Morgan Pioneer History Binds Us Together Eli Whitear and His Wives, Annie Maria Hall Whitear and Eleanor Hall Whitear Eli Whitear was born in Preston Can- dover, Hampshire, England, on April 25, 1827. He was the fourth child born to John Whitear and Rachel Hedgecock Whitear. The first children born to this couple were Eliza, in 1817; Elizabeth, born in 1819; and William, born in 1823. William died in 1925. When Eli was six years old, another sister, Caroline Rose, was born. John was a blacksmith and also owned a beer shop and other property. Perhaps because John was prosperous, Eli was a scholar until past his fourteen years. He received instruction in music and learned to play a cornet and several other musical instruments. His schooling was more extensive than the average child, but when he finished his schooling he was taught the blacksmith trade and worked in his father's blacksmith shop. In 1851, the peace and calm of the village was disrupted when a Mormon missionary came into the area. Several conversions were made in the area and this caused some of the converts to be fired from their employment. It was at this time that Eli met and fell in love with Emma Brooks, a Mormon convert. She and her two sisters, Fanny and Maria, had joined the church and consequently been disowned by their parents The three sisters had earned enough money by 1854 to buy passage on the ship Windemere, which was to set sail from Liverpool on February 22,1854. Eli's parents were very upset because of Eli's affection for Emma, and relations in the home became strained. When Eli determined to go to Liverpool to see the sisters off on their journey, harsh words were spoken by the son and his parents. He packed his clothes and left for Liverpool. After bidding goodbye to Emma and seeing the sisters safely aboard ship, he stayed in Liverpool and listened to the missionaries of the Mormon church. He was baptized on February 26,1854, by John Thomson and confirmed a member by Elders James Linford, Daniel Caveen and John Thomson. He was convinced that he should also emigrate to America, so he bought passage on the ship John. M. Wood. This ship was due to sail in about three weeks. He traveled back to his home to pack the rest of his clothes and other things he wished to take with him. His parents were so upset with his affiliation with the Mormon religion that he did not tell them of his plans to sail. He quietly packed his belongings and left. Later he wrote to his parents to express his love for them and for England and bore his testimony. He also included a poem he had written. He returned to Liverpool and boarded the ship which sailed March 12,1854. This ship, and the one that the Brooks sisters were on, were headed for New Orleans. Eli kept a journal, recording events on board the ship. He also wrote several poems for friends he made on board. He arrived in New Orleans on April 26, 1854. The journey continued up the Mississippi River. Many of the travelers were sick with cholera and the ship was quarantined at St. Louis for several days, then traveled on and landed and camped on McGee Camping Grounds in Kansas, where several died. Eli was also sick, and when he regained his health, he began to inquire about the Daniel Garns Company where he understood Emma Brooks and her sisters were. He found the location of that company's camp and learned that Maria was the only one of the sisters who had survived the trip. Emma had died of smallpox on March 17,1854, and her sister, Fanny, had died a day later. They had both been buried at sea. Eli then joined that company in order to help Maria across the plains. Eli drove one of the wagons and with his trade of blacksmithing, he was often called upon to replace a lost oxen shoe or mend a wagon wheel. The company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on Sunday, October 1, 1854. Eli found employment in Farmington working for Ira Oviat in his blacksmith shop. Nine months after they arrived in the valley, on July 24, 1855, Eli and Maria Brooks were married by Bishop Hess in Farmington. Four months later, they went to the newly dedicated Endowment House and were sealed for time and eternity. The following year, their first child was born. He was named John Thomas, but he only lived a short time. ?'s;.