OCR Text |
Show • • • ."' it/lrd<-e. 2- Ji) cop1 e.5 - SHORT ,SKETCH CF THE LIFE CF NANCY BCSS - WRI'l'l'E.N BY HER DAUGHTER SAMANTHA My .. mother, Nancy Boss, was born in Davidson County, North Carolina on 26th March 1829, daughter of Philip and Obedience Bz:own Bess~· Her father passed away in 1838, leaving grandmother with nine children, six sons and three daughterso She moved with her children to Illinois in 1838 where mr family allied themselves with the Mormon Church and gathered at Nauvoo in 1842,at the time of ,the Prophet Joseph's death. She was employed as a servant girl at the home of Colonel Williams, the man t~t led the mob that killed the Prophet. -She prepared the dinner for the mob before they started to the jail. Knowing she was a Mormon girl, Colonel Williams refused to let her leave the houseo The mob burned her mother's house. · Her mother seemed to be a person who could make friends, was loved and res-pected by all. She was called "Aunt Biddt'. One of her non-mormon friends warned her to get out and leave her home as the mob intended to burn it. That night she took her children and what things they could carry and went down to the swamps to sleepo She said the mosquitoes nearly ate them up. The h~ was not burned that night but ;Jat it was burned the next night. Not knowing that Colonel Williams was the leader of the mob she took employ-ment at his home, being glad to get worko He threatened her li.£e if she attempted to escape from there. Nancy said that the mob carried on like demons and she heard them planning the martyrdom. The night before they Id,lled the Prophet, they painted their faces black and drank whiskey, acting as thou§h they had gon.e ~d. Nancy's room was upstairs and she was sitting on. the ~tairs as she heard. Colonel Williams say,"Every nit makes a louse, let's kill hero" She was very- badly frightened, not knowing when they would come up to kiJ,.l her, but they did not come. The next night after they had murdered the Prophet, they returned to the house and seemed very f rightenedo They acted like craz.y men. Somehow Nancy recieved word !'rom. Captain James Brown that he would be wait-ing for her down in the woods, where she met him! mounted his horse and made her escape.She remained with her mother until 1846, when the family left Nauvoo, they came to Utah in 1849. She married Daniel Berey Rawson in Novo of that year • Nancy Boss Rawson was the mother of eight daughters and two sonso She died 20 August 1888 at Farr -West, lfeber County,Utah o She had been a Idmd and ,-:::. affectionate mother, a faithful friend to the poor and needy, a.lways I'8ady to assist in Relief Society worko |