Morgan Pioneer History Binds Us Togethei Martha Slade Dickson and William H. Dickson Martha Slade was born in Crewkerne, England on January 31, 1856, to William Slade and Amelia Lacey Slade- She had two older sisters - Rhoda and Eliza. When Martha was one year old, her father borrowed money to pay his way to America. In 1860 the mother and her daughters traveled to join the father who was working Before he could Martha Slade Uiek~on i farm in Pennsylvania. money for the family to travel to Utah, the father died, leaving his wife with five children and expecting another. With financial help from church members, the little family started for Utah in 1864. The two youngest boys, ages two and six months died in Wyoming as the ox train traveled west. For the first winter in Utah, the Slade family lived with Amelia's sister, Mary Ann Criddle, who lived in Milton, Morgan County. When spring came, the family moved out to a tent made of quilts and blankets. Later a man let them live in his old cabin when he built a larger home. The girls lived with different families to earn room and board. Martha never lived with her mother after she was nine years old. The last family she lived with was the Billa Dicksons in Richville. On March 22,1872, Martha married Billa's son, William Henderson Dickson. William Henderson Dickson was born to Billa Dickson and Mary Ann Stoddard Dickson in Monroe County, Iowa on March 22,1850. The family traveled to Utah in 1852, arriving in Salt Lake October 30,1852. Billa's family lived in American Fork, then Davis County. It was while living in East Layton that Will experienced a miraculous healing. He had fallen on a pitchfork, and the tine had penetrated his back just below the ribs. A man came to the door and offered to give the sick boy a blessing. The family has always believed that this man was one of the Three Nephites. In 1859, Billa bought a small farm in Richville, Morgan County, and moved to Morgan Valley. As a young man. Will was known for his strength and ability as a wrestler. He was also an excellent rifleman. After his marriage to Martha, the couple lived in a small house near the Richville Lane. Later, a two-room house with concrete walls was built, and sometime before 1900 a brick addition was built onto the front of the concrete house. This house is still standing. Will and Martha had eleven children born to them. In order of birth: John Henry, William Stuart, Albert, Mary Amelia, Eliza, Wallace, May, Edna, Lucy, LeRoy and Reed. William Stuart and Mary Amelia died as babies. In addition to these children, they raised Martha's nephew, Bill Slade, when Bill's mother died. In 1898 Will was called on a mission to the Midwest. He served for two years in the Omaha, Nebraska, area. The last child, Reed, was born when Will was fifty-two and Martha was forty-six. After several weeks illness, Martha died April 19, 1932. Will was injured after attending a high school basketball game when a car struck his legs, breaking one of them. He was hospitalized and died on April 5,1936, from complications from bladder stones. William Dickson and Martha Slade Dickson 65