Family Vignette—Mary Hemingway
Family Vignette—Mary Hemingway
Mary was a beautiful girl, small in
stature, with dark hair and gray-brown eyes.
As a married woman, Mary’s husband, when teasing her, would chuck her
under the chin and tell how pretty she was and say, “Aye, but she was a
beauty.” She was sweet and kind to
everyone and never too busy to give others a helping hand. Little is known of Mary’s early life, but the
love and devotion between the girl and her parents was beautiful and
outstanding. She often told her grandchildren
of her dear mother’s kindness.
One of Mary’s treasured possessions
was a silver thimble which her father had used in his trade as a tailor. It was just a band that fit around his finger
without a closed end.
Mary, often attended Mormon church
meetings with her father. It was while
attending one of their meetings that she met John Healey, who was one of the
principal speakers. She was greatly
impressed by his appearance as he walked up and took his place at the
pulpit. He was very handsome, had broad
shoulders, dark hair, and brown eyes, and as he talked, she felt as if he were
talking just to her. It was love at
first sight, and she said to herself, “If I ever have a husband, I want one
just like him.”
John Healey was born May 22, 1828
at Commonside, near Heanor, Derbyshire, England. He had worked in the coal mines from the time
he was fourteen, and after his marriage, he continued to work, leaving his wife
every morning before it was light and not returning until after dark, never
seeing daylight for weeks at a time. Six
children were born to them, five boys (one died in infancy) and one girl. The father was scarcely acquainted with his
children, as they would not be up when he left for work and would be back in
bed when he came home at night.
John and Mary desired to move to
America to make their home with the other members of the Mormon church in
Utah. The saved for a long time until
they thought they had enough money for the trip to America. When they went to sign up, to their dismay,
they had only enough money for passage for four children and one adult. They were heartsick and could not decide what
to do. They went to one of the Church
leaders in their location and asked him for advice. He gave them a blessing and promised Mary
that if she would take four of her children and go alone, all would be well
with her, and that her husband would join her in a year.
Even though Mary was expecting a
child, she was afraid to disregard the advice and the blessing given her. She feared that something else would prevent
the trip another time, or that more passage money would be needed for an
additional child. It was decided that
Mary and three of her sons (Hyrum, 10; Joseph, 7 and Thomas, 6) and her
youngest child, Elizabeth Ann, just 14 months old, would go to Utah. Her husband and the youngest son, James
Nephi, would remain in England and join the family as soon as possible. James Nephi was only four years old at the
time.
Mary thought her heart would break
when she bid her husband and son and her parents goodbye and left them standing
on the pier; but at the same time her desire to get to America was so strong
and she knew her Heavenly Father would watch over them.
Her parents were deeply grieved to
have their only daughter leave them to go to a strange land among strange
people. Her father bade her goodbye for
a little while, telling her that wherever she went he would follow. Her mother said she knew she would never see
Mary again and she didn’t.
Mary and the four children left Liverpool, England on the ship “John J. Boyd” on Wednesday, April 23, 1862. They were with a company of seven hundred and on Mormon converts under the direction of James S. Brown.
While crossing the ocean Mary had
the misfortune to lose one of her shoes.
After several days of bad storms she had taken the children up on the
deck of the ship. Her feet were so
swollen she had taken off her shoes. One
of her boys picked up a shoe in play and threw it at one of the other
children. It fell overboard. Imagine Mary’s consternation when she
realized she had only one shoe left and no money to buy another pair when she
reached New York. For the rest of the
ocean voyage and all the way across the plains, she had to travel with only one
shoe, wrapping the other foot in pieces of old blankets or clothing that fellow
travelers kindly gave her. She walked
most of the way from Florence, Nebraska, to Utah with one foot wrapped in this
way.
The ocean crossing lasted six long
weeks, ending on June 1, 1862, when the “John J. Boyd” docked in the New
York Harbor. During the voyage, the
water was not too good and food was scarce.
Elizabeth Ann, being only one year old, could not run and play. Her mother and brothers held her in their arms
most of the time. Often, the older
children went without food so the babies and children could have food.
This is the written account of
James S. Brown, President of the group on the “John J Boyd”:
“On Monday, the 21st, Apostles
A. M. Lyman, John Linsay, and J. C. Rich, and George O. Cannon came on the
vessel and organized the company of immigrating Saints, with the following
Presidency: James S. Brown, President; John Linsay and J. C. Rich,
Counselors. Next day the Company was
organized into nine wards, with a presiding teacher over each. There were six hundred and the crew, which
made the total up to seven hundred and thirty-five souls.
“At half past seven o’clock on the 23rd
we weighed anchor, and the vessel was towed out to sea, and left in a strong
head wind. We beat about the Irish
Channel all day, and about four o’clock P.M. drew so close to the Isle of Man
that we could see the towns and distinguish the houses. Then we tacked about and sailed away along
the coast of Wales. Nearly everybody on
board was seasick, and one child, in a family named Hardy, died. It was buried at sea on the 24th. Myself and Counselor went among the people,
waiting on them and cheering them.
“Next day the heavy headwind continued,
and the seasick seemed very severe. I
was affected myself, but was still able to help others. We went along between the Isles of Man and
the coast of Ireland, and by the 26th when the wind became lighter,
we could see the coast of Ireland on our left and the Scottish hills on the
right. We could also see the Irish
houses, farms, and roads quite plainly.
It was noon on the 27th before we passed out of sight of
land, the last we saw being a small island off the northwest coast of Ireland.
“From that time on we experienced all
kinds of weather, from a dead calm to a heavy gale. On the 1st of May the wind was so
strong it carried away the job-boom and fore-top-gallant mast. On the 5th a little boy named
Benjamin W. Williams died from from a fall down the hatchway on May 1st. Taking all thins together, however, we go
along fairly well. Once we had to
complain to the captain of rough treatment by the third mate and some of the
sailors, and it was checked. On May 21st
we sighted Sandy Hook, and on June 1st we cast anchor in the bay of
New York. On the voyage we had cased of
measles and whooping-cough and there were seven deaths in our company while we
were at sea.
“On June 2nd the immigrants
were landed and we proceeded west via Niagara Falls and the lakes to Detroit,
then by Chicago, Illinois; Quincy, Illinois; and Hannibal, Missouri to St.
Joseph, Missouri. From that point we
went to Florence, Nebraska by steamboat, and there I turned over my charge to
Joseph W. Young, who were conducting affairs at that place.”
The trip across the plains was a
very strenuous one for Mary, who was obliged to care for her four children and
walk almost every step of the way, although she was about to become a mother
for the seventh time. As they traveled
across the plains, Elizabeth Ann grew thinner and thinner. The days were hot and they had neither
shelter or shade. The food was rationed
and they had neither bread or meal. They
could find nothing to agree with Elizabeth Ann’s stomach and she grew weaker as
the days passed. When they drew near the
Missouri River, the company made camp for the night. That evening little Elizabeth Ann died, a
babe of only sixteen months.
With prayers and tears, she and her
friends buried Elizabeth Ann Healey in a teamster’s shirt. There, amid the prayers and tears of her
mother, brothers and friends, she was laid to rest near the banks of the
Missouri River. They put up a board to
mark the spot and covered the grave with rocks to keep the wolves and animals
from digging up her body. It is not
known which side of the Missouri River she sleeps on. Then they continued their journey. They were very poor and had to gather
anything they could find on the way to make their food last.
Mary had a cousin living in
Coalville, Utah. When they reached
there, the family had the first good meal and piece of good bread they had had
since leaving their home in England.
At that time, her husband’s
brother, James Healey, was living in Alpine, Utah. Mary traveled from Coalville to American Fork
and James was there to meet her with his oxen and wagon and brought her and her
three sons to Alpine. This was near the
end of September, making it almost five months that they had been traveling
since leaving home in England.
James Healey gave Mary and her boys
a room at his home to live in. It was
there that Mary gave birth to another son, John Healey, Jr., who lived only
nineteen days.
James Healey and his wife were very
kind to Mary. Although they were very
poor, they willingly shared what they had with her. Mary took in washing to help support her
family, and since she had no wash board she rubbed the clothes clean between
her hands. When women had babies she too
care of them and they paid with anything they could spare.
John Healey and his son, Nephi,
left Liverpool, England on Saturday, May 30, 1863, on the ship “Cynosure”
with seven hundred and fifty-four converts under the direction of David M.
Stuart, and arrived at New York Harbor on July 19, 1863. The trop from New York to Florence, Nebraska
was made by train and remembered because of the great number of soldiers in
uniform along the way, the nation then being in the throes of the Civil War,
and also the long trains loaded with Indian corn which he had never seen before
and which played such an important part in the economy of the pioneers and
their households later on. They joined
the Mormon Company at Florence, Nebraska, which was traveling across the plains
to Utah.
John and his son walked the many
long miles along the plains. They place
the children in lines to keep them together.
Along with this company traveled the George and Catherine Clark family
and their two daughters, Mary Ellen and Sarah Ann. The trip across the plains was made possible
by the master leader’s care for the poor converts and the planning and
organization of wise men. The tiresome,
long marches of men, women, and children were made endurable by the songs,
recitations, dances, and other wholesome entertainment around the campfire when
evening came.
John and little Nephi joined Mary
and the older boys in Alpine sometime in October. After being separated for almost a year, Mary
was overjoyed at seeing her husband and son safe and well after the long voyage
and trip across the plains. For a time,
the family lived in part of James Healey’s home. Then John constructed a one-room home of hewn
logs with the help of his two older sons.
The floors were rough boards.
There were two windows and a door, and a large fireplace where Mary
cooked the meals. The log fires made the
home warm and cheerful. The roof was mad
of slabs that at times permitted the rain to drip through.
Martha, a daughter born in this log
house, recalls hearing her mother tell of the terrible rain on the day of
Martha’s birth, and of how they put pans around the bed to keep it dry. Here were born Mary Jane, Marth Hannah, Isaac
Alfred and Phoebe Levious.
John Healey later built a two-story
house just east of the cemetery, with two rooms downstairs and two upstairs.
John Healey was one of the first
farmers to produce small fruit in Alpine, Utah.
The family planted strawberries on the west side of the road in the land
that is now part of the Alpine Cemetery.
The work was divided among the children.
James Nephi was given full responsibility for weeding, watering, and
raising of the fruit and Joseph took charge of the marketing. He also took care of his father’s
correspondence and other business.
Pheobe supervised the pickers.
There was scarcely a family in town that did not have one member or more
pick berries for the Healey’s. The
berries were put in double crates of four baskets and then in the cool of the
evening loaded on the wagon. After
traveling all night they arrived in Salt lake City in time for the opening of
the market.
The family had two rows of grape
vines the length of the lot on the east side of the house. John gave anyone that wanted to pick them the
grapes they needed and never charged for them.
Many people came in the evening with their pans to pick grapes and to
visit. The Healey’s also raised red
currants, English currants, and gooseberries that people picked on shares.
Most of the fruit was dried in the
early days, and neighbors had what they called “Apple Bees”. The men would pick the apples and the women
would gather at one of the homes and peel and core apples and hang them on long
scaffolds to dry. Next time they would
go to one of the other homes and repeat the process.
Mary’s oldest son, Hyrum, lost his
wife in 1886, and was left with four children; the oldest, Carson, seven years;
Minnie, five; Franklin, four; and Matthew, nine days. Mary took the baby into her home and cared
for him. He continued to live with his
grandmother until his death at the age of seventeen. The other children were cared for by Hyrum’s
sisters, Jane and Martha, until he remarried in 1891. He then took Carson, Minnie Ann, and Franklin
to live with him.
Mary’s son James Nephi never
married. He stayed and helped his
parents around the house, being very clean and always trying to help keep
things clean.
Mary was called at all hours of the
day and night to go out among the other Mormon families to nurse the sick. She spent all the time she could spare from
her family, nursing and helping those in need.
She was known for her patience and her kindness to everyone.
In the late years of her life, Mary
became quite feeble and needed help. In
1903, their daughter Pheobe and her husband, Will, and their three children
came to live with them to be near her mother who was getting so feeble. Will bought brick for to more rooms. Will died before it could be built and Pheobe
took one room of the brick back to help pay for the building of the other one. Pheobe continued to live in the home until
her marriage to Byron Willmon Brown, Jr., on September 3, 1913, and moved to Lehi,
Utah.
Mary Hemingway Healey died on July
2, 1906. Her husband, John Healey died
on December 21, 1913. As of 1928, Mary
and John’s descendants numbered one hundred and four. These were the children of Mary Hemingway and
John Healey:
1.
Hyrum Healy 1852–1896
2.
Joseph Hemingway Healey 1853–1930
3.
Thomas Andrew Healey 1856–1937
4.
James Nephi Healey 1858–1924
5.
William Henry Healeyn 1860–1860
6.
Elizabeth Ann Healey 1861–1862
7.
John Healey Jr. 1862–1862
8.
Mary Jane Healey 1865–1922
9.
Martha Hannah Healey 1867–1950
10. Isaac
Alfred Healey 1869–1942
11. Pheobe
Levious Healey 1871–1964
Genealogy: Mary Hemingway 1829-1906 was the daughter of
Thomas Hemingway 1790-1872 and his son was Thomas Hemingway Jr. 1821-1849 and
his daughter was Zillah Hemingway 1847-1907 and her daughter was Maria Holmes
1868-1914 and her daughter was Elsie Harrison 1902-1962 and her daughter was
Audrey Alice Nilan 1923-1999 and her daughter was Marie J Schofield 1951- and
her husband was Cyril "Dick" Edward Field 1948-2016 and his mother
was Ruby Adams 1923-2001 and her father was Francis "Frank" Henry
Adams 1884-1965 and his father was William Frederick Adams 1848-1907 and his
son was George "Pikey" William Welch-Adams 1867-1940.
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