ADDITIONAL STORIES FROM THE LIFE OF EMMA MORRIS KINGSTON Emma Morris and a girl friend each about twenty years of age made the long trip from England to Utah alone, walking most of the way across the plains. On reaching Salt Lake City, homesick, lonely and weary, Emma discovered that some one had stolen her trunk. That precious trunk that contained everything she owned in the world. Every stitch of clothing was gone, except a suit of under wear that happened to be in a hand bag that she carried with her. While she stood there desperately wondering what to do, a man came into the camp grounds and hurried over to her. It was Elder Mark Lindsay the Elder who had converted her to the Mormon faith in England. He at once took over and secured homes for the two girls, with the families of two Austin men whom they had known in England, years later one of these men met Emma's son Oliver and said with tears in his eyes, " I knew your mother in England when she wore silks and satins, and I also knew her when she wore gunny sacks." In 1862 she married Fredric Kingston. The following year her first child Oliver was born. Soon after his birth they moved to Richville in Morgan County, and here in 1865 a little daughter, Lizzie Ann, was born. Mr. Kingston, though a willing worker, could not provide very well for his family for he was never well. He suffered continually from a severe case of Asthma, and many times the poor man would lie for weeks, and sometimes for months gasping for breath. Then the mother would be compelled t o leave her little family and go out washing or house cleaning or doing any kind of work that she could get to do to provide a meager living for her family. 2 One winter while Lizzie was just a little girl, a widow Mrs. Lizzette Durramt Whitehead and her little daughter Sarah, came to live with the Kingston family. That year the children received their first Christmas presents. Little Lizzie's present was a small cardboard box with five little pieces of candy in it. And a tiny breast-pin with a green glass set. How thrilled, and excited the children were. It was never-to-be forgotten day. Lizzie (Mrs. James Peterson) is now eighty-three years old, but she says she can still feel the thrill of that day. Food was so scarce in the Kingston home, everyone was always hungry. That Christmas Day the parents were invited out to dinner but the children were not included. The parents accepted the invitation so there would be more food at home. The children had just a small dish of mush for their breakfasts, and the house was cold but they had their gifts and they were happy. That night it rained and rained, as the evening wore on the water came down in torrents. Their little log house had just had a nice fresh coat of white-wash, but the dirt roof leaked and pretty soon little streams of muddy water were running down all the walls. Then the roof began to leak everywhere. Mother put a sheep skin on the floor under the table and t he little children were tucked into sleep. This was not an entirely new experience for a sheepskin was the only bed the children knew. Another Christmas experience is still fresh in the menory of Mrs. Peterson, a family by the name of Metz had hired Mrs. Kingston to help with "Company" dinner on Christmas day. After dinner was over and everything was cleared away, Mr. Metz gave Mrs. Kingston a small bucket of molasses and a little corn meal to take home. The mother 3 hurried home to cook Christmas dinner for her family. The dinner consisted of corn meal mush and molasses, The children stood around the stove and watched it cook and jumped up and down and clapped their hands. Oh, what a delicious dinner it was for these children had never tasted sugar or anything sweet for months. One winter they were living in two rooms in a log house the weather turned bitter cold. The father was very ill all winter and the mother and children had to go out along the ditch banks and try to find fuel to keep the house just a little bit warm, but green willows was all they could find and it was almost impossible to keep the willows burning and when they did burn they gave almost no heat. There was very little food and insufficient bedding and the parents geared they would all freeze. With the hunger and cold the father's condition grew steadily worse until they feared he would not live until spring unless something could be done to improve their living conditions. There was an old dug-out in the side of a hill that some one had abandoned and Mrs. Kingston moved her family into it. They found it much warmer and the father's health improved. In those early days feed for animals was very scarce too. The sheep had to be turned out on the hills to graze very early in the spring. When the cold spring storms came many of the sheep would die. Then the children would be sent out on the hills to look for the dead sheep and pull out all the wool. Often the children would go for miles and miles in the hills and always in dread of Indians. Not only did they gather the wool from the dead sheep but they watched the brush for any bits of wool that might have been pulled off while the sheep were grazing. This wool was carried home to mother who carefully washed it with home made soap, that was made with grease 4 After the wool was carefully washed through several waters it was thoroughly dried, then picked to pieces, carded or combed into bats for quilts, or into rolls to be spun in to yarn. The yarn was used for knitting stockings, mittens, shawls, sweaters, or "nubies," which were really long scarfs, and were worn around the head in cold weather. Little girls of seven or eight learned to knit these very essential articles. Paper When Lizzie was eleven years old she went out to work to help earn the living. At thirteen she was working for her dinner and 25 cents per week at the age of fourteen for $1.00 per week. She walked one mile to work, washed on a wash board, ironed 27 or 28 shirts every week, scrubbed three floors twice a week, baked 15 loaves of bread every day and helped with the other work in the home, walked a mile back home at night, and washed and ironed her own clothing every night for she didn't have a change. She worked from five in the morning until ten at night and it took thirteen weeks to earn the money to buy enough calico for a dress, the cheapest shoes she could buy and a cheap straw hat with a colored band around it. Later when she was older she often walked two miles, washed on the board all day scrubbed two floors and walked two miles home at night for 50 cents. She never owned a pair of over shoes or rubbers until after she was married. Many times her shoes and stockings froze to her feet and legs as she walked home at night. Often she was paid with dried apples, vegetables or anything they could eat. And still Mrs. Peterson says as a child she was happy. 5 You are my brother and I love you; You are my sister and I care; We are God's children; let's lift each other And one another's burdens share. 6 Youth conference Karen $5 - $45