Joshua Charles Atkinson was born March 25th, 1824 in Southwark, Surrey, England. He married May 13th, 1845 in London, Middlesex, England to Ann Foremen, born January 27th, 1823 in Reedham, Norfolk, England, daughter of Mary Ann Foreman. She died in 1885 at Blackfoot, Idaho. They had no children.
Joshua then married Margaret Olsen, born December 13th, 1849 in Nordanjo Nora Socken, Sweden, daughter of Andrew or Anders Olsen and Christine or Christina Eckberg, of Socken Westmoreland, Sweden. He died November 11th, 1901 in Samaria, Idaho.
I, Joshua C. Atkinson, son of Charles John and Ann Smith Atkinson, was born March 25th, 1824 in Hermondrey Street in the Parish of St. Dives, Southwark, Surrey, England.
My father´s occupation was a pastry cook and biscuit baker. Just before I was born, my father and his brother had the sum of 3500 pounds left them by an aunt. My father owned some houses and a shop in Hermondrey Steet, but through mis-management and fraud, he had to part with all his houses and spend all his means and had to work for the support of his family. His family numbered five with Eliza, myself, and brother Alfred.
The first school I attended was a national free school held by the Red Cross in Main Street. My father attended the same school and my sister Eliza, a national school for girls in Union Street. During the time we attended these schools, my parents had a great deal of poverty which was the reason Mother got us all in charity schools. I think we were from eight to ten years old. As near as I can remember, this school furnished our clothing. I went to work after school for a shilling a week and my board. By this, the expense was less at home.
If the children went to school until they were fourteen, they had to pay five pounds for them to learn a trade. So, after I was fourteen, I left school and went as an apprentice to a blacksmith and farrier, but they would not furnish me food for that sum of money. This blacksmith lived in Hallbor Hill, London. My parents were so poor they could not keep me with out my giving them some money to help. The result was that I had to find another place. This was Shams, pastry cook and biscuit bakers in High Street in the borrough. Turner was in charge, but was a bad, cruel master. He would made me work sixteen to twenty hours a day. Two days a week I had to walk twenty-five miles with a large box on my head and another large box on my arm of pastry to serve the different shops with goods.
While I was an apprentice, I became acquainted with Ann Foreman. She was a servant to Mr. Cope that lived upstairs, and she was a good musician; she played the organ at the St. Saviors Church. As an apprentice, I had six shillings a week the first year and one shilling more a week each year until my time was up. I saved every penny possible to make a home for myself and Ann. She did the same.
So, when my time was up, May 13th, 1845, Ann and I were married in St. Savior´s church in the borrough, London, England. We lived in the Tourisend Yard, Union Street for three years. We had twenty-eight shillings a week during that time and were in good circumstances, but I was discharged because business was so bad.
I got work one place and another. Finally, I borrowed five pounds and with the little I had, tried a little business for ourselves. I bought a horse and cart, but I couldn´t get much business. I got in debt and very low circumstances. We moved to Lambeth and I got work at Wandsworth. My wife´s mother died with dropsy, suffering much. This caused her death in 1850.
About this time, we joined the Latter Day Saints, September 3rd, 1849. We were baptized in the Waterworth bath house by Elder Parsons. By this time, we had moved to Norwich. I had an excellent place to work, but I told my employers I was a Latter Day Saint and loaned them my church books which caused me to be discharged. So, we sold our furniture and went to London in Mother´s home. I tried my best to get work, but to no avail, so I decided to go to America to get work.
I went by railroad to Liverpool and talked to President Franklin D. Richards. I told him my business, so he said, Send for your wife and go right through to the valley.
This we did by means of the Perpetual Immigration Fund.
We reached Salt Lake on September 3rd, 1852, under the care of Captain O. Smoot, Reed Smoot's father. We camped on the public square and Brigham Young welcomed us and preached to us. In a few days, we went six miles south of the city to Mill Creek to live.
We planted wheat, but the crickets ate it all. Here we went through many hardships and suffered much with the other pioneers. We were without bread for seven weeks. We lived on greens, thistles, sourdock, and the little vegetables we were able to raise in our gardens that the crickets left for us. We even tried to cover up bits of grain and garden, but many crickets would creep under the cover and almost destroy every stalk. But flour was brought in, and we all shared alike.
After a few years, I moved to Mendon Ward and was making a nice little home when Brigham Young called me to go and help settle Bear Lake. This was a great disappointment to me as my home was comfortable and our neighbors so congenial. Bear Lake was so cold and barren with the winters so long that all we could raise was grain and potatoes. But, Brigham Young came and blessed the people and the land, and promised them if they would persevere, they could raise vegetables and fruit; this we have lived to see fulfilled.
I have lived their fifteen years. I married Margaret Olsen as a second wife in the Endowment House. Heber C. Kimball performed the ceremony on July 16th, 1864. I moved to Samaria from Bear Lake and purchased a farm and some sheep.1
Joshua Charles Atkinson was born March 25th, 1824 in Southwark, Surrey, England. He married May 13th, 1845 in London, Middlesex, England to Ann Foremen, born January 27th, 1823 in Reedham, Norfolk, England, daughter of Mary Ann Foreman. She died in 1885 at Blackfoot, Idaho. They had no children. Joshua then married Margaret Olsen, born December 13th, 1849 in Nordanjo Nora Socken, Sweden, daughter of Andrew or Anders Olsen and Christine or Christina Eckberg, of Socken Westmoreland, Sweden. He died November 11th, 1901 in Samaria, Idaho.