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Show • I I I L t P A G E PlONEER NAME HARRIET NASH WEICH DIR'IH DATE AND PLACE April 17, 1831, horsted Karnes. Sussex, England • • • • • I • pEJ'\TH DATE AND PLACE. -.- ---S=e-p-te-m--b-e=r- 2=5-,- =1-8.9.4!,. -.M:.::o..:..:r:..gE.a.:.:.n....:..:. ....U:....t::.a..::h:.:: ________ FJ\'IHER Cha rles Nash MOTHER ~.a.rv Davv WJlO MARRIED AND DATE Au~ust 27. 1855. Thomas R. G. Welch YEAR ARRIVED IN UTAH 18 • NN1E OF COMPANY C in Jesse B rtin WHO WROTE HI STORY ANO DA TE Isabelle W• Butters WHO SUBMITTED HISTORY AND DATE Lois B. Peterson- J\DDRESS 82 W 200 N. ________________ TELEPHONE NO. 829-6049 CAMP NAME ~---S-ou-th-...M.-o_ri~e?-.,__------------------~,..- ....J, COUNTY NAME · Morgan .. . · .. I CJ\MP HISTORIAN Lucill e O. Williams • J\DDRESS ·. . - - : · - - - - - ~ - - ' - ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ - - - - - - COUNTY HISTORIAN ~Ba=rb=ara- C-. ~Po=rt-er= ~~----------------- 1\ DD RESS • I • JPEG-Bk13 Harriet Nash Welch, wife of T. R. G. Welch. Harriet Nash was the daughter of Charles Nash and Mary Davy. She was born April 17, 1831 at Horsted Zarnes, Sussex, England. She was the oldest of thirteen children and, early had to work away from home to help support the family, and she had a wonderful training as a home-keeper and cook in the families of the rich, though she had but little schooling. It is a singular thing, but the Charles Nash family was never all under the same roof or at home at one time in all their lives. She was baptized into the Church on the first day of October, 1851 by Elder James Pitman and confirmed a member of the Church October 2, 1853 by the same man that baptized her. She accepted the Gospel while working at Brighton, a beautiful resort on the seashore, about fifty miles from ………. . Her future husband, Thomas Robert Green Welch, was working in Brighton in a large dry goods establishment and the two were brought together through the meetings of the Latter-Day-Saints. He was four years her junior having been born July 10, 1835 at Shepton Mallet Sommersetshire, England. He was baptized by Elder Samuel Francis. About six weeks after joining the Church, Mother became very much exercised over a testimony for herself of the divinity of the work. She had attended her meetings regularly and had heard the brethern and sisters testify that they knew the Gospel was true and that it was indeed the work of the Lord. She believed this with all her heart and in reading the Bible it seemed like a new book since her baptism and confirmation. There was still something lacking to give her that peace of mind that she so much desired. She took the apostle James' advice and decided to ask the Lord that she might know of a surety for herself of the truthfulness of the Gospel she had accepted. She was still working in service in a gentleman's family and she and another young lady occupied the same room though each had her own bed. One evening after coming from meeting where she heard members, both men and women, bear their testimonies, she called on the Lord in mighty prayer and told Him that if this was His work, to give her a testimony for herself that she might be able to rise and bear it to any and all that she knew the Gospel was true as well as they. After retiring she lay meditating upon the joy that had filled her heart since her conversion when suddenly the room was filled with a most glorious light and she was told of the truth of the work of the Lord. The other young woman also saw the light and cried out, "Oh. Harriet, the house is on fire!" Mother told her that the house was not on fire, but that she had just received a manifestation from the Lord of the truthfulness of the Gospel. Page 117 That testimony always remained with her to the end of her days and like the spark that kindles the fire grew brighter as the years went by and no matter what trial came to her, poverty or sickness, the loss of children and loved ones her faith never wavered. She was as true as steel and fought the fight to the end of her days. She continued in attendance at meetings and was faithful in the payment of her titles and fast donations until her marriage. After joining the Church the Gospel was so plain to her that she went home to tell her people of the glorious tidings she had received and when she told them her story her father turned her out of doors, for he did not want any thing to do with Mormonism. On August 27, 1855, she was married to Thomas R. G. Welch, and they at once began to save means to emigrate to Zion for they felt that with the Saints their future home should be made. On July 25, 185? a son was born, Thomas F Welch. On Saturday, March 28, 1857 father and mother sailed from Liverpool, England on the ship George Washington for Bostom, U.S.A. There were eight-hundred and seventeen Latter-Day-Saints on board, under direction of James P. Park, bound for Utah. The date of the landing of the ship in Boston and how long it took to get to the place of outfitting is not known, but I remember them saying that they fitted out at Florence, Nebraska for the valley. I cannot find the date they left by wagons for Utah, but they came in Captain Jesse B. Martin's Company across the plains arriving in Salt Lake City, September 12, 1857. The army was following them across the plains and Mother had to walk all the way and waded every stream as she came to them except the Platte River which the company crossed on a ferry boat. She carried her one year baby on her back the entire distance. After arriving in the valley the move was on and she went South as far as Lehi while father was sent into Echo Canyon to help keep the soldiers back. How long she remained in Lehi I do not know but a daughter was born October 20, 1858. She found a good staunch friend in the person of Bishop Israel Evans who was kind and considerate of those who were poor and in need. They returned to Salt Lake City in 1860 and on April 4, they received their endowments and were sealed by President Brigham Young. Mother remained in the City until November of that year when father (who had been in Weber Valley during the cropping season working for Jesse C. Little) returned to Salt LakeCity and took her to this valley as it was beginning to be settled. They lived in a log shack belonging to Jesse C. Little during the winter of 1860-1861 and had nothing but boiled wheat to eat. The log hut was covered with willows and straw, and a coating of dirt and as this valley is simply an opening in Weber Page 118 Canyon it is subject to heavy snows and during the late winter and spring as well as every time it rained the house was worse than outdoors because the water was dirty instead of being clean like the melting snows and rains; the storms continued so much longer in the house. Who can ever tell of the poverty and hardships of those early pioneers in this valley. Father, Robert Hogg and William Hemming put part of a sack of wheat of their backs and walked over the mountain into Davis County and had it ground and carried back the flour to get a little bread. At another time they lashed two sacks of wheat to the hounds of the wagon, and used the reach for the tongue and took his yoke of cattle and went right over the mountains from Morgan to Farmington to get a little wheat ground to make bread. There was not nor has been a road over the mountains, and they were gone so long that we children thought he would never come back hom. When her third son was born November 11, 18?2, they had to use umbrellas to keep the water out of the bed as the house leaked so badly. After living in Littleton a year or two the family moved up and built a log cabin on the corner where the road turns northward from Morgan to Milton known as Welch's Corner, where they lived until about 1866 when they moved to Morgan on the lot which they owned when both father and mother died. One of the greatest trials of her pioneer life was cooking over a fire place, and oh, how she longed and prayed for a stove on which to cook. She used to tell of a dream she had in the days of poverty in which she saw a stove that could be bought for fifteen cents, but she did not have the fifteen cents with which to make the purchase. She was the mother of nine children, seven boys and two girls. One girl and one boy dying in infancy and one boy died with diphtheria when eighteen years old. When the Primary Association was organized in Morgan Stake in 1878 she was chosen Stake President of the organization. She held that position until the time of her death fifteen years later. At this same time she acted for twelve years as president of the ward Primary. On one occasion the children were singing the little song "Open the Door to the Children" and she received the inspiration then and there to have the children gather means to emigrate some poor children from the old country, which was accomplished and she furnished some of them a home till they grew to man and womanhood. Her home was always filled with some poor Orphan child or children as well as her own. She was sick for many years before she died, and suffered a great deal, but through it all she put her trust in the Lord. Of the five sons and one daughter who grew to [adult]hood and married, three of them filled missions and her husband made a trip to England before her death and with what the boys had done, gathered considerable genealogy and the work for her kindred was begun by her in the temples of the Lord. Page 119 No person was more beloved by children than this woman, and when she died September 25, 1894 she was literally buried in a grove of flowers that children and grown folks had brought from all over the Morgan Stake in tokens of the love and respect in which she was held by all who knew her. By- Isabelle W. Butters |
