Her parents were John and Elizabeth Clifford. She had an older sister, Emma, and a younger brother, Thomas.
Sarah grew up and was educated in Eastwood. She learned to become a seamstress and did beautiful handwork, embroidery and crocheting.
Sarah and her family belonged to the Church of England. Sarah's mother's sister became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints when she was baptized in 1848. Sarah's grandfather, Henry Soar, was baptized three weeks later. John and Elizabeth and their daughters were baptized nearly thirteen years later in 1861.
Sarah's father, John, was not to have the privilege of enjoying the new gospel with his family for very long. About a year later, John Clifford, whilst working in the Moorgreen Colliery Mine was placing a charge of powder for blasting down the coal when it accidentally caught fire and exploded. John was brought home, his body mangled, suffering from multiple injuries and lived until about 10 o'clock in the evening. He left his wife and three children to mourn his loss.
Sarah's mother, Elizabeth, later married Matthew Coleman, a widower, and moved to Selston, there were no children from this marriage. At the time of her mother's second marriage, Sarah was about seventeen years of age. Elizabeth lived in Selston until the death of her second husband, then she went to live with her son Thomas where she died in 1911.
Sarah met and married Anthony Wilson in the Eastwood Parish church in 1867. Although she was a Mormon, England only recognized marriages that were performed in the Church of England. Anthony was born in 1946 in Eastwood, Nottingham, England. He was baptized into the church in 1869.
Sarah and Anthony became the parents of three children, Elizabeth: born September 1, 1867 and died at age 2; Emma: born in 1869, and John: born in 1870. Their happiness was of short duration, Anthony Wilson worked in the same mine as Sarah's father had done. When they had been married for only four years, there was another accident in the mine that clained the life of Anthony, age 25. The mine again brought sorrow to her. Many saints journeyed to Eastwood to attend the funeral services of Brother Wilson. He was a faithful member of the church and was loved and respected by the Saints.
Following the death of her husband, Sarah was caught up in the spirit of the gathering of Israel and with the money the mining company gave her, she emigrated to Utah. Sarah with her two children, Emma and John, left England in 1871 on the ship "Nevada". Sarah was 23 years old, her daughter Emma was 2, and John was an infant. There were 300 Saints on board. The company arrived in New York on November 1st, and arrived in Salt Lake City on November 11th. (Note from Janeal...Ten days?? I think she must have traveled from New York to Utah by train...the transcontinental railroad was completed two years before Sarah's journey in 1869.)
Sarah's sister, Emma, had previously emigrated and had married William James Stone, they lived in Ogden. Sarah stayed with her sister in Ogden for some time. While there, sorrow again came to her. She was called to part with her baby son, John who died in 1872 and was buried in Ogden.
Sarah's grandfather, Henry Soar, and her Aunt Mary had migrated and were living in Payson. They told her that if she came to Payson she could get work. After moving to Payson she secured work at the home of her brother. Here in Payson she met a widower, James Finlayson. James had been married twice before. His first wife, Jane Malcolm, died of an illness in St. Louis in 1858, there had been no children from this union. He and his second wife, Mary Ada, were the parents of five children. Mary died in 1871, leaving three living children, two boys and a baby girl, Lisle Sarah. Mary's sister raised Lisle so when Sarah met James, he had two little boys, and she had one girl, her little Emma. James said that one day he was going to town when he saw a lady going up the street, holding a child by the hand, and something seemed to say to him, "That is your future wife."
Sarah and James were married in the Endowment House in 1873. In addition to their three living children, they together became the parents of twelve children.
On April 9, 1889, twins were born, a boy and a girl, Louis and Louie. They were both very sick and weak, Louis died February 3rd, and Louis followed on March 8th. The following January, Maggie was born, and their last child, Roxie Eliza was born in 1892. This made fifteen children for Sarah, and seventeen for James.
As her children grew, Sarah was able to accept positions in the church and community. She was on the burial committee for 35 years. Day or night, when a call came, she went to help. Burial clothes had to be made for them, so many a time Sarah sewed into the wee hours of morning, an act of service she willingly performed.
James died on December 19, 1908, and Sarah followed on January 25, 1912.
Ancestral Line: Janeal Kindred Smith... Kent Lewis Kindred... Chloris Hill... Alice Mary Finlayson... Sarah Clifford Wilson Finlayson
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