One hundred and twelve miles northwest of London in the industrial city of Birmingham, England, Ellen Ann Beazer Barton was born on March 13, 1852. Her parents were Mark and Hannah Hodges Beazer. When Ellen Ann was two years old her parents were converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. At the same time they decided to leave their home in England and emigrate to America to be with the other members of the church in Utah. They were not rich people so they had to sell off most of their belongings to get money to come to Utah. The relatives especially the aunts were very upset with their decision to leave England. They felt that it would be bad on the child Ellen Ann to take her away from culture and education to the wild west of the United States for their new religion. One of the aunts had an oil painting of the baby done before they left England. The result of this was a beautiful life size oil painting which was brought to the United States and my family now has it hanging in our T.V. room. I have included a Polaroid snapshot of the painting on the front of this report.
The young couple and their baby Ellen Ann left England in 1854. They took six weeks to cross the ocean on a sailing ship. On this voyage Ellen Ann had her beautiful wax doll with her. One day she was playing with the doll on deck when a boy threw it overboard. She cried and cried but it did not bring the doll back. Her mother though she would remember this incident all the days of her life. However, she was too young to remember England or any of the trip to Utah.
The family crossed the plains in the Lott Smith Ox Team Company. Lott Smith was one of the leaders of the Nauvoo Legion and later gained fame in the scattering of the livestock of Johnston's army. His action prevented the United States army from reaching Utah that year and settled the nerves of the Utahns and the government in Washington. His action probably prevented bloodshed. Ellen's brother Mark was born on the plains at Chimney Rock. They arrived in Salt Lake City in the fall of 1854. They made their home on Holmes Creek in Kaysville. I have a picture of the family house in Kaysville. The house is on one of the LDS Welfare Farms and is still standing today although they plan
to tear it down.
Ellen Ann was the oldest of a family of seven children. She had three brothers – Mark, William and Albert. She had three sisters – Clara, Sarah and Maria.
Ellen Ann attended school in Kaysville in the basement of the old meeting house. She also attended the first university in Salt Lake where the original Deseret News building stood. My grandmother said that her mother received the
best education afforded in those early days. According to my grandfather she received a practical education given by her parents which fitted her for usefulness in her home and her community.
According to her daughter Ellen Ann being the oldest helped her mother wash wool, spin and weave it and make it into clothing for her brothers and sisters. She also made the yarn and knit the stockings for the family. Ellen used to tell about the crickets coming to devour the pioneer wheat and how hard it was to get flour. Ellen also remembered the first sugar that she had in Utah and what a
privilege it was to get it because sugar was really scarce.
One of her remembered childhood experiences occurred when Ellen Ann and her brother Mark went with their father to cut some wood in Weber Canyon. While they were cutting the wood in the canyon one of the horses got loose, so her
father had to leave the children to get the horse before it went all the way to Kaysville. He left the two children in the wagon. Their father had no sooner left them than some Indians came upon them. The children were afraid they would be
taken captive and sold by the Indians. The Indians did try to frighten them. The Indians asked for biscuits and the children kept giving them to them until all the food was gone. The Indians then left them alone while they waited for their father to return.
The family with all the other saints moved south in 1858 when Johnson's army came. They went as far as Springville and remained there a short time. They moved back to their home in Kaysville when the trouble had ended.
Ellen's father was among those sent to meet the army when it came into Utah. He was one of the men who kept walking so the army could see them. These men created an optical illusion that there were thousands of men on the hillside instead of just a few.
Her father was also in the Morrisite War of 1862. The Morrisites were a religious group who got into trouble by refusing to surrender certain people who were being held against their will. Their leaders resisted arrest when the
authorities came to arrest them. A fight ensued. A man named Morris
(Morrisite) and two women were killed. Judge Kinney convicted and sentenced seventy six of the Morrisites to prison. This caused a struggle between the Mormons and the non-Mormons for a number of months. This whole thing took place on the Weber River at a fort the Morrisites built. Ellen and her brothers and sisters heard the shots and wondered if their father was killed in the battle.
Ellen Ann spent her days among her many friends of whom she was a favorite. She attended singing school and enjoyed dancing and horseback riding.
During Ellen Ann's youth Brigham Young visited Kaysville. Everyone had a holiday while he was in town. The children were dressed in their best clothes for the occasion. The girls dressed in white and went to meet Brigham's carriage and they all marched back to town with the carriage. While they marched they
sang songs and rejoiced over the coming of their prophet.
On December 25, 1870 Ellen Ann was married to Peter Barton in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. She was eighteen years old at the time. Peter's brother, Isaac Barton and Agnes Parr were married the same day so they had a double
ring ceremony.
Ellen Ann was the mother of ten children. Three of the ten were sons – Oscar, Peter and Albert. The other seven were daughters Nellie, Laura, Lillie, Elizabeth (my grandmother), Clara, Beatrice and Bertha. Peter, Laura and Bertha died in infancy. I have included a picture of the family at the end of this paper.
In 1878 Peter Barton married another wife, Mary Beesley. Her children are Lottie B. Conrad, Amelia B. Cottrell and Robert H. Barton and Spencer J. Barton. They lived in the city and the other family lived on the farm.
Peter Barton was away from the first family with the second one when little Peter passed away. His daughter Elizabeth was always angry that her father was not at home this particular period. She also felt that the first family's girls
had to work on the firm while the other family's girls lived in the city and did not have to do so much work.
Soon after the birth of Ellen Ann's first baby her husband was called on a mission to England. Her mother, Hannah Beezer, was on a visit to England at the same time so Ellen had the responsibility of her young family and also that of her
mother's family.
Ellen was an ardent church worker, serving for years as first counselor to Jane W. Blood (the mother of one of the governors of Utah) in the first Primary Association organized in Kaysville. She worked in the Relief Society for many
years as a teacher. According to her daughter she was respected by all old and young. She was often called out in the night to assist with the sick. Most of the time this was to help babies and young children.
According to my grandmother her home as a place of love and beauty. Ellen loved plants around the house. She was especially fond of flowers and shrubs and grew every variety she could get.
Her husband Peter was bishop of the Kaysville Ward for some thirty years. Because of this their house was a stopping place for people traveling by wagon. My grandmother said that their doors were always open to strangers and church
leaders. The church authorities were always put up and lodged in their home. The Bartons had to entertain them during their visits to the quarterly conferences.
Ellen lived in Kaysville until 1910 when she moved to Salt Lake. She was in ill health and Peter gave up his buisness and strenuous life so they could enjoy some of their declining years with less effort.
During the last ten years of her life she was an invalid. She could not walk and suffered continually from rheumatism. Even with these problems she was industrious, reading and using her crippled hands doing fancy work according to my
grandmother. Her suffering seemed to make her sweeter and more holy. She was always thoughtful of others to the end. With all her suffering she never complained or found fault but often said, “No matter how much I suffer, I always see and hear of someone worse.”
Her last hours were in peaceful sleep surrounded by her family. She passed away in Salt Lake City on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 1918. This was six years after her husband's death. His death was also on Thanksgiving Day in 1894.
Due to an influenza epidemic raging everywhere, her funeral services were held at the grave site in the Kaysville Cemetery, Sunday, December 1, 1918. The services were under the auspices of the bishopric of the Liberty Ward in Salt Lake
City.
According to my grandmother she was a tender and affectionate woman, a wonderful wife and mother and her memory will forever live among her posterity.
She never heard much about the fight for women's rights until she was old and sick. She had to work hard in this state which she helped to found and make the place grow. It was because of men and women like her that there is a place like the University of Utah where we can talk about the rights of women and
correct the problems for women and minority classes.
Life Sketch of Ellen Ann Beazer
One hundred and twelve miles northwest of London in the industrial city of Birmingham, England, Ellen Ann Beazer Barton was born on March 13, 1852. Her parents were Mark and Hannah Hodges Beazer. When Ellen Ann was two years old her parents were converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. At the same time they decided to leave their home in England and emigrate to America to be with the other members of the church in Utah. They were not rich people so they had to sell off most of their belongings to get money to come to Utah. The relatives especially the aunts were very upset with their decision to leave England. They felt that it would be bad on the child Ellen Ann to take her away from culture and education to the wild west of the United States for their new religion. One of the aunts had an oil painting of the baby done before they left England. The result of this was a beautiful life size oil painting which was brought to the United States and my family now has it hanging in our T.V. room. I have included a Polaroid snapshot of the painting on the front of this report.
The young couple and their baby Ellen Ann left England in 1854. They took six weeks to cross the ocean on a sailing ship. On this voyage Ellen Ann had her beautiful wax doll with her. One day she was playing with the doll on deck when a boy threw it overboard. She cried and cried but it did not bring the doll back. Her mother though she would remember this incident all the days of her life. However, she was too young to remember England or any of the trip to Utah.
The family crossed the plains in the Lott Smith Ox Team Company. Lott Smith was one of the leaders of the Nauvoo Legion and later gained fame in the scattering of the livestock of Johnston's army. His action prevented the United States army from reaching Utah that year and settled the nerves of the Utahns and the government in Washington. His action probably prevented bloodshed. Ellen's brother Mark was born on the plains at Chimney Rock. They arrived in Salt Lake City in the fall of 1854. They made their home on Holmes Creek in Kaysville. I have a picture of the family house in Kaysville. The house is on one of the LDS Welfare Farms and is still standing today although they plan to tear it down.
Ellen Ann was the oldest of a family of seven children. She had three brothers – Mark, William and Albert. She had three sisters – Clara, Sarah and Maria.
Ellen Ann attended school in Kaysville in the basement of the old meeting house. She also attended the first university in Salt Lake where the original Deseret News building stood. My grandmother said that her mother received the best education afforded in those early days. According to my grandfather she received a practical education given by her parents which fitted her for usefulness in her home and her community.
According to her daughter Ellen Ann being the oldest helped her mother wash wool, spin and weave it and make it into clothing for her brothers and sisters. She also made the yarn and knit the stockings for the family. Ellen used to tell about the crickets coming to devour the pioneer wheat and how hard it was to get flour. Ellen also remembered the first sugar that she had in Utah and what a privilege it was to get it because sugar was really scarce.
One of her remembered childhood experiences occurred when Ellen Ann and her brother Mark went with their father to cut some wood in Weber Canyon. While they were cutting the wood in the canyon one of the horses got loose, so her father had to leave the children to get the horse before it went all the way to Kaysville. He left the two children in the wagon. Their father had no sooner left them than some Indians came upon them. The children were afraid they would be taken captive and sold by the Indians. The Indians did try to frighten them. The Indians asked for biscuits and the children kept giving them to them until all the food was gone. The Indians then left them alone while they waited for their father to return.
The family with all the other saints moved south in 1858 when Johnson's army came. They went as far as Springville and remained there a short time. They moved back to their home in Kaysville when the trouble had ended.
Ellen's father was among those sent to meet the army when it came into Utah. He was one of the men who kept walking so the army could see them. These men created an optical illusion that there were thousands of men on the hillside instead of just a few.
Her father was also in the Morrisite War of 1862. The Morrisites were a religious group who got into trouble by refusing to surrender certain people who were being held against their will. Their leaders resisted arrest when the authorities came to arrest them. A fight ensued. A man named Morris (Morrisite) and two women were killed. Judge Kinney convicted and sentenced seventy six of the Morrisites to prison. This caused a struggle between the Mormons and the non-Mormons for a number of months. This whole thing took place on the Weber River at a fort the Morrisites built. Ellen and her brothers and sisters heard the shots and wondered if their father was killed in the battle.
Ellen Ann spent her days among her many friends of whom she was a favorite. She attended singing school and enjoyed dancing and horseback riding.
During Ellen Ann's youth Brigham Young visited Kaysville. Everyone had a holiday while he was in town. The children were dressed in their best clothes for the occasion. The girls dressed in white and went to meet Brigham's carriage and they all marched back to town with the carriage. While they marched they sang songs and rejoiced over the coming of their prophet.
On December 25, 1870 Ellen Ann was married to Peter Barton in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. She was eighteen years old at the time. Peter's brother, Isaac Barton and Agnes Parr were married the same day so they had a double ring ceremony.
Ellen Ann was the mother of ten children. Three of the ten were sons – Oscar, Peter and Albert. The other seven were daughters Nellie, Laura, Lillie, Elizabeth (my grandmother), Clara, Beatrice and Bertha. Peter, Laura and Bertha died in infancy. I have included a picture of the family at the end of this paper.
In 1878 Peter Barton married another wife, Mary Beesley. Her children are Lottie B. Conrad, Amelia B. Cottrell and Robert H. Barton and Spencer J. Barton. They lived in the city and the other family lived on the farm.
Peter Barton was away from the first family with the second one when little Peter passed away. His daughter Elizabeth was always angry that her father was not at home this particular period. She also felt that the first family's girls had to work on the firm while the other family's girls lived in the city and did not have to do so much work.
Soon after the birth of Ellen Ann's first baby her husband was called on a mission to England. Her mother, Hannah Beezer, was on a visit to England at the same time so Ellen had the responsibility of her young family and also that of her mother's family.
Ellen was an ardent church worker, serving for years as first counselor to Jane W. Blood (the mother of one of the governors of Utah) in the first Primary Association organized in Kaysville. She worked in the Relief Society for many years as a teacher. According to her daughter she was respected by all old and young. She was often called out in the night to assist with the sick. Most of the time this was to help babies and young children.
According to my grandmother her home as a place of love and beauty. Ellen loved plants around the house. She was especially fond of flowers and shrubs and grew every variety she could get.
Her husband Peter was bishop of the Kaysville Ward for some thirty years. Because of this their house was a stopping place for people traveling by wagon. My grandmother said that their doors were always open to strangers and church leaders. The church authorities were always put up and lodged in their home. The Bartons had to entertain them during their visits to the quarterly conferences.
Ellen lived in Kaysville until 1910 when she moved to Salt Lake. She was in ill health and Peter gave up his buisness and strenuous life so they could enjoy some of their declining years with less effort.
During the last ten years of her life she was an invalid. She could not walk and suffered continually from rheumatism. Even with these problems she was industrious, reading and using her crippled hands doing fancy work according to my grandmother. Her suffering seemed to make her sweeter and more holy. She was always thoughtful of others to the end. With all her suffering she never complained or found fault but often said, “No matter how much I suffer, I always see and hear of someone worse.”
Her last hours were in peaceful sleep surrounded by her family. She passed away in Salt Lake City on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 1918. This was six years after her husband's death. His death was also on Thanksgiving Day in 1894.
Due to an influenza epidemic raging everywhere, her funeral services were held at the grave site in the Kaysville Cemetery, Sunday, December 1, 1918. The services were under the auspices of the bishopric of the Liberty Ward in Salt Lake City.
According to my grandmother she was a tender and affectionate woman, a wonderful wife and mother and her memory will forever live among her posterity.
She never heard much about the fight for women's rights until she was old and sick. She had to work hard in this state which she helped to found and make the place grow. It was because of men and women like her that there is a place like the University of Utah where we can talk about the rights of women and correct the problems for women and minority classes.