TITLE PAGE PIONEER (full name) Margaret Harley Randall BIRTH (date and place) 13 January 1823, Chester Co. Penn. DEATH (date and place) 5 April 1919 PARENTS Benjamin Randall Elizabeth Harley MARRIED (who and date) Alfred Randall 29 January 1848 ARRIVAL IN UTAH (date) Sept 1848 (Company arrived with) HISTORY (who wrote) Emily Randall Richards (date written) 1941 (who submitted) Glenna Rich Porter (address) 398 W Young St Morgan, Utah 84050 CAMP & COUNTY SUBMITTING South Morgan DUP Camp Morgan County (Camp Historian & address) Lois B Peterson 82 W 200 N, Morgan, Utah 84050 County Historian & address) Dena C. Rich 1266 n Morgan Valley Dr., Morgan, Utah SOURCE OF INFORMATION & PAGE NUMBERS: MARGARET HARLEY RANDALL Margaret Harley daughter of Benjamin and Elisabeth Harley was born January 13, 1823 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Her mother died when Margaret was eleven years of age. She was always a delicate child and it was said of her that she would not live to be twenty years of age. However, she lived to the ripe old age of ninety-six, dying April 5, 1919. The century in which Margaret lived saw the most wonderful advancement in the history of the world—-the perfection and bringing into use of the steam boat railroad, and telegraph, and the invention of the telephone and automobile and the improvement of the postal system. In their Pennsylvania home Margaret and her brother Edwin; four years her senior, were converted to the gospel of the Church of Jesus Chirst of Latterday Saints. Records are not avilable to show when by whom they were baptized. Their father was a kind and loving man, but not being converted himself, fell sad to have his sone and daughter join so unpopular a religion. Naturally, he would do nothing to help them join the Saints. However, he told Margaret to come back home when she found out her mistake. Margaret and her sister had been kind to a lonely old man wno lived near, and when he died he left one hundred dollars to each of the girls. Margaret used her portion to take her to Nauvoo to join her chosen people, but did not arrive in that city until after the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith. She talked very little about her life and thus not much is known of the particulars of her travels and early experiences. At Nauvoo Margaret Harley hired out to work for Alfred Randall and his wife Eneretta Davis. She was very anxious to go with the pioneers to Utah, but being alone she had no way to go. The Randalls wanted to help her, but Alfred said the orly way he could take her was to marry her, Margaret knew he was a good man and decided that this was the best thing to do, so at Winter Quarters, a temporary settlement over the west bank of the Missouri River, she was united in marriage to Alfred Randall by President Brigham Young, on January 29, 1848. She thus embraced the principle of plurality of wives, being the second wife to Alfred Randall. Her husband later married three other wives. Margaret was true, kind, and benevolent in all her family relations. There was not one of her husbands wives or children who did not like to visit "Aunt Margaret" and they all did so whenever convenient and often stayed several days at a time. The family arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in September 1848, having been delayed a year by a broken leg of the husband. They lived for some years in the Seventeenth Ward of Salt Lake City, just west of the West Temple Street on First North. They were in the historic "move" of 1858, going as far south as Provo and returning when the danger was passed. Margaret was also taken by her husband and lived for a short time in the following places — what was than called "Over Jordan", Bountiful, and West Weber. Bearing these years times were hard and food scarce. One year the crops were almost an entire failure. They dug roots and whatever they could find to cook. At one time they were without any flour in the house for three weeks, Margaret said the boys would not play at this time, but would lie on the floor most of the time. She wondered why, not realizing they were too weak to play. When they had bread again to eat she said the boys would again play. One day during this period margaret became so exhausted while doing the family washing that she could not go on. Then she found one, and only one egg, which she ate to give her strength to finish the washing. The boys were asleep, but it hurt her so to eat that egg without having some for the children that she could never forget it, but would sometimes tell about it and say, "That was the only time in my life that I ever ate anything when the children could not have some too." No doubt there were plenty of times when the children ate and she could not, but these times were never mentioned. Her husband Alfred went on three missions and on trips east to help immigrants into the valley. He was also away working on such projects as helping to build Camp Floyd, building saw mills, woolen mills, etc. so that much of the time she was alone with her family. In 1562 Alfred bought a farm and home In Centerville, Utah and moved Margaret there. While living here she had to make shoes for her sons of Jeans (a heavy cloth). She said the boys would go outride to work as long as they copuld stand it , then come in and warm and dry theif feet before going out again. Clothing was very scarce. At one time Margaret procurred some canvas of which she made a coat for Orrin. One cold Stromy day he was in the canyon getting out wood. His mother worried about him. Melvin, the other brother, said, "Why do you worry about Orrin? He wouldn't get cold with that coat on." Margaret remained in Centerville the rest of her life except the last two years when she was taken by her daughter, Alice Clark, to Georgetown, Idaho to be cared for until she died, She lived in the same house in Centerville until sometime in the Nineties when her house become so old that her son Orrin had her live in his house as he and his family were living in Morgan at that time. While living in Orrin's house, her eyes began to fail. One day while cleaning her pantry she found a paper containing what she thought was some old useless onion seeds. She three the paper into the stove. The "Seeds" proved to be gun powder which exploded burning off her eyebrows and scorching her hair. Her son, Melvin, said, "That is enough You are coming to live with us." This she did until taken to Idaho in 1917. She never wanted to leave the "farm" Which her husband had owned and left in the care of his sons for the maintenance of the family. She was very independent and when, her daughters tried to get her to live with them she would always say. "No, the farm has to keep me," From 1871 to 1901 Margaret was president of the Ward Relief Society. Sisters from Salt lake City, Eliza R. Snow, Zina D. Young, Precinda Kimball, Emiline B. Wells, and many others often visited in her home. If anyone in the community was sick "Sister Randall" was called in and was always there either day or night helping, often staying days at a time with persons sick with any kind of disease. It was said of her that she was truly a ministering angel. Besides caring for the sick and preparing the dead for burial she was often taking food and needed articles to these in need, but never, never mentioning it. She would quietly slip it out of the house. If her daughters happened to see her doing it she would say. "If we give it to them may be we won't need it." She truly followed the admonition, "Do not let your left hand know what your right hand, dooeth." She also went to Salt Lake City and studied obstetrics and practiced in that capacity for a number of years, officiating at sixty births. However, she did not care for that work as she felt that it was too much responsibility. On her sixtieth birthday the Ward Relief Society gave her a surprise party with a big dinner and lovely presents. Margaret was a small woman with dark eyes and hair very active and energetic. She was truly a wonderful woman with unusual good sense in managing her home and in helping others. Much of the food for the family was produced at home. From the farm came wheat, potatoes, corn, squash and hay for the cows; from the garden, all kinds of vegetables for both summer and winter use; from the orchard all kinds of fruit then raised in Utah. There was also milk, cream, butter, chickens and eggs. Meat was not so plentiful but sometimes there would be a beef or veal or pork. Money was scarce. A dozen eggs or a pound of butter would buy a little sugar and other staples. In later years many a grand meal was made with all home-grown foods except sugar, salt and spices. Even the vinegar was made on the farm and honey obtained from a few hives of bees. Margaret was an excellent cook and loved to give small dinner parties to her friends of whom there were many.The married sons and daughters who lived in Centerville often, came with their families especially on Sundays. Margaret worked in her garden, dried fruit, tended her cows and chickens and did everything there was to do in a pioneer home such as carding wool, spinning and dyeing cloth, making quilts find carpets, sewing clothing, etc. Her sewing was all done by hand as she never owned a sewing machine. She was also engaged in raising silk worms for the silk industry of Utah. She rejoiced in her knowledge of the gospel, and never found it to be the "mistake" her father thought it would be. She bore her testimony to the truthfulness of the gospel to the end of her life. She was loyal to the Priesthood and all presiding officers and always paid her tithing and donations. How she did love and obey every word of President Brigham Young. She was the mother of seven children, two sons, Orrin K. and Kelvin H., and five daughters, Mary Elizabeth, Margaret Ellen, Thurza Amelia, Alice, and Emily. As the latter part of her husband's life was spent mostly in North Ogden she depended upon and took comfort in her two sons. Her life was happy in the main because of her faith and fortitude, and because of her love for her family and friends and religion. Her time was spent in the service of her family and the poor and sick in her community. The latter years of her life were spent in blindness, at first partial and then total blindness, caused from cataracts. To one who all her life had been a busy worker and who loved to read, especially the scriptures and the Deseret News, this was naturally a great trial. Yet she never complained but said, "Some folks can't hear. I can go to meeting and hear what is said and can talk with my friends." The last few years her memory failed her also. The children and posterity of Margaret Harley Randall, have reason to rejoice in the heritage that is theirs through this true, loyal, faithful woman. Written by Emily Randall Richards – 1941 PATRIARCHAL BLESSING OF MARGARET RANDALL, DAUGHTER OF BENJAMIN AND ELIZABETH HARLEY. BORN CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, JANUARY 13, 1823 Sister Beloved of the Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ I lay my hands upon thy nead and seal upon thee the Blessing of a Father. I seal you up against the destroyer and I seal upon you all the blessings of the holy Priesthood which is after the order of the only Begotten which will give you power to deal with the sick in thine house, or do any miracle that ever was done on Earth by a Daughter of Ephraim, when it is necessary. Thou shalt be blessed in thy family. Thy children shall be healthy and shall partake of the priesthood and shall become very numerous pnd very great in Israel. Thou shalt have every desire of thy heart, thou shall have an Endowment. If you are faithful you shall live to see the winding up scene of this generation. I seal all these blessings upon thee in common with thy companion for thou art of the blood of Ephraim and I seal you up to Eternal Life with all thy Fathers house, AMEN. By John Smith, Patriarch------December 26, 1851.