Bitter Creek Painting

I just found out that the picture that I thought was so perfect for our family story in the Martin Handcart Company IS our family!! Click on the link or go to the Wylie label post to see the painting and story.

The artist, Clark Kelley Price, is a descendant of Elizabeth Wylie Steele! He painted a scene from his own family history. (Click on his name to read his story about the painting)

I just think it is so amazing that I found the picture months ago and thought it was perfect for our family...and it was because it is our family being depicted!

Pioneer Story of the Day: Nicholas Thomas & Jane Heath Silcock

It is time for 3rd Great Grandparents.

I have shared much about Nicholas Thomas & Jane Heath Silcock already in other posts (see the side bar and click on Silcock to read more). Here is a little summary and a few additions:

Nicholas Thomas went by Thomas. He and Jane had 16 children, one born in England, 2 in Nauvoo, 2 in St. Louis and the rest in Utah. Four of their children died before the age of 10.

Text in Italics from "Come After Us" by Melvin Banner:

When Nicholas Thomas was 10 years old his mother died. Before her death she called him to her bedside. She told him, "Thomas, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is not on the earth, but will be brought back by an angel. If it comes in your day, I want you to join it." He always remembered what his mother said and when he was 13 years old he "knelt down and told the Lord that if the truth every came in my day, I would embrace it."

Nicholas relates that upon hearing Wilford Woodrfuff and Alfred Cordon declare the restoration of Christ's gospel by an angel, the spiritual stirrings in him said, "that is the truth!". Likewise, as Jane listened to the LDS interpretation of the Savior's baptism by immersion she declared, "I was immediately converted." Elder Woodruff later confirmed her a member of the Church. Nicholas and Jane never faltered in their commitment to their testimonies they received.

Nicholas Thomas came across to America alone at age 23 on the ship EMERALD with Parley P. Pratt. He earned money on the ship by remodeling the captain quarters. He worked in St. Louis to save up money and sent for his wife Jane, who was only 16 years old, and their 17 month old son Alma. She crossed on the ship the CHAMPION. They lived in Nauvoo, Illinois on the corner of Wells and Young Streets. Nicholas Thomas was a carpenter who built Parley P. Pratt's home.

He worked full time on the Nauvoo Temple and stayed until its completion. He and Jane received their endowments and were sealed in the Nauvoo Temple in January 1846. When the saints were driven from their homes, the Silcocks did not have means to travel west with the main group and instead they went to St. Louis where Nicholas Thomas searched for work and where they endured many hardships.

Jane's mother Barbara Heath and her brothers traveled west to Winter Quarters with Bishop Edward Hunter. Grandma Barbara Heath passed away not long after arriving at Winter Quarters. Jane's teenage brothers were taken in by the Hunter family.

Cholera hit St. Louis hard at this time. In the LDS community “Nicholas had been appointed to preside…he spent his time among the sick and dying. For a time it looked as if the whole city of St. Louis would be wiped out.” Jane said. “I was called to administer to the afflicted,” Nicholas recorded. Then the dreaded disease struck home for the Silcocks. On April 10, 1849, seven-month old Barbara Ann “was sick at two p.m. and at ten p.m. she was laid out a corpse.” This was another blow to sadden the Silcock family…

“There was sickness and death at every turn,” Jane told her daughter Martha. “Nicholas spent his time helping with the sick and carrying the dead to the sidewalk.” There they would be picked up by wagons to be buried in accordance with the city officials’ specifications…After July, the number afflicted began to diminish...

Nicholas recorded that “In the fall as the cholera abated I received work in a sugar refinery.” He was blessed in several ways. He was alive. His wife and Alma were alive, and he had full-time employment at good wages. “I felt I had much to be thankful for,” Jane told daughter Nina Etta, “as my husband and my son Alma were spared…though the sad blow (of Barbara’s death) was one from which I did not recover.”

After the birth of their son, Thomas, Jane had an attack of ague chills causing milk leg (phlebitis) to set in. “I was sick all winter and well into the spring of 1850,” Jane told daughter Martha. Nicholas recorded additional problems that added to Jane’s misery with milk leg. “My wife being confined caught cold and was very sick and could hardly walk.”

In 1850, Bishop Edward Hunter came to St. Louis with wonderful news. Thanks to the new Perpetual Emigrating Fund established by Brigham Young, the Silcock family could finally make the journey to the Salt Lake Valley. Nicholas Thomas, Jane, their eight year old son, Alma, and their infant son, Thomas, joined the Edward Hunter Company even though Jane could not walk. Jane would have to ride in the wagon and could not do any of the chores so they arranged with a widow to take care of the cooking and washing in exchange for transportation for the widow, her son and their belongings.

Bishop Hunter conveyed on to Jane Silcock and others with illnesses in the company, a promise from President Brigham Young that “if this people will hearken to counsel they will have good health. Women that cannot walk a mile will walk twenty by the time they get to the tops of the mountains.” Jane saw this fulfilled. Daily she gained ability to use her legs. Jane began to help the widow with the cooking until she “took turns of every other time.” She found it increasingly easy to fully care for baby Thomas. Jane told her granddaughter Eva, “by the time we arrived at the end of our journey, I recovered my health.”

They arrived in Salt Lake in October They were the first of many who were blessed by the the Perpetual Emigrating Fund. They settled eventually in Riverton area where they raised their children and welcomed more. They lived faithfully and served honorably in many callings in the church.

Martha their daughter recorded of Jane's passing at age 75, "Her last hours were quiet and full of prayer and concern for the welfare of those around her." Jane had been molded and defined in the furnace of affliction. Thus, by the close of her life those close knew they were in the presence of a pure person with a pure spirit....Mary Green, who was with Jane when she passed away reported "All was peace and quiet when the end came as she was prepared to go."

A grandson, Mahonri M. Dansie later said of his grandfather Nicholas Thomas Silcock, "I have heard him bear his testimony many times in fast and testimony meeting. He was one of the stalwarts of the day. He was true and faithful to the end. He was a honest and hard working man. I am proud to be one of his grandchildren."

Nicholas Thomas Silcock passed away at the age of 86. Both he and Jane are buried in the Riverton Cemetery.

Certainly they both walked with "Faith in Every Footstep" as many others did.

Pioneer Story of the Day: Mathais & Ann Cowley

Ann Quayle Cowley and Mathias Cowley were another set of 4th Great Grandparents of mine.


They were the parents of Ann Cowley, who married Edward Callister. They had a son named Edward Callister who had a daughter named Irene Callister, who married Raymond Verne McCullough. They are the parents of Beth Maurine McCullough Henderson.


Mathias Cowley was born in 1794 on the Isle of Man. His wife, Ann Quayle was born in 1799 also on the Isle of Man. They were married in 1817. They had six children while living on the Isle of Man. This is a picture of Peele, Isle of Man where most of their children were born.



In 1840, John Taylor, then one of the Twelve Apostles, and Elder Clark came to the Isle of Man and preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Cowleys heard them and were convinced that the principles they taught were true. In November, 1840 they were baptized and immediately made plans to come to Illinois.


Mathias sold his small farm "The Glen Ellen" and herds of sheep to raise money to make the journey. They had been well off and had enjoyed many luxuries, but there was great persecution of those that followed the "dippers" (Mormon Missionaries) and so they left their homeland forever.


They went to Liverpool, England and set sail April 2, 1841 on the ship Rochester. Ann's brother John Quayle, his wife Catherine and their children also came on the ship at this time. Additionally, the ship carried Brigham Young, John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff and other church leaders returning from their first mission to England and about 200 new church members on their way to Illinois.


The Cowley's purchased a farm about four miles from the city of Nauvoo. Unfortunately, their baby, Eleanor, died in August. Another baby girl came in May 1843. They named her Ellen...probably after their homestead on the Isle of Man..."The Glen Ellen".


At one time, Mathias paid a hundred dollar fine so that the Prophet Joseph Smith could be released from jail after false charges had been brought against him.


On another occasion, Mathias Cowley was asked by the prophet to give to the Church six hundred dollars he had in the bank as the Church was in dire need of money. Mathias quickly obliged the Prophet's request and was subsequently given a blessing by Joseph Smith, and a promise was passed down to the Cowley posterity, that "as long as his posterity remained faithful to the Gospel they would never want for bread."


As persecutions grew, men would take turns protecting the Prophet Joseph Smith and his family. Ann Cowley Callister, one of Mathias & Ann Cowley's children, remembers one night, Mathias hid his family in a corn field for the night, while he went out to help protect the Prophet.


During the persecutions that followed the martyrdom of Joseph & Hyrum Smith, a cannon fired on the city tore out one wall of the Cowley home. The Cowley's watched the exodus of friends and family in the years that followed. Not being able to afford to go west they moved to St. Louis where Mathias worked in a packing house. Here their youngest daughter, Ellen, died in 1849. A few years later in 1853, Mathias died at the age of 59 years old (most likely in one of the cholera epidemics).


In April 1854, Ann, at age 58, and her children left St. Louis. They were part of the William Field Company. They had trouble with Indians, bad water, and many died along the way.


You can read more about their journey at: http://www.lds.org/churchhistory/library/source/0,18016,4976-2680,00.html


Many in the company didn't care for the way Captain William Field led the company. Isaac Groo said, "All who will follow me, come now, I will lead you." Nineteen wagons followed his lead including the Cowleys. They arrived in Salt Lake on September 19, 1854, the first company of the season, and two weeks before those arrived who remained with Captain Fields.

Ann lived in the 7th Ward in Salt Lake City the rest of her life and died at the home of her son John, May 9, 1877 at the age of 81 years old. She was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery, I_19_10_1W.

I would love to know more about Mathias and Ann personally. From the tiny Isle of Man, to Nauvoo, to St. Louis, they traveled far. And then Ann went on across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains to Salt Lake. I have yet to find any of their own words, but I assume that like many others they went quietly forward in faith through the trials they faced and they were true to their testimony of Jesus Christ.

Mathias and Ann Cowley...pioneers, generous and brave, my grandparents, I am grateful for them.

Sources include: Life History of Beth Maurine McCullough, "Our Pioneer Heritage" Vol. 16, http://isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/mormon/mcowley2.htm Please contact me if you would like more specifics.

Pioneer Story of the Day: Maria Billings Linney Morris

Another 4th Great Grandmother of mine was Maria Billings Linney Morris.

She is the mother of Louisa Morris, who married John McCullough. Louisa & John McCullough are the parents of William Morris McCullough. William married Ruth Susan Independence Keysor and they are the parents of Raymond Verne McCullough. Raymond married Irene Callister and they are the parents of Beth Maurine McCullough Henderson.

Maria Billing Linney was born in South Witham, Lincolnshire, England. The black and white picture to the right is an old photograph of the village.

Maria married John Morris in 1832. They lived in a little village about 20 miles away called Barrowden, Rutland. They had eight children. The picture is of wat Barrowden looks like today...not much different than it did almost 200 years ago when they lived there.

The following is taken from a short history written by Arlene Pulsipher Hemsley:

"About the year 1845 or 1846 an Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints whose name was Thomas Smart went to work in Barrowden to take charge of Dyeing wool mats. Soon after he arrived he began to preach the new faith and Maria accepted the gospel with gladness and was baptized on 10 Dec. 1848, with her two sons Charles and John. Emma was baptized in 1849, in 1854 Harriet, Robert and Louisa were baptized. They had to go in the dark to the river that ran by the village so they might not be observed."

Maria's family began saving money and one by one made their way to America. In the spring of 1866 her son Robert sent money to her for her journey. Her husband John, according to family stories, stayed behind with his daughter Sara who had not accepted the gospel. Sara was his daugther from his first wife.

So alone at the age of 59, wanting to be reunited with her children, she sailed on the ship "John Bright" on April 30 from Liverpool, England.

She probably traveled from New York by rail and steam ship to the town of Wyoming, Nebraska Territory. There she joined the John D. Holladay company. They left on July 19th and arrived in Salt Lake City on September 24th. It is likely she walked most of the way (from Nebraska to Salt Lake).

In Salt Lake Maria earned her living going out to nurse sick people and doing the washing for families. She lived in Salt Lake City the rest of her life. On 1870 and 1880 Census records, we find her living with her youngest son Robert in Salt Lake City. She had very good health and it was said she never had a headache. She was about 83 years old when she died. She is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery P_8_8_5E.

Pioneer Story of the Day: Mary Ann George Wylie

Mary Ann George Wylie was another 4th Great Grandmother of mine.

(She was the mother of Ruth Wylie Keysor, who was the mother of Ruth Susan Independence Keysor McCullough, who was the mother of Raymond Verne McCullough who was the father of Beth Maurine McCullough.)

Mary Ann George was born in Ireland in 1790. Sometime in the 1820s she married Oliver Wylie. In 1847 she was baptized. I assume that Oliver passed away before they came to America. I am not sure. By 1856 she was in America and she joined the Edward Martin Handcart Company at age 66. Her daughter, Elizabeth(28) and her husband James Steele(29) and their two little boys ages 3 and 1 were also a part of the company.

With a late start, and early snows tragedy came along the trail. When hope was almost gone, rescuers came to help. On October 28 the first rescuers arrived with a few supplies and helped the people as best they could to carry on. At the Sweetwater River, we know three eighteen-year old boys belonging to the rescue party carried nearly every member of the handcart company across the ice cold stream. I can imagine them carrying our Grandma Wylie, and then her daughter, son-in-law and their two little boys.

They moved on. Each day they were getting closer to the Salt Lake Valley. However, on November 10, James died. He had literally starved to death giving all his food to his children and wife. I believe when he realized help truly was there for his family, he was able to let go and move on. He held on until he knew for sure they would be cared for. He was buried at Bitter Creek.

The painting known as, Martin Handcart Company in Bitter Creek, Wyoming, 1856 (in the Gospel Art Kit #414) is an illustration of this terrible moment for their family.

The artist, Clark Kelley Price, is a descendant of Elizabeth...and this is his rendition of the scene! It really is our ancestors!!!

Grandma Wylie standing behind her daughter Elizabeth who is holding her one year old son, William. He didn't add little James (age 3) clinging to his mother's skirt, while the men bury his father, James Steele, in a cold shallow grave.

Mary and Elizabeth and her two boys carried on. They made it to the Salt Lake Valley. When the Logan Temple was completed in 1884, James(now in his 30's) went to the temple and did the work for his father.

Francis Webster, a member of the Martin Company, stated, in a Sunday School class:
“I was in that company and my wife … too. We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but … we became acquainted with [God] in our extrem[i]ties.

“I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go that far and there I must give up, for I cannot pull the load through it. … I have gone on to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there.

“Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company” (as quoted in David O. McKay, “Pioneer Women,” The Relief Society Magazine, Jan. 1948, 8).

President James E. Faust said this in July 2002, Ensign:
"I hope that this priceless legacy of faith left by the pioneers will inspire all of us to more fully participate in the Lord’s work of bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of His children.

You who are among the descendants of these noble pioneers have a priceless heritage of faith and courage. If there are any of you who do not enjoy fellowship with us in the gospel of Jesus Christ, we invite you to seek to know what instilled such great faith in your ancestors and what motivated them to willingly pay such a terrible price for their membership in this Church. To those who have been offended or lost interest or who have turned away for any reason, we invite all of you to join in full fellowship again with us. The faithful members, with all their faults and failings, are humbly striving to do God’s holy work across the world. We need your help in the great struggle against the powers of darkness so prevalent in the world today. In becoming a part of this work, you can all satisfy the deepest yearnings of your souls. You can come to know the personal comfort that can be found in seeking the sacred and holy things of God. You can enjoy the blessings and covenants administered in the holy temples. You can have great meaning and purpose in your lives, even in the profane world in which we live. You can have strength of character so that you can act for yourselves and not be acted upon."

When stories are shared of the Martin Handcart Pioneers, remember our ancestors. It is in our blood to be strong in face of tragedy, to walk on in the cold, to not be turned bitter by the Bitter Creek moments in our lives. Grandma Wylie carried on for us...let us carry on for her!

Pioneer Story of the Day: Barbara Hulme Heath

Barbara Hulme Heath was one of my 4th Great Grandmothers.

(Her daughter was Jane Heath Silcock, who was the mother of Almira Heath Silcock Henderson, who was the mother of Nicholas Thomas Henderson, who was the father of Jay Harold Henderson)

Barbara was born in England to John Hulme and Lady Jane McDonald Hulme.

The vocation Barbara chose to follow was cooking. "Barbara worked for years in that profession, not marrying. She saved her money wisely. When she was twenty-nine years old Barbara met a very pious gentleman six years younger than herself, by the name of John Heath and fell in love. They were married in 1825...Both John and Barbara brought substantial savings accounts to the marriage, an unusual circumstance for the working class of the times. Barbara and John were well suited for each other, and were very happy in their marriage.”

Her husband John passed away in 1841. Barbara joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England in 1845; she was about 49 years old. She and her sons decided to come to America. In October 1845 they arrived aboard the ship “Oregon” in New Orleans and then came up the Mississippi River to the boat dock in Nauvoo. Her daughter Jane met her at the dock. On the ride home Barbara found that her long journey was not yet over. "Nauvoo would be a temporary respite" as the Saints were preparing to go West.

"Barbara, being financially sound, was able to supply capital to purchase the iron and wood for her wagon. Nicholas (her son-in-law) with the help of the teenage Heath boys, provided the labor."

Before leaving she was endowed in the Nauvoo temple on January 8, 1846.

"Barbara Heath and her sons were assigned to Bishop Hunter's company." They had planned to leave February 16th with the main group of Saints. However, Bishop Hunter was counseled to wait and see if he could sell more of his property first.

"In April, discouraged over bleak sales of his property, Edward Hunter's family and Barbara's family prepared their wagons to move across the Mississippi. By now the grass was growing and the trail west was well traveled."

"Barbara’s sons...had not yet joined the Church. Bishop Hunter had a valuable influence on them through their close association during the months of preparation. The Bishop and his wife, Ann only had one daughter...and no sons. Barbara was grateful for the Bishop's mature and fatherly example. As they were saying goodbye, Barbara's last words to Jane were, "If it was not for the salvation of my boys, I would not leave you."

"By the end of August the Hunters and Heaths had reached Council Bluffs on the Missouri River. It was now the 'sickly season.' Bishop Hunter and his family were so sick they could not continue. Bishop Hunter recorded, 'I suffered with sickness, also seven at a time.' Ann Hunter told Jane later in Salt Lake City of this trying time. She explained the Barbara was the Hunter family's life saver. Barbara (who had been sick earlier in their travels) had regained strength but was still sick. Sister Hunter explained that Barbara cooked the meals and nursed those too ill to leave their beds. Ague symptoms include serious thirst. Sister Hunter said there were times when Barbara was too ill to walk but she crawled from bed to bed of those more ill and gave them water. Finally with that devoted care, they regained health enough at the end of September to cross the Missouri River to Winter Quarters."

"Barbara developed other complications in addition to the ague...Sister Hunter told Jane later in Salt Lake City that Barbara became ill with black canker and lay ill for fourteen weeks. Before Barbara died, she told a dear Sister, Elizabeth Melroy, "Write to my daughter in St. Louis and tell her that I am no more, but I have died in hopes of a bright and glorious resurrection." She passed away at Winter Quarters, October 20, 1846 at age 50.

Text in "quotes" is taken from the book "Come After Us" by Melvin Banner (a biography of Nicholas Thomas Silcock and Jane Heath Silcock)

Text not in quotes and italic additions within the quoted text were added by Marie Arnold.