| Notes |
- ! 1851 US CENCUS UTAH, 1880 US CENCUS UTAH
BIRTH: DATE: JUNE 6, 1831 PLACE: WHITBY, ONTARIO, CANADA
ALTERNATE PLACE: WHITBERRY TOWNSHIP, UPPER CANADA
PARENTS: FATHER: YOUNG, JAMES ROSS MOTHER: SEELEY, ELIZABETH MARRIAGE INFORMATION:
SPOUSE: WILCOX, JAMES HENRY OWEN
TEMPLE ORDINANCE DATA:
BAPTISM DATE: MAY 27, 1964
ENDOWMENT DATE: JUNE 17, 1856 TEMPLE: ENDOWMENT HOUSE, SALT LAKE CITY, UT, USA
SEALED TO PARENTS DATE: NOVEMBER 3, 1965 TEMPLE: LOGAN, CACHE, UT, USA
COMMENTS: MARY WAS AMONG THE 5TH TEN OF THE LOWRY COMPANY THAT CAME TO UTAH IN 1847.
COMMENTS: AUTOBIOGRAPHY (1831-1848)--WRITTEN IN 1925. BORN IN WHITBERRY TOWNSHIP, UPPER CANADA, 1831. FAMILY CONVERTED TO LDS CHURCH BY PARLEY P. PRATT, 1837. TO MISSOURI, 1838. MORMONS RUN OUT OF MISSOURI. TO UTAH, C. 1848. WOULD APPEAR THAT THIS IS A SORT OF "ORAL HISTORY," INCLUDING A FEW QUESTIONS BY THE INTERVIEWER, A BROTHER ANDERSON--APPARENTLY GEORGE EDWARD ANDERSON, THE PROMINENT PHOTOGRAPHER. BOOKLET INCLUDES INTERVIEWER'S NOTES ON CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER ELDERLY LADIES IN SPANISH FORK, 1925. MARY RAMBLES AND DOESN'T PAY MUCH ATTENTION TO CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.
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MARY YOUNG WILCOX WAS BORN 6 JUNE 1831 IN WHITBY, ONTARIO, CANADA, A DAUGHTER OF JAMES R. (ROSS?) AND ELIZABETH SEELY YOUNG. SHE WAS THE SECOND CHILD IN A FAMILY OF NINE CHILDREN: JOHN, BORN 21 APRIL 1829; MARY, BORN 6 JUNE 1831;ANNA, BORN 27 AUGUST 1832; SARAH (SAL), BORN 8 OCTOBER 1834; ELIZABETH (BETSY), BORN 29 MARCH 1837; THE FOREGOING WERE ALL BORN IN WHITBY; HANNAH, BORN 10 MAY 1842, IN MADISON, LEE, IOWA. THREE CHILDREN DIED YOUNG: MEHITABLE, BORN 28 NOVEMBER 1839; MARTHA, BORN 9 JANUARY 1845; BOTH BORN IN IOWA; AND EPHRAIM, BORN 13 MARCH 1847 AT FLORENCE, DOUGLAS, NEBRASKA.
MARY'S PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS JOINED THE MORMON CHURCH IN 1837. IN 1838, THEY MIGRATED TO MISSOURI. THEY WERE DRIVEN OUT AND WENT "DOWN THE RIVER" AND SPENT THE WINTER. IN THE SPRING, 1839, THEY WENT "UP THE RIVER" INTO IOWA, ABOUT 8 MILES SOUTH OF BURLINGTON. MARY CROSSED IOWA WITH HER PARENTS IN 1846. SHE REMEMBERED SEEING THE TEMPLE "SHINING LIKE GLITTERING GOLD." THE TREK THROUGH IOWA WAS EXARDUOUS. THE SOIL WAS VERY MUDDY AND, SOMETIMES, THEY HAD TO BUILD CORDUROY ROADS TO CROSS SWAMPY GROUND.
NEAR THE NEBRASKA BORDER, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT RECRUITED MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH TO ENLIST AS SOLDIERS IN THE MORMON BATTALION. MARY RELATED STORIES OF THE SAD PARTING OF WIDOWED MOTHERS WITH, SOMETIMES, AN ONLY SON; WIVES PARTING FROM THEIR HUSBANDS, OR SWEETHEARTS SEPARATED; A SCENE OF WHICH ONLY THOSE WHO WITNESSED IT COULD REALIZE THE SADNESS.
MARY RECALLED THEIR SUFFERING FROM LACK OF FOOD, CLOTHING AND WARMTH DURING THE ENSUING WINTER. IN THE SPRING OF 1847, SHE LEFT WITH HER FAMILY IN THE JOHN TAYLOR/EDWARD HUNTER/JACOB FOUTZ/JOHN LOWRY'S COMPANY, ON THE PIONEER TREK WESTWARD. AT JUST 16 YEARS OF AGE, SHE DROVE A SUPPLY WAGON WITH THREE YOKE OF OXEN WHICH SHE YOKED AND UNYOKED MORNING AND EVENING. SHE IS SAID TO HAVE HAD A SPECIAL SKILL IN WORKING WITH OXEN.
MARY WORE A BLUE DENIM DRESS, A SUNBONNET, AND A PAIR OF HIGH BOOTS; SHE DROVE THE OXEN WHILE WALKING BESIDE THEM. THE BOOTS SOON WORE OUT, AND SHE WENT BAREFOOT.
THE COMPANY IN WHICH THE YOUNGS TRAVELED ARRIVED IN THE SL VALLEY 29 SEPTEMBER 1847.
MARY WENT WITH HER FATHER TO CITY CREEK CATO CUT LOGS FOR THEIR CABIN IN SOUTH FORT. SHE MADE THE ADOBES FOR THE CHIMNEY. THEY MOVED INTO THEIR CABIN JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS. MARY RECALLED, "NO KING COULD BE HAPPIER THAN WE WERE WHEN WE REACHED THE VALLEY AND BUILT OUR FIRST LOG CABIN." IN SALT LAKE VALLEY, JOHN TAYLOR GAVE MARY A BLESSING, IN WHICH HE COMMENDED HER WORK IN CROSSING THE PLAINS. HE PROMISED, "YOU SHALL HAVE A NATION OF YOUR POSTERITY. YOU SHALL BE BLESSED AND LIVE AS LONG AS LIFE IS DESIRABLE TO YOU." ON 14 MARCH 1848, MARY WAS MARRIED TO JOHN HENRY OWEN (JHO) WILCOX BY WILLIAM STEWART SEELY, WHO LATER BECAME FIRST BISHOP OF MR. PLEASANT WARD, UTAH. JHO HAD JOINED THE MORMON CHURCH AT NINE YEARS OF AGE, WITH HIS WIDOWED MOTHER, SARAH SEELAY WILCOX, AND AT LEAST TWO SISTERS IN MARION COUNTY, MISSOURI. THEY HAD BEEN PERSECUTED AND DRIVEN INTO IOWA, ILLINOIS AND BACK INTO MISSOURI.
WHEN LAND WAS DIVIDED AMONG THE SETTLERS, THE YOUNG COUPLE '"DREW" A LOT IN THE SUGARHOUSE AREA, WHICH THEY CLEARED, PLOWED AND PLANTED. THEY BUILT A BRUSH "SHANTY." THAT YEAR, CRICKETS DEVOURED THE NEW WHEAT, AND THE YOUNG COUPLE RETURNED TO OLD FORT TO LIVE WITH JHO'S MOTHER. AFTER HARVEST TIME, MARY WENT EVERY DAY TO GLEAN WHEAT IN THE NORTHERN AREA, WHICH HAD ESCAPED DESTRUCTION BY CRICKETS. BEFORE LEAVING HOME, SHE ATE A HANDFUL OF ROSE LEAVES AND DRANK A GLASS OF MILK.
JHO "GRUBBED" OAK AND SAGEBRUSH FOR A PECK OF CORN A DAY. IN RED BUTTE CANYON HE CUT A LOAD OF POLES, WHICH HE TRADED FOR 40# OF WHEAT. IN 1849, HIS YIELD WAS 70 BUSHELS. FROM FOUR SEED POTATOES, WHICH HAD COST .25 EACH, THEY HARVESTED A PECK OF POTATOES WHICH WAS KEPT FOR SEED, AND THEIR YIELD THE NEXT SEASON WAS 30 BUSHELS.
THEIR FIRST CHILD, HAZARD WILCOX, WAS BORN 15 FEBRUARY 1849, AFTER THE NEW MOTHER HAD GATHERED STRENGTH FROM REST, SHE WAS FED ONLY A SMALL PIECE OF CORNBREAD AND A DRINK MADE FROM BROWNED BRAN.
THE WILCOX FAMILY, AMONG MANY OTHERS, WAS TEMPTED TO GO TO CALIFORNIA TO "PAN" FOR GOLD IN 1849; HOWEVER, THEY HEEDED BRIGHAM YOUNG'S COUNSEL TO STAY IN THE SL VALLEY AND, IN MARY'S WORDS, "WE WERE BLESSED BECAUSE WE WERE NEVER THAT HUNGRY AGAIN."
IN 1850, THEY WERE CALLED TO GO TO MANTI (SANPETE), WHERE ELIZABETH WAS BORN 13 JULY 1851. THEY MOVED TO HAMBLETON (MT. PLEASANT) WHERE JHO WORKED IN A SAWMILL ON PLEASANT CREEK. ON 19 JULY 1853, WHILE HE WAS A LONE AT THE SAWMILL, JHO SAW INDIANS LURKING NEARBY. AFTER THE THIRD "PROMPTING" TO RETURN HOME, HE LEFT HURRIEDLY. THE INDIANS DROVE OFF THE LIVESTOCK, AND THEY BURNED THE SAWMILL, LOGS, AND LUMBER. THE FAMILY WAS LEFT DESTITUTE. YEARS LATER, MRS. FRED G. TAYLOR ASKED MARY HOW SHE FELT WHEN SHE LEARNED OF THE INDIAN RAID. MARY REPLIED, "MY DEAR, WE BOTH KNELT DOWN AND THANKED THE LORD THAT MY HUSBAND'S LIFE WAS SAVED."
THEY MOVED BACK TO FT. MANTI, WHERE THEIR DAUGHTER, SARAH, WAS BORN 1 AUGUST 1853.
THEIR NEXT MOVE WAS TO PLEASANT GROVE, AND THEN TO NORTH OGDEN FOR A TIME, WHERE A SON, JAMES HENRY, WAS BORN 10 NOVEMBER 1855.
THEY RETURNED TO PLEASANT GROVE, WHERE A SON, JOHN CARLOS, WAS BORN 13 MARCH 1858. JHO HAULED A LOAD OF STRAW FROM PLEASANT GROVE TO CAMP FLOYD AND RECEIVED $20.
IN 1860, AFTER HAVING BEEN ON THE MOVE, OR DRIVEN, FROM PLACE TO PLACE FOR MANY YEARS, JHO AND MARY BUILT THEIR FIRST PERMANENT HOME, A ONE-ROOM LOG CABIN ONE BLOCK WEST OF MAIN STREET ON THE BANKS OF NORTH CREEK IN MT. PLEASANT. IT WAS REPLACED YEARS LATER WITH A TWO-STORY ADOBE HOME. THEY WERE THE PROUD POSSESSORS OF TWENTY ACRES OF LAND LOCATED 3 MILES NORTH OF TOWN. HE BUILT A HOME AND FURNITURE FOR THEMSELVES AND OTHERS. MARY AND JHO WERE THE ONLY ORIGINAL SETTLERS WHO RETURNED TO HAMBLETON.
SIX ADDITIONAL CHILDREN WERE BORN TO THEM IN MT. PLEASANT: MARY MEHITABLE, BORN 8 NOVEMBER 1860; CLARISSA JANE, BORN 20 MARCH 1863; SABRA ELLEN, BORN 6 OCTOBER 1865; HANNAH EMELINE, BORN 13 APRIL 1868; MARTHA ANNA, BORN 23 JULY 1871; AND JUSTUS AZEL, BORN I AUGUST 1874.
FROM THE SHEEP THEY RAISED, THE PIONEER WOMEN CARDED AND SPUN THE WOOL AND THEN HAND-STITCHED THE GARMENTS WITH HAND-RAVELLED THREAD. SHOES WERE MADE FROM TOPS OF OLD, WORN-OUT SHOES AND BOOTS. SOME MADE MOCCASINS OF RAWHIDE, AND SOME WENT BAREFOOT--EVEN TO MEETINGS. FROM BUCKSKIN, MARY MADE A PAIR OF MOCCASINS. SHE WOULD CARRY THEM WITH HER STOCKINGS TO WITHIN A BLOCK OF THE CHURCH, AND THEN PUT THEM ON HER FEET. AFTER THE MEETING, SHE WOULD TAKE OFF THE MOCCASINS AND WALK HOME BAREFOOT.
THE WOMEN MADE SHIRTS FOR MEN FROM OLD WAGON COVERS. THEIR CAPS AND HEADWEAR WERE MADE FROM CLOTH LEFT FROM DRESSES. SUMMER HATS WERE MADE FROM STRAW. MEN WHO HAD COATS WHEN THEY CAME ACROSS THE PLAINS HAD TO GO WITHOUT FOR A LONG TIME AFTER THE COATS WERE WORN TO SHREDS. WEARING APPAREL WAS VERY SCARCE.
FOOD WAS ALSO SCARCE. OFTENTIMES, ALL JHO TOOK FOR HIS NOON MEAL WAS A PINCH OF SALT TO SEASON THE GREENS OR SEGOS HE WOULD FIND AND COOK. AFTER A FEW YEARS, SEED FOR SUGAR CANE WAS OBTAINED AND PLANTED; JUICE WAS EXTRACTED AND BOILED DOWN TO MOLASSES (SORGHUM); AND PIONEERS ENJOYED THE FIRST AFFORDABLE SWEETS. FOR A LONG TIME, THEY HAD NO SOAP TO WASH CLOTHES. ONLY AFTER THE SIZE OF THEIR HERDS INCREASAND THEY HAD SOME FAT ANIMALS DID THEY HAVE LARD OR TALLOW FOR SOAP AND CANDLES. THE WICKS WERE SPUN FROM COTTON GROWN IN ST. GEORGE. THEY MADE COTTON CLOTH FROM FIVE POUND BUNDLES OF BULK COTTON.
GEORGE HURST VISITED GRANDMA WILCOX IN FEBRUARY 1916. SHE SHOWED HIM A LOVELY QUILT SHE HAD MADE, SAYING, "1 AM 85 YEARS OLD, AND I WON'T PUT DOWN MY NEEDLE TO ANYONE IN THE STATE OF UTAH." (SHE WAS KNOWN FOR HER QUILTS, AND SHE MADE RAG DOLLS. ALENE B. STEWART OF LAYTON HAS ONE QUILT MARY MADE FOR HER DAUGHTER, SARAH.)
GEORGE ACCOMPANIED HER TO AN "OLD FOLKS' PARTY." AS THEY WERE LEAVING THE BUILDING, GRANDMA WILCOX SAID, "NOW, I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU THE KIND OF STOCK YOU'VE COME FROM." IN GEORGE'S WORDS: "AND THAT OLD SOUL WENT HOPPITY SKIP DOWN THOSE 12 OR 15 STEPS." SHE SAID, "THAT'S THE KIND OF STUFF IN YOU!"
SHE WAS TALL AND HAD BROWN, WAVY HAIR WHEN YOUNG. HER SPEECH WAS EXACTING, BUT MILD, WITH KEEN ARTICULATION. SHE MOVED WITH GRACE AND DIGNITY.
A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO THIS COURAGEOUS LADY, WRITTEN BY LOFTNER BJARNARSON, WAS PRINTED IN THE DESERET NEWS:
SHE IS A FIGURE FROM THE PAST, THE LAST OF A LITE BAND OF STURDY PIONEERS .... HER WRINKLED BROW AND SUNKEN CHEEKS BEAR EVIDENCE OF YEARS OF TOIL AND STRUGGLE .... SHE ALWAYS HAD A GLAD WORD FOR ALL. HER MANNER IS DIGNIFIED AND MAJESTIC.
THOUGH NOT AWARE OF IT, SHE HAS THE AIR OF ROYALTY .... SHE HAS BEEN A TRUE DAUGHTER OF GOD, AN EMBLEM OF DEVOTION TO RIGHT, RELIGION, AND A LEADER IN THE CAUSE OF HUMAN BROTHERHOOD ....
THOUGH GRANDMA WILCOX NEVER LEARNED TO READ OR WRITE, HER LIFE WAS ONE OF ACTION. SHE DID HER PART IN LAYING THE FOUNDATION OF OUR GREAT COMMONWEALTH .... HER FAITH IN GOD AND HER FELLOWMAN [WAS] UNSHAKEN BY TRIALS AND HARDSHIPS SHE ENDURED.
IT IS KNOWN THAT MARY WAS A MIDWIFE AND DELIVERED MORE THAN THREE HUNDRED BABIES.
WE LEARN FROM MRS. FRED G. TAYLOR THAT MARY HAD A FIRM TESTIMONY THAT JOSEPH SMITH WAS A PROPHET OF GOD. MARY SAID, "IT WAS A WONDERFUL BLESSING TO LIVE IN THE TIME OF THE PROPHET JOSEPH. THE SAINTS FELT THE GREATNESS OF THE PROPHET, AND WHEN HE SAID, 'THUS SAITH THE LORD,' THEY COULD NOT DOUBT HIS WORDS AND KNEW THAT HE HAD HAD REVELATION FROM HIS HEAVENLY FATHER."
"COME, COME YE SAINTS" WAS MARY'S FAVORITE HYMN.
MARY AND JHO CELEBRATED THEIR 60TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY IN MARCH 1908, WITH NINE OF THEIR ELEVEN CHILDREN PRESENT. ELIZABETH HURST WAS LIV-ING IN MEXICO; AND THEIR SON, JUSTUS AZEL, LIVED IN CANADA.
JHO WAS ACTIVE IN HIS LATER YEARS. HE PASSED AWAY 21 NOVEMBER 1909; HE WAS ALMOST 86. HIS OBITUARY STATED THAT HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE NAUVOO LEGION; THAT HE HEARD THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH'S LAST SERMON AND WAS PRESENT WHEN THE MANTLE FELL ON BRIGHAM YOUNG; AND THAT HE WAS A FAITHFUL MEMBER OF THE CHURCH.
MARY WAS THE OLDEST MEMBER OF A LIVING SIX-GENERATION FAMILY: MARY YOUNG WILCOX; DAUGHTER, ELIZABETH WILCOX HURST; ALICE LUELLA HURST NIELSON; KATE ALICE NIELSON GUYMON; ALICE LOVERN GUYMON THAYNE; AND BONNIE GERTRUDE THAYNE.
JUST THREE WEEKS BEFORE HER 98TH BIRTHDAY, MARY PASSED AWAY MAY 16, 1929. AT THAT TIME, HER POSTERITY NUMBERED NEARLY SIX HUNDRED. THERE ARE, OR HAVE BEEN, IN THIS FAMILY OUTSTANDING MEN AND WOMEN IN ALMOST EVERY OCCUPAAND PROFESSION, INCLUDING ARTISTS, AND THEY HAVE FILLED NUMEROUS CHURCH POSITIONS FROM PATRIARCHS AND STAKE PRESIDENTS, A MISSION PRESIDENTS, TO NUMEROUS TEACHERS.
THE AUTHOR SEES THE INFLUENCE OF JHO AND MARY YOUNG WILCOX ON THEIR POSTERITY. I AM GRATEFUL FOR THEIR LIVES AND GLAD THAT I COULD PAY MY RESPECTS AND HONOR TO THEM IN THIS MANNER. I KNOW THERE IS MUCH MORE THAT SHOULD BE TOLD. BY RUBY HURST MORGAN, 1988
PARTS OF MARY'S STORY WERE TOLD BY HER ON JANUARY 27, 1924, AND TIMES THEREAFTER UNTIL JUNE 6, 1925, TO ANNIE CARLSTON BILLS, A GRANDSON'S WIFE. MRS. BILLS THEN WROTE THE STORY, AND IT HAS BEEN PRESERVED AMONG FAMILY MEMBERS. MARY DIED ABOUT 3 YEARS LATER. OTHER SOURCES ARE:
ALENE BILLS STEWART, DAUGHTER OF ANNIE C. BILLS.
JAMES LEROY KIMBALL JR., HISTORIAN AND CONIN THE CHURCH HISTORY OFFICES.
JOURNAL HISTORY (FILM #1,259, 735) 21 JUNE 1847.
BACKMAN, MILTON V., THE HEAVENS RESOUND, A HISTORY OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS
IN OHIO 1830-1838, DESERET BOOK, 1983.
HUNTER, MILTON R., BRIGHAM YOUNG, THE COLONIZER PEREGRINE SMITH.
BJARNSON, LOFTER, OVER DESERT TRAILS, ARTICLE IN DESERET .NEWS.
PRATT, PARLEY P., AUTOBIOGRAPHY, EDITED BY HIS SON, PARLEY PARKER PRATT, JR.
J. OWEN MEILING, A HISTORY OF JOHN HENRY OWEN WILCOX, GIVEN 1939, FLAT
CANYON.
HUGH HURST, A HISTORY OF MARY Y. WILCOX, GIVEN 1964.
WILCOX, EDGAR, (BRIEF) HISTORY OF EDWARD WILCOX I.
HURST, GEORGE ARTHUR JR., AN INTERVIEW OF HIS VISIT TO GRANDMA WILCOX, FEB.
19 OR 20, 1916.
DAUGHTERS OF UTAH PIONEERS HISTORIES SUBMITTED BY A. SARAH WILCOX BILLS B.
BLANCHE NIELSEN C. MARY NELSON SHAFFER D. MRS. FRED G. TAYLOR E. ELIZABETH
WILCOX HURST
SPECIAL THANKS TO HOLLIS W. ALLGOOD AND BELLE HARRIS WILSON. ALSO, CLAY I. PETERSON, LLOYD PETERSON, DEAN STAKER, GLORIA FOSTER, AND OLIVE WILCOX WOOLEN. OBITUARIES FROM THE DESERET NEWS AND THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE.
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WIGGINS, MARVIN E. MORMONS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS
WILCOX, MARY YOUNG 6 JUN 1831 -
HISTORY OF SANPETE AND EMERY COUNTIES, UTAH, WITH SKETCHES OF CITIES, TOWN, AND VILLAGES, CHRONOLOGY OF IMPORTANT EVENTS, RECORDS OF INDIAN WARS, PORTRAITS OF PROMINENT PERSONS AND BIOGRAPHIES OF REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS. [OGDEN, UTAH: W. H. LEVER, 1898.] P.278
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2726. WILLCOX, MARY YOUNG, 1831?
AUTOBIOGRAPHY (1831?C.1848)
DAVIS BITTON, GUIDE TO MORMON DIARIES AND AUTOBIOGRAPHIES (1977), PG.383
AUTOBIOGRAPHY (1831?C.1848)
HOLOGRAPH. 55 PP. 15.9 CM. HDC [LDS CHURCH ARCHIVES] (MS D 2050, 8, 11)
DAVIS BITTON, GUIDE TO MORMON DIARIES AND AUTOBIOGRAPHIES (1977), PG.383
WRITTEN IN 1925. BORN IN WHITBERRY TOWNSHIP, UPPER CANADA, 1831. FAMILY CONVERTED TO LDS CHURCH BY PARLEY P. PRATT, 1837. TO MISSOURI, 1838. MORMONS RUN OUT OF MISSOURI. TO UTAH, C. 1848. WOULD APPEAR THAT THIS IS A SORT OF "ORAL HISTORY," INCLUDING A FEW QUESTIONS BY THE INTERVIEWER, A BROTHER ANDERSON?APPARENTLY GEORGE EDWARD ANDERSON, THE PROMINENT PHOTOGRAPHER. BOOKLET INCLUDES INTERVIEWER'S NOTES ON CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER ELDERLY LADIES IN SPANISH FORK, 1925. MRS. WILLCOX RAMBLES AND DOESN'T PAY MUCH ATTENTION TO CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.SUS 1851 STATE OF UTAH, 1860, 1870, AND 1880
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MARY YOUNG WILCOX WAS BORN 6 JUNE 1831 IN WHITBY, ONTARIO, CANADA, A DAUGHTER OF JAMES R. (ROSS?) AND ELIZABETH SEELY YOUNG. SHE WAS THE SECOND CHILD IN A FAMILY OF NINE CHILDREN: JOHN, BORN 21 APRIL 1829; MARY, BORN 6 JUNE 1831;ANNA, BORN 27 AUGUST 1832; SARAH (SAL), BORN 8 OCTOBER 1834; ELIZABETH (BETSY), BORN 29 MARCH 1837; THE FOREGOING WERE ALL BORN IN WHITBY; HANNAH, BORN 10 MAY 1842, IN MADISON, LEE, IOWA. THREE CHILDREN DIED YOUNG: MEHITABLE, BORN 28 NOVEMBER 1839; MARTHA, BORN 9 JANUARY 1845; BOTH BORN IN IOWA; AND EPHRAIM, BORN 13 MARCH 1847 AT FLORENCE, DOUGLAS, NEBRASKA.
MARY'S PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS JOINED THE MORMON CHURCH IN 1837. IN 1838, THEY MIGRATED TO MISSOURI. THEY WERE DRIVEN OUT AND WENT "DOWN THE RIVER" AND SPENT THE WINTER. IN THE SPRING, 1839, THEY WENT "UP THE RIVER" INTO IOWA, ABOUT 8 MILES SOUTH OF BURLINGTON. MARY CROSSED IOWA WITH HER PARENTS IN 1846. SHE REMEMBERED SEEING THE TEMPLE "SHINING LIKE GLITTERING GOLD." THE TREK THROUGH IOWA WAS EXARDUOUS. THE SOIL WAS VERY MUDDY AND, SOMETIMES, THEY HAD TO BUILD CORDUROY ROADS TO CROSS SWAMPY GROUND.
NEAR THE NEBRASKA BORDER, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT RECRUITED MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH TO ENLIST AS SOLDIERS IN THE MORMON BATTALION. MARY RELATED STORIES OF THE SAD PARTING OF WIDOWED MOTHERS WITH, SOMETIMES, AN ONLY SON; WIVES PARTING FROM THEIR HUSBANDS, OR SWEETHEARTS SEPARATED; A SCENE OF WHICH ONLY THOSE WHO WITNESSED IT COULD REALIZE THE SADNESS.
MARY RECALLED THEIR SUFFERING FROM LACK OF FOOD, CLOTHING AND WARMTH DURING THE ENSUING WINTER. IN THE SPRING OF 1847, SHE LEFT WITH HER FAMILY IN THE JOHN TAYLOR/EDWARD HUNTER/JACOB FOUTZ/JOHN LOWRY'S COMPANY, ON THE PIONEER TREK WESTWARD. AT JUST 16 YEARS OF AGE, SHE DROVE A SUPPLY WAGON WITH THREE YOKE OF OXEN WHICH SHE YOKED AND UNYOKED MORNING AND EVENING. SHE IS SAID TO HAVE HAD A SPECIAL SKILL IN WORKING WITH OXEN.
MARY WORE A BLUE DENIM DRESS, A SUNBONNET, AND A PAIR OF HIGH BOOTS; SHE DROVE THE OXEN WHILE WALKING BESIDE THEM. THE BOOTS SOON WORE OUT, AND SHE WENT BAREFOOT.
THE COMPANY IN WHICH THE YOUNGS TRAVELED ARRIVED IN THE SL VALLEY 29 SEPTEMBER 1847.
MARY WENT WITH HER FATHER TO CITY CREEK CATO CUT LOGS FOR THEIR CABIN IN SOUTH FORT. SHE MADE THE ADOBES FOR THE CHIMNEY. THEY MOVED INTO THEIR CABIN JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS. MARY RECALLED, "NO KING COULD BE HAPPIER THAN WE WERE WHEN WE REACHED THE VALLEY AND BUILT OUR FIRST LOG CABIN." IN SALT LAKE VALLEY, JOHN TAYLOR GAVE MARY A BLESSING, IN WHICH HE COMMENDED HER WORK IN CROSSING THE PLAINS. HE PROMISED, "YOU SHALL HAVE A NATION OF YOUR POSTERITY. YOU SHALL BE BLESSED AND LIVE AS LONG AS LIFE IS DESIRABLE TO YOU." ON 14 MARCH 1848, MARY WAS MARRIED TO JOHN HENRY OWEN (JHO) WILCOX BY WILLIAM STEWART SEELY, WHO LATER BECAME FIRST BISHOP OF MR. PLEASANT WARD, UTAH. JHO HAD JOINED THE MORMON CHURCH AT NINE YEARS OF AGE, WITH HIS WIDOWED MOTHER, SARAH SEELAY WILCOX, AND AT LEAST TWO SISTERS IN MARION COUNTY, MISSOURI. THEY HAD BEEN PERSECUTED AND DRIVEN INTO IOWA, ILLINOIS AND BACK INTO MISSOURI.
WHEN LAND WAS DIVIDED AMONG THE SETTLERS, THE YOUNG COUPLE '"DREW" A LOT IN THE SUGARHOUSE AREA, WHICH THEY CLEARED, PLOWED AND PLANTED. THEY BUILT A BRUSH "SHANTY." THAT YEAR, CRICKETS DEVOURED THE NEW WHEAT, AND THE YOUNG COUPLE RETURNED TO OLD FORT TO LIVE WITH JHO'S MOTHER. AFTER HARVEST TIME, MARY WENT EVERY DAY TO GLEAN WHEAT IN THE NORTHERN AREA, WHICH HAD ESCAPED DESTRUCTION BY CRICKETS. BEFORE LEAVING HOME, SHE ATE A HANDFUL OF ROSE LEAVES AND DRANK A GLASS OF MILK.
JHO "GRUBBED" OAK AND SAGEBRUSH FOR A PECK OF CORN A DAY. IN RED BUTTE CANYON HE CUT A LOAD OF POLES, WHICH HE TRADED FOR 40# OF WHEAT. IN 1849, HIS YIELD WAS 70 BUSHELS. FROM FOUR SEED POTATOES, WHICH HAD COST .25 EACH, THEY HARVESTED A PECK OF POTATOES WHICH WAS KEPT FOR SEED, AND THEIR YIELD THE NEXT SEASON WAS 30 BUSHELS.
THEIR FIRST CHILD, HAZARD WILCOX, WAS BORN 15 FEBRUARY 1849, AFTER THE NEW MOTHER HAD GATHERED STRENGTH FROM REST, SHE WAS FED ONLY A SMALL PIECE OF CORNBREAD AND A DRINK MADE FROM BROWNED BRAN.
THE WILCOX FAMILY, AMONG MANY OTHERS, WAS TEMPTED TO GO TO CALIFORNIA TO "PAN" FOR GOLD IN 1849; HOWEVER, THEY HEEDED BRIGHAM YOUNG'S COUNSEL TO STAY IN THE SL VALLEY AND, IN MARY'S WORDS, "WE WERE BLESSED BECAUSE WE WERE NEVER THAT HUNGRY AGAIN."
IN 1850, THEY WERE CALLED TO GO TO MANTI (SANPETE), WHERE ELIZABETH WAS BORN 13 JULY 1851. THEY MOVED TO HAMBLETON (MT. PLEASANT) WHERE JHO WORKED IN A SAWMILL ON PLEASANT CREEK. ON 19 JULY 1853, WHILE HE WAS A LONE AT THE SAWMILL, JHO SAW INDIANS LURKING NEARBY. AFTER THE THIRD "PROMPTING" TO RETURN HOME, HE LEFT HURRIEDLY. THE INDIANS DROVE OFF THE LIVESTOCK, AND THEY BURNED THE SAWMILL, LOGS, AND LUMBER. THE FAMILY WAS LEFT DESTITUTE. YEARS LATER, MRS. FRED G. TAYLOR ASKED MARY HOW SHE FELT WHEN SHE LEARNED OF THE INDIAN RAID. MARY REPLIED, "MY DEAR, WE BOTH KNELT DOWN AND THANKED THE LORD THAT MY HUSBAND'S LIFE WAS SAVED."
THEY MOVED BACK TO FT. MANTI, WHERE THEIR DAUGHTER, SARAH, WAS BORN 1 AUGUST 1853.
THEIR NEXT MOVE WAS TO PLEASANT GROVE, AND THEN TO NORTH OGDEN FOR A TIME, WHERE A SON, JAMES HENRY, WAS BORN 10 NOVEMBER 1855.
THEY RETURNED TO PLEASANT GROVE, WHERE A SON, JOHN CARLOS, WAS BORN 13 MARCH 1858. JHO HAULED A LOAD OF STRAW FROM PLEASANT GROVE TO CAMP FLOYD AND RECEIVED $20.
IN 1860, AFTER HAVING BEEN ON THE MOVE, OR DRIVEN, FROM PLACE TO PLACE FOR MANY YEARS, JHO AND MARY BUILT THEIR FIRST PERMANENT HOME, A ONE-ROOM LOG CABIN ONE BLOCK WEST OF MAIN STREET ON THE BANKS OF NORTH CREEK IN MT. PLEASANT. IT WAS REPLACED YEARS LATER WITH A TWO-STORY ADOBE HOME. THEY WERE THE PROUD POSSESSORS OF TWENTY ACRES OF LAND LOCATED 3 MILES NORTH OF TOWN. HE BUILT A HOME AND FURNITURE FOR THEMSELVES AND OTHERS. MARY AND JHO WERE THE ONLY ORIGINAL SETTLERS WHO RETURNED TO HAMBLETON.
SIX ADDITIONAL CHILDREN WERE BORN TO THEM IN MT. PLEASANT: MARY MEHITABLE, BORN 8 NOVEMBER 1860; CLARISSA JANE, BORN 20 MARCH 1863; SABRA ELLEN, BORN 6 OCTOBER 1865; HANNAH EMELINE, BORN 13 APRIL 1868; MARTHA ANNA, BORN 23 JULY 1871; AND JUSTUS AZEL, BORN I AUGUST 1874.
FROM THE SHEEP THEY RAISED, THE PIONEER WOMEN CARDED AND SPUN THE WOOL AND THEN HAND-STITCHED THE GARMENTS WITH HAND-RAVELLED THREAD. SHOES WERE MADE FROM TOPS OF OLD, WORN-OUT SHOES AND BOOTS. SOME MADE MOCCASINS OF RAWHIDE, AND SOME WENT BAREFOOT--EVEN TO MEETINGS. FROM BUCKSKIN, MARY MADE A PAIR OF MOCCASINS. SHE WOULD CARRY THEM WITH HER STOCKINGS TO WITHIN A BLOCK OF THE CHURCH, AND THEN PUT THEM ON HER FEET. AFTER THE MEETING, SHE WOULD TAKE OFF THE MOCCASINS AND WALK HOME BAREFOOT.
THE WOMEN MADE SHIRTS FOR MEN FROM OLD WAGON COVERS. THEIR CAPS AND HEADWEAR WERE MADE FROM CLOTH LEFT FROM DRESSES. SUMMER HATS WERE MADE FROM STRAW. MEN WHO HAD COATS WHEN THEY CAME ACROSS THE PLAINS HAD TO GO WITHOUT FOR A LONG TIME AFTER THE COATS WERE WORN TO SHREDS. WEARING APPAREL WAS VERY SCARCE.
FOOD WAS ALSO SCARCE. OFTENTIMES, ALL JHO TOOK FOR HIS NOON MEAL WAS A PINCH OF SALT TO SEASON THE GREENS OR SEGOS HE WOULD FIND AND COOK. AFTER A FEW YEARS, SEED FOR SUGAR CANE WAS OBTAINED AND PLANTED; JUICE WAS EXTRACTED AND BOILED DOWN TO MOLASSES (SORGHUM); AND PIONEERS ENJOYED THE FIRST AFFORDABLE SWEETS. FOR A LONG TIME, THEY HAD NO SOAP TO WASH CLOTHES. ONLY AFTER THE SIZE OF THEIR HERDS INCREASAND THEY HAD SOME FAT ANIMALS DID THEY HAVE LARD OR TALLOW FOR SOAP AND CANDLES. THE WICKS WERE SPUN FROM COTTON GROWN IN ST. GEORGE. THEY MADE COTTON CLOTH FROM FIVE POUND BUNDLES OF BULK COTTON.
GEORGE HURST VISITED GRANDMA WILCOX IN FEBRUARY 1916. SHE SHOWED HIM A LOVELY QUILT SHE HAD MADE, SAYING, "1 AM 85 YEARS OLD, AND I WON'T PUT DOWN MY NEEDLE TO ANYONE IN THE STATE OF UTAH." (SHE WAS KNOWN FOR HER QUILTS, AND SHE MADE RAG DOLLS. ALENE B. STEWART OF LAYTON HAS ONE QUILT MARY MADE FOR HER DAUGHTER, SARAH.)
GEORGE ACCOMPANIED HER TO AN "OLD FOLKS' PARTY." AS THEY WERE LEAVING THE BUILDING, GRANDMA WILCOX SAID, "NOW, I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU THE KIND OF STOCK YOU'VE COME FROM." IN GEORGE'S WORDS: "AND THAT OLD SOUL WENT HOPPITY SKIP DOWN THOSE 12 OR 15 STEPS." SHE SAID, "THAT'S THE KIND OF STUFF IN YOU!"
SHE WAS TALL AND HAD BROWN, WAVY HAIR WHEN YOUNG. HER SPEECH WAS EXACTING, BUT MILD, WITH KEEN ARTICULATION. SHE MOVED WITH GRACE AND DIGNITY.
A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO THIS COURAGEOUS LADY, WRITTEN BY LOFTNER BJARNARSON, WAS PRINTED IN THE DESERET NEWS:
SHE IS A FIGURE FROM THE PAST, THE LAST OF A LITE BAND OF STURDY PIONEERS .... HER WRINKLED BROW AND SUNKEN CHEEKS BEAR EVIDENCE OF YEARS OF TOIL AND STRUGGLE .... SHE ALWAYS HAD A GLAD WORD FOR ALL. HER MANNER IS DIGNIFIED AND MAJESTIC.
THOUGH NOT AWARE OF IT, SHE HAS THE AIR OF ROYALTY .... SHE HAS BEEN A TRUE DAUGHTER OF GOD, AN EMBLEM OF DEVOTION TO RIGHT, RELIGION, AND A LEADER IN THE CAUSE OF HUMAN BROTHERHOOD ....
THOUGH GRANDMA WILCOX NEVER LEARNED TO READ OR WRITE, HER LIFE WAS ONE OF ACTION. SHE DID HER PART IN LAYING THE FOUNDATION OF OUR GREAT COMMONWEALTH .... HER FAITH IN GOD AND HER FELLOWMAN [WAS] UNSHAKEN BY TRIALS AND HARDSHIPS SHE ENDURED.
IT IS KNOWN THAT MARY WAS A MIDWIFE AND DELIVERED MORE THAN THREE HUNDRED BABIES.
WE LEARN FROM MRS. FRED G. TAYLOR THAT MARY HAD A FIRM TESTIMONY THAT JOSEPH SMITH WAS A PROPHET OF GOD. MARY SAID, "IT WAS A WONDERFUL BLESSING TO LIVE IN THE TIME OF THE PROPHET JOSEPH. THE SAINTS FELT THE GREATNESS OF THE PROPHET, AND WHEN HE SAID, 'THUS SAITH THE LORD,' THEY COULD NOT DOUBT HIS WORDS AND KNEW THAT HE HAD HAD REVELATION FROM HIS HEAVENLY FATHER."
"COME, COME YE SAINTS" WAS MARY'S FAVORITE HYMN.
MARY AND JHO CELEBRATED THEIR 60TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY IN MARCH 1908, WITH NINE OF THEIR ELEVEN CHILDREN PRESENT. ELIZABETH HURST WAS LIV-ING IN MEXICO; AND THEIR SON, JUSTUS AZEL, LIVED IN CANADA.
JHO WAS ACTIVE IN HIS LATER YEARS. HE PASSED AWAY 21 NOVEMBER 1909; HE WAS ALMOST 86. HIS OBITUARY STATED THAT HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE NAUVOO LEGION; THAT HE HEARD THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH'S LAST SERMON AND WAS PRESENT WHEN THE MANTLE FELL ON BRIGHAM YOUNG; AND THAT HE WAS A FAITHFUL MEMBER OF THE CHURCH.
MARY WAS THE OLDEST MEMBER OF A LIVING SIX-GENERATION FAMILY: MARY YOUNG WILCOX; DAUGHTER, ELIZABETH WILCOX HURST; ALICE LUELLA HURST NIELSON; KATE ALICE NIELSON GUYMON; ALICE LOVERN GUYMON THAYNE; AND BONNIE GERTRUDE THAYNE.
JUST THREE WEEKS BEFORE HER 98TH BIRTHDAY, MARY PASSED AWAY MAY 16, 1929. AT THAT TIME, HER POSTERITY NUMBERED NEARLY SIX HUNDRED. THERE ARE, OR HAVE BEEN, IN THIS FAMILY OUTSTANDING MEN AND WOMEN IN ALMOST EVERY OCCUPAAND PROFESSION, INCLUDING ARTISTS, AND THEY HAVE FILLED NUMEROUS CHURCH POSITIONS FROM PATRIARCHS AND STAKE PRESIDENTS, A MISSION PRESIDENTS, TO NUMEROUS TEACHERS.
THE AUTHOR SEES THE INFLUENCE OF JHO AND MARY YOUNG WILCOX ON THEIR POSTERITY. I AM GRATEFUL FOR THEIR LIVES AND GLAD THAT I COULD PAY MY RESPECTS AND HONOR TO THEM IN THIS MANNER. I KNOW THERE IS MUCH MORE THAT SHOULD BE TOLD. BY RUBY HURST MORGAN, 1988
PARTS OF MARY'S STORY WERE TOLD BY HER ON JANUARY 27, 1924, AND TIMES THEREAFTER UNTIL JUNE 6, 1925, TO ANNIE CARLSTON BILLS, A GRANDSON'S WIFE. MRS. BILLS THEN WROTE THE STORY, AND IT HAS BEEN PRESERVED AMONG FAMILY MEMBERS. MARY DIED ABOUT 3 YEARS LATER. OTHER SOURCES ARE:
ALENE BILLS STEWART, DAUGHTER OF ANNIE C. BILLS.
JAMES LEROY KIMBALL JR., HISTORIAN AND CONIN THE CHURCH HISTORY OFFICES.
JOURNAL HISTORY (FILM #1,259, 735) 21 JUNE 1847.
BACKMAN, MILTON V., THE HEAVENS RESOUND, A HISTORY OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS
IN OHIO 1830-1838, DESERET BOOK, 1983.
HUNTER, MILTON R., BRIGHAM YOUNG, THE COLONIZER PEREGRINE SMITH.
BJARNSON, LOFTER, OVER DESERT TRAILS, ARTICLE IN DESERET .NEWS.
PRATT, PARLEY P., AUTOBIOGRAPHY, EDITED BY HIS SON, PARLEY PARKER PRATT, JR.
J. OWEN MEILING, A HISTORY OF JOHN HENRY OWEN WILCOX, GIVEN 1939, FLAT
CANYON.
HUGH HURST, A HISTORY OF MARY Y. WILCOX, GIVEN 1964.
WILCOX, EDGAR, (BRIEF) HISTORY OF EDWARD WILCOX I.
HURST, GEORGE ARTHUR JR., AN INTERVIEW OF HIS VISIT TO GRANDMA WILCOX, FEB.
19 OR 20, 1916.
DAUGHTERS OF UTAH PIONEERS HISTORIES SUBMITTED BY A. SARAH WILCOX BILLS B.
BLANCHE NIELSEN C. MARY NELSON SHAFFER D. MRS. FRED G. TAYLOR E. ELIZABETH
WILCOX HURST
SPECIAL THANKS TO HOLLIS W. ALLGOOD AND BELLE HARRIS WILSON. ALSO, CLAY I. PETERSON, LLOYD PETERSON, DEAN STAKER, GLORIA FOSTER, AND OLIVE WILCOX WOOLEN. OBITUARIES FROM THE DESERET NEWS AND THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE.
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WIGGINS, MARVIN E. MORMONS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS
WILCOX, MARY YOUNG 6 JUN 1831 -
HISTORY OF SANPETE AND EMERY COUNTIES, UTAH, WITH SKETCHES OF CITIES, TOWN, AND VILLAGES, CHRONOLOGY OF IMPORTANT EVENTS, RECORDS OF INDIAN WARS, PORTRAITS OF PROMINENT PERSONS AND BIOGRAPHIES OF REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS. [OGDEN, UTAH: W. H. LEVER, 1898.] P.278
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2726. WILLCOX, MARY YOUNG, 1831?
AUTOBIOGRAPHY (1831?C.1848)
DAVIS BITTON, GUIDE TO MORMON DIARIES AND AUTOBIOGRAPHIES (1977), PG.383
AUTOBIOGRAPHY (1831?C.1848)
HOLOGRAPH. 55 PP. 15.9 CM. HDC [LDS CHURCH ARCHIVES] (MS D 2050, 8, 11)
DAVIS BITTON, GUIDE TO MORMON DIARIES AND AUTOBIOGRAPHIES (1977), PG.383
WRITTEN IN 1925. BORN IN WHITBERRY TOWNSHIP, UPPER CANADA, 1831. FAMILY CONVERTED TO LDS CHURCH BY PARLEY P. PRATT, 1837. TO MISSOURI, 1838. MORMONS RUN OUT OF MISSOURI. TO UTAH, C. 1848. WOULD APPEAR THAT THIS IS A SORT OF "ORAL HISTORY," INCLUDING A FEW QUESTIONS BY THE INTERVIEWER, A BROTHER ANDERSON?APPARENTLY GEORGE EDWARD ANDERSON, THE PROMINENT PHOTOGRAPHER. BOOKLET INCLUDES INTERVIEWER'S NOTES ON CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER ELDERLY LADIES IN SPANISH FORK, 1925. MRS. WILLCOX RAMBLES AND DOESN'T PAY MUCH ATTENTION TO CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.SUS 1851 STATE OF UTAH, 1860, 1870, AND 1880
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1831 - 1928 (96 years)
