165. Final chapter of Haden Wells Church and Sarah Ann Arterbury Church, pioneer midwife, in St. George.
Haden Wells Church continued: (Most of this written by Pal's aunt Sarah Miles Wallace, -- a granddaughter of Haden and his wife Sarah, and the sister of Pal's brother Orson Pratt Miles -- Their mother was Paralee Amanda Church.)
Sarah Ann is fondly remembered in Pioneer Dixie as one of the special mid-wife doctors. Her skills and services in this critically needed specialty are mentioned many times in the early historical records. She received some of her training under Loudice Perkins. The mid-wives and nurses were set apart to serve in this area. "A general use of herbs and medicinal teas were used by all. Among them would be found Yarrow, Tansy, Slippery-Elm, Spearmint, Catnip, Peppermint. Sulphur and molasses were used and given as a spring tonic, and also for skin sores. Poultices of bacon and black pepper were used for sore throats. Warm olive oil was used for earache. Pine gum was the regular resort for "drawing" in infected places. Roasted onions and syrup made from onions and sugar were given for colds. A salve made with pine gum, mutton tallow and turpentine was a good standby for soothing bruises, etc. Flaxseed made into a poultice was also used for 'drawing purposes.'"
Sarah Ann Miles Wallace wrote this about Sarah Ann Arterbury Church:
"Grandmother not only reared a family of four sons and one daughter, (Note by Pal -- I was named after my grandmother Paralee, their only daughter.) but practiced as a midwife at St. George for many years. She was a large woman, good natured and a hard worker. She was of a social attitude and humorous. Sister Lottie Carter knew Grandmother well. She told me she was a reliable woman, with great faith and charity. She said Sarah waited on her with her first baby. Sister Carter suffered so much and was afraid she could never have another child. Grandma told her she would have another child and would suffer no pain. The very next baby came without a pain, and was born before the doctor could get there.
Grandmother Church died July 29, 1889, just a few days before I was born. (This is Sarah Miles Wallace writing.) Mother told me she said the baby would be a girl and to name her after Grandmother which she did. At the time of her death, Grandmother gave my mother a blessing and told her she would never again be afflicted with the terrible sick spells she was in the habit of suffering with. Mother said she has never had one of these spells since that day." (Pal -- I haven't heard of what kind of sick spells Grandma Pal had.)
Sarah Ann's skills as a midwife sustained the family. The wives were expected to take care of their families and to send money to sustain their husbands when they were serving as missionaries away from home. Sarah Ann was present, along with 23 other sisters, at the organization of the first Female Relief Society in St. George on August 24, 1868. She also was involved as a member of the Board of Directors of the Ladies' Co-op when it was organized in 1876.
This store was organized in direct competition to the Priesthood-directed St. George Co-op as a protest. The sisters were irritated that the prices for needed goods were too high. They were able to reduce the cost of a spool of thread or a box of matches from 25 cents to 5 cents. The sisters also liked their centrally-located store where they "could run in without dressing up."
No missionary work was done in Tennessee during the Civil War, but it was begun again by Elder Haden Church, receiving his call on March 17, 1868, hand-delivered by Erastus Snow who had been in Salt Lake City attending the Territorial Legislature. The call was officially sustained at General Conference on April 8, 1868, anhd he was set apart on April 9th, 1868. At a meeting held on May 10th in the "New Tabernacle," President Brigham Young called on Elder Church to speak. The May 11, 1868, Deseret News reported: "Elder Haden W. Church said some few years ago he had been called to go on a mission, to settle in the south of the Territory, which he had labored to fulfill with all the ability and power he had. Now, being called to go on a mission to preach the Gospel, he felt to go, having faith in God that His blessings would be with him."
The group of 10 elders left Salt Lake City on June 17, 1868, and traveled by team and wagon and were on Robinson's Ferry on June 25th. They wrote to President Young that they were safe, but that five brethren from Sanpete and one from Cache Valley died at this place in a tragic drowning accident. By September Elder Church was in Tennessee. The next news of him sent to the Brethren on February 4, 1869 reported "Hayden W. Church has been quite sick but has recovered."
In April he was in Tennessee but didn't have much success there, and in a report dated July 29, 1869, it reads: "Elder Haden W. Church was left in charge of the Branches in North Carolina." Nor further information on that mission is found but the Deseret News dated May 25, 1870, published the following: "MISSIONARIES: We were pleased yesterday to meet Elders Henry G. Boyle and Haden W. Church, just returned from missions to the East . . . Brother Church's labors extended through Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia; he has suffered much from ill health during his absence, but is at present looking remarkably well. He has been absent a little rising of two years. They brought in a company of 70 persons."
Elder Church was officially released from his mission on May 24, 1870, and he was back in Salt Lake City on October 10, 1870, to attend a party for the surviving members of the Mormon Battalion and Zion's Camp which was held in the Social Hall. The First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles were included with the 353 people who attended this 'memorable and gala occasion.' Of this number, 32 were Zion's Camp survivors, and 63 were Mormon Battalion survivors, with the rest of the guests being spouses and invited guests."
The photos above were on the internet. I had never seen these pictures.
On one of his missions to the South, Haden brought at least one Negro back with him to St. George. Carter, in OUR PIONEER HERITAGE, Volume 8, said, "Another Negro to come here was brought by Haden Church, a native of Tennessee, who was called with his family, to the Cotton Mission in the fall of 1861. The circumstances as to how or when the Negro came are unknown, but it seems that there was no idea of his remaining in Utah permanently, for when Mr. Church received a call to perform a third mission in Tennessee, the Negro went back with him." The Negro probably came in 1870 and returned in 1875. A St. George resident told of remembering "old-timers" telling her that the Negro called Brother Church by the name of 'Massa Haden' and he was known by the nickname throughout the community."
Haden's 5th and final mission call came during the April, 1875, General Conference, and he died at his former home in Shady Grove, Tennessee, six months later while faithfully fulfilling his missionary responsibilities. Elder Henry G. Boyle wrote to President Brigham Young, and it was printed in the October 20, 1875, Deseret News: “In Tennessee, from Shady Grove, Hickman County, Tennessee, concerning the death of Elder Haden W. Church at that place, Sept. 27th. He was interred by the side of his father and mother, near the house where he was born and raised. I was with him to the last.” He was 58 years old.
“There are five brothers and sisters of the deceased, all living near here, all members of the Church, and who did all in their power to bestow upon him all the care and attention that his case required. His disease was typhoid fever. Brother Church had not been really well since our arrival here. But as far as his health permitted, he was faithful in the discharge of every duty, and died in the harness and at his post. I have written to his family at St. George, giving them all the particulars of his sickness and death. . . . "
The obituary written by his widow, Sarah Ann Arterbury Church, was published in the October 26, 1875, Deseret News as follows:
Elder Church was buried by the side of his father in the Church Family Cemetery hear Shady Grove. The epitaph on his headstone reads: "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord."
The widow, Sarah Ann, continued to live in St. George. She performed many unselfish labors of love and service for her family, her community, the Church, and the Lord. The St. George Temple was dedicated April 6, 1877, and she spent much of the remainder of her life laboring there both as an ordinance worker and as a patron performing ordinances for many of the Church and Arterbury progenitors, assisted by her children. The St. George First Ward records show that she worked in the Temple 121 days in 1878. Following her death, her obituary was printed in the August 7, 1889, issue of the Deseret News as follows:
The obituaries printed above provide a fitting tribute and finale to the earth life of these two stalwart progenitors and a challenge to their posterity to live lives worthy of them.
Sarah Ann is fondly remembered in Pioneer Dixie as one of the special mid-wife doctors. Her skills and services in this critically needed specialty are mentioned many times in the early historical records. She received some of her training under Loudice Perkins. The mid-wives and nurses were set apart to serve in this area. "A general use of herbs and medicinal teas were used by all. Among them would be found Yarrow, Tansy, Slippery-Elm, Spearmint, Catnip, Peppermint. Sulphur and molasses were used and given as a spring tonic, and also for skin sores. Poultices of bacon and black pepper were used for sore throats. Warm olive oil was used for earache. Pine gum was the regular resort for "drawing" in infected places. Roasted onions and syrup made from onions and sugar were given for colds. A salve made with pine gum, mutton tallow and turpentine was a good standby for soothing bruises, etc. Flaxseed made into a poultice was also used for 'drawing purposes.'"
Sarah Ann Miles Wallace wrote this about Sarah Ann Arterbury Church:
"Grandmother not only reared a family of four sons and one daughter, (Note by Pal -- I was named after my grandmother Paralee, their only daughter.) but practiced as a midwife at St. George for many years. She was a large woman, good natured and a hard worker. She was of a social attitude and humorous. Sister Lottie Carter knew Grandmother well. She told me she was a reliable woman, with great faith and charity. She said Sarah waited on her with her first baby. Sister Carter suffered so much and was afraid she could never have another child. Grandma told her she would have another child and would suffer no pain. The very next baby came without a pain, and was born before the doctor could get there.
Grandmother Church died July 29, 1889, just a few days before I was born. (This is Sarah Miles Wallace writing.) Mother told me she said the baby would be a girl and to name her after Grandmother which she did. At the time of her death, Grandmother gave my mother a blessing and told her she would never again be afflicted with the terrible sick spells she was in the habit of suffering with. Mother said she has never had one of these spells since that day." (Pal -- I haven't heard of what kind of sick spells Grandma Pal had.)
Sarah Ann's skills as a midwife sustained the family. The wives were expected to take care of their families and to send money to sustain their husbands when they were serving as missionaries away from home. Sarah Ann was present, along with 23 other sisters, at the organization of the first Female Relief Society in St. George on August 24, 1868. She also was involved as a member of the Board of Directors of the Ladies' Co-op when it was organized in 1876.
This store was organized in direct competition to the Priesthood-directed St. George Co-op as a protest. The sisters were irritated that the prices for needed goods were too high. They were able to reduce the cost of a spool of thread or a box of matches from 25 cents to 5 cents. The sisters also liked their centrally-located store where they "could run in without dressing up."
No missionary work was done in Tennessee during the Civil War, but it was begun again by Elder Haden Church, receiving his call on March 17, 1868, hand-delivered by Erastus Snow who had been in Salt Lake City attending the Territorial Legislature. The call was officially sustained at General Conference on April 8, 1868, anhd he was set apart on April 9th, 1868. At a meeting held on May 10th in the "New Tabernacle," President Brigham Young called on Elder Church to speak. The May 11, 1868, Deseret News reported: "Elder Haden W. Church said some few years ago he had been called to go on a mission, to settle in the south of the Territory, which he had labored to fulfill with all the ability and power he had. Now, being called to go on a mission to preach the Gospel, he felt to go, having faith in God that His blessings would be with him."
The group of 10 elders left Salt Lake City on June 17, 1868, and traveled by team and wagon and were on Robinson's Ferry on June 25th. They wrote to President Young that they were safe, but that five brethren from Sanpete and one from Cache Valley died at this place in a tragic drowning accident. By September Elder Church was in Tennessee. The next news of him sent to the Brethren on February 4, 1869 reported "Hayden W. Church has been quite sick but has recovered."
In April he was in Tennessee but didn't have much success there, and in a report dated July 29, 1869, it reads: "Elder Haden W. Church was left in charge of the Branches in North Carolina." Nor further information on that mission is found but the Deseret News dated May 25, 1870, published the following: "MISSIONARIES: We were pleased yesterday to meet Elders Henry G. Boyle and Haden W. Church, just returned from missions to the East . . . Brother Church's labors extended through Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia; he has suffered much from ill health during his absence, but is at present looking remarkably well. He has been absent a little rising of two years. They brought in a company of 70 persons."
Elder Church was officially released from his mission on May 24, 1870, and he was back in Salt Lake City on October 10, 1870, to attend a party for the surviving members of the Mormon Battalion and Zion's Camp which was held in the Social Hall. The First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles were included with the 353 people who attended this 'memorable and gala occasion.' Of this number, 32 were Zion's Camp survivors, and 63 were Mormon Battalion survivors, with the rest of the guests being spouses and invited guests."
On one of his missions to the South, Haden brought at least one Negro back with him to St. George. Carter, in OUR PIONEER HERITAGE, Volume 8, said, "Another Negro to come here was brought by Haden Church, a native of Tennessee, who was called with his family, to the Cotton Mission in the fall of 1861. The circumstances as to how or when the Negro came are unknown, but it seems that there was no idea of his remaining in Utah permanently, for when Mr. Church received a call to perform a third mission in Tennessee, the Negro went back with him." The Negro probably came in 1870 and returned in 1875. A St. George resident told of remembering "old-timers" telling her that the Negro called Brother Church by the name of 'Massa Haden' and he was known by the nickname throughout the community."
Haden's 5th and final mission call came during the April, 1875, General Conference, and he died at his former home in Shady Grove, Tennessee, six months later while faithfully fulfilling his missionary responsibilities. Elder Henry G. Boyle wrote to President Brigham Young, and it was printed in the October 20, 1875, Deseret News: “In Tennessee, from Shady Grove, Hickman County, Tennessee, concerning the death of Elder Haden W. Church at that place, Sept. 27th. He was interred by the side of his father and mother, near the house where he was born and raised. I was with him to the last.” He was 58 years old.
“There are five brothers and sisters of the deceased, all living near here, all members of the Church, and who did all in their power to bestow upon him all the care and attention that his case required. His disease was typhoid fever. Brother Church had not been really well since our arrival here. But as far as his health permitted, he was faithful in the discharge of every duty, and died in the harness and at his post. I have written to his family at St. George, giving them all the particulars of his sickness and death. . . . "
The obituary written by his widow, Sarah Ann Arterbury Church, was published in the October 26, 1875, Deseret News as follows:
Haden Wells Church was born at Franklin, in Williamson County, Tennessee, August 29, 1817; was baptized into the Church at Nauvoo by the Prophet Joseph Smith, April 5th, 1841. On Oct. 8th he was ordained into the 8th Quorum of the Seventies by Pres. Jos. Young, and was ordained a president in the year 1851 in the same quorum, which position he held during his life time.
In 1843 and 1844 he filled a mission to the Southern States, and after the death of the Prophet was called back to Nauvoo. He, with the rest of the Saints, was driven from his home, and while at Council Bluffs he was enrolled as a member of the Mormon Battalion. He endured the privations of this journey across the deserts and was discharged therefrom in the Fall of 1847 at Salt Lake. At October Conference in 1849 he was called to take a mission to England. In the Spring of 1854 he was called to the United States. At the October Conference, 1861, he was called to go South, when he settled at St. George. In 1868 he was again called on a mission to the Southern States. Again in 1875, at the April Conference, he was called to the Southern States, and while filling this mission he died September 27, 1875, of typhoid fever, at his old home, amongst his relatives, in Hickman County, Tennessee.
All of the above missions he honorably and faithfully fulfilled and died in his field of labor without a fear, being satisfied that he would come forth in the first resurrection. Sarah A. Church
Elder Church was buried by the side of his father in the Church Family Cemetery hear Shady Grove. The epitaph on his headstone reads: "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord."
The widow, Sarah Ann, continued to live in St. George. She performed many unselfish labors of love and service for her family, her community, the Church, and the Lord. The St. George Temple was dedicated April 6, 1877, and she spent much of the remainder of her life laboring there both as an ordinance worker and as a patron performing ordinances for many of the Church and Arterbury progenitors, assisted by her children. The St. George First Ward records show that she worked in the Temple 121 days in 1878. Following her death, her obituary was printed in the August 7, 1889, issue of the Deseret News as follows:
"CHURCH--The many friends and acquaintances of Sister Church in the Territory as well as saints elsewhere, will be pained to learn of her death which occurred on the 29th of July (1889). Sarah Ann Arterbury Church was born on the 4th of May, 1824, in Dallas County, Alabama. She was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1843 by Elder John Brown, by whom she was also confirmed. She was subsequently married to Haden W. Church in her native State. She and her husband shortly after proceeded to Nauvoo, where they arrived about the year 1845, not long before the evacuation of that place.
They were among the foremost of the company when the saints moved west. Upon the call of the United States government for the "Mormons" to furnish 500 men to assist in the war with Mexico, Bro. Church was among the number to enlist, leaving his wife with her first babe to make her way as best she could to the Valley of Salt Lake, where she arrived in September 1847.
At the October Conference of 1861 Brother Church and his family were called into the southern part of Utah, and their wagon was one of the first to move on to the present site of St. George City, at which place the deceased resided from that time to her death. She was a faithful worker in the Lord's cause, and by means of her noble example, her kind and generous disposition and faithfulness in the discharge of her labors, she accomplished a great work both for the living and the dead.
Sister Church was a woman of great force of character. She was a genuine Southerner, and possessed some of the best traits of character peculiar to that people, conspicuous among these were hospitality and self-denial. She died in the hope of a glorious resurrection together with her husband, having kept the commandments of God as made known to her."
The obituaries printed above provide a fitting tribute and finale to the earth life of these two stalwart progenitors and a challenge to their posterity to live lives worthy of them.
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