Alfred John Atkinson ~ Index
In the southwest part of London, Surrey County, near the Thames River, Alfred John Atkinson was both on the 29th of December, 1826. He was the second son of Charles John and Ann Smith Atkinson. His older brother was Joshua Charles and he had a sister Eliza. Grandfather's home was at St. Georte's Martyer. That is where his christening has been recorded. He was very fortunate in obtaining a good education. When he was twenty-one years old he married a young woman of his choice, Ann Botting. Alfred was a baker by trade; he had a small store in connection with his bakery business.
In a little village of East Grinstead, about twenty miles south of London, on the north borderline of Sussex County, my great-grandmother, Sophia Edwards Botting, gave birth to her first and only child, Ann on the 28th of January, 1827. Sophia must have suffered untold misery, for when her baby Ann, was only two weeks old; she was called to leave this life of mortality. Ann was taken to live with some of her relatives and remained there until she was about three years of age. She was brought back to her father to be taken care of. By this time her father was married again to Marcey Cormer. Circumstances now were not so burdens, for finances were not as stress as in times past. Business was growing: Henry had a roadside inn where lunches, dinners and beverages were served. He also had a hostelry which was a livery barn with fine horses and carriages to be rented out. Business taking most of his time, he had very little time to spend with his daughter, Ann who was then a very small child. Having a step-mother, Ann soon found that though very small she had to learn how to work, she was put on a stool and told to wash dishes. As time went on, very few favors were shown to her and it was not much of a home for her. When she was eleven years of age, her father died, leaving her at the mercy of her step-mother. The morning that her father died, her step-mother came down stairs and asked who cut the bread that was on the table. Ann said that she did, then her step-mother sent her upstairs and kicked her as she went, there she was locked in her room without food, only what the hired girl could sneak into her without the step-mother knowing it. She was not allowed to get out of the room long enough to see her dead father or attend his funeral. After her father was gone, she was put out to service. She found the work was rather hard and difficult for a small girl, although it was much more pleasant than the work she had to do at home. Without the devotion and love of a mother and the kind guidance of a father, she was left to battle the hardships and difficulties of her youth by herself. She was not able to attend school at all. Before her father died, he placed two-hundred pounds or about $1000.00 in the bank for her to be drawn out when she was of age. Her father was a wealthy man at the time he died, but that is all that she received of his estate.
Alfred Johan and Ann were married on April 27th, 1848 and continued to reside in London. They had been married about a year when a strange religion was brought to them. The doctrines and principles of this new faith seemed to be so clear and definite that they accepted the new religion and were baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the 25th of May, 1850 at the King's Court Chapel on Suffolk Street, England. Alfred was ordained an Elder on the 2nd day of April 1852. At this time they resided in the Kennington Branch. November of that year they moved to the St. Olave's Branch where he presided. They decided to leave their homeland and join their friends in the exodus to the United States of America. By this time they had three children Alfred Henry, Eliza Jane and John William. John William died as an infant. They Emily Ann was born on January 28th, 1855. Preparations were now being made for the emigration to America, but in order to make the trip it would take everything they had to buy their tickets to the United States, the land of their dreams. When the last minutes details were taken care of for their departure, it was very hard for them to say good bye to their many relatives and friends, many of whom they did not expect to see again, but their love and devotion to the gospel was greater than for their home and friends. They sailed away from England, about the 17th of April, 1855. The baby, Emily Ann, was about six weeks old at the time. Their ocean voyage was a long, hard journey for the sea was rough at times. It took them six weeks tome the voyage, but through their faith and prayers they landed safely. They were divided into wards for the time on ship, and Elder Alfred Atkinson was appointed to preside over the second ward.
They crossed the plains during the summer of 1855 and endured the many hardships that went with pioneer life, traveling by ox team, fording rivers and streams. They traveled in Elder Smoot's company arriving in the Salt Lake Valley on October 29th, 1855.
The general outlook was quite discouraging for the crops had failed that year owing to the drought and grasshoppers. They did not have bread to eat for six weeks after coming to the valley. Each day Ann would take a blanket out to gather pig weeds or red roots, in so doing there would be enough greens for the family dinner, the greens being their main food for some time. As winter came, times did not improve any. It was unusually cold and the winter very severe. There were many cattle and sheep that died from starvation and cold. To add to their troubles, the Indians were very annoying and caused a great deal of suspense and suffering. Often the small scanty supply of food would have to be shared with the Indians in order to keep peace.
Sometime during the first months in Salt Lake Valley, Joseph Charles was born. Alfred was called to join the Nauvoo Legion as there was some contention in the valley caused by the news of the coming of the United States troops to Utah. After Alfred had left, the baby Joseph Charles became very ill and gradually grew worse. Ann didn't have anything for a light at night or to make a fire with. The baby only lived a few days. With the sorrow and grief that she already had she laid the baby out for burial, but was worried, tired and weary from the constant watching over her baby day and night. She thought she might lie down and try to rest for her strength was almost exhausted, but think again of the danger her baby would be in because of the rats and mice, she decided to sit with the baby all night. When daybreak came, she left the children to watch the baby while she went to the nearest neighbor and hired an old man to make a box to bury her baby in. She had no money but she gave him some bran and flour for his pay. Then she dug a hole in front of the door step where she buried Joseph until her husband returned home. The corpse was then removed to the cemetery at Millcreek, but which is known as, Murray, Utah now.
The two years that followed were very hard and many sacrifices had to be made. They moved northward by ox team and soon after entered Cache Valley near Wellsville. My mother, Eleanor Maria, was born on August 26th, 1859 in a covered wagon. The day she was born it was raining so hard that two men stood outside of the wagon holding quilts over the wagon in order to keep the mother and baby dry and warm. When conditions were more favorable they traveled on to Mendon. Locating there they struggled hard to make a home. Their crops were chiefly wheat, oats, corn and potatoes. All of their farm machinery was made by hand. They used a hand plow, wooden harrow, grain was sown by broadcast. A cradle was used for cutting grain, a flail for thershing, and a scythe for cutting hay. A small wooden rake was made to rake the hay.
What little furniture they had was home made. The floors were bare. By careful management they got some sheep and in the spring of the year the sheep were sheared and the wool was washed, picked and piled in the center of the room where fresh unsalted butter was sprinkled over it to oil the wool. It was then taken to the carding mill at Brigham City where it was carded into rolls about the size of one's little finger. When it came back, the wool was ready to be spun into yarn. An average spinner would spin about three or four skeins of yarn a day. After the spinning was done then the yarn was ready to be dyed. Each family would do their own dying. The indigo was used for the blue, logwood for black, rabbitbrush or peach leaves for yellow, chokecherry bark for dark red. Now it was ready to be knitted into socks, stockings, mittens, hoods and scarves while the other wool was sent to the weaver and would be woven into cloth called home spun or Lindsay; it usually took about thirty yards of material, one yard wide for the average family. A new dress was made for the girls once a year and that would be at Christmas time. Ann was a very good seamstress and she did all of the sewing for her family.
The social entertainments were mostly dances, many of the young people danced barefoot.
In the fall of the year after the grain was cut, Ann would go out into the field and choose the very best bundles of wheat that she could get, then very carefully she would break the heads of the grain from the straw and all the best straw would be tied in a bundle and hung up until the winter came, then she would start to braid hats for the next summer. For the girls' hats she used to bleach the straw with sulphur, using a seven strand braid she finished the hats very nicely. Aunt Marium and Aunt Mary said, Our hats that mother used to make for us girls looked so nice and they were really pretty.
All the light they had at that time was a candle and they were made at home by taking the candle mold, bumping a string down through the mold and then pouring the tallow around in the mold. When the tallow was cold then the candle was ready to be removed so that another could be put into its place. If they let their fire die out entirely, the older ones of the family were sent to the nearest neighbors to borrow fire. They made their own soap by using ashes to boil down and get the lye for the soap.
On the 4th of November, 1862, Brigham Ezra was born, then on the 22nd they went to the Endowment house and had their endowments, and were sealed. Aunt Tib, or Elizabeth, was born on the 18th of April, 1864. Even though times were very hard everything was always neat and clean around the house. On September 29th, 1864 Aunt Marium Amelia was born at Clarkston, Utah. Aunt Matilda was born on the 30th, of September, 1870.
About this time Alfred was thrown from a wagon while riding and bruised his chest, which resulted in a life long trouble to him. They lived at Newton, Cache County, Utah at that time. They had a small store and their financial circumstances were not quite as hard as they had been in years past.
At Newton, Alfred was called to be ward clerk. During that time he wrote several poems, some of them were published in the Millennial Star.
Times and conditions were changing somewhat for polygamy was being practiced. In 1871, Alfred married Margaret Sorensen a young girl from Denmark.
About 1874 Alfred was operated on for the trouble which he had been suffering from, and what the doctors called cancer of the breast.
August 1874, a baby girl was born to the second wife, Margaret Sorensen. The baby was named Sophia. She died during the first year of her life. In 1876 a son George was born to her, he grew to manhood. He died on the 1st of March 1907 and his death came as a severe shock to his mother.
Alfred's operation did not seem to improve his health any, for he steadily grew wore and during his illness he suffered so much pain and agony that he would often lay awake at night groaning from the pain. All the time during his sickness he was very patient and calm. His faith never weakened and his testimony had constantly grown stronger, although his body weakened. Alfred Atkinson died on the 11th of November 1875.
Ann Botting Atkinson died in Newton, Utah on August, 11th, 1895.
Life Sketch
In the old English city of St. George's, Surrey, England, lived Charles John and Ann Smith Atkinson. Alfred John was born to them on December 29th, 1826, to join an older brother and sister, Joshua Charles and Eliza. They were poor people, struggling to get food for their family. Their children attended a national free school which was a charity school; there they received food and clothing.
Alfred John learned the trade of his father, which was a pastry cook and biscuit maker. He worked as an apprentice for seven years. He worked long hours and working conditions were not the best. As he worked at the bakery business, he learned that it was very important to try to please the customers; he felt dependability was one characteristic that must be developed. Though his young feet were tired and weary from the distance he walked to carry his products, it was necessary for him to continue his work, for that was all he knew how to do.
When he was twenty-two years old he had met and made friends with a girl who was doing house work. Her name was Ann Sotting. As they spent a few friendly hours together, they talked of their homes, family, etc. Ann explained that she did not have a home, that her mother died when she was yet an infant. Her father, Henry Sotting Victualler, married again to Macey Batchelor by whom he had a son Henry, who married Ann Blythe. Ann did not know her mother's name; her father did not give her that information. Ann was taught at an early age to work, was given much harder tasks to perform than most girls her age. Her father died when she was but eleven years old. In his will he left Ann one-hundred pounds in English money in the Bank of England. Ann was born January 28th, 1827 at East Grinstead, Sussex, England. Much searching has been done in England to find who Ann's mother was; it has been understood by the family that Ann lived for a while with relatives after her mother's passing, but we cannot find her family. Her father died August 2nd, 1838 age 43, at the Talbot Inn, London, England. Her life had been one of service to others. She worked in her young years for her board and keep; when she was more experienced she received a small sum for her work.
Their friendship grew and Ann cast her youthful glances more and more toward her young friend, Alfred John, whose auburn brown hair and dark eyes seemed more charming with each visit. They were married April 27th, 1848, in the parish of St. Savior, Surrey, England. Ann had just passed her twenty-first birthday by a few months, so she used some of her estate money to provide pretty clothes for their wedding. She had never known what it was to have pretty clothes or to be taught how to spend money wisely for she never had the opportunity of attending school. Their wedding was elaborate indeed. The wedding gown was of heavy black silk trimmed in gold. A cream colored lace bonnet with gloves to match, the best of shoes, a satin parasol with silk lace around the outside completed her outfit. Alfred John was surprised to see his bride look so beautiful. He said, You are far too beautiful to walk to the church.
So a carriage with fine horses was ordered. They were married in St. Saviors church, Southwurk, Surrey, England.Their married life was the peace, contentment and happiness they dreamed of and both had longed for. They didn't realize that there would be problems that must be solved and decisions to be made, heartaches and sorrows. They both were of a religious nature and needed religion in their new life.
One day a knock came on their door. As they opened the door, there stood two well dressed young men who introduced themselves as ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.The explanation of the Gospel principles they were teaching were the same as those Jesus taught. The young people were impressed with the message these strangers brought to them. It was so different for them to be talking to strangers and yet they did not feel they were strangers, but something made them feel that they had known these young men for many years. The missionaries told them they must pray and ask God if these teachings were true. They were told to study the scriptures in the Bible. Their prayers were answered. It did not take long for them to fully realize that these missionaries were telling them the truth. They became members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A new sense of security and happiness seemed to come over them. Alfred's mother, Ann Smith, his sister, Eliza, and brother, Joshua Charles and his wife were all members of the new faith. Alfred's father died before he became a member. His father, Charles John, died April 24th, 1851, at London, England.
Alfred continued his work at the pastry shop and, though his earnings were small, it provided them with the necessities. As their family grew in numbers it was much harder to provide food for all. By the spring of 1855 they had four little children, two boys and two girls, Alfred Henry, Eliza Jane, John William, and Emily Ann. John William died in infancy and it was a real test to those young people to have their baby taken in death. They used their small savings to pay the expenses of the funeral. It was hard for them to lay their tiny baby beneath the cold earth. Their grief and sorrow was felt deeply. Their new found religious principles seemed to give them comfort even in death.
Plans were being made for the family to come to the new land of America where peace and freedom were enjoyed. They crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the ship, "Chimborazo," which sailed from Liverpool, England, April 17th, 1855. Alfred, his mother, Ann Smith, his sister, Eliza, Alfred's wife, Ann Botting Akinson, and their three children Alfred Henry, Eliza Jane, and Emily Ann. It took them five weeks to cross the ocean, and they landed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 21st, 1855. They crossed the plains in the sixth Perpetual Emigration Fund company. They crossed the plains during the summer months. They had their food supplies in the covered wagons. All those that had health and strength walked; the babies and children rode in the wagons drawn by ox teams. When they came to a stream, the wagons were pulled across, but the people waded the streams. They were instructed to take hold of hands and make one long line when they were wading, and if some one let go in the middle of the stream, they would search for them. While they were wading a stream, the current seemed to carry Ann and her companion down stream. When all others were safely across, Ann and her companion were missed. Two men spotted them down stream and quickly went to their rescue. After Ann was safe on the bank of the river by a big camp fire, she was greatly annoyed to find she had lost her little tin cup. She had tied the cup to her apron and had carried it with her since she left England. She said it would be good for her and the "yung-uns" to drink from. Wading streams was not the most pleasant, yet the cold water must have felt good to those tired, aching feet that walked over the rough main trails for weeks.
Alfred was doing his part along with the men that traveled. At night the men would take their turn in standing guard to keep watch for Indians and, of course, assisting in every way possible to make the journey pleasant. The wagons must be kept in repair, fire wood brought for camping.It was good for them that they had known hardships and hard work in England so that they could take the difficulties with a smile and feel that they were blessed to have this opportunity to come to America. Each night before retiring they bowed their heads in prayer to thank God for their many blessings and for His protecting care over them. One day on this long trek, Ann was prompted to go to the wagon and remove their three small children from the wagon; when the wagon came over the next steep hill it tipped over and all contents came tumbling out down the mountainside. Then the children were returned to the wagon.
The 1300 miles trek from Iowa to Salt Lake Valley was completed October 29th, 1855. The general outlook was discouraging for the crops had failed. The drought and grasshoppers had taken most of the food that was raised in the valley. Each day they would gather weeds, roots and such for their meals. In the spring of 1856, the live stock were poor, and many died of starvation. Wheat and flour were gone. The Atkinsons were without bread for six-weeks. The Lord was good to them for they were with Joshua Charles and his wife, Ann Foreman. They had been in the valley three years, so they naturally shared their small portion with his mother, sister and brother, Alfred, and family. They all knew what hunger was, but with their faith and prayers, they were sustained through all their difficulties.
Sometime after they arrived in the valley, perhaps about 1857, a son was born whom they named Joseph Charles. Alfred John and Ann were happy to have another little son in their family. When he was a few months old, his mother was alone with the children while Alfred John was away from home. The baby, Joseph Charles, became very ill and he died very suddenly. His mother watched over him until daybreak. Then she walked a mile to the nearest neighbor to get him to make a box for a coffin to bury the baby in. He promised to make the box and deliver it the next day, but due to stormy weather it was not delivered. Ann walked back to see why he hadn't brought the casket. She traded him bran and flour for the casket. She dug a shallow grave by the door step to place the little casket in. When Alfred John returned home, he was shocked to know that his little son had been taken from them in death. The casket was removed from the shallow grave and placed in the Millcreek cemetery, now known as Murray, Utah.
President Brigham Young made a call for some of the Saints to settle a new valley up north, known as Cache Valley. Alfred John made preparations and took his family north to the new valley. They had a wagon and ox team with all their belongings. When they arrived as far north as what is now known as Wellsville, they made camp. They were expecting their sixth child. On August 26th, 1859. twilight came, and the clouds were hanging low as if a storm was moving in. The cover on the wagon had seen its better days and in some places there were holes where the sunlight could come through as well as rain drops. The Atkinson family needed a good cover, for when the rain started to fall it would soon make dampness for the mother, Ann. The child did come that night in a covered wagon. It was a baby girl. Some good, kind men came and held quilts over the wagon to keep the rain and dampness from mother and babe.
When the mother was strong enough, they slowly moved farther to the central part of the new valley. The baby was named Eleanor Maria. They reached the settlement of Mendon and decided to make their home there. Quickly they set to work making a home. Here, they found the winters colder. Alfred John's knowledge of farming was limited due to his profession in England of pastry cook. He learned by experience to use the hand tools that were used in farming and harvesting. By careful planning they managed to get a few sheep and that furnished the wool for clothing for the family. Alfred, Ann and children gleaned the wheat fields. They all worked hard to provide even the bare necessities for the family. Brigham Ezra and Elizabeth were born while they were living at Mendon.
Sometime between 1864 and 1867, they moved to Newton. They decided to put in a few items such as what their neighbors might buy. The neighbors were willing customers. They added more and more each week and they found there was some money to be made in the selling business. Alfred John would go to Salt Lake City by ox team and bring back supplies for the store. On one of his return trips from the city something went wrong with the "Yoke," and he stepped out on the tongue of the wagon to adjust it, when one of the oxen became frightened and started running. He fell to the ground and the oxen stepped on him.He was injured seriously, for he never recovered from this accident. The doctor diagnosed his condition as that of cancer. Alfred John's mother, Ann Smith, lived with her older son, Joshua Charles. They didn't have any children. She died March 20th, 1874, and was buried at Millcreek, Utah, which is now known as Murray, Utah.