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!