Juliana Hoke

Juliana Hoke was born in 1798 in Germany. She was the oldest child of the family, having four brothers and four sisters. She came with her family to the United States when she was six years of age. 

When she was 17 years old she married George Gotleib Zimmerman and settled in Garden Grove, Iowa. Her mother, Christeria, was not in good health, so Juliana cared for her and the family. Christeria died just two years after Juliana's marriage. Her father, Lorentz Hoke, was a devoted man of the scriptures. One day he called her to his deathbed and told that in answer to prayer it had been made known to him that the true gospel had long been lost to the world, but would soon be restored. He told her that he would not live to hear it preached, but that she would, and that when she heard it she would know it to be true and would embrace it. Many years later she learned of the Gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was convinced of its truth and in January, 1843 they cut a hole in the ice and she was baptized. Juliana was 45 years of age at the time of her baptism.
At this time persecution was running high, so Juliana and her family made the decision to cross the plains to Utah in the Harry Walton company. Her husband was 70 years old and she was 53 years old. Her family's outfit consisted of one wagon heavily loaded with supplies of flour, meal, beans, dry bread and sugar, two yoke of oxen, two yoke of cows, a horse, and her family, made up of her husband and herself, six daughters, and a two year old granddaughter. She walked from Iowa to the Salt Lake Valley, a distance of some thirteen hundred miles and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1851. From there, she and her family went to Lehi where she made her home until the time of her death. She was valiant in teaching her family and all with whom she became acquainted. She was widely known for her hospitality, and especially adapted to nursing the sick and helping those in need of sympathy.
She became the mother of twelve children and reared seven of them to maturity, all of whom had large families and all members of the Latter-day Saints Church.

She died in 1864 at the age of 66 and was buried in Lehi, Utah.

Lurancy Chase Hill

Lurancy Chase Hill was my great, great, grandmother. 

She was born in 1842 in Lincoln, Vermont. Her ancestors for several generations back were members of the Society of Friends, or more commonly called “Quakers.” Therefore they were taught that it was wrong to wear bright colors; their clothes should be made plain and simple. It was wrong to dance, whistle, sing, or indulge in any slang phrases or swear words, and they addressed each other as ‘thee’ and ‘thou’. 

When Lurancy’s mother, Miriam, was nineteen years of age, it was announced in a meeting that Sisson Almadorus Chase would take Miriam as his wedded wife. They were married in 1832. While living in their first home at Lincoln, Vermont, three children were born to them; Rachel, born in 1834 lived only a few hours; Hannah, born in December 1834; and Lurancy born in 1842. They also adopted a little girl, Jane Ann, born in 1839.
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When the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints visited their neighborhood, Sisson and Miriam were persuaded to go and listen to them. In a very short time they received the truth and were baptized. Having a great desire to gather with the Saints, they began to prepare to move to Nauvoo where the Saints were gathering. They arrived there in November 1843, seven months before the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum. Sisson and Miriam esteemed it a great blessing and privilege to meet the Prophet, and rejoiced in listening to his instructions. They shared the sorrow of the Saints at Joseph's death. Miriam was convinced that Brigham Young was the divinely appointed successor when she witnessed the mantel of Joseph fall upon him. This was a strong and abiding testimony to her all through her life.  

While in Nauvoo, a son was born to Sisson and Miriam but he lived just a few hours. When the Saints were compelled to leave Nauvoo, two years later, Sisson and Miriam, with their

children and Sisson’s mother, moved into Iowa on the Sioux River, where they stayed for several seasons to make preparations and to get provisions and teams preparatory to crossing the Plains.  

About this Lurancy said: “This was the first I remember of Pioneer life. Father built a rude log house, and I have a most vivid picture of Grandma Chase, sitting by the fireplace roasting potatoes, that was our evening meal. I also remember how 300 Indians came to our home. We did not know what would happen, but father was able to make friends with them.”

 

Three more children were born to them while in Iowa

Sisson Almadorus, born in 1847; Miriam, born in 1849; and Amy, born in 1851.
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In May 1853, when Lurancy was 11 years old, they started across the Plains traveling in Captain Joseph Thorn’s Company part of the Daniel A. Miller/John W. Cooley Company. Their outfit consisted of two wagons, one drawn by two oxen, the other by four young steers. They had three cows which supplied milk for breakfast and supper.

The extra milk they put in a tin churn, tied it to the wagon, and the jolting of the wagon would churn it to butter. Their fare was very meager. At times buffalo would be killed, dressed and divided, which would make a very acceptable change of diet for a few meals. When the trails were bad, they would walk, and that was most of the time and most of the way from Iowa to Utah. Many times the cows were hitched up also to help pull the load over the poor trails.

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Miriam Chase was not a very strong woman and yet she drove one of the wagons most of the way. Those of her family who were old enough to remember have said they shall never forget seeing her standing in the wagon, her face white as death, and a long whip in her hand. At one time they were able to rest for a week and this was most welcome. During that time wood was gathered to shoe

their oxen. Their long and tiresome journey came to an end in September 1853, four months from the time they

had left Iowa. Lurancy’s Uncle Isaac Chase met the company at the mouth of Immigration Canyon. They had never seen anything look so good as did Uncle Isaac’s carriage. After their long walk it was beautiful to see. They were all dirty, tired, and ragged. It was decided that Lurancy should stay and come on with her father in the wagons, while the mother and younger children would go in the carriage with Uncle Isaac, but Lurancy cried so hard that they tucked her in too.
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They lived in one of the rooms of Uncle Isaac’s adobe house for two years. It stands in the center of Liberty Park in Salt Lake City and for years was the home of the custodian of the Park. 

That first winter was a hard one for the Chase family. They sold everything they could spare to get enough to live on. They had so little clothing that they could not go out much.

Lurancy’s father taught the Second Ward School and was supposed to receive $3.00 from each pupil, but many were unable to pay so very little was received. Their food those two years was mostly corn bread and molasses.
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In the winter of 1855 her father contracted typhoid

fever, and they all gathered around his bed, thinking he could not live, but through mercy and blessings of the Lord, and the good nursing of his wife, his life was spared, but he never again fully recovered his normal strength. It also left him with a bad cough. The burden of supporting the family fell to his wife and daughters. They washed wool, corded and spun it, then wove it into cloth for their blankets and wearing apparel, which they sewed completely by hand. They also made their own soap, knit their stockings, and molded their candles.
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When Lurancy was about 14 years old, a young man asked her to go to a dance. She so was so pleased that she told him she would be glad to go, but after considering it she knew that she did not have a dress fit for a dance. She had to tell him that she could not go. He asked no questions,
indicating that he knew the reason. Soon after she had the chance to do some housework. She worked for eight weeks and earned enough to buy herself and her mother material for a calico dress. When that dress was made, she was one of the proudest girls in Salt Lake City.
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Eventually the family was blessed financially enough to purchase two city lots. They built two log rooms for which they were very thankful. In this home was the Ward Branch of Z.C.M.I. and the mother did most of the clerking.

A young man by the name of Heamon Allison Hill, an

industrious young farmer, rented some land outside of Salt Lake City. He decided he needed the help of a wife, and after meeting Lurancy his visits to the Chase home were frequent. In the Spring of 1860 he tried to persuade her to marry him and move out on the farm, but she managed to put him off until November, and they were married by her father. After the Endowment House was finished they were sealed for time and Eternity. 

They stayed for a while with Lurancy’s parents. Their bedroom was an unfinished log room with no windows and no chinking between the logs. Needless to say, they had plenty of fresh air.
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In the Spring of 1862 Allison and Lurancy moved to

Payson, and there they went through all the hardships incident to pioneer life. They built their home, a log cabin. It stood for many years, being demolished sometime in the late 1960’s. Although it was only one room to begin, no

bride was ever happier than Lurancy when she moved into it.

They had been married for five years and were still

childless, a great disappointment to them. A

Mrs. Fillmore died in childbirth, leaving an infant

son. Mr. Fillmore, having no way to care for the

infant, asked Lurancy if she would care for his baby. She hesitated, as they had so little to live on and the baby seemed so fragile. Mr. Fillmore, seeing her reluctance, raised his hand and said, “I promise you, Sister Hill, that if you will take this child and care for him as your own, the Lord will bless you with children of your own.” She took the

baby and cared for it and loved it, but they were only permitted to keep him for a short time when he became very sick and died. Within a year a baby girl came to bless their home. They named her Miriam Lurancy. After that, they had the following children: Leonard Allison, born in 1868; Sarah Jane, born in 1870; Sisson Almadorus, born in 1872, died in 1873; Frederick Simeon, born in 1875; Jasper Franklin, in 1877; and Amy Cylinda, born in 1880, died in 1885. 
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When her first baby was three weeks old, President

Brigham Young called volunteers to go back and help the Saints who were crossing the Plains at that time. It is certain that the hardships of his own journey were burned deep in the memory of Lurancy’s beloved husband, and having such vivid memories surely helped to account for the warm compassion he had for others. Willingly he left his dearly beloved wife and their three week old daughter, took his team and wagon, joined the other willing men, and started back across the Plains. Surely this says much of his character, but it says the same of the character of his lovely wife. Sacrificing the companionship of her husband when she needed him so badly herself. It was the planting season for their small farm, and surely without a successful year, there would be a long hard year ahead of them before another planting season came. But she did not complain or falter in any way in letting him go with her blessings. She cared for her home and her baby alone, to the best of her ability, and patiently awaited the arrival of the few letters her husband was able to send her by the methods of the day. A long six months later, her husband returned to her and how happy was their reunion!
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From the exposure and the conditions on the trip he was afflicted with an illness that affected him the rest of his life. Faithfully she stood by his side and did her share in sustaining him and in raising their children.

Throughout their lives they were active in the Church, always willing to serve when and wherever they were called. Their hardships were many, but nothing altered the firm faith they had in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They were staunch and true pioneers. 

Lurancy worked for many years as an officer in the Primary organization, and she was also a Relief Society teacher. She taught her children the principles of the Gospel, both by precept and example. They were all true to the faith

and active in the Church throughout their lives. Two of her sons became Bishops, one of them a Stake Patriarch.

Her good husband was taken from her in 1907, leaving her to finish her mission here on earth alone. For more than nineteen years she remained active and faithful, serving in the Church and serving those around her. She was a guide and a light to her children and grandchildren. She truly found joy in her posterity. 
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In 1926 at the age of 84, she passed away at her home in Payson, Utah. She was laid to rest beside her beloved husband in the Payson City Cemetery. Their posterity is great and far spreading. The seeds she planted has reaped abundant harvests throughout the many years. 

Ancestral Line:  Janeal Kindred Smith...Kent Lewis Kindred...Chloris Hill...Jasper Franklin Hill...Lurancy Chase Hill

Margaret Stephenson Scott

Margaret Stephenson Scott is my nine times great grandmother. She is known for being hanged to death as part of the Salem witch trials.

According to various records and documents, Margaret was born in England somewhere around the year 1615.  In 1642 she married Benjamin Scott. Nine years later, the Scott family emigrated to Rowley, Massachussets, a small town north of Salem. 

The Scotts were not wealthy and never appeared in any positions suggesting importance or prominence. The Scotts lacked the money to purchase their own land. Instead, in 1664, the town donated land to Benjamin Scott. 

Benjamin died when Margaret was 56 years old, leaving an estate worth only 67 pounds, not much by the standards of that time. She lived on this meager estate for the next twenty-one years until her death, and must have been very poor.

Certain aspects of Margaret's character made her a likely candidate as a witch suspect. One such aspect was the high infant mortality rate among her children. Women in New England who had trouble raising their children were very vulnerable to witchcraft charges. Of Margaret's seven children, only three made it to adulthood. The residents of Salem would have been aware of this.

Also, Margaret was a widow for twenty-one years. The most dangerous aspect of being a widow was the lack of a husband for legal support and influence. She was forced to live off her husband's small estate for twenty-one years. Often poor widows were reduced to poverty and begging. By begging, Margaret would have been exposed to witchcraft suspicions according to what historians called the "refusal guilt syndrome". This phenomenon occurred when a beggar's needs were refused, causing feelings of guilt and aggression on the refuser's part. The refuser often projected this aggression onto the begger and grew suspicious of her. It appears that Margaret's accusations occurred at the hands of her town's most wealthy and distinguished citizens who had accused others of witchcraft as well.  

Margaret Scott was a victim of bad luck and bad timing. These two aspects, more than any supernatural forces, led to her demise. She must have suffered extremely from the time of her arrest until her death three weeks later. She was unjustly accused, tried, convicted, incarcerated and hanged on Gallows Hill on Sept 22,1692. Margaret was 75 years old at the time of her death, possibly the oldest woman tried and hung in the Salem witch trials.

In 1711, all those accused were exonerated and their relatives offered retribution; but none of Margaret's family turned up. Whether out of fear or shame, not all the families came forward to accept the apology. 

In 1993 the town of Rowley erected a monument to Margaret, calling the witch trials a "delusion". They dedicated this grassy area to her memory. 

Margaret’s name was finally cleared on Oct 31, 2001, 309 yrs after her death. 

Ancestral Line:  Janeal Kindred Smith...Kent Lewis Kindred...Chloris Hill...Jasper Hill...Lurancy Chase...Sisson Chase...Amy Scott...Amos Scott...William Scott...William Scott...William Scott...Margaret Kinsey Stephenson 

William Bradford

William Bradford--the governor of the Plymouth colony in New England at the time of the first Thanksgiving--is my 10 times great grandfather.  

 

He was born in 1590 in the small farming community of Austerfield, Yorkshire, England. His father William died when young Bradford was just one year old. He lived with his grandfather William, until his grandfather died when Bradford was six. His mother Alice then died when he was seven. Orphaned both from parents and grandparents, he and his older sister Alice were raised by their uncle.

William was a sickly boy, and by the age of 12 had taken to reading the Bible.  As he began to come of age he became acquainted with the ministry around which the Separatist churches of the region would eventually form. His family was not supportive of his moves, and by 1607 the Church of England were applying pressure to extinguish these religious sects. Bradford, at the age of 18, joined with the group of Separatists that fled from England in fear of persecution, arriving in Amsterdam in 1608. A year later he migrated with the rest of the church to the town of Leiden, Holland, where they remained for eleven years.

Bradford returned to Amsterdam temporarily in 1613 to marry his bride, Dorothy May. He then took up the trade of a silk weaver to make ends meet, and also was able to recover some of the estate in England that had been left by his father, to support himself and his new wife. They had a son, John, born about 1615-1617 in Leiden.

By 1620, when a segment of the church had decided to set off for America on the Mayflower, Bradford, now 30 years old, sold off his house in Leiden, and he and his wife Dorothy joined; however, they left their young son John behind, presumably so he would not have to endure the hardships of colony-building. While the Mayflower was anchored at the tip of Cape Cod, and while many of the Pilgrim men were out exploring and looking for a place to settle, Dorothy Bradford accidentally fell overboard and drowned.

In 1623, he was married to the widowed Alice Carpenter Southworth. With his second wife, he had three more children, all of whom survived to adulthood. 

Successful colonies required successful leadership. The man to step forward in the Plymouth colony was William Bradford. After the first elected governor perished from the harsh winter, Bradford was elected and was then reelected for the next thirty years.  Under Governor Bradford's guidance, relations with the local natives remained relatively smooth in Plymouth and the food supply grew with each passing year.
 
By autumn of 1621, the Pilgrims had much for which to be thankful. After the harvest, about ninety Indians joined the Pilgrims for a feast. The participants celebrated for several days, dining on venison, goose, duck, turkey, fish, and cornbread, the result of a bountiful harvest. This tradition was repeated at harvest time in the following years.

It was President Lincoln who declared Thanksgiving a national celebration in 1863. Governor Bradford and the Plymouth pilgrims were simply celebrating survival, as well as the hopes of good fortune in the years that lay ahead.

Beginning in 1630, Governor Bradford started writing a history of the Plymouth Colony, which is now published under the title Of Plymouth Plantation. He continued writing his history of Plymouth through about 1651. Bradford's writings are now one of the primary sources used by historians, and is the only thorough history of Plymouth Colony that was written by a Mayflower passenger.  It is required reading in a number of collegiate American History courses.  Many letters, poems and other writings of William Bradford, have also survived.

William Bradford was generally sick all through the winter of 1656-1657; on May 8, Bradford predicted to his friends and family that he would die, and he did the next day, May 9th, 1657, at the age of 68.

Ancestral Line:  Janeal Kindred Smith...Kent Lewis Kindred...Chloris Hill...Jasper Franklin Hill...Heamon Alison Hill...Leonard Hill...Ruth Rumrill...Alice Parsons...Alice Olive Collins...Alice Adams...Alice Bradford...William Bradford...William Bradford

Sally Forbush Hill

Sally Forbush Hill was my great, great, great grandmother. Leonard and Sally Hill left Nauvoo in the spring of 1846 headed for Utah. When the members of the church were driven by mobs out of Nauvoo, the family headed west in a handcart company. After crossing the Des Moines River, the sanitary conditions were so bad that the family took sick. During this time, Leonard and his baby son, Jasper died. The family was so poor that they did not have enough money to bury them. A man seeing their plight took the family to his farm, gave them one room in his home to live in, put their cattle in his pasture and buried Leonard and baby Jasper in his family burying ground. The family stayed there a long time because Sally and her oldest son, Charles, were so ill. In early February 1847 the remaining family members reached the east side of the Missouri river. From lack of food and exposure to the cold, Sally again took sick and died on February 17, 1847 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Her children pulled her body on a hand sled across the Missouri river to bury her on a hill on the west side of the river in the Winter Quarters Cemetery, grave #140. Then tragedy struck again when their oldest brother, Charles, died on May 6, 1847. He is also buried in the Winter Quarters Cemetery – grave #146.
Ancestral Line:  Janeal Kindred Smith... Kent Lewis Kindred... Chloris Hill... Jasper Franklin Hill... Heaman Alison Hill... Sally Forbush

George Lee

George Lee was my great, great, great grandfather.

He was born September 27, 1824 in Kegby, Nottinghamshire, England, son of John Shallcross Lee and Mary Olivant Lee. 

As a young man, George moved from Nottingham to Sheffield, Yorkshire, and worked as an apprentice as a table knife grinder. He married Sarah Peaker in Sheffield on August 10, 1845. While in Sheffield, they accepted the gospel and immigrated with their three children to America with the Saints in 1853. Their oldest daughter, Mary Ann, was my great, great grandmother. They moved to Hanover, Connecticut in 1853 where he worked at his trade as knife grinder. Eventually, they joined the Saints in 1859 in Florence, Nebraska (now Omaha) and immigrated to Utah as part of Captain Edward Stevenson’s wagon company, leaving on June 26 and arriving in the Salt Lake Valley in September of 1859. One child was born to them while crossing the plains. Captain Stevenson asked permission to name this little one and he called the child Moroni. The baby died two days later and was buried on the plains, at a designated place on Elm Creek. George covered the grave with large rocks for protection from the elements and wolves. 

After arriving in Utah September 16, 1859, they went to live near Neff Mill on Mill Creek. They also lived in Little Cottonwood where he worked as a farm laborer and gardener. While there he had a plow made from wagon tires of Johnson’s army wagons. The plow has been kept over the years in the Pioneer Relic Hall in Franklin, Idaho. 

They moved to Farmington in the fall of 1860, living there and farming for two years. Then in 1862 the family moved to Franklin, which was considered part of Utah at the time, where they lived in the Old Fort. George Lee lived on the south side of the fort. It was a rectangular shape with 92 houses covering about 17 acres with public corrals and a log school house inside the Fort. This school house was the first in Idaho.

In December of 1863 a baby girl, Fanny Emma, was born to them while living at the Fort. George Lee and his wife, Sarah, had 12 children; however, only 5 daughters lived to adulthood. 

Goerge was a member of the choir in Franklin, Idaho. His occupation was identified as Indian fighter. Those days were treacherous times for the settlers as they were the most northern settlers at that time. The settlers were always alert to Indian difficulties. Their stock was guarded constantly, but they lost many horses and cattle. To avert trouble many times they gave the Indians some of their food supply, flour and even cattle. There were no open hostilities until January 1863 when the battle known to historians as the Battle Creek Massacre was fought at the junction of Battle Creek and Bear River, which is about 12 miles north of Franklin. Over 300 Indian men, women, and children were killed. After the fighting was over, the men of Franklin took teams and sleighs and helped remove the wounded soldiers and Indians and also the Indian women and children. Because of the snow and cold, many had frozen feet. They were all brought to Franklin and cared for until they could be taken elsewhere. The settlers felt sorrow to think that peace had to come in such a tragic way, for many peaceful Indians including women and children had been killed in the bloody battle. It did, however, make it possible for the pioneers to move and begin to take up locations that had been unsafe until now. 

The last major Indian trouble occurred on Sept. 1, 1864. Hundreds of Indians were camped north of town and some obtained liquor from two settlers. A drunken Indian tried to ride his horse over a white woman and one of the settlers shot him to save her life. Then, fearful of the consequences, the man escaped by horse. The Indians took another man captive, threatening to kill him if the offending white man was not delivered to them. Throughout the night, Bishop Hatch pleaded with the Indians, and messengers rode to other towns for help. The next morning 300 Minute Men arrived from Logan who held a conference with Chief Washakie. The settlers gave two yoke of oxen as peace offerings, and the Indians began to disperse. The Indians were stubborn about giving up their extensive lands, and so remained rather troublesome for many years. But their strength was primarily crushed with these two incidents. 

Now that the Indian trouble had diminished to the point that they felt they were safe, the residents began moving to their newly surveyed lots. So the spring and summer of 1864 were spent building homes—this time on their community lots. As soon as they could, they moved from the fort to their homes. Thus began a new life for these people…out of the protections of the fort. 

George Lee died October 29, 1868 in Franklin, 
Utah, where he was buried. Under the Territorial Act of Utah in 1869, Franklin became incorporated and considered itself part of Utah until 1872 when it was determined that it was in Idaho, thus it turned out to be the oldest town in the State of Idaho. 

 

Ancestral Line: Janeal Kindred Smith... Janice Gregory... Otto James Gregory... Lillie May Albiston... Mary Ann Lee... George Lee

Abigail Mindwell Jackson Lamb

Abigail Mindwell Jackson Lamb was my great, great, great grandmother. 

She was born July 26, 1808 in Seneca, New York to James Jackson and Deborah Hendricks. Abigail’s paternal and maternal forbears arrived in America from England in the middle of the 17th century searching for religious freedom. She was described by her children as a large, strong woman and was a good Latter-day Saint and taught her children to be righteous and honest and to obey the principles of the gospel.

She married Erastus Lamb in about 1829. He was the son of Daniel Lamb and Prudence Fox born in Connecticut, but grew up in New York. After their marriage they made their home in Huron, New York. She had five children: Harriet Laura, Suel, James, infant son, and then a daughter Polly Emaline. 

They accepted the gospel in New York and were baptized in 1841. She was the only one of her family that joined the church. She and Erastus and their young family gathered with the Saints in Nauvoo soon after. They lived in the north part of Nauvoo, close to the banks of the Mississippi River and shared in the trials and persecutions through which the early members of the church passed. Her husband worked on the Nauvoo Temple and her son, Suel worked there also as a water boy. 

Abigail was a hardworking woman and did many things to make life pleasant for her young family. She saw a great deal of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and always retained a vivid recollection of the stirring events that were experienced by the church members and leaders in that city. She remembered the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph and his brother, Hyrum Smith, and of the claim of Sidney Rigdon to the Presidency of the church and the wonderful manifestation that was given to prove that Brigham Young was the man to lead the church. 

Through faith and courage, Abigail saved the life of her son, Suel, when he was bitten by a rattlesnake. It was the fall of the year when snakes are the most poisonous. The bite was between the thumb and forefinger. Suel ran all the way home which was more than a mile. His blood was heated up and the poison went all through him and it looked as if he would surely die. Through the prayers of his mother, Abigail, and her work with him, his life was saved. She cut open live chickens and laid his hand right on the inside of them. The whole chicken soon became green with the poison. As the poison was drawn from him, he started to get better.  Suel always had the testimony that his life was saved through the faith of his mother.

They were acquainted with the expulsion of the Saints from Nauvoo. Following the exodus from Nauvoo in 1846 the family settled for a time at Garden Grove, Iowa. While there she saw her oldest daughter, Harriet, married to John Zimmerman. The Zimmerman family were also on their way west. On June 1, 1852 they were finally prepared to make the trek to join the Saints in the Valley. They were assigned to go in the James Snow wagon train of 250 people. Their wagon consisted of Erastus age 48 and Abigail age 43, two sons Suel--19, and James--17, and daughter Polly--age 10. 

The plains in Iowa were very hot in July and water was scarce. One day when they finally reached a stream which provided them with much needed water, they all drank their fill. However Erastus drank too much of the cold water, and suffered severe cramps. Abigail did all that she could to relieve his pain, but it was not to be. He died during the night. With sobs she awoke her family to tell them. The people in the wagon train were afraid that he had died of cholera and moved on leaving his family behind to bury their husband and father. He was buried somewhere on the plains of Iowa. The family were forced to follow behind the wagon train and were not allowed to mingle with the people until they were certain that whatever had killed Erastus was not contagious. Abigail bravely gathered up her little family and fought the trail, sand, and hardship as they journeyed to Utah. They reached Salt Lake City on October 9, 1852, and went first to Pleasant Grove and then to Lehi, Utah where they settled with the first settlers, and made it their permanent home. 

They lived in log houses with dirt floors and mud roofs. They gathered pig weeds for greens to cook for their families. Their vegetables were grown in the fields where they had to go to pick them because their city lots were not fenced and they could not keep the pigs, sheep and cattle out of their lots. They made molasses out of red beets by boiling the juice down. They gathered grease wood and burned it and put the ashes in a large barrel and stirred it well and when it settled they used it for lye to soften water and to make soap. Abigail made her own candles from tallow, sometimes dipping them and sometimes using a mold. She washed wool from the sheep and spun it into yarn and had it made into cloth for clothes for her family. 

She lived to see her children all married and having good families. Abigail was a stalwart member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She received her endowment in the Endowment House in 1856, and was sealed to her husband in 1868. 

She was compassionate and loving and always willing to help others in need. After being a widow for 30 years, she died at the age of 75 on January 2, 1882 in Lehi, Utah. There is a lovely headstone erected by her descendants in the Lehi Cemetery in remembrance of her. 

The following item appeared in the Deseret News on January 6,1882: “At Lehi,Utah, January 2nd, 1882 ABIGAIL MINDWELL LAMB wife of Erastus Lamb and daughter of James Jackson and Deborah Hendrix. Deceased was born at Obed, Seneca County, New York. Sister Lamb obeyed the gospel at an early day. She lost her husband in crossing the plains in 1852 while on their way to Utah. She came with her family to this place and settled with the first settlers. She lived the life of a true Latter-Day Saint, and was much beloved by all who knew her. She passed away in the full hope of a glorious resurrection."
Ancestral Line:  Janeal Kindred Smith... Janice Gregory... Elizabeth Sharp... Margaret Elsie Lamb... Suel Lamb... Abigail Mindwell Jackson