years as dressmaker, she was highly
respectable, conscientious and good. In September, 1849, she was in the
house at work, and on the evening of the 4th, when work was laid aside,
she told me she wished to speak to me privately, as she had something
she wished to communicate to me. I at once gave her the audience she
requested and she then laid before me the organization of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the first principles of the
same. Of course I was startled! But the spirit of God witnessed to my
spirit that she spoke _truth_! I compared all she told me by the Bible
which had ever been my standard of truth--it _endorsed_ all she said! I
studied, I prayed,--she gave me to read 'Spencer's Letters'--they made
me a willing convert. I read many other prominent works with which my
teacher furnished me. Fifteen months passed, and yet I had not attended
the Latter-Day Saint Meetings, or seen a single member, but this young
woman, yet even at that time I was a confirmed Latter-Day Saint. I then
was introduced to an elder from America, and after his first sermon I
was baptized by him in the classic waters of the Camm, my native river.
"Soon I began to see the antagonisms I had to meet. I, a member of the
Church of England. My grandfather a rector in the same, my father and
my mother, my family and friends! All had to be met, could I bring
the gray hairs of my parents in sorrow to the grave? Could I reduce
my family to comparative poverty and reverses of every kind? Could
I _so_ lay my all upon the altar of my God? Could I like Abraham of
old, arise and go to a far country--even the wilds of America? It
would take more than I have space to elaborate this subject--suffice,
strength was given me--I passed under 'the car of Juggernaut,' which is
no _overstrained_ flower of language but a veritable simile. Suffice,
the votary lived! and I came out _convinced_, _determined_, and the
calm, as it were, of a summer morning was upon me! A conviction had
been given me that it was indeed the work of the last days, when all
dispensations should be gathered in one, when that people I had all
my life prayed for in the Church of England should be 'prepared for
the second coming of the Savior,' were indeed organized upon the earth
by the voice of God Himself and His Son, Jesus Christ, appearing to a
youth, even Joseph Smith, and appointing him as the prophet of the last
dispensation, under the immediate direction of the Lord Jesus Himself.
The Church was organized with six members, on the 6th of April, 1830.
"Of this Church I became a member by the requisite act of baptism by
immersion, under the hands of the American missionary. From that time
I had the spirit of 'gathering,' and in June, 1853, I left my home and
many that were dear to me, my own immediate family accompanying me--and
as I stood on the deck of the _Golconda_ I said, 'My native land, good
night.' Ox teams conveyed us over the prairies, and on the 19th of
September, 1853, we entered Salt Lake City. Here we built a home which
has been my sanctuary. I _know_ God was with me, and my loved ones also
were with me. The union of my family was remarkable, that, and the
Spirit of God enabled us to 'remove mountains.'
"In a brief sketch like this it is impossible to give even the outline,
but could I place in a book, first our _antecedents_, and then the
marvelous events of those three years, the laying aside our Lares and
Penates, surely the skeptic would agree that there was a power with
us that the world knows nothing of! for even though we _knew_ we were
the agents it was 'marvelous in our eyes.' Perhaps I have filled the
brief space allotted me for the purpose for which I was called upon to
write, surely my few words will be a testimony that I rejoice I am a
Latter-Day Saint. I have passed through many reverses and tribulations,
but in my darkest hours the Gospel has been a light upon my path and a
lamp for my feet, and I realize day by day the smile and approbation of
God upon me.
"It has been my delight to write for the Saints since I have lived in
Salt Lake City, and my reward has been their love and rich appreciation
of my writings. I have been a constant writer for the _Woman's
Exponent_, a paper got up and entirely carried on by the women of our
people. President Young desired me to write for it and I have done so
with pleasure to the best of my ability, both in prose and in verse.
"For two years I had a school in my own house, and it promised
to be a success, but my health failed, and to my sorrow I had to
relinquish it. I was appointed to preside over the Young Ladies Mutual
Improvement Association of the Seventeenth Ward, which position I held
for one year, but resigned from feeble health. I was then appointed
First Counselor to Marinda Hyde, President of the Relief Society of
the Seventeenth Ward, which office I still have the honor to hold.
My desire has ever been to be useful 'in my day and generation,'
especially in the work of the last days, for in that I have joy and
ample satisfaction.
"The history of the people of God as we read it in the Bible, repeats
itself in a remarkable manner in the Church of Jesus Christ upon the
earth to-day, and those who need a testimony of its truth, I advise
them to compare and observe the workings of the self-same spirit of
antagonism, and they will hardly need another."
I select a portion of one of Mrs. King's poems; her prose and verse
are alike, always lofty in character; her prose writings would form
more than one valuable volume for the libraries of the Saints, or
indeed those not of our faith. Historical and character sketches seem
a peculiar gift with her. Among the many admirers of her poems the
English Saints regard her with special fondness, for is she not their
own? and they anticipate her contributions, as we look forward to
flowers of spring, to summer's wealth of fruits, to autumn's harvest
time.
REST.
"I've fought the battle all my life
Of outward foes and inward strife;
The strife which flesh and spirit feel
As keenly as the barbed steel;
For ah! my soul has longed to be
A perfect thing for God to see!
And feels impatient for the time
When I the heavenly heights shall climb,
The good, in all the ages past,
My eyes in love I've ever cast,
Would imitate, admire, and aim
Their glorious pinnacles to gain;
A pedestal to call my own,
One which my form might rest upon;
My spirit feet cannot yet stand
Upon the platform they command,
But well I know I have been blest,
And shall, in time, attain the rest;
And I have sometimes felt ere while
I moved 'neath God's effulgent smile
That shed around me warmth and peace,
And gave my captive mind release.
The earth and every living thing
Did tribute to my spirit bring;
And then my soul was born anew,
Begotten by the warmth and dew
Which God's own spirit cast around,
And placed my feet on holy ground.
All things seemed tinged with light of heaven,
My friends most loved, my foes forgiven!
The fountain in my heart, to me
Brought 'living water,' ecstacy!
* * * * * * * * * *
A little Goshen was my home,
For joy and peace around it shone;
And labor's self became delight,
Making all healthy, strong and bright;
And loving spirits gathered there
As angels faithful, fond and fair.
Was I not blest? Yes, I WAS blest,
And truly 'twas a time of rest;
Yes, rest from sorrow I had known,
In youth, my sun but rarely shone,
But, oh! I fought for joy and peace,
And God, in mercy, sent release.
And blest me with so bright a time
That's rarely known in earthly clime!
And grateful did my soul arise
To Him who gave this paradise.
But, oh! this picture! its reverse!
A mighty contrast did disperse;
The light and warmth would be withdrawn
And I left freezing and forlorn;
The heavens seemed brass above my head,
The earth looked dark as molten lead;
My God was hid beneath a cloud
And I, like corse within its shroud!
Alone, forsaken, desolate thing
Hoarding my sorrows like a sting
That probed and barbed my stranded soul,
And well-nigh crushed all self-control;
The loved and loving were away,
And I to foes was left a prey;
It seemed all blessings were withdrawn,
And I left stranded and forlorn,
To see if I would faithful stand
And still hold on to virtue's hand.
Yes, many such ordeal I've passed,
And know I have not seen the last.
Oh! Father! take my shrinking soul
Beneath Thy love and sweet control;
Thy feeble, trembling child, oh spare!
Lay on no more than I can bear.
May I endure unto the end,
Whatever trials may portend;
But Thou alone must bear me up,
Or I shall fail to drain the cup."
AUGUSTA JOYCE CROCHERON.
"In the original design of the picture Representative Women of Deseret,
I did not include myself, but by the request of those whose wishes
I have always endeavored to fulfill, now do so, although there are
several to whom I would prefer giving place.
"I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, October 9, 1844. My father was
John Joyce, from St. John, New Brunswick--his parents were both from
England. I have heard my mother say that my uncle, Oliver Joyce,
planted the English flag on the Chinese wall at the time of the war
(about 1840) between those countries. I do not know whether he was an
officer, color bearer or ordinary private.
"My mother, Caroline A. Joyce, was the eldest daughter of John
Perkins, a sea captain, and his wife, Caroline Harriman. The Perkins
and Harriman families were among the early Puritan emigrants, the
property they first built upon still being in the possession of their
descendants. I have heard my mother speak of the oak stairs and floors
being so worn with age that they bent beneath the tread even when
she was a child. My mother's mother was the daughter of Elder John
Harriman, well known in New Hampshire as the occasional traveling
companion of Lorenzo Dow, but more particularly as the founder of a
sect called the 'New Light Christian Baptists.' He was the son of John
Harriman and the daughter of a Penobscot chief who was friendly to the
white people, and permitted his only daughter to receive Christian
baptism, and she was afterwards married to him publicly in church.
This union afforded peace and security to the settlers and gave them
the alliance if needed, of a powerful tribe. The son of this marriage
received an education and married. A few weeks after, and at the age of
twenty-one, he 'received a visit from a personage who gave him a new
doctrine to preach to the children of men.' He awoke his wife, Ruth,
told her the vision and she believed him. In the morning he began to
arrange his worldly affairs so as not to interfere with his call and
began to preach, accompanied by his young wife, who rose when he had
done speaking and bore her testimony to what he had said. He traveled
a certain circuit, holding two and three days' meetings wherever he
stopped, building up quite a large church in his locality. He preached
seventy-one years and died at the age of ninety-two. He never cut his
hair from the time of his call to the ministry, and sometimes wore it
braided in a queue, sometimes flowing in waves upon his shoulders,
as in his portrait. His wife, Ruth, lived beyond her one hundredth
birthday. His son, John, became a minister, but his daughter (my
grandmother) was more worldly minded. Once when he entered the room she
was standing before a mirror surveying her appearance, being attired
for some special occasion. He quietly stepped up to her and with a pair
of scissors cut off the long black ringlets that fell like a mantle
upon her bare shoulders, saying; 'These come between you and your God.'
This did not, however, quench the worldly spirit within her, for she at
the age of sixteen eloped with and was married to John Perkins, a young
sea captain, a God-fearing man but not a church member then or ever
afterwards in this life. She was very industrious, however, and had
at that age spun all her bed and table linen, etc. She became quite a
politician and used to write articles of that character, and the young
men of the town used to gather round her hearth and ask her opinion
on political matters. She also composed for them campaign songs, both
words and music. My mother has told me the only dancing she ever saw
in her childhood was when her mother, inspired by the patriotic songs
she would be singing, would dance to and fro at her spinning, instead
of stepping--improvising step and figure. She had eight sons that she
said she was 'raising for her country.' Sure enough two of them went
to the war (twenty years ago) and laid down their lives; Warren and
Andrew Jackson, (so named because he was born on the day of President
Jackson's second inauguration.) Grandma was an Andrew Jackson Democrat,
he was her very _beau ideal_ of a man. Charles served two terms and
returned safe. Lawrence, my patriot grandmother's youngest boy,
enlisted at seventeen and was sent back; 'Too young,' they told him,
but he waited one year and went again and this time they took him, and
he too was spared to return home.