TITLE PAGE. Daughters of Utah Pioneers. 31 [031]. PIONEER NAME-Alice Pilling Ellison BIRTH DATE AND PLACE- 25 November 1820, Waddington York, England DEATH DATE AND PLACE-8 November 1886, Kaysville - Layton Cemetary FATHER-John Pilling MOTHER- Ellen “Peggy” Banks WHO MARRIED AND DATE- Peggy married John Ellison 4 February 1841 [Correction: It was Alice who married John Ellison; “Peggy” married John Pilling, according to the history.] YEAR ARRIVED IN UTAH- Sept 13, 1852 NAME OF COMPANY- Echo [“Echo” was the name of the ship, according to the history.] WHO WROTE HISTORY AND DATE- Olive Lavinia Ellison Taylor WHO SUBMITTED HISTORY AND DATE- Olive Lavinia Ellison Taylor CAMP NAME- Mt. Joy CAMP HISTORIAN- Bertie Smith COMPANY NAME- Morgan [County] HISTORIAN- Dena Rich SOURCE OF INFORMATION- 4 pages - Biography of Alice Pilling Ellison SIGNATURE OF AUTHOR OR OWNER OF THIS HISTORY- Melba E. Jackson [032] ALICE PILLING ELLISON In a small town, Waddington York, England, a baby girl with brown hair and blue eyes was born 25 November, 1820. Her name was Alice Pilling, born to John Pilling and Ellen “Peggy” Banks. They were land owners and farmers and very thrifty people. They owned race horses and spent a great deal of money on them. They were kind-hearted people, good neighbors and good citizens and loved their family very much. Grandmother was a healthy, bright child and learned many fine ideals from her parents. She attended good schools and gained a fair education for that age of the world. She was observing and eager to learn. She was gentle and ladylike, with a lovely disposition and was kind and understanding to her family and friends. She learned from her mother how to do housework, cook and sew, along with many useful things that helped her throughout her life. In June, 1837, the Prophet Joseph Smith said to Heber C. Kimball in the Kirtland Temple, “Brother Heber, the spirit of the Lord told me to let my servant Heber go to England on a mission to proclaim my gospel and open the door of salvation to that nation.” He had been called to the Apostleship and to preside over the British mission. He felt very humble, but when he realized it to be the will of the Heavenly Father, he determined to do his best at all hazards. At this time my grandmother had grown to maturity. She had been taught to pray and have faith in the Heavenly Father. When Elder Heber C. Kimball and Joseph Fielding came as LDS missionaries, she and her family believed their message to be the truth. On the 6th of January, 1838, many of the people in that neighborhood were baptized with her and her family. They studied in faith and believed the truths of the gospel. When she was baptized and joined the church, her sweetheart broke their engagement. Not long after this she became acquainted with a young man by the name of John Ellison, who had been baptized about the same time. He, too, had lost his sweetheart when he joined the church. Later on they became engaged and were married 4 February, 1841 and began to prepare to go to America with the Saints Because of persecution, they kept their marriage a secret. Soon afterwards, Brother Kimball said to Grandmother, “You will be married and go with the Saints to America. You will not experience sea sickness, and you will be blessed with health and be able to care for the sick on the journey.” Grandmother asked him how he knew and he said the Lord told him. [032-b] Twelve days after their marriage, Alice, her husband John, and his sister Ann Ellison set sail from Liverpool on the ship Echo for America, with Daniel Browett in charge of the company. The Echo was the second ship to bring Saints from England. They were on the ocean eight weeks and one day. There was a lot of sickness among the company of Saints and as Brother Kimball had predicted, Grandmother was able to care for them. After arriving at New Orleans, they went on a river steamboat to St. Louis, this trip taking two weeks. They changed to another steamer for one week more and arrived at Nauvoo. John soon secured his first job, for Squire Wells. He worked on the Nauvoo Temple as a mason tender from 1841 until it was finished in 1846. Each of the Saints gave one tenth of his income, or worked every tenth day on the temple. On the 20th of June, 1843, he purchased a lot from Samuel Prudence Miles in Kimball’s addition to Nauvoo for $100.00. He built a cabin which was their home for three years. Grandmother was happy for her home training, as this was a challenge to her to be thrifty and to make the best of their surroundings, to make it a place of peace and happiness, for they had sacrificed so much. Here, at last, was a place where they could study about the gospel and strive to live it. She worked and prepared food for the workmen on the temple. At Nauvoo, Illinois their first child, Margaret Jane was born 11 August 1842 and about three years later a baby boy was born 22 April 1845. The persecutions, trials and hardships became more severe for the pioneers. Grandfather was bodyguard for the Prophet Joseph. Grandfather became very ill with chills and fever, so ill that he could only sit up a few minutes at a time. His father, Matthew Ellison, who at this time was living on his farm in Rock Creek township nine miles from Nauvoo, said, “I must go and get John. If the mob came for him he would never deny the gospel.” He came with a wagon in the night and took Grandfather and his family out to his home and kept him there until he regained his strength and was able to support his family. The persecutions became worse. After the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum it grew worse. Mobs drove cows and horses away and destroyed property. The troubles the Saints received from the Gentiles and mobs were awful and reached a climax in the battle of Nauvoo. About this time, mobs were gathering up cows and they took Grandmother’s cow. She took a long stick and went through the mob after her cow. The mob leader said, “Stand aside, men. A woman [033] who has that much courage, let her take her cow.” She was full of courage and was not afraid of danger. She knew so much depended on the cow to help provide food for her babies. The Saints were driven and mobbed. They never knew what was coming to them next. The teachings of the gospel given to them by the Prophet Joseph were all new to them and there was disputing about leadership. Brigham Young, being president of the Twelve Apostles, knew the order of authority, so a meeting was called for the Saints to meet in the grove. When Brigham Young stood up, the mantle of the Prophet fell over him and he spoke with the voice of the Prophet. Grandmother and Grandfather were both there. Grandmother said they all stood up and it was a miracle before them. They knew Brigham Young was to be their leader. She taught her family the gospel and many faith-promoting incidents and bore her testimony to them that the gospel was true and that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. On the 3rd of November, 1846, Grandfather sold his house to Peter Poincin for half the price he paid for the lot. This is one example how the Saints had to sacrifice their property when they were forced to leave the city and their homes. In the Spring of 1850, Grandfather and his family went to St. Louis, Missouri where he worked in a printing office. He sent to Illinois and bought two cows, two yoke of oxen, a wagon, plow and other tools useful in opening up a new country, which were to be sent with his wife’s uncle, Michael Pilling, to Winter Quarters by steamboat. Grandfather and Grandmother intended to go to Winter Quarters early next spring to go with the company of Saints to Utah. Winter Quarters, now Florence, Nebraska on the Missouri River, was made temporary abode for the Saints to prepare in companies for the long trek across the plains, and to organize and fit out the companies. Shortly after they moved to St. Louis, two sons were born to them, David Samuel, born 2 March 1848 and two years later, Ephraim Peter, born 10 June 1850. They lost two little children in St. Louis, John Ammon, died 15 August 1847, and David Samuel, died 26 July 1849. An epidemic of summer complaint took a devastating toll of infant population in large cities those times. Grandmother was strong and healthy and had great courage, or she could never have raised her family. She struggled and worked hard to provide for them. Early in the spring of 1851, Grandfather and Grandmother and two children, Margaret and Ephraim left St. Louis by steamboat for Winter Quarters, expecting to make the journey to Utah the same season. But heavy floods on the Missouri River detained them at St. Joseph for three weeks. The river was so high and with so much driftwood, logs and large trees floating down that it was unsafe for boats to make the trip. When they at last left St. Joseph, they boarded an open ferry. The trip required ten days. It rained every [033-b] Day and there was no shelter so they were wet all the way. Upon arriving at Winter Quarters, they found that the last company of Saints had left for Utah two weeks before, and another company would not be leaving that season, so they had to make the best of their surroundings and stay until the next year. This was another test for Grandmother, thrift and ability to make the best out of makeshifts. Grandmother’s relatives were there and gave her courage and what help they could. Grandfather was a hard worker and had courage and foresight to know what was best to do. His cows, team and wagon, and plow helped a great deal. He rented a piece of land and put in a crop of corn and potatoes. He secured logs and built a cabin and bought two pigs for meat, so they were soon fixed comfortable and had plenty to eat for the winter. On the 11th of June, 1852 they started for Utah and left their cabin for the next Saints that came. Theirs was the second company to go that season. Each company consisted of 100 wagons. There were captains for each fifty and every ten wagons. Grandfather was captain of ten wagons. Heavy articles of household furniture, implements, tools, etc. were loaded into wagons; clothing, bedding, utinsils and even small children were pushed in hand carts. Although Grandfather had an outfit of a good wagon, two cows and a team, Grandmother walked nearly all the way and let another person who wasn’t able to walk, ride in her place. The Lord blessed her for her kindness and help to others with health, strength and courage. Little Epriaim, two years old, rode in a hand cart all the way to Utah. Grandfather kept a diary all his life. His diary across the plains tells of many hardships the company endured, walking through rain, mud, sand and heat, of women, children and livestock dying along the way. On Sundays they rested and held religious services. On the 13th of September, 1852, after traveling ninety-nine days, they arrived in Salt Lake Valley, tired but thankful and happy to find peace and rest after such a hard trip. The next day, Grandfather went with Heber C. Kimball to see his farm on the Jordan River. Grandfather rented it and they moved the next day. The home was a small adobe place. They were soon settled and happy. The next Spring, Grandfather planted thirty-five acres of wheat, but the Jordan River overflowed, destroying most of the crop. Here their fifth child was born 25 March 1853 at Salt Lake City. In October, 1853, Grandfather and Grandmother and three small children moved to Kaysville, Utah where they made their first home on the mountain road east of Kaysville. They lived there the rest of their lives. Five more children were born to them here, Susannah Ellen, born 28 March 1855, Elijah Edward, born 1 August 1857, Mary [034] Alice, born 29 October 1859, Sarah Ann Dinah, born 23 January 1862, and my father, Joseph Heber, born 12 May, 1864. Sarah Ann Dinah had a tragic accident. Grandmother was heating a large kettle of milk on an old stove; one leg was broken and it was propped up with a block of wood. Somehow the block of wood slipped out and the stove tipped and boiling milk went over the little girl. She died 29 January 1863 when she was just a year old. She was buried in the Kaysville-Layton Cemetery. They went through many pioneer hardships, drought, floods and plagues of grasshoppers. Grandfather once saved the only crop of oats in the community by building bonfires of sage brush around the sides of the field. Then he hired men, women and children to beat and drive the grasshoppers into the fires. That saved his crop. Grandmother worked by his side through all their hardships besides caring for her little children, many times not well when the babies were small. When the men were at work, Grandmother was left to guard the garden and fields with a large hickory stick to drive Indians away and keep them from stealing their crop. I have heard my father say she wasn’t fooling when she went after those Indians. In the early days in Utah, so much depended on the crops they could raise. She had great faith, courage and determination for the right. She had a strong testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. She had been tested and tried in so many ways. She would walk long distances to church. She gave service to the poor and sick. When her youngest son, Joseph Heber, was about seventeen, he ran away with one of his cousins who had been visiting them. He was from Illinois. Grandmother said, “I am going after him and bring him home.” This was a great undertaking in pioneer times, to go so far and alone. As she was walking through the field, her son (my father) saw her coming. He said, “If my mother was in the country I would say it was her,” and it was her. She said, “I have come to take you home, Joseph.” I imagine he was glad to go with her for she was a loving mother and very determined to do right. Father rented his father’s farm orchard and livestock. When he and mother were married, they moved to the mountain home where they lived over four years. The home was a four-room rock house. Mother said she felt Grandmother was proud and haughty, but when she knew her she was the kindest and best friend she ever had. Grandmother Ellison took very ill with consumption. Father took Mother and I to visit Grandmother Wiggill as Mother wasn’t well. Grandmother Ellison missed us and she asked Father where we were. He told her and she said, “Go and get them. I want to see them.” He did come and get us. She was happy to see us and after we had talked to her, as she was so very ill, as we were leaving she watched us and said, “God bless you both.” We both loved her very much. She was a tall, stately lady with brown hair and blue eyes, and she was the kindest, dearest mother, grandmother, friend and neighbor I have ever known. She loved the gospel and taught it to her [034-b] Family. Grandmother Alice Pilling Ellison received her Patriarchal Blessing on the 8th of January, 1868 from Patriarch John Smith, in Kaysville, Utah and she remained true to the gospel the rest of her life. She died 8 November 1886 at the old Mountain home on Canyon Road east of Kaysville. She was buried in the Kaysville-Layton Cemetery. I have her best black dress, and I have had it in my possession since I was a girl. I also have a small platter that belonged to Peggy Banks, her mother. “A Tribute to a Wonderful Mother” God made a wonderful mother- A mother who never grows old; He made her smile of the sunshine- And he molded her heart of pure gold; In her eyes he placed bright shining stars- In her cheeks, fair roses you see;”God made a wonderful mother- And he gave that mother to me. ---Pat O’Reilly