e TITLE PIONEER (full name) BIR TH (date and place) DEA TH (date and place) PARENTS MARRIED (who and date) ARRIVAL IN UTAH (date) ( Company arrived with) HISTORY (who wrote) (date written) (who submitted) (address) Bk JD- b PAGE Sarah Davis Carter Eng. 15 September 183 ?-Stokes Lacy, Herefordshir, 3 May 1925 - Morgan, Utah William Davis Elizabeth Bishop Levi Roberts - 185 7 Samuel Carter - 1863 October Sarah Davis Carter & Alice Carter Spackman Virginia Baer - May 1982 Morgan, Utah 84050 CAMP & COUNTY SUBMITTING _S_o_u_t_h_M_o_r_g=-a__n ________ Camp _M_o_r_g, "-a n ___________ County ( Camp Hi st or ian & address )_ ___M _a_r....:;g"-a_r_e_t_M_c_K_i_n_n_o_n_ ________ Morgan, Utah 84050 County Historian & address )_ ___V_ e_l_o...:.y_T_o_n_k_s_D_ic_k_s_o_n ______ __;_ _ PO Box 203, Morgan, Utah 84050 SOURCE OF INFORMATION & PAGE NUMBERS: e e e SARAH DAVIS CARTER I was born September 15, 1837, in Stokes Lacy, Herefordshire, England. My father, William Davis, was born March 10, 1803, and my mother, Elizabeth Bishop, was born December 15, 1813, in Shropshire, England. My grandparents on my Father 1s side were Mark Davis and Hannah Corbett. My father was a humble, God fearing man. · He, like many others at that time, was not satisfied with the churches and the principles which they t aught. He went with others (some five hundred of them) and s t arted a new religion of their own, calling themselves, 1 1The United Br e ther en. 11 Some time later when Wilford Wo odruff came to this place as a m i ssionar y , preaching the Mormon religion, he converted all of these United Brethren except one member. I was the fifth child in a family o f nine and a t the a g e of 11 years I went t o live w ith m y Aunt B e s sie a nd Uncle Thomas Davi s , s t a yi ng there unt il I was 14 . While living with them I did all kinds of hou sewo r k ; washing, scrubbing, cooki ng, and nursing children. I was taug h t the strickest economy i n all thing s a nd this t raining was a great blessing t o me and proved t o b e of g reat value ·to me through­out my life. Our drinking water had to be carried a distance of over a mile and this my A unt did by carrying most of it on her head. (Thi s habit, formed by my mother, Sarah Davis, in her youth, brought her a virtue which stayed with her through h er . entire life. At the age of eighty years she c a rried herself as straight and graceful as a young g irl. Insert by Alice Spackman). It was while I was living here that I was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by Elder Finch. My parents had been baptized a short time before t his. Soon aft er I was bapt ized I ret urned home to live. My father I s wages were small and he had a lar g e family so it was necessary that I e Sarah Davis Cart er - page 2 go out to service again, that is wha t they called housework in those days. We knew if we emigrated to Utah, which was the g reat desire of o u r hearts, we would have to save e v ery penny we could. My father kept an open house for the Elders . Many times my father and mother have given their bed to the E l ders, wh ile they have s l ept on the floor with one q uilt, never letting the E lders know. They always made them welcome and fed them the very best they had. After two years of saving , we w ere able t o start on our journey t o Utah, in the spring of 18 5 3 . There was mother and fat her , Ted, William, John, Elizab eth, I Ruben, Levi a nd myself. Eliza was married to John Nott a nd did not come. While crossing the ocean on the ship "Windmere, " smallpox broke out and m y two brothers, R uben a nd Lev i, both died a t s ea from this t errible disease a nd were buried at sea. It almost killed m y mother to see thos e two darlings, with weights attached to their feet, slide into thes e shark infest ed water s . Landing at New Orleans those of us who had the smallpox (including m y mother, two b rothers, and m ys elf) were taken to the hospital for three weeks. Those who did not have the disease were escorted, by the Elder who was in charg e of t his company of Saints, to a place where the immig rants wer e accommodated until they could g et s tarted on their journey West. As we all know, those who had smallpox in those days were left with unsightly scars on their faces and bodi es. The Elder , who accompanied these Saints to the immigrant home, would not be seen with them. He made them walk on the opposite side of the street some d istance behind him. He told them to watch him so they would know where to g o, but they were not to speak to him or let anyone know that they knew him or had any c onne ction with them. This pr ovoked my mother and she resented such rude . • e Sarah Davis Carter - page 3 t reatment. She made this statement, 11he shall die in a ditch. 11 This remark was literally fulfilled, for even though he filled a mission for the church, he became a drunkard and died in a ditch. (Immigrants from other countries knew nothing of the hatred and persecutions that the Saints were suffering. It may have been for their own protection that the Elder would not be identified with them. Insert by Clara Carter) Aft er the quarantine period was over at the hospital, and v ery weak from our sickness, we followed the company of Saints up the Mississippi River. For eight days and eight nights the steamboat carried that valiant band of people a litt le closer to their hopes and dreams. Without bedding of any kind, and scarcely enough clothing to cov er our bodies, we lay on the rough hard boards of that steamer at night. We had ver y little to eat and the cook seeing mother so weak and frail, would often bring her some warm soup or gruel wh ich she appreciated and enjoyed so very much. She only weighed about one hundred pounds. When we caught up with the Saint s we immediat ely made preparat ions t o start the journey across the plains. There was only one wagon for seven of us and also for food, bedding, and clothing; so you can see there was not room for any one to ride. Mother walked every step of the way. It was a rough, hard journey and only by the help of our Heavenly Father did we ever reach the valley. Father was a large powerful man, and when nig·ht came he would take mother in his arms and would hold her close to him, which seemed to renew her strength and c ourage. They were a happy, loving couple and I never heard one unkind word pass between them. On one occ asion, my sister Elizabeth, another young lady and myself, and some boy fr iends , sta rted out in head of the company; thinking we could follow IO·I~ Sarah Davis Carter - pag e 4 the road. Like all young people at our age, we thought we could take care of ourselves perfectly, but instead we became lost. After trav eling a long time we came to a mountain which we climbed with much difficulty. We hoped that when we reached the top we could see the company. Instead, to our dismay, we saw a band of Indians. Not knowing whether they were friendly or hostile, the young men told us to wait behind some bushes while they went down t o the camp for some water. Our tongues were swollen and we could scarcely speak. Our boy friends ret urned with some water and also an old squa w . We had nev er t ast ed anything s o good as that w a t er. Wit h dif fi culty we explain ed t h a t w e were lost and could not find our way b ack. With g reat e ffort she m ade us underst a nd t hat for Elizab eth' s s t ocking s and m y petticoat, s h e would h elp u s find our wa y back. T his we g ladly d i d and she then showed us the way to our camp. We arrived just at dark and a company was being formed to search for us. Ne ver a gain did we venture away from o ur camp alone. The j ourney w a s hard, but I never heard m y mother or father or any of the Saints complain at all. In October we reached the valley, footsore and very thankful, though weary. That winter we lived in one room in Little Cottonwood C a n yon. In the spring of 1854 we moved t o Kay s v ille, Davis County and we worked ver y hard to build us a home. In the spring of 185 7,' I was married to Levi Roberts. One daughter, Sarah Eliz abeth, was born t o this union. On April 1 , 1858, I was g rant ed a divorce (through neglect and abuse). After I obtained it and before I remarried, many are the times my ex-husband would come to my home to see me. I vowed long before I g ot my divorce t h at I would never hav e any more c h i ldren for him. e /o-1/ Sarah Davis Carter - p ag e 5 In the spring of 1863, I married Samuel Carter in the Endowment House 1s Salt Lake City. We went from Kaysville and back, riding on a two wheeled cart (two wheels of a wagon) drawn by oxen. Thus we made our wedding trip. A very different form of transportation compared to that of today. My husband had to walk and guide his oxen most of the way, so there was not m uch spooning or love making during that journey. Ellen (my husband's first wife) had a lovely supper prepared for us when we returned from being married and we were all happy. We lived in Kaysville for three years. On December 15, 18 63, a son was born, whom w e c alled Henry. In the fall of 1865, we moved to Round Valley, Morgan County, where m y hu s band farmed , t a ught school, e t c. When the railroad was built t hrough Morgan, Ellen and I cooked for quite a number of the men who worked on it. T h e money we earned at t hat time was a great h elp to us because prices at that time were so high on e v erything. While we were s t ill living at Morgan, the grasshoppers came in great hordes, eating ever ything in their path and leaving the fields a barren waste. They were so thick that they would hide the sun from view when flying. That winter was hard for everyone Often all we had to eat was boiled wheat o r bran bread. Four more children were 5>orn to us, Ann Eli z~ (February 20, 1866), George Edward (April 1, 18 67), Joseph (January 31, 1869), and Alice (May 2, 1 8 71 ) . It was in the fall of 1868 that my mother was taken very ill. I nursed her for many weeks but she grew steadily weaker and passed away in December of that year. Just after she died, I was feeling faint and went outside for some fresh air. I was leaning against the house for support, trying to overcome the first g reat sorrow that had come into my life. I suddenly heard music as I stood there e e Sarah Davis Carter - page 6 in m y grief. As I lis t ened it · seemed to come nearer and nearer until it seemed to surround me, then it stopped for a few minutes and then it began again, sweeter than ever and receeded into the distance. It was the most beautiful music I have ever heard in my life. I could discern the different instruments, even the dr um beats. I returned to the house and found no one there had heard the music. It was about two o 1clock in the morning, and as we liv ed some distance from town, it could not possibly have been earthly music. In the spring of 1873, we moved to Porterville where we homesteaded land. It was a struggle with two growing families. Our first homes were made of log s and we had three rooms each. Our houses had floors in them but the roofs were of dirt and sometimes they leaked, but after t h e s torm was over we would w h i t e wash the w a lls a nd the y wo uld be pretty a nd white a gain. I had a home made r ug on one floor, but the girls had to scrub the other floors, and oh the sliv ers the y g o t in their hands. Our home, tho crude, was always clean a nd n ea,t . We made our soap with ashes and grease , and oh how the children hat ed it. We made candles with tallow taken from the sheep which we killed for our meat. We knit our stockings and spun our yarn, which was woven into cloth, from which I made my husband and sons suits. Ellen and I work ed very hard t o g ether, helping each other in times of sickness and were one big happy family. My husband was a very j ust man, treating both families with the same love and consideration. We lived the law of Plural Marriage perfectly. Seven more children were born to me. David Davis (born May 10, 1873), Emma (born January 18, 1875 ) - she lived only seven months, Levi Al_fred (born January 16, 1876}, Amelia (born June 16, 1878}, Clara (born May 23, 1880), Benjamin (born February 2, 1883), and Frank (born December 24, 1884) - died in infancy. • e e 10. 13 Sarah Davis Carter - page 7 I now record an incident to show the faith and determination of our fore-fathers. We had been to a meeting while living in Kaysville and Brother George Q. Cannon had preached a powerful sermon on the Word of Wisdom. My father, William Davis, had smoked a pipe for forty years. After returning home from meeting, he took his pipe and tobacco and put them both in the.. stove and he never again touched tobacco. (The above sketch was written by Alice Carter Spackman, as the events were related to her by her mother Sarah Davis Carter). At the time of her death, which occured at the home of her daughter, Alice Carter Spackman on May 3, 1925, in Morgan County, Utah, s he had 13 children, 91 grandchildren, and 80 g reat - grandchildren. Alice Carter Spackman now adds a few lines to her mother ' s hi s tor y . 111 have often wished that I could be as good and faithful as m y dear mother was. She worked so hard for her family. She had no washing mach ine or any of the conveniences which we have. Never once did she fail when father was not a t home to have our family prayers or to neglect to teach us the gospel in any way. She was always cheerful and never did I hear her complain over any hardship. She was always clean and neat and could wear an apron for days and it would never look soiled. She was a very good manager, always having a piece of fruit cake for an unexpected visitor or a dollar for an emergency. She was stately in her bearing, being as erect and straight as an arrow, up to the time of her death. Her posterity have a wonderful heritage, which should always be a challenge to the last g eneration, to live the best and finest kind of lives. 11 Alice Carter Spackman