TITLE PAGE PION EER (full name) BIR TH (date and pla c e ) DEA TH (date and p lace) PARENTS . MARRIED (wh o and dat e) ARRIVAL IN UTAH (date) (Company arrived with) HISTORY (who wr ote ) (date written) (who s ubmitt ed) (address) - · Emma Morris Kingston Passenham, Potterspury, 14 Januar y 1840 Nhant, England 6 January 1896 Mo r gan, Morgan Co., Utah Edwar d Morris E li za Bailey F re d erick Kingston - 2 February 1862 L ois Butter s Peterson About 1952 Lois Butters Peterson Morgan, Utah 84050 CAMP & COUNTY S U BMITTIN G _S_o_u_th_M_ o_r=g_a_n _________ ·C am p _M_ o.r.,. _g_ a_n_ ___________ County {Camp Historian & address) --------------------- Elma Dickson R t 2 , Morgan, Utah 84050 C ounty Historian & address )_ __V e_lo_y_T_onks _Di_c_k_s_o_n_ ________ P.O. Box 203, Morgan, Utah 84050 SOURCE OF INFORMATION & PAGE N UM BERS: • • EMMA MORRIS KINGSTON Emma Morris was born 14 January 1840 in Passenham, Potterspury, Nhant, England. Her parents were Edward Morris and Eliza Bailey {sometimes known as Bertha). When about twenty years of age, Emma and a girl friend made the long trip from England to Utah alone, walking most of the way across the plains. On reaching Salt Lake City, homesick, l onely and weary, Emma discovered that someone 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 Lin dsay 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." On 2 February 1862 she married Frederick Kingston and became his second wife. He was born on 1 March 1829 in Peterborrough, Nhant, England, the son of Thomas Kingston and Ann Speechly. His first wife was Mary Ann Hunter, whom he married on 23 December 18 55 . The following year Emma and Frederick' s first child, Edward Oliver, was born {14 February 1863) in Centerville, Davis County, Utah. Soon after his birth they moved to Richville in Morgan County, and here on 28 February 1865 a little daughter, Eli7abeth {known as Li7z.ie) was born. Frederick Kingston, though a willing worker, could not provide very well - 2 - for his family for he was never well. He suffered continually from a severe case • of Asthma, and many times the poor man would li e for weeks and sometimes for months gasping for breath. Then Emma would be compelled to leave her little family and go out washing clothes or house cleaning or doing any kind of work that she coul d get to do to provide a meager • living for her family. One w i nter whil e Liz.7ie was just a little girl, a widow Mrs. L izzette Durrant 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 w ith a green gl ass set. How thrilled and excited the children were. It was never - to - be forgotten day. (Lizzie -- Mrs. James Joel Peterson -- is now eighty-seven years old, but she says she can still feel the thrill of that day.) Emma and Frederick had seven chil dren: Edward Oliver, Eli ,-abeth (Li 77ie) Ann, Sarah Maria (31 May 1867), Lucy Violet (6 August 1869), Frederick Willard (18 January 1872), Eliza Jane (17 October 1875), and John Thomas (30 December 18 77}. Food was so scarce in the Kingston home, everyone was always hungry. The Chri stmas Day the Lizzie so well remembered, the parents were invited out to dinner but the children were not included. The parents accepted the invitati on so there would be more food at home for the child ren. The children had j u st a small dish of mush for their breakfast, 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 l og 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 - 3 - ) ? ? running down all the walls. Then the roof began to leak everywhere. Emma • put a sheep skin on the floor under the table and the 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 memory of Li2·zie, a family by the name of Metz had hired Emma Kingston to help with 11 Company" dinner on Christmas day. After dinner was over and everything was cleared away, Mr. Metz gave Emma a small bucket of molasses and a little c orn meal to take home. Emma 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 Emma and the 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. When they did burn they gave a l most no heat. There was very little food and insufficient bedding, and the parents feared they woul d all freeze . With the hunger and cold, the father's condition grew steadily worse until they feared he would not live until spring unl ess something could be done to improve their living conditions . There was an old dugout in the side of a hill (Monday Town) that someone had abandoned and Emma moved her family into it. They foun d 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 g ra 7e 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 e 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 their mother who carefully washed it with homemade soap, that was made with grease and homemade lye. The lye was made by pouring water over wood ashes and letting it stand for several days . Then the grease and lye were combined and boiled down until it went thick, it was then cooled and cut into soap bars. After the wool was carefully washed through several waters, it was thoroughly dried then picked to pieces, corded or combed into bats for quilts, or into rolls to be spun into yarn. The yarn was used for knitting stockings, mittens, shawls, sweaters, or 11 nubies " which were really long scarfs, and were worn around the head in cold weather. Little girls of seven or e i ght learned to knit these very essential articles. 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¢ 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 more 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 - 5 - 1?1 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 a ll day, scrubbed floors, and walked two miles back home at night for SO~. She never owned a pair of over shoes or rubbers until after she was married. Many times her shoes and stockings fro7e to her feet and legs as she wal ked home at night. Often she was paid with dried apples, vegetables, or anything they could eat . And still Lizzie (Eli7abeth Ann Kingston' Peterson) says as a child she was happy. Lizzie marri ed James Joel Peterson on 17 October 1885 . She passed away on 31 January 1955 -- 90 years ol d. Emma Morris Kingston died 6 January 1896. This history was written by Lois Butters Peterson, the wife of Li7,7-ie's grandson. Edward M. Peter son, as told to her by Lizzie. I n Loi s ' words: To me Grandma L i zzie had a very sad life. Grandpa James (Jim) drank (tea - English}, and was a kind, honest man. He shared his eggs and vegetabl es from his garden. He loved Amos and Andy, and Pres . Roosevelt. Grandma Lizzie taught me to crochet, make gravy that wasn't l umpy, roast a turkey, quilt, etc . She always had a pin cushion in the w i ndow and a row of zinnias in the garden .