Wednesday, August 5, 2015

William Lampard Watkins





Born - 7 February 1827, Islington, London, England
                 

Died - 18 September 1911, Brigham City, Box Elder, Utah






Christened -  7 June 1827 St Mary's, Islington, London, England

St Mary's Church, Upper Street N1         
<div xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" about="http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/02/76/02/2760224_4eccf46f.jpg"><span property="dct:title">St Mary's Church, Upper Street N1</span> (<a rel="cc:attributionURL" property="cc:attributionName" href="http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/13202">Robin Sones</a>) / <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC BY-SA 2.0</a></div>


Parents - William Watkins and Hannah Maria Lampard Watkins

The following is from his autobiography:

"At about two years of age I was paralyzed through the carelessness of a nurse, having been exposed too long in the fields on the wet grass. I lost the use of my right leg from the hip joint down.


From eight years of age until fourteen, I attended the Brewers School, being the gift of endowment of Lady Owens on St. Johns road, Islington, London. During my boyhood I attended church with my parents, known as Irvingites, on Sunday mornings and Sunday School in the afternoons with the Wesleyans. 


In the month of May 1841, (age 14) with the consent of my parents I was baptized by James Albon, and confirmed by Lorenzo Snow. By the close of the year my parents and sister were baptized. 

In October, 1842, my parents, myself, and two young brothers, Joseph and Henry aged four and two years, left our home for Liverpool to sail with the company of Saints leaving that month for American Shores in the Ship Emerald under the care of Parley P. Pratt. 


We attended Sabbath meeting at Nauvoo and frequently heard the Prophet Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon with others of the Apostles and leaders address the Saints. Nauvoo was flourishing, although the saints were generally poor. They were exerting themselves the utmost to build the temple."






December 4, 1844, he married Mary Almina Hammond, daughter of John Hammond and Mary Lovisa Parker Hammond. They had 12 children.






William Lampard Watkins came to Utah in 1852 with the Thomas C. D. Howell Company. The outfitting post was Kanesville (now Council Bluffs), Iowa. He left in June 1852 and arrived in Salt Lake 2 September, 1852. For more information about William's journey west, click here.








 In July of 1867 he married Teah Jensine Johnson. They had 8 children.













Watkins home in Brigham City, Utah








William L. Watkins died in Brigham City 18 September, 1911 and is buried in the Brigham City Cemetery.



To read his full autobiography click here:








Sunday, August 2, 2015

Benbow Pond


I have three ancestors baptized at Benbow Pond on the farm of John and Jane Benbow.
(1) Robert Holmes, 2 great grand uncle (his uncle was John Benbow) and (2) William Parsons, 3rd great grandfather and father-in-law to Owen Owens and (3) Mary Jenkins, wife of William Parsons.


Paul Shreeve [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons


The Gadfield Elm Chapel was the meeting place of the United Brethren. Wilford Woodruff preached the Gospel to them and almost all the congregation were converted. Brigham Young also preached in this chapel in 1840. This building now belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is the only officially designated historic site outside of the United States. It is also the oldest LDS church building still standing.


Bob Embleton [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

To read more about this chapel, see pictures and visiting hours, click here.      




Harvey Woodyatt



Harvey Woodyatt

4 October 1862 - 13 October 1935

 

Parents - William Woodyatt and Mary Holmes


By Photochrom Print Collection [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons








West Malvern, Worcestershire, England, birthplace of Harvey Woodyatt










Christened - 26 Oct 1862, St James, West Malvern, Worcestershire, England

Bob Embleton [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

At the age of ten Harvey was asked to sing in the choir of St. James church in West Malvern and was paid a salary. He attended the village school until the age of 12, when he left school and got a job as an errand boy to help support his father's family. 

He was religious as a young boy and enjoyed attending church (the Church of England).

Somewhere between 1875 and 1876, missionaries from the LDS church knocked on the Woodyatt's door. They were received warmly, although no one in the family joined the church in spite of the missionaries efforts. The father of one of the missionaries was acquainted with Robert Holmes, Harvey's uncle. Robert Holmes wrote to William and Mary Woodyatt and told them he would pay for Harvey's passage if his parents agreed to let him go to America.

At the age of 17 Harvey accepted Robert Holmes invitation and in 1879 sailed for America on the ship Wyoming.   

(Robert Holmes was baptized in 1840 at Benbow Pond and immigrated to Nauvoo shortly thereafter. For more information on Benbow Pond and the United Brethren click here.)

Harvey stayed with Robert Holmes and his wife Betsy through the summer and winter of 1879. In the spring of  1880 he was so homesick he was determined to get a job, save enough money to go back to England. As Harvey tells the story:

As time went on I became very homesick and was determined to go back to England. In the spring of 1880, I left Uncle Roberts and went to Salt Lake City to get work, so that I could get money to pay my fare back home. It was hard to get work, but one day while on the streets I met a man, an entire stranger to me – I had never met him before and I never saw him again. Something prompted me to ask him and said, “Mister, could you tell me where I could get a job?” And he answered me by saying, “Yes, Joseph F. Smith will give you a gob.” Early next morning I went to the home of Joseph F. Smith. He met me at the door and shook hands with me, saying, “Good Morning, my son” and asked me in the house. The family was just going to sit down to breakfast, and he asked me to eat with them, and his kindness nearly melted me to tears. I had eaten my breakfast, so I thanked him,  and then told him I had come to see if he would give me a job, and he said, “Yes, you can come and work in the lot and milk the cows, and I will give you fifteen dollars per month and your board.”No boy ever lived who was more thankful than I was. My intention was to save every penny until I had enough to go back to home and England. No one will ever know how I suffered from homesickness all through the winter of 1879. Before I went to bed I went out of doors and knelt down in the frozen snow and asked the Lord to help me to get back home again to England, but how thankful I have been that the Lord didn’t answer my prayer. I started to work, however, for that great man Joseph F. Smith, and every Sunday I attended the services at the great tabernacle. John Taylor was the President of the church at that time, and how I did love to hear him preach, and the other great leaders at that time, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Pratt, Joseph F. Smith and many others, I can’t mention them all, but I soon learned to love them, there was a power with them I had never felt before. In about two months I was converted and I told Brother Smith I would like to be baptized, and he sent me up to the old endowment house which was on the temple block north of the tabernacle, and I was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church. 

Charles Roscoe Savage [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons






Endowment House, circa 1875
Place of Harvey Woodyatt's baptism








Harvey wrote home to his parents about his baptism and his great joy at becoming a Mormon. His parents, however, were not pleased. His father said he would gather the money together so Harvey could return home and his mother said, “if I had joined the mormons that was the last of me”.  His parent’s hearts changed through when Harvey was called on a 16 month mission to the Birmingham Conference 1894.  He had a wonderful visit with his parents and baptized them in Worcester in the baths.

Married - Ida Melissa Pettingill, January 22, 1885 in the Logan Temple.
They had ten children. 
Ida Melissa Pettingill

Death - October 13, 1935, Willard, Utah                                              Burial - Willard Cemetery, Utah
Harvey Woodyatt















To read Harvey's autobiography, click.here.


Thursday, July 16, 2015

Owen Owens

Owen Owens


Parents – William and Eleanor Evans Owens

Born – 21 December 1836, Merionethshire, North Wales

Christened - 4 February 1837 at Bethania Chapel, Calvinistic Methodist, Beddgelert, Caernarvon, Wales



Caffi Gwynant, Beddgelert, Wales
The Bethania Calvinistic Methodiest Chapel where Owen Owens was christened is now a cafe. 


The food looks yummy!















photo by JGHFlint


LDS Baptisim – 5 November 1848 (along with his twin) by Jason Thomas in Festinog, Wales.

From the history of Margaret Owens Wardrop we learn about the Owens family baptisms.

"The branch’s baptisms were performed in the river just below a water wheel that turned the machinery for David Peters’ carding and spinning operation, and was the location where all the Owens’ age eight and older were baptized. Because of the widespread opposition to the Mormon faith, they were baptized at night."

His father was a farmer, renting a large tract of land. He kept his own livestock on the farm, usually having between 1,000 to 2,000 head of sheep and twenty milk cows.


The family were Baptists.  When Owen was 11 years old the family joined the Church. Soon after they made plans to come to Utah. 

Before leaving Wales for America four siblings of Owen died, including Owen’s twin sister, Catherine, age 12.

They left from Liverpool on 5 March 1849 aboard the ship Hartley arriving in New Orleans, Louisiana on 28 April 1849.

After reaching New Orleans, traveling up the Mississippi, cholera broke out and resulting in the death of Owen's father, mother, two sisters, and two brothers. Owens survived along with his 20 year old sister, Margaret, and his 24 year old brother, Cadwallader.

Owen traveled to Salt Lake in the George A. Smith/Dan Jones Company in 1849. To read about his journey crossing the plains click here.

Married – Jane Parsons October 2, 1857 in Salt Lake City, Utah, married Martha Ann Waite (2nd wife in polygamy) February, 1871 in Salt Lake City.

Jane Parsons
Martha Ann Waite
















Died – 13 June 1913, Willard, Box Elder, Utah

Buried - Willard Cemetery, Willard Utah


















This letter written by John D. Peters with information about the Owens family. He took the information from a book written by his father who knew the family. It was written to Jane Parsons Owens 5 days after the death of Owen Owens. 

For more information about the life of Owen Owens click here.

Information about Beddgelert