I l I L E P J.. G E ,:;./ PlONEER NAME IXDIA POND RICH • BIRTH DATE AND.. PLACE DEATH DATE AND PLACE 9 October , 1834 - ·111iteraw Wiltshire , En,:rlamd to Dec 1911 - 1.or9;an, :i:organ, Utah • • FATHER MOTHER WHO MARRIED AND DATE YEAR ARRIVED IN UTAH NAME OF COMPANY JOHJ !! . RICH Sept . 29, 1853 WHO WROTE HISTORY AND DATE WHO SUBMITTED HISTORY AND DATE ADDRESS Jan . 1853 Glenna R. Porter CAMP NAME South Morgan COUNTY NAME M-o-rg-an- ----------------------- - - ---- CAMP HISTORIAN ADDRESS COUNTY HISTORIAN ADDRESS Lucille o. Williams Barbara C. Porter SOURCE OF INFORMAT~ON AND PAGE NUMBERS: I hereby give this history to -the National Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers with the understanding that: 1 . The Daughters of Utah Pioneers has the right to edit and publish it . 2 . If publication is not indicated, it s~all become a part of the archives to perfect the record of the Utah pioneers . 3. The Daughters of Utah Pioneers has the right to reproduce this history for the benefit of its members, and descendants of the pioneer • Signature of author or owner of this history Revised 1 986 JPEG-Bk13 • A FEW INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF LYDIA POND RICH I was born October 9, 1834 at Whiteraw Wiltshire England. The daughter of Thomas and Ann Garrett Pond and was of humble birth. My parents were strictly honest and taught their children the same . My father died when I was eight years old leaving my mother with seven children. I being the youngest of them. In a few years my mother was married to a man by the name of Issac Purnell and we moved to his home at a place called Trowbridge, a manufacturing town where they make some of the Bert Woolen Cloth that is made in England. After a while I went to work in one of the factory's belonging to the firm that my p.:,:\,,.. . ~~ and grandp.iz:onts worked for. It was at this factory that I first heard of the Lstter-Day Saints. One other young girl and myself went for a little time, which we enjoyed very much and we visited their meetings quite often until we became thonoughly convenienced of its truth and in November 1850 we we nt down into the waters of baptism only a girl one month over sixteen years old. My parents belong to the Baptist Church. I am today alone in this church as far as my relations are concerned but I have done some temple work for them. Soon after I joined the church my step father a widow again. tty home was very compatable, I could take the elders at time and my mother would never allow any bad rummers told in the home about the latter-day saints. She told us tmt we should not tell anything we did not know and that we could not always depend on rumme= and that home should be the happiest place on earth. Soon after I joined the church I became acquainted with a young man by the name of John H. Rich and our acquaintents soon ripened into courtship and in 1852 I became his wife end was married in the new church of England January in 1853. We left our home and turned our faces zionward each of us being the only ones of the family that was in the church. We left Liverpool on the fifth of February on • the ship Jersey. Elder George Halliday was our President. We arrived in New Orleans in March being six weeks and three days on the sea ~nd went from New Orleans up the Mississippi river to St. Louis and stop ther two months My husband went to work while we was there for to help to get our living and to help get things for our journey across the plains . Many enducements was held out to us to stop while there but we had started for the gathering place of the Saints. We went from St. Louis up the Missouri river to what was known as the Council Bluffs, I shall neve~ forget how the boat grated on the river bed and camped at Cainsville till the company was ready to start on there journey across the plains. While there a dear sister met with a accident and had one of her legs shot off by her husband had been out hunting and showing the boys in camp how he lost his game and he pull the firing trigger and shot her in the leg aa she was getting her baby to sleep. It was quite a trial for us to leave her. The people was very kind to her and did all they could and when she was able to be moved she went back to St. Louis , her name was Emily Halli-day. The next year she came out to Utah and lived in the city. We started on the plains about the middle of June when we reached the Black Hills I gave birth to a baby boy on the 24 of August. Franklin John. We arrived in Salt Lake Sept 29, 1853 in a few days after we came in a Brother Thurston came to the wagon and offered us a home for the winter at his house if my husband work for our board which he agreed to do we lived in with the family till April the following year when we moved into a log cabin what we use for our bed room during the winter, it was about fourteen feet square with no floor or window but it was t he best they could do for they had a large family of there own. It was there I learn to make bread and butter. Sister Thurston was very kind to me and so was all the family in August 1854 we moved to the settlement or fort as it was called then and my husband work for our living and soon got us a home, it was a log house he bought it off Brother Lyman Porter and we • felt thankful to be in our own home in January 1855 another son was born to us, James Thomas. (The followin) fall in October while my husband was hauling wood from the mountains he met with an accident and broke his leg and he did not do any more work that winter and knowing we would be short of bread we sifted our bran and put JPEG-Bkr:r--- ~- ( I ) 1.. I ,. one fourth bran and three fourth flour and it made fine bread and we had enough to do us till harvest and that winter we lost everything we owned and had to make a new start. In Sept. 1857 another son was born to us William Henry and in the spring • of 1858 the call came for the people to leave there homes and to move south . We was among the first ten that left centerville, we left our homes not knowing where we was going we did not have any teams or wagon at that time but Brother Rollins, a man my husband had done a great deal of work for and offered us ayoke of steers and light wagon if we would haul some of his things with ours which we did, it was not much we had to haul at that time we we ~t to Payson and stayed there till the latter part of June or the first part of July the same year we returned to our homes again and the Lord blessed us greatly for the sacrifice that we made. It looked rather dark at the time but the cloud had a silver lining October 31, a baby girl was born to gladden our home, her name was Lydia Millia,in April 1861 we moved from Centerville to Weber Valley, now Morgan County. My husband took him up some land • we being among the first settlers there was many hardships to endure but it all gave us an experience and we learned to be thankful to our Heavenly Father for the blessing we receive from time to time. In January 1862 another baby girl was born to us, Louisa Ann, but she did not stay with us long, not quite two years and her spirit took its flight. In settling up new country in them days and now :.·'.·-:--:-~ is a vast difference, so much that one can hardly realize it if they had not passed through it. In them days we was glad to get a spring seat to ride in but now it is almost a thing of the past to see one, its buggies now in these days. How thank-ful we ought to be for the blessing we enjoy. tn 1865 another little daughter, Lucy Jane was born to us. In 1868 the Relief Society in Morgan was organized and I have been identified with it ever since for which tam truly thankful, for it has been a good school to me, it has learned me to rely on my father in heaven. In March 1877 I was chosen president of the Relief Society of Morgan Ward and when the Stake Re-lief Society of Morgan Stake was organized in 1878 I was chosen president of it and held both office til 1889 when I ask to be released from being president of the Morgan Ward. I am still laboring as president of the Morgan Stake. I shall never forget when my name was called for me to take that responsible position, t said to our dear sister Eliza R. Snow, I am not capable for that place, she said you will be and fill it with honor and before she went home she blessed me and it has always been a help with other blessings that I have received from her and Aunt Zina and many other sisters that has gone behind the veil not forgetting our dear sister Jane S. Richard and E. B. Wells that is still with us. Many good words have been spolen to me they council as one passing through life. In 1879 my oldest daughter died leaving a baby girl four days old. It lived one week and then passed away. In 1886 my eldest son died leaving a wife and six boys and they have all grown up to manhood and are workers in the church. I have passed through many trials but it has given me experience and they have been gems by the way side and it has caused my faith to increase and truth I will ever be faithfull to the cause of truth is my desire. These incidents were told to Mrs. Margaret R. Whittier by Lydia Pond Rich, her grandmother. (William Henry) {2J JPEG-Bk13 23