MORMON WOMEN OF MARTHA WASHINGTON'S TIME--AUNT RHODA RICHARDS--WIFE OF
THE FIRST MORMON BISHOP--HONORABLE WOMEN OF ZION.
The heroic conduct of the Mormon women, in their eventful history,
is not strange, nor their trained sentiments of religious liberty
exaggerated in the action of their lives; for it must not be forgotten
that many a sister among the Latter-day Saints had lived in the time
of the Revolution, and had shown examples not unworthy of Martha
Washington herself. Of course those women of the Revolution are now
sleeping with the just, for nearly fifty years, have passed since the
rise of the church, but there are still left those who can remember
the father of their country, and the mothers who inspired the war of
independence. We have such an one to present in the person of Aunt
Rhoda Richards, the sister of Willard, the apostle, and first cousin of
Brigham Young.
Scarcely had the British evacuated New York, and Washington returned
to his home at Mount Vernon, when Rhoda Richards was born. She was the
sister of Phineas, Levi, and Willard Richards--three of illustrious
memory in the Mormon Church--was born August 8th, 1784, at Hopkington,
Mass., and now, at the advanced age of ninety-three, thus speaks of her
life and works. She says:
"During the early years of my life I was much afflicted with sickness,
but, through the mercies and blessings of my Heavenly Father, at the
advanced age of nearly ninety-three, I live, and am privileged to bear
my individual testimony, that for myself I know that Joseph Smith was
a true prophet of the living God; and that the work which he, as an
humble instrument in the hands of God, commenced in this, the evening
of time, will not be cut short, save as the Lord himself, according to
his promise, shall cut short his work in righteousness.
"My first knowledge of the Mormons was gained through my cousin, Joseph
Young, though I had previously heard many strange things concerning
them. I lay on a bed of sickness, unable to sit up, when Cousin
Joseph came to visit at my father's house. I remember distinctly how
cautiously my mother broached the subject of the new religion to him.
Said she, 'Joseph, I have heard that some of the children of my sister,
Abigail Young, have joined the Mormons. How is it?' Joseph replied, 'It
is true, Aunt Richards, and I am one of them!' It was Sabbath day, and
in the morning Cousin Joseph attended church with my parents; but in
the afternoon he chose to remain with my brother William, and myself,
at home. He remarked that he could not enjoy the meeting, and in reply
I said, 'I do not see why we might not have a meeting here.' My cousin
was upon his feet in an instant, and stood and preached to us--my
brother and myself--for about half an hour, finishing his discourse
with, 'There, Cousin Rhoda, I don't know but I have tired you out!'
When he sat down I remarked that meetings usually closed with prayer.
In an instant he was on his knees, offering up a prayer. That was the
first Mormon sermon and the first Mormon prayer I ever listened to.
I weighed his words and sentences well. It was enough. My soul was
convinced of the truth. But I waited a year before being baptized.
During that time I read the books of the church, and also saw and heard
other elders, among whom was my cousin, Brigham Young, and my brothers,
Phineas, Levi, and Willard; all of which served to strengthen my faith
and brighten my understanding.
"A short time after I was baptized and confirmed I was greatly
afflicted with the raging of a cancer, about to break out in my face.
I knew too well the symptoms, having had one removed previously. The
agony of such an operation, only those who have passed through a like
experience can ever imagine. The idea of again passing through a like
physical suffering seemed almost more than humanity could endure.
One Sabbath, after the close of the morning service, I spoke to the
presiding elder, and acquainted him with my situation, requesting that
I might be administered to, according to the pattern that God had
given, that the cancer might be rebuked and my body healed. The elder
called upon the sisters present to unite their faith and prayers in my
behalf, and upon the brethren to come forward and lay their hands upon
me, and bless me in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, according to my
desire. It was done, and I went home completely healed, and rejoicing
in the God of my salvation. Many times have I since been healed by the
same power, when, apparently, death had actually seized me as his prey.
I would not have it understood, however, that I have been a weakly,
sickly, useless individual all my life. Those who have known me can
say quite to the contrary. Some of our ambitious little girls and
working women would doubtless be interested in a simple sketch of some
few things which I have accomplished by manual labor. When myself and
my sisters were only small girls, our excellent mother taught us how
to work, and in such a wise manner did she conduct our home education
that we always loved to work, and were never so happy as when we were
most usefully employed. We knit our own and our brothers' stockings,
made our own clothes, braided and sewed straw hats and bonnets, carded,
spun, wove, kept house, and did everything that girls and women of a
self-sustaining community would need to do. The day that I was thirteen
years old I wove thirteen yards of cloth; and in twenty months, during
which time I celebrated my eightieth birthday, I carded twenty weight
of cotton, spun two hundred and fifteen balls of candlewicking, and
two hundred run of yarn, prepared for the weaver's loom; besides doing
my housework, knitting socks, and making shirts for 'my boys' (some
of the sons of my brothers). I merely make mention of these things as
samples of what my life-work has been. I never was an idler, but have
tried to be useful in my humble way, 'doing what my hands found to do
with my might.' I now begin to feel the weight of years upon me, and
can no longer do as I have done in former years for those around me;
but, through the boundless mercies of God, I am still able to wash and
iron my own clothes, do up my lace caps, and write my own letters. My
memory is good, and as a general thing I feel well in body and mind. I
have witnessed the death of many near and dear friends, both old and
young. In my young days I buried my first and only love, and true to
that affiance, I have passed companionless through life; but am sure of
having my proper place and standing in the resurrection, having been
sealed to the prophet Joseph, according to the celestial law, by his
own request, under the inspiration of divine revelation."
A very beautiful incident is this latter--the memory of her early
love, for whose sake she kept sacred her maiden life. The passage is
exquisite in sentiment, although emanating from a heart that has known
the joys and sorrows of nearly a hundred years.
--
Lydia Partridge, the aged relict of the first bishop of the Mormon
Church, may well accompany the venerable sister of Willard Richards.
She was born September 26, 1793, in the town of Marlboro, Mass., her
parents' names being Joseph Clisbee and Merriam Howe. The course of
events [finally?] brought her to Ohio, where she made the acquaintance
of, and married, Edward Partridge. Her husband and herself were
proselyted into the Campbellite persuasion by Sidney Rigdon; but
they soon afterwards became converts to Mormonism, and Mr. Partridge
thereupon commenced his career as a laborer in the ministry of the
church. They were among the first families to locate in Missouri,
and also among the first to feel the sting of persecution in that
State. Removing finally to Nauvoo, her husband there died. In the
after-wanderings of the saints in search of a home in the wilderness
she accompanied them. It may be briefly said of her that now, after
forty-five years in the church, she is as firm and steadfast as ever in
her faith, and is one of the staunchest advocates of polygamy.
--
Next comes Margaret T. M. Smoot, wife of Bishop Smoot, with the
testimony of her life.
She was born in Chester District, South Carolina, April 16th, 1809.
Her father, Anthony McMeans, was a Scotchman by birth, emigrating
to America at an early age, and settling in South Carolina, where
he resided at the breaking out of the Revolutionary war. Fired with
patriotic zeal, he immediately enlisted in the ranks, and continued
fighting in the cause of liberty until the close of the war, when he
returned to his home, where he remained until his death. Her mother was
a Hunter, being of Irish extraction. Her grandfather Hunter also served
in the Revolutionary war, being an intimate friend of Gen. Washington.
For these reasons Mrs. Smoot is justly proud of her lineage. Her
husband, the bishop, being also of revolutionary descent, they as a
family well exemplify the claim made elsewhere, that the Mormons were
originally of the most honored and patriotic extraction.
She embraced the Mormon faith in 1834, and was married to Mr. Smoot
the following year, in the State of Kentucky. In 1837 they went to Far
West, Mo., and their history thence to Utah is the oft-told story of
outrage and persecution. It is proper to remark, however, that their
son, William, was one of the original pioneers, and that their family
was among the first company that entered the valley.
Sister Smoot is known in the church as one of the most illustrious
examples of the "first wives" who accepted and gave a true Israelitish
character and sanctity to the "patriarchal order of marriage;" while
the long-sustained position of her husband as Mayor of Salt Lake City,
enhances the effect of her social example.
--
A few incidents from the life of Sister Hendricks, whose husband was
wounded in "Crooked River battle," where the apostle David Patten fell,
may properly be here preserved.
Of that mournful incident, she says: "A neighbor stopped at the gate
and alighted from his horse; I saw him wipe his eyes, and knew that he
was weeping; he came to the door and said, 'Mr. Hendricks wishes you to
come to him at the Widow Metcalf's. He is shot.' I rode to the place,
four miles away, and there saw nine of the brethren, pale and weak from
their wounds, being assisted into the wagons that were to take them to
their homes. In the house was my husband, and also David Patten, who
was dying. My husband was wounded in the neck in such a manner as to
injure the spinal column, which paralyzed his extremities. Although he
could speak, he could not move any more than if he were dead."
Mr Hendricks lived until 1870, being an almost helpless invalid up to
that time. Their son William was a member of the famous battalion. Mrs.
H. still survives, and is the happy progenitress of five children,
sixty-three grandchildren, and twenty-three great-grandchildren.
--
The wife of Bishop McRae deserves remembrance in connection with an
incident of the battle of Nauvoo. When it was determined to surrender
that city, the fugitive saints were naturally anxious to take with them
in their flight whatever of property, etc., they could, that would
be necessary to them in their sojourn in the wilderness. It will be
seen at once that nothing could have been of more service to them than
their rifles and ammunition. Hence, with a refinement of cruelty, the
mobbers determined to rob them of these necessaries. They accordingly
demanded the arms and ammunition of all who left the city, and searched
their wagons to see that none were secreted. Mrs. McRae was determined
to save a keg of powder, however, and so she ensconced herself in her
wagon with the powder keg as a seat, covering it with the folds of her
dress. Soon a squad of the enemy came to her wagon, and making as if
to search it, asked her to surrender whatever arms and ammunition she
might have on hand. She quietly kept her seat, however, and coolly
asked them, "How many more times are you going to search this wagon
to-day?" This question giving them the impression that they had already
searched the wagon, they moved on, and Mrs. McRae saved her powder.
She still lives, and is at present a much respected resident of Salt
Lake City.
--
Mrs. Mary M. Luce, a venerable sister, now in her seventy-seventh
year, and a resident of Salt Lake City, deserves a passing mention
from the fact that her religion has caused her to traverse the entire
breadth of the continent, in order to be gathered with the saints.
She was a convert of Wilford Woodruff, who visited her native place
while on mission to the "Islands of the Sea" (Fox Islands, off the
Coast of Maine). In 1838, with her family, she journeyed by private
conveyance from Maine to Illinois, joining the saints at Nauvoo. This
was, in those days, a very long and tedious journey, consuming several
months' time. During the persecutions of Nauvoo, she was reduced to
extreme poverty; but, after many vicissitudes, was enabled to reach
Salt Lake City the first year after the pioneers, where she has since
continued to reside. In her experience she has received many tests
and manifestations of the divine origin of the latter-day work, and
testifies that "these are the happiest days" of her life.
--
Elizabeth H., wife of William Hyde, for whom "Hyde Park," Utah,
was named, was born in Holliston, Middlesex county, Mass., October
2d, 1813. She was the daughter of Joel and Lucretia Bullard, and a
descendant, on the maternal side, from the Goddards. Her mother and
herself were baptized into the Mormon faith in 1838, and they moved to
Nauvoo in 1841, where Elizabeth was married to Elder Hyde, in 1842. He
was on mission most of the time up to 1846, when they left Nauvoo, in
the exodus of the church. Her husband joined the Mormon battalion in
July following, returning home in the last month of 1847. In the spring
of 1849, with their three surviving children, they journeyed to Salt
Lake Valley, where they resided until about seventeen years ago, when
they removed to Cache Valley, and founded the settlement which bears
their name. Mr. Hyde died in 1872, leaving five wives and twenty-two
children. "It is my greatest desire," says sister Hyde, "that I may so
live as to be accounted worthy to dwell with those who have overcome,
and have the promise of eternal lives, which is the greatest gift of
God."
--
Nor should we forget to mention "Mother Sessions," another of the
last-century women who have gathered to Zion. Her maiden name was Patty
Bartlett, and she was born February 4th, 1795, in the town of Bethel,
Oxford county, Maine. She was married to David Sessions in 1812, and
survives both him and a second husband. Herself and husband joined the
church in 1834, moved to Nauvoo in 1840, and left there with the exiled
saints in 1846. In the summer of 1847 they crossed the plains to the
valley, Mrs. Sessions, although in her fifty-third year, driving a
four-ox team the entire distance.
Mother Sessions is a model of zeal, frugality, industry and
benevolence. When she entered the valley she had but five cents, which
she had found on the road; now, after having given many hundreds of
dollars to the perpetual emigration fund, tithing fund, etc., and
performing unnumbered deeds of private charity, she is a stockholder
in the "Z. C. M. I." to the amount of some twelve or thirteen thousand
dollars, and is also possessed of a competence for the remainder of
her days; all of which is a result of her own untiring efforts and
honorable business sagacity. As a testimony of her life she says, "I am
now eighty-two years of age. I drink no tea nor coffee, nor spirituous
liquors; neither do I smoke nor take snuff. To all my posterity and
friends I say, do as I have done, and as much better as you can, and
the Lord will bless you as he has me."
--
Mrs. R. A. Holden, of Provo, is another of the revolutionary
descendants. Her grandfather, Clement Bishop, was an officer in the
revolutionary war, was wounded, and drew a pension until his death.
Mrs. H., whose maiden name was Bliss, was born in 1815, in Livingston
county, N. Y., and after marrying Mr. Holden, in 1833, moved to
Illinois, where, in 1840, they embraced the gospel. Their efforts to
reach the valley and gather with the church form an exceptional chapter
of hardship and disappointment. Nevertheless, they arrived at Provo in
1852, where they have since resided; Mrs. Holden being, since 1867, the
president of the Relief Society of the Fourth Ward of that city.
--
Sister Diantha Morley Billings is another of the aged and respected
citizens of Provo. She was born August 23d, 1795, at Montague, Mass.
About the year 1815 she moved to Kirtland, Ohio, and there was married
to Titus Billings. Herself and husband and Isaac Morley, her brother,
were among the first baptized in Kirtland. They were also among the
first to remove to Missouri, whence they were driven, and plundered of
all they possessed, by the mobs that arose, in that State, against the
saints. Her husband was in Crooked River battle, standing by Apostle
Patten when he fell.
They reached Utah in 1848, and were soon thereafter called to go and
start settlements in San Pete. They returned to Provo in 1864, and in
1866 Mr. Billings died.
While living in Nauvoo, after the expulsion from Missouri, Mrs.
Billings was ordained and set apart by the prophet Joseph to be a
nurse, in which calling she has ever since been very skillful.
--
Mrs. Amanda Wimley, although but eight years a resident of Utah, was
converted to Mormonism in Philadelphia, in the year 1839, under the
preaching of Joseph the prophet, being baptized shortly afterward.
For thirty years the circumstances of her life were such that it was
not expedient for her to gather with the church; she nevertheless
maintained her faith, and was endowed to a remarkable degree with the
gift of healing, which she exercised many times with wonderful effect
in her own family. Journeying to Salt Lake City some eight years since,
on a visit merely, she has now fully determined to permanently remain,
as the representative of her father's house, to "do a work for her
ancestry and posterity."
--
Polly Sawyer Atwood, who died in Salt Lake City, Oct. 16th, 1876, is
worthy of a passing notice, because of her many good deeds in the
service of God. She was another of the last century women, being born
in 1790, in Windham, Conn. Her parents were Asahel and Elizabeth
Sawyer. Herself and husband, Dan Atwood, first heard the gospel in
1839, and were straightway convinced of its truth. They journeyed
to Salt Lake in 1850. Here she displayed in a remarkable manner the
works and gifts of faith, and was much sought after by the sick and
afflicted, up to the day of her death, which occurred in her 86th
year. It is worthy of mention that she was the mother of three men of
distinction in the church--Millen Atwood, who was one of the pioneers,
a missionary to England, captain of the first successful handcart
company, and a member of the high council; Miner Atwood, who was a
missionary to South Africa, and also a member of the high council; and
Samuel Atwood, who is one of the presiding bishops of the Territory.
--
In connection with Mother Atwood may also properly be mentioned her
daughter-in-law, Relief C. Atwood, the wife of Millen, who received
the gospel in New Hampshire, in 1843, and in 1845 emigrated to Nauvoo.
This was just before the expulsion of the church from that city, and in
a few months she found herself in the wilderness. At winter quarters,
after the return of the pioneers, she married Mr. Atwood, one of their
number, and with him in 1848 journeyed to the valley. Their trials
were at first nigh overwhelming, but in a moment of prayer, when
they were about to give up in despair, the spirit of the Lord rested
upon Mr. A., and he spoke in tongues, and at the same time the gift
of interpretation rested upon her. It was an exhortation to renewed
hope and trust, which so strengthened them that they were able to
overcome every difficulty. Her family has also received many striking
manifestations of the gift of healing--so much so that she now bears
testimony that "God is their great physician, in whom she can safely
trust."
--
Sister Sarah B. Fiske, who was born in Potsdam, St. Lawrence Co., N.
Y., in 1819, is another of revolutionary ancestry; her grandfathers,
on both paternal and maternal side, having served in the revolutionary
war. In 1837 she was married to Ezra H. Allen. Shortly thereafter they
were both converted to Mormonism, and in 1842 moved to Nauvoo. In the
spring of '43 they joined the settlement which was attempted at a place
called Shockoquan, about twenty-five miles north of Nauvoo. Journeying
with the saints on the exodus, she stopped at Mount Pisgah, while her
husband went forward in the battalion. Nearly two years passed, and
word came that the brethren of the battalion were coming back. With
the most intense anxiety she gathered every word of news concerning
their return, and at last was informed that they were at a ferry not
far away. She hastened to make herself ready and was about to go out to
meet him when the word was brought that her husband had been murdered
by Indians in the California mountains. She was handed her husband's
purse, which had been left by the Indians, and which contained his
wages and savings. This enabled her to procure an outfit, and in 1852
she journeyed to the valley.
--
Here let us mention another octogenarian sister in the person of Jane
Neyman, daughter of David and Mary Harper, who was born in Westmoreland
Co., Pa., in 1792. She embraced the gospel in 1838, and became at
once endowed with the gift of healing, which enabled her to work many
marvelous cures, among which may be mentioned the raising of two
infants from apparent death, they each having been laid out for burial.
Herself and family received an unstinted share of the persecutions of
the saints, in Missouri, and afterwards in Nauvoo, in which latter
place her husband died. Her daughter, Mary Ann Nickerson, then residing
on the opposite side of the river from Nauvoo, on the occasion of the
troubles resulting in the battle of Nauvoo, made cartridges at her
home, and alone in her little skiff passed back and forth across the
Mississippi (one mile wide at that point), delivering the cartridges,
without discovery. While the battle was raging she also took seven
persons, including her mother, on a flat-boat, and by her unaided
exertions ferried them across the river. This heroic lady is now living
in Beaver, Utah.
Mrs. Neyman, now in her 85th year, testifies concerning the truth of
the gospel as revealed through Joseph Smith: "I know it is the work of
God, by the unerring witness of the Holy Ghost."
--
Malvina Harvey Snow, daughter of Joel Harvey, was born in the State of
Vermont, in 1811. She was brought into the church under the ministry
of Orson Pratt, in 1833, he being then on mission in that section. Her
nearest neighbor was Levi Snow, father of Apostle Erastus Snow. The
Snow family mostly joined the new faith, and Malvina and her sister
Susan journeyed with them to Missouri. At Far West she was married
to Willard Snow, in 1837, and in about two years afterward they were
driven from the State. They settled at Montrose, but, while her husband
was on mission to England, she moved across the river to Nauvoo, the
mob having signified their intention to burn her house over her head.
In 1847 they started for Utah, from Council Bluffs, in the wake of the
pioneers, arriving in the valley in the fall of that year. Says Sister
Malvina, "My faithful sister, Susan, was with me from the time I left
our father's house in Vermont, and when we arrived in Utah my husband
took her to wife. She bore him a daughter, but lost her life at its
birth. I took the infant to my bosom, and never felt any difference
between her and my own children. She is now a married woman. In 1850 my
husband was called on mission to Denmark, from which he never returned.
He was buried in the Atlantic, being the only missionary from Utah
that was ever laid in the sea. I raised my five children to manhood
and womanhood, and have now lived a widow twenty-six years. Hoping to
finally meet my beloved husband and family, never again to part, I am
patiently waiting the hour of reunion. May the Lord Jesus Christ help
me to be faithful to the end."
--
Sister Caroline Tippits, whose maiden name was Pew, deserves to be
mentioned as one of the earlier members of the church, having embraced
the gospel in 1831. Shortly afterwards she joined the saints in Jackson
county, Mo., and during the persecutions that ensued, endured perhaps
the most trying hardships that were meted out to any of the sisters.
Driven out into the midst of a prairie, by the mob, in the month of
January, with a babe and two-years-old child, she was compelled to
sleep on the ground with only one thin quilt to cover them, and the
snow frequently falling three or four inches in a night. She came to
Utah with the first companies, and is reckoned among the most faithful
of the saints.
--
Julia Budge, first wife of Bishop William Budge, may be presented as
one of the women who have made polygamy honorable. She was born in
Essex, England, where she was baptized by Chas. W. Penrose, one of the
most distinguished of the English elders, who afterwards married her
sister--a lady of the same excellent disposition. The bishop is to-day
the husband of three wives, whose children have grown up as one family,
and the wives have lived together "like sisters." No stranger, with
preconceived notions, would guess that they sustained the very tender
relation of sister-wives. Their happy polygamic example is a sort of
"household word" in the various settlements over which the bishop has
presided.
--
Sister Nancy A. Clark, daughter of Sanford Porter, now a resident of
Farmington, Utah, has had a most remarkable personal experience as
a servant of God. When a little girl, less than eight years of age,
residing with her parents in Missouri, she, in answer to prayer,
received the gift of tongues, and became a great object of interest
among the saints. During and succeeding the persecutions in that State,
and while her father's family were being driven from place to place,
her oft-repeated spiritual experiences were the stay and comfort of all
around her. Her many visions and experiences would fill a volume. It is
needless to say that she is among the most faithful and devoted of the
sisterhood.
--
A pretty little instance of faith and works is related by Martha
Granger, the wife of Bishop William G. Young, which is worthy of
record. In September, 1872, the bishop was riding down Silver Creek
Canyon, on his way to Weber river, when he became sunstruck, and fell
back in his wagon, insensible. His horses, as if guided by an invisible
hand, kept steadily on, and finally turned into a farmer's barnyard.
The farmer, who was at work in the yard, thinking some team had strayed
away, went up to catch them, when he discovered the bishop (a stranger
to him) in the wagon. He thought at first that the stranger was
intoxicated, and so hitched the team, thinking to let him lay and sleep
it off. But upon a closer examination, failing to detect the fumes of
liquor, he concluded the man was sick, and calling assistance, took
him into the shade of a haystack, and cared for him. Still the bishop
remained unconscious, and the sun went down, and night came on.
Forty miles away, the bishop's good wife at home had called her
little seven-years-old child to her knee, to say the usual prayer
before retiring. As the little child had finished the mother observed
a far-off look in its eyes, and then came the strange and unusual
request: "Mother, may I pray, in my own words, for pa? he's sick."
"Yes, my child," said the mother, wonderingly. "Oh Lord, heal up pa,
that he may live and not die, and come home," was the faltering prayer;
and in that same moment the bishop, in that far-off farmer's yard,
arose and spoke; and in a few moments was himself praising God for the
succor that he knew not had been invoked by his own dear child.