Life story of MERIAM ANN RICHINS and her husband , ROBERT J ONES Born ; Dec 24 1837, Gleuchestershire , England Death : 11 Dec 1884 Sailed for America , April 30 , 1866 History ,1ven , Feb, 1981 by Grace Dickson . South Morcan Camp. 12 7 South Morcan Camp Historian Margaret McKinnon LIFE STORY OF MIRIAM ANN RICHINS AND HER HUSBAND, ROBERT JONES May our hearts stir in remembrance, Our minds be brought to comprehend, How God walked beside our fathers, Until they reached the promised land. May our hearts swell to remember That a desert’s barren soil yielded grain and fragrant beauty To reward their faith and toil! The following life story is dedicated to the memory of our pioneer ancestor, Miriam Ann Richins Jones. She was the daughter of William and Charlotte Ann Guy Richins and was born 24 December 183?-, at Sheepscomb, Gloucestershire, England, where many of our ancestors came from. Many stories have been written about the lives of these brave and stalwart men and the courage they had in leaving their homes, loved ones and friends in England to come to Utah. But we must not forget the faith and support of the good wives and mothers who sacrificed so much to help blaze the trail into the west and made it "blossom as the rose. 11 Miriam Ann Richins was one of these faithful women who endured the hardships of pioneering. The town of Sheepscomb, where she was born, was one of the farming areas where the rolling hills were covered with beautiful green grass for pasturing livestock, some of which produced meat, milk, butter and cheese for family use. Grain and hay also were grown. The members of the William Richins family .were not wealthy but were industrious and self-sustaiDjng. The children were always taught to work, and many of them went out to help support the family at an early age. Miriam apparently was a healthy girl and like many others at nine or ten years ·of a~e did household chores or other types of work for a small wage to help provide for the family of seven children; namely, Joseph, Leonard, Absalom, Enoch, tlf Miriam Ann, Peter and Emma. Life story of Miriam Ann Richins and her husband, Robert Jones -- Page 2 As years passed by, she grew to be a beautiful youn9 woman with a fair complexion and beautiful dark hair. She was admired by all for the wonderful disposition which she had throughout her lifetime . Everyone was happy to be associated with her. During her teenage years she was very helpful to the fami ly and a great comfort to her mother, she being the only girl to grow to womanhood. She was about eighteen years old when two Mormon missionaries were there in Sheepscomb teaching the gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to all who would listen to them. The William Richins family had listened to their message and were very much impressed with it and desirous of joining the Church . It was 1 January 1850 when William and Charlotte were baptized at Caudle Green, Gl oucestershire, England. Their two sons, Joseph and Leonard, were baptized at the same time, but Miriam was not baptized until 3 November 1856 by Robert Jones. After their baptisms their minds were very much enlightened, and they felt as though a light from Heaven had come to direct them to a richer and better way of life . The years passed by and during this time the family hoped that someday they could come to America and make their home in Utah with the Latter- Day Saints. They realized it would take time and work to get money enouqh to make the voyage, but with faith and courage they worked to this 9oal. Very little is known of their occupation only that they lived and worked on a farm. During the time of preparation their son, Absalom and his younger brothers, went to Tredegar, South Wales, to work in the coal mines. These boys came to Utah a few years later. It was 30 April 1866 when William, Charlotte, Miriam and her son Arthur, and a grandson, Lorenzo (son of Joseph) sailed from Liverpool, En gland, on the ship •John Bright•. At this time William was in his sixtieth year. Miriam was twenty-eight. In the company on the ship there were either 747 or 764 Saints who were under the direction of C. M. Gillet. Many of these were friends or relatives of Miriam. Among these was Robert Jones, who was a close friend of the William Richins Family. His wife, Harriet Tipper, had died previous to this time leaving him with three children; Robert Allen, William Seth, and Mary Jane. They also were coming to Zion to make their home. • • Life story of Miriam Ann Richins and her husband, Robert Jones -- Page 3 While cross i ng the ocean the weather was very pl easant at times , and quite often it was very rough. Many were seasick during most of the voyage which lasted almost six weeks. One of the passengers reported in his diary that the food consisted only of the "ship's fare" which was sea-biscui ts, salt pork, oatmeal, rice tea and sugar. They had potatoes, partly cooked, only once. Robert didn't enjoy his meals as he was sick most of the time. A l ady by the name of Mrs. Cl ark, who settled in Upton, was in the same company and tells of their experiences on board ship. She writes, "After a few days sailing we went up on deck to see the waves of the ocean rolling as high as mountains. Sometimes they would dash over and give us a good ducking. At one time we saw five large fish with heads resembling those of horses {probably Sea Horses). 11 A few days 1 ater the sea was sti 11 very rough, and none of us could stand on our feet . We just kept taking our turns falling down and some were hurting themselves . The tins and pans were rolling about, and the food was tossed around, but still we coul d not help laughing . "You have heard people say they could go to sleep with rocking. We had pl enty of it that night. Talk about a swing boat, why bless your soul , it is nothing compared to being rocked on the sea. We could hardly stay in bed. We had to get up and turn our heads where our feet should be, or we would not stay in bed at all. The tins and boxes were rolling about, and the slop buckets were upset and rolling, too . The sai l ors said it was one of the roughest nights they had ever seen, and it continued all day. "Three days later, we had a beautiful day . We had a concert and dancing on deck as some of the company had their musical instruments with them . A few days later it was another very rough day, and the ship goes as much backward as forward. We had to keep to our beds, and at times we were al most upright in bed. But we still had our prayers every night and morning, and our meetings on Sunday. The Saints on board were divided into wards under the direction of the El ders in Priesthood . " Weary and tired from the long voyage they final ly reached New York Harbor on 6 June 1866. From there the passengers went by river streamer or train unti l the reached the town of St. Joseph, Missouri, then by boat to I 3'D Wyoming, Nebraska, which was a short distance from Nebraska City. This was an out- I , • Life story of Miriam Ann Richins and her husband, Robert Jones Page 4 fitting place for the emigrants and teamsters where there were ox trains and mule trains which had come from Utah to help them on their way. It was there Miriam and her parents joined the Captain Samuel D. Whites Company which was a mule train of 46 wagons and 230 emigrants. They left Nebraska 7 July 1866 to make the trek of about a thousand miles. It was a long hard journey of about two months that it took to make this trip . When they reached Echo Canyon, they were met by Charles Richins, who had established his home in Henneferville. He brought the William Richins family, tired and weary, to his home where they rested a few days before continuing on to Salt Lake City where they arrived 5 September 1866. From there they went to Pleasant Grove, Utah, where they did farming and gardening for a livelihood. A short time later they moved to Provo to live with their son, Enoch. William was known to have a mild disposition and seldom got angry. He had a bit of pride, also, and always carried a cane whether he needed it or not, but it was stylish to be carrying one. After living in Provo a short time Miriam and Lorenzo went back to Henneferville. Her son, Arthur, continued living with his grandparents and his Uncle Enoch. By going back to Henneferville, Miriam hoped to find work of some kind to provide a living for her son and al so help her parents. She did some housework and some other work in Echo, also. In the meantime this fine young man, Robert Jones, a widower with three children who had come from England on the same ship as Miriam, had settled near Henneferville, also. He had crossed the plains with the Henry Chapman Company by ox team . When this company arrived in Echo Canyon, they were met by Edward Richins who brought them to his home. It was a log house about two miles north of Echo. They always remembered the freshly baked bread with homemade butter that Ellen had prepared for them. The referred to it as a feast. Robert stayed with Edward and his wife and was a great help in harvesting the hay and doing other farm work that fa l l and winter. His children were living with relatives in Henneferville until a later time. It seems there could have been a cl ose friendship with Robert and Miriam during their six-weeks voyage from Engl and as they soon found each other after- Miriam came to Henneferville. Then the courtship began. 131 • • Life story of Miriam Ann Richins and her husband, Robert Jones - - Page 5 About three months later on 2 December 1866 they were married at Croydon, Utah, by Bishop James Walker. A dinner party was given in their honor by Charles and Harriet Shi ll. This was a happy event on their wedding day. Robert and his wife, Miriam, continued l iving with Edward on the farm. It was about this t ime i n early winter that Edward wanted to build a new log house. The logs had been haul ed from the canyon by ox team in earl y fall. Robert was a good workman and was anxious to help get the house built , and the work began. It was one l arge room with door and windows, and was joined on to the other house . Each house faced south so that from the outside it looked like one long l og house with two front doors. With this addition there was more room for two fami l ies. When it was completed, Edward l ived in the new part, and Robert ' s family l ived in the ol der one. We are sure El len was happy with her new house at this time as she was expecting her second baby. It was 3 December 1866 when the baby was born. He was a beautiful baby boy, and they gave him the name of Alma Ether . They were especially happy with this baby as their first chi ld, Albert Edward, had passed away when he was a year old. About a month later a group of young folks were going to a dance at Croydon, and Edward and El l en went with them as they had done previously. Their mode of transportation was by ox team and sleigh. Everyone had a nice time as they all enjoyed dancing. But a short time after, El len developed a bad col d and other compl ications set in; and after weeks of intense suffering she passed away 15 February 1867 of a severe nervous condition. Of course Edward was very much grieved over her death and ·concerned about his motherl ess chi l d. Robert and Miriam were grieved, also, over the death of such a cl ose friend, and they extended their sympathy and hel ped console Edward in every way possible . They were a great blessing to him at this time for which he was very thankful . Miriam took full responsibility of his baby during the next few months. The farm work went on, and in the . fo l lowing springtime Robert leased Edward ' s farm on shares or for a portion of the income from it. The farm produced good crops and gardens that year and things were going well for all, and by fall Robert ' s wife, Miriam, was expecting a baby. It was a boy born 18 September 1867. A woman, who was Mrs. Johanna Stevens, was with l "32... • • Life story of Miriam Ann Richins and her husband, Robert Jones -- Page 6 Miriam when her baby was no doctor was there, and baby unti l she was well. born. She was a "midwife" and delivered babies when Mrs. Mary Stephens took good care of Miriam and the The little boy was given the name of Alfred R. Jones. The following year was not so good. The grasshoppers came so bad that they ate most of the cops, and everyone suffered from the ravages of these terrible pests . These families had scarcely enough to eat and not enough bedding to keep them wann. The next summer Robert worked for the rai l road company as the first track was under construction near Echo. He worked by hand for 75¢ per day. Then l ater he worked with ox team and scraper which would be more pay. While this work was going on, there were many men living at Echo and some of them had families. This gave Miriam an opportunity to earn a little money by doing washing for the railroad men or fami li es in Echo . The clothes to be washed were brought from Echo by young boys and returned by them, also. Miriam was paid well for this work, which wasn ' t easy. By this time Robert and Miriam were making plans to build a home in Henneferville (or Henefer) . They had obtained a plot of ground in the north-west section of the settlement and were getting logs for the house which was bui1t like other log houses . It was probably about the year 1869 when they moved from the Richins farm to their new home where they lived as farmers most of their lives. Time was passing by, and they had not yet had their endowments. On 9 August 1869 they went to Salt Lake City for this purpose and were married by Apostle Wilford Woodruff. As members of the Church they were active in the ward where Robert held many different positions. When the Sunday School was organized, he was appointed first superintendent of the Henefer Sunday School with Brothers James Paskett and William Brewer as assistants in the year of 1871. He held this position twenty-five years. He was chosen to be a counselor to Bishop Charles Richins 9 July 1877, which position he held until 1890. A few years later on 2 August 1903 he was ordained a Patriarch in Summit Stake. Miriam was active in Relief Society with Mary Stephens as the first president on record. Later she worked in other auxiliaries, also. A granddaughter remembers her mother telling her that Miriam al ways made such very good homemade bread. But before mixing the bread she had to get a start of yeast from a neighbor. The womenfolk always made their own yeast for • Life story of Miriam Ann Ri chins and her husband, Robert Jones - - Page 7 for the bread and most al ways saved part of it for a "start" for the next time . It so happened that a dear lady, Sister Paskett, al ways kept yeast on hand for her neighbors if they needed it. One day Miriam sent her two girls, Amelia and Clara, to borrow a "start" of yeast from Mrs. Paskett. On their way home they drank part of the yeast and thought it was really good. Miriam was known in the community as being an expert in making bread. She made bread for the fam i ly for many years , and Robert , t he fathe r , always l iked the crust on the l oaf especiall y as he grew older. Then she made round fl at loaves which were nearly all crusts . He enjoyed this special favor. Their youngest son, Charl es, remembered his younger years when he came from school or from the fields with his father. As they approached the house the smell or fragrance of freshl y-made bread came to meet him. He woul d forget how tired he was when his mother woul d greet him and give him a special treat which was a sl ice of the new bread with one smal l spoonful of jam pl aced in the very center of the sl ice. He had to eat all around the bread to get to the treat i n the center , t hat last bite. As Miriam spent her early life on a farm in England , she had experience in taking care of some of the animals. After coming to Utah she was interested in their l ivestoc~ , especially the pigs. She woul d al ways feed them herself so they wouldn't get too fat. Then after they were killed, she cured and took care of the meat. She was a good mother to her family and never got angry with them. Everyone worked at somethi ng and hel d some responsibility in the family. She probably didn't have many l ittle things in her home to be given as sourvenirs or keepsakes to her grandchi l dren or descendants, but one of her grandchildren, Edith Rippon Bond, has i n her possession a tea cup and saucer that bel onged to Miriam . The cup had no handl e on it and was always turned upside down on the saucer when not in use . It is quite a novelty, and Edith is happy to have t his souvenir . With the years passing by, William and Charl otte were still living in Provo. By this time, William's health was faili ng, and he passed away 8 December 1873 at the age of sixty- seven years. He was buried in a Provo City Ce~etery; he had l ived in Utah only seven years. Soon after his death his wife, Charlotte and grandson Arthur, came to Henefer to l i ve with Miriam and Robert Jones. Charlotte lived with them until her death in 1878. She was buried in the Henefer Cemetery. 134 r • • • Life story of Miriam Ann Richins and her husband, Robert Jones -- Page 8 Miriam was the mother of seven children, namely; Arthur Richins, Alfred Richins Jones, Emma Jones, John Shi l l Jones , Amelia Jones, Clara Ann Jones, and Charles Richins Jones. They were all active in the Church. The youngest son , Charl es (Charley) was made President of the Arizona Temple 6 January 1935 by President Heber J. Grant. His wife, Annie Faddies Jones, was Temple Matron during this time . A few years later in October, 1946, he was made second counselor to Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, President of the Salt Lake Temple. She, Miriam, al so helped raise Robert's three children, Robert Allen, William Seth and Mary Jane , who came with him from England. Miriam was a hard working woman; however, her work was not only for her own family, but like most other pioneer women, she gave compassionate service to others. In her later years she was troubled with a hernia, and at this time nothing could be done to hel p her or relieve her sufferi ng. During this severe pai'n her condition suddenly became worse, and she passed away 11 December 1884 of a strangul ated hernia . She was forty- seven years of age. Services were held in the ward meetinghouse, and she was laid to rest in the Henefer Cemetery by the side of her mother, Charlotte Guy Richins. She was loved by all who knew her. Several years after miriam ' s death, Robert married Agnes Peterson . One son, Ray, was born to them. Robert was the only son of William Jones and ·Mary Shill Jones.He had several sisters. He was born 9 July 1829 in Caudle Green, Gl oucestershire, England. Duri ng his l ife he was a faithful Latter-Day Saint and denied himself many comforts to please others. He was a hard working man, fu l l of energy and was in the field pl owing the day he contracted his fatal illness. He died 26 April 1906. Services were hel d in the Henefer meetinghouse which was beautifully draped with white muslin and beautiful flowers . In earlier days, most chapels were draped with white material around the pulpit and all along the side railing from the pulpit to the side walls. The material used was about one yard wide and was sometimes edged with white tassels or fringe. With this and the pretty flower arrangements a beautiful setting was created for funerals. The room was filled to capacity. The services were as follows: Opening prayer, John London of Croydon; Several selections by choir assisted • • Life story of Miriam Ann Richins and her husband, Robert Jones -- Page 9 by Mesdames Roberts and Owens; Viola Brim sang "Weary Eyes 111 consoling remarks by Elders John Paskett, W.W. Cluff, Moses W. Taylor and Micah F. Harris. Closing Prayer, Edward Richins; Dedicatory Prayer, James Salmon . Robert Jones was buried in the Henefer Cemetery. The contents of this life story was taken from family histories, records, books, and from fond memories of the loving descendents of a faithful pioneer grandmother and grandfather. Those who contributed to this history were: Edith Rippon Bond, granddaughter; Grace Toone Dickson, granddaughter; Bessie Jones Schettler, granddaughter; John (Jack) Jones, grandson; Lanore Richins Francis, great- granddaughter; and Roy A. Richins, great-grandson. --Compiled and written by Margaret Calderwood Richins, wife of Harvey W. Richins, a grandson. August 1974 1'34