199. My noble great grandmother, Martha Ann Riste, pioneer from England.
As we are still in July, the pioneer month, I want to re-post some special stories from previous blogs. Many of you who read these blogs may not have time to look back or know which stories are very special to our family. So I will put a few back on from the past.
This story was first posted on February 13, 2014. I had been to the St. George Temple that morning. My thoughts were really deep and grateful for my heritage. Each of you has a special heritage and if you don't know now what your ancestors did to bring you the life you now have, I hope you will be able to find their stories and record them for your posterity.
In the days to come in this wonderful world we live in, there will be more trials. Perhaps the stories from the past will give us each courage and faith to live the lives we are given in faithfulness and gratitude. I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday, today, July 26, 2014. Yesterday I know of 3 babies which were born, (July 25, 2014) in various extended families of ours. One was our own great grandson, Luke La Vaun Eckman, our oldest son Wayne M.'s son Josh and his wife Tiffany's baby. One was my sister Mavis's son Russell's daughter's baby girl, and one was the great grandson of my husband's twin brother Blaine, (who passed away over 15 years ago.)
I mentioned that I had received some lovely comments about my mother Ruth's poems which I had published the day before, Feb. 12, 2014. To this day, over 5 months now, 163 people have read that blog, # 95. That has been the favorite of all time! (And I believe will continue to be.)
From Feb. 13, 2014
96. Eve, the mother of all living, and my noble grandmother from England
This morning I again attended a Temple session, and took through the name of a woman born 400 years before me -- 1534! I was again was inspired by our first mother, Eve. We know she went through heart wrenching experiences, and mourned over some of her children. What mother has not had that experience? I wonder if any of us realize how great of an impression our mothers have had on our lives and the way we live them? As I was waiting for the session, I reviewed the scripture of the 2000 Helaman stripling warriors:
I really appreciate several lovely comments I have received about my mother's poems, yesterday. By playing with different buttons I had lost the "comment" button on my blog, and I found out what I had done that lost it, and I fixed it, so any of you that would like to make a comment after a blog can now do it. I'm not very "tech savvy" in some ways!
My mother came from several generations of noble mothers. We have some details of the stories back to her great grandmother, Mary Ann Richards.
John Richards and Mary Goodacre lived in England and had two children, Hyrum and Mary Ann. John was a very rich man as was his son Hyrum also. Their daughter Mary Ann Richards (my 2nd great grandmother) was born September 20, 1799, in East Leek, Nottingham, England.
Mary Ann was married at the age of 23 on February 5, 1822, to James Riste, who was a brick layer. Mary’s father was very much opposed to her marriage to James on account of his financial setting. They were blessed with five children: James Jr, Maria, Hyrum, Levinah, and Martha Ann, my great-grandmother. Their first child, James Jr. died when he was 21 years old before they came to Utah.
This photo is of Martha Ann and her 5 daughters. The daughter in the center of the top row is my Grandmother, Levinah Emeline Wilson, (Ruth's mother), and the center on the bottom row is Martha Ann Riste Wilson. Her husband, George, was not in the picture, but my grandson, Sam Lieske, "photoshopped" him in! He was 49 and she was 16 when they were married. Read about it in blog # 64.
When the Mormon missionaries went to England, Mary and her husband and two daughters whose names were Levinah and Martha Ann, joined the church. Later their brother Hyrum joined the church but never came to America. The oldest sister (Maria or Mayra), never did join the Church due to the opposition of her husband who was very bitter and opposed to the Mormons. He didn’t even allow her to go to her mother’s home and threatened to kill her if she ever made contact with her family or missionaries.
Mary’s father, John Richards and brother her Hyrum tried to get Mary and James to forsake their religion and stay in their native land. This they would not do, and Mary’s husband James came on to America in 1853, in the Appleton M. Harmon Company, to work to supply money to bring the family over. During the two years that he worked in America, his wife and two daughters worked to support themselves, regardless of the fact that Mary’s father and brother were very wealthy men. It was during those two years that Mary’s father John Richards, died.
After the funeral the family was called in for the reading of the will. The will stated “If Mary would give up her religion and stay in her native land that she would have half the estate.” When asked by her brother what she would do, she said, “Keep the money, I’m going to America.” Her brother replied, “Mary, if you will stay you can have it all as Ann and I have all we will ever need.” Mary’s answer was still the same.
Mary and her two daughters, Levinah and Martha Ann, sailed for America on the ship Juventa in 1856. While enroute the sea was very rough. They had trouble with the sharks,one following their ship for three days, giving them great concern. The captain, an aged gray haired man, having been a captain for forty-two years and being at sea since a child of seven, said it was the worst storm he had ever seen. He acknowledged that if it hadn’t been for the Mormons aboard, and their prayers, the ship would have surely gone down.
During this bad storm Martha Ann lost her grip and fell, striking her back on a large pole. She spent the rest of her voyage strapped to her bed. She never fully recovered from this fall, and yet she had 11 children. Being on the ocean longer than expected they were short of food so the captain ordered it to be rationed. After a tiresome six weeks they landed in the New York Harbor.
Their captain, Milo Andrews, coming across the plains was very mean, hateful, and strict with the saints. Martha Ann’s mother, Mary Riste, was 57 years old and failing in health. She had to walk most of the time and had ropes tied around her waist when crossing the river. Martha Ann and Levinah walked all the way. One time at an extra large river they loaded all of the women and children. Martha Ann stood on the double-tree and hung to the wagon box (water coming around her legs) while they crossed. When starting in the morning all the women would gather buffalo chips in their aprons, carrying them all day for fuel at night.
They settled in Santaquin. They stayed there, and Mary Ann died 11 October 1885, at Santaquin, Utah. Her husband James had died in 1882. It was here that Martha Ann Riste met and married George Deliverance Wilson, on Sept. 21,1856. Their first two children were born there and thenBrigham Young called them to go south.
They had eleven children as follows: Mary Johnson and George Hyrum born in Santaquin, Utah; Martha Ann and James William born in Mt. Pleasant, Utah; Joseph Deliverance born inMonroe, Utah; Jesse Stephen in Scipio, Utah; Levinah Emmaline, (my grandmother) born 14 April 1879, in St. Joseph, Nevada, on “The Muddy,” which was covered for a time with Lake Mead. (That settlement on "The Muddy," is a story in itself!) David Israel was born in Panguitch, Utah; John Thomas, Sarah Ann, and Almeria born in Hillsdale, Utah.
George Deliverance Wilson built saw mills, and as a result, their 11 children were born in seven different towns. The church would call him to a place to build a saw mill, and when it was working good, he would be called to another town to start one there. It would be difficult in those times to move so often, and with so many children, but they accepted the new call to move whenever they were asked to. I've heard that on one of the moves, Martha Ann had "had it!", and refused to move. Others packed up their belongings, and when the wagon was ready, she reluctantly got up and went with them.
The captain of their company, Milo Andrus, had made Martha Ann’s mother walk a lot of the way on the trip out west, and years later when they lived in Hillsdale, Utah, he and others were coming to visit, and people were asked to take them into their homes. Martha Ann, in her thick English accent, said, “Milo Andrus can’t dawken my door! He made my poor old mother walk across the plains.” Her husband, George Deliverance Wilson, said, “We’ll take all you want to give us, and especially Milo Andrus.” (George, her kind husband, was such a peacemaker!) Part of his story is told in blog: #64. You can go to the left column of "labels" and click on George Deliverance Wilson, to read it. There are some very faith-promoting stories in that blog!
Ruth Allen Miles, her granddaughter remembers sitting on her knee, and hearing her grandmother, Martha Ann, sing to her, “I dreamt I dwelt in Marble Halls,” from an opera called "The Bohemian Girl". The song is sung by the character of Arline in the opera. (Can be heard on “youtube” on the internet.)
There is a good chance that Martha Ann saw that opera before she left London, at the age of 16, as it came out a few years before that.
A playbill of the opera Martha Ann probably saw.
Martha Ann Riste had a beautiful lyric soprano voice, and was in the Royal Choir which sang for Queen Victoria, before she came to the United States, when she was 16 years old. She sang a solo for Queen Victoria at that time, and was wearing a locket, which she gave to her daughter Levinah Emmaline. She gave it to her daughter Ruth Allen Miles, as Ruth also had a beautiful soprano voice. Ruth gave it to me on my 18th birthday, as I was a pianist.
I gave it to my daughter Pamela Eckman Nicholson, as she had sung in several choirs, and sung solos. The necklace, which is a locket, rectangular in shape, with a small place inside in which a picture could be inserted, and has a turquoise stone on the chain holder, is traditionally given to a daughter who has done the most in music, by her mother. Names of the recipients are engraved on the back of the locket. (Pam is concerned because she has 6 daughters, several of whom are musical. ? !)
The locket, about the exact size.
Martha Ann Riste Wilson died the 8th of October 1915 at Hillsdale, Utah, when my mother Ruth, her granddaughter was just seven years old. But she had remembered all her life of hearing her grandmother sing to her.
Alma 56: 47 and 48: Yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them. And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.
What a blessing to those young men!Of course the fathers had a great influence also. But this time I'm writing about mothers.
I really appreciate several lovely comments I have received about my mother's poems, yesterday. By playing with different buttons I had lost the "comment" button on my blog, and I found out what I had done that lost it, and I fixed it, so any of you that would like to make a comment after a blog can now do it. I'm not very "tech savvy" in some ways!
My mother came from several generations of noble mothers. We have some details of the stories back to her great grandmother, Mary Ann Richards.
John Richards and Mary Goodacre lived in England and had two children, Hyrum and Mary Ann. John was a very rich man as was his son Hyrum also. Their daughter Mary Ann Richards (my 2nd great grandmother) was born September 20, 1799, in East Leek, Nottingham, England.
Mary Ann was married at the age of 23 on February 5, 1822, to James Riste, who was a brick layer. Mary’s father was very much opposed to her marriage to James on account of his financial setting. They were blessed with five children: James Jr, Maria, Hyrum, Levinah, and Martha Ann, my great-grandmother. Their first child, James Jr. died when he was 21 years old before they came to Utah.
When the Mormon missionaries went to England, Mary and her husband and two daughters whose names were Levinah and Martha Ann, joined the church. Later their brother Hyrum joined the church but never came to America. The oldest sister (Maria or Mayra), never did join the Church due to the opposition of her husband who was very bitter and opposed to the Mormons. He didn’t even allow her to go to her mother’s home and threatened to kill her if she ever made contact with her family or missionaries.
Mary’s father, John Richards and brother her Hyrum tried to get Mary and James to forsake their religion and stay in their native land. This they would not do, and Mary’s husband James came on to America in 1853, in the Appleton M. Harmon Company, to work to supply money to bring the family over. During the two years that he worked in America, his wife and two daughters worked to support themselves, regardless of the fact that Mary’s father and brother were very wealthy men. It was during those two years that Mary’s father John Richards, died.
After the funeral the family was called in for the reading of the will. The will stated “If Mary would give up her religion and stay in her native land that she would have half the estate.” When asked by her brother what she would do, she said, “Keep the money, I’m going to America.” Her brother replied, “Mary, if you will stay you can have it all as Ann and I have all we will ever need.” Mary’s answer was still the same.
Mary and her two daughters, Levinah and Martha Ann, sailed for America on the ship Juventa in 1856. While enroute the sea was very rough. They had trouble with the sharks,one following their ship for three days, giving them great concern. The captain, an aged gray haired man, having been a captain for forty-two years and being at sea since a child of seven, said it was the worst storm he had ever seen. He acknowledged that if it hadn’t been for the Mormons aboard, and their prayers, the ship would have surely gone down.
During this bad storm Martha Ann lost her grip and fell, striking her back on a large pole. She spent the rest of her voyage strapped to her bed. She never fully recovered from this fall, and yet she had 11 children. Being on the ocean longer than expected they were short of food so the captain ordered it to be rationed. After a tiresome six weeks they landed in the New York Harbor.
Their captain, Milo Andrews, coming across the plains was very mean, hateful, and strict with the saints. Martha Ann’s mother, Mary Riste, was 57 years old and failing in health. She had to walk most of the time and had ropes tied around her waist when crossing the river. Martha Ann and Levinah walked all the way. One time at an extra large river they loaded all of the women and children. Martha Ann stood on the double-tree and hung to the wagon box (water coming around her legs) while they crossed. When starting in the morning all the women would gather buffalo chips in their aprons, carrying them all day for fuel at night.
They settled in Santaquin. They stayed there, and Mary Ann died 11 October 1885, at Santaquin, Utah. Her husband James had died in 1882. It was here that Martha Ann Riste met and married George Deliverance Wilson, on Sept. 21,1856. Their first two children were born there and thenBrigham Young called them to go south.
They had eleven children as follows: Mary Johnson and George Hyrum born in Santaquin, Utah; Martha Ann and James William born in Mt. Pleasant, Utah; Joseph Deliverance born inMonroe, Utah; Jesse Stephen in Scipio, Utah; Levinah Emmaline, (my grandmother) born 14 April 1879, in St. Joseph, Nevada, on “The Muddy,” which was covered for a time with Lake Mead. (That settlement on "The Muddy," is a story in itself!) David Israel was born in Panguitch, Utah; John Thomas, Sarah Ann, and Almeria born in Hillsdale, Utah.
George Deliverance Wilson built saw mills, and as a result, their 11 children were born in seven different towns. The church would call him to a place to build a saw mill, and when it was working good, he would be called to another town to start one there. It would be difficult in those times to move so often, and with so many children, but they accepted the new call to move whenever they were asked to. I've heard that on one of the moves, Martha Ann had "had it!", and refused to move. Others packed up their belongings, and when the wagon was ready, she reluctantly got up and went with them.
The captain of their company, Milo Andrus, had made Martha Ann’s mother walk a lot of the way on the trip out west, and years later when they lived in Hillsdale, Utah, he and others were coming to visit, and people were asked to take them into their homes. Martha Ann, in her thick English accent, said, “Milo Andrus can’t dawken my door! He made my poor old mother walk across the plains.” Her husband, George Deliverance Wilson, said, “We’ll take all you want to give us, and especially Milo Andrus.” (George, her kind husband, was such a peacemaker!) Part of his story is told in blog: #64. You can go to the left column of "labels" and click on George Deliverance Wilson, to read it. There are some very faith-promoting stories in that blog!
Ruth Allen Miles, her granddaughter remembers sitting on her knee, and hearing her grandmother, Martha Ann, sing to her, “I dreamt I dwelt in Marble Halls,” from an opera called "The Bohemian Girl". The song is sung by the character of Arline in the opera. (Can be heard on “youtube” on the internet.)
There is a good chance that Martha Ann saw that opera before she left London, at the age of 16, as it came out a few years before that.
Martha Ann Riste had a beautiful lyric soprano voice, and was in the Royal Choir which sang for Queen Victoria, before she came to the United States, when she was 16 years old. She sang a solo for Queen Victoria at that time, and was wearing a locket, which she gave to her daughter Levinah Emmaline. She gave it to her daughter Ruth Allen Miles, as Ruth also had a beautiful soprano voice. Ruth gave it to me on my 18th birthday, as I was a pianist.
I gave it to my daughter Pamela Eckman Nicholson, as she had sung in several choirs, and sung solos. The necklace, which is a locket, rectangular in shape, with a small place inside in which a picture could be inserted, and has a turquoise stone on the chain holder, is traditionally given to a daughter who has done the most in music, by her mother. Names of the recipients are engraved on the back of the locket. (Pam is concerned because she has 6 daughters, several of whom are musical. ? !)
Martha Ann Riste Wilson died the 8th of October 1915 at Hillsdale, Utah, when my mother Ruth, her granddaughter was just seven years old. But she had remembered all her life of hearing her grandmother sing to her.
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