Mary Bliss

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1625, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England
• Alternate birth: Abt 1626

Notes:

From the Find a Grave entry for "Cornet" Joseph Parsons:

In Dorchester, in 1656, almost 40 years before the witchcraft travesty in Salem, MA, Joseph Parsons filed a lawsuit for slander, seeking damages against Sarah Bridgman, wife of James Bridgman. The suit accused Sarah Bridgeman of calling Mary Bliss Parsons a witch. Sarah Bridgman's child had died and she accused Mary Parsons of causing the child's death. Other neighbors came forward with similar accusations. The quality of the evidence produced against Mary Bliss Parsons is indicated by testimony of Mrs Bridgeman on behalf of an older son, whose knee, being fractured and it being set, the child screamed in great pain that Mary Parsons was pulling his leg off and that he saw her on the shelf; when she went away, a black mouse followed her. Trial resulted in a verdict for Mary Parsons, which prompted the suit for slander, which was won by Joseph and Mary Bliss Parsons. The defendants were order to make a public apology and to pay the plaintiffs' costs: "seaven pounds, one shilling and eight pence."

But the matter did not end there.

Nineteen years later, in 1675, Mary Parsons was again accused of witchcraft when Sarah Bridgman herself died. These accusations, made by the father and the husband of the deceased, prompted the prosecution of Mary Bliss Parsons. Mary was indicted by a grand jury and imprisoned in Boston for several months and then put on trial. Her ordeal included the examination of her person by "Soberdized, Chast women to make Diligent Search upon ye body of Mary Parsons, whether any marks of witch craft might appear." She was acquitted.

Such allegations as were made against Mary Bliss Parsons, by neighbors of long standing, living within minutes of one another's homes, treating with one another virtually every day, parents of families, whose children would have know one another in every aspect of small town life--such life-threatening denunciations must surely have sundered many friendships and provoked the deepest of bitter feelings. Dorchester, after 1656, like Salem after 1691, could not have been a happy place. In this, the first American generation, the Puritan experiment had turned toxic within itself.

Mary married "Cornet" Joseph Parsons on 26 Nov 1646 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut. "Cornet" (son of William Parsons and Margaret Hoskins) was born before 25 Jun 1620 in Beaminster, Dorset, England; was christened on 25 Jun 1620 in St. Mary's, Beaminster, Dorset, England; died on 9 Oct 1683 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 29 Nov 1729, Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts

Notes:

"Elizabeth's husband was a fur trader, lawyer, first judge of Hampshire County Court, and a founder of Northampton, MA." [Freeman Family Lines, from the files of Stephen M. Lawson (via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine)]

From the Wikipedia article about Joseph Parsons, Jr.:

"Joseph Parsons, Jr. (1647-1729) was an early settler and prominent colonial leader in Northampton, Massachusetts. [...]

"Parsons, Jr. was involved in several business enterprises in and around Northampton, including grist mills, sawmills, and iron. He later became active in politics; in 1696, he was commissioned as one of the four judges on the Hampshire County Court of Common Pleas, which at the time included all of Western Massachusetts. He served in this capacity until 1719. Parsons, Jr. also served as a representative in the Massachusetts General Court; he represented Springfield in 1706 and 1708, and Northampton from 1711-1715, 1717, 1721, and 1724. In addition, he held several other minor offices; in 1700, he was appointed as the first town moderator in Northampton history, and he also served as justice of the peace for a number of years.

"Throughout most of Parson, Jr.'s life in Northampton, Solomon Stoddard was the pastor of the church. However, by 1725 Stoddard was 82 years old and unable to fulfill all of his pastoral duties alone. So, the town voted seven members onto a committee to find a suitable candidate to assist, and upon Stoddard's death, replace him as pastor. Joseph Parsons, Jr. was one of the members of this pastoral search committee, which ultimately chose Jonathan Edwards, whose tenure as pastor would lead to the Great Awakening."

It's not mentioned in the Wikipedia article, but Joseph Parsons and Elizabeth Strong were also ancestors of early Caltech rocket scientist, JPL co-founder, and Aleister Crowley disciple Marvel Whiteside "Jack" Parsons (1914-1952), famous for having (1) welcomed the pre-Scientology L. Ron Hubbard into his life, (2) having his wife, yacht, and savings stolen by Hubbard, and (3) later dying as the result of a chemical explosion in his garage.

Joseph married Elizabeth Strong on 17 Mar 1669 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts. Elizabeth (daughter of John Strong and Abigail Ford) was born on 24 Feb 1648 in Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut; died on 11 May 1736 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts; was buried in Bridge Street Cemetery, Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Mary married Joseph Ashley on 15 Oct 1685. Joseph (son of Robert Ashley and Mary) was born on 6 Jul 1652 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts; died on 18 May 1698 in West Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 2 Jan 1682, Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut

Family/Spouse: Sarah Sheldon. Sarah (daughter of Isaac Sheldon and Sarah Warner) was born on 12 Jul 1688 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts; died on 14 Nov 1738 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts; was buried in Bridge Street Cemetery, Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Ebenezer Clark. Ebenezer (son of Deacon John Clark and Mary Strong) was born on 16 Oct 1682 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts; died on 27 Feb 1781 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts; was buried in Bridge Street Cemetery, Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Chosen town constable of West Springfield 12 Mar 1717.

Joseph married Martha Leonard in Feb 1716 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts. Martha (daughter of Benjamin Leonard and Sarah Scott) was born on 23 Oct 1695 in West Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 23 Dec 1814, Chester, Hampden, Massachusetts

Family/Spouse: Martin Phelps. Martin (son of Deacon Nathaniel Phelps and Abigail Burnham) was born on 24 Dec 1723 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts; died on 12 Nov 1795 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts; was buried in Bridge Street Cemetery, Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 19 Jul 1788, Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts

Ezra married Martha Phelps on 13 Dec 1739. Martha (daughter of Samuel Phelps and Mary Edwards) was born on 19 Sep 1717 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts; died on 9 Sep 1803 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts; was buried in Bridge Street Cemetery, Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Martha married Daniel Lamb on 19 Dec 1734 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts. Daniel (son of John Lamb and Sarah Jones) was born on 6 Apr 1716 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts; died before 1786 in Wilbraham, Hampden, Massachusetts; was buried in Adams Cemetery, Wilbraham, Hampden, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Spencer Phelps and Naomi Clark were third cousins, being both great-great grandchildren of Isaac Sheldon (1629-1708) and Mary Woodford (1636-1684). Who were themselves Gx5-grandparents of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Spencer married Naomi Clark after 19 Mar 1781. Naomi (daughter of Ezra Clark and Martha Phelps) was born on 4 Oct 1753 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts; died on 25 May 1784; was buried in Bridge Street Cemetery, Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Spencer married Theodomy Allen after 25 May 1784. Theodomy was born on 25 Nov 1755 in Chesterfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts; died on 18 Nov 1841. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

See the entry for her son Spencer Phelps (1782-1865) for proof that Spencer was her son, not a son of Theodomy Allen, second wife of Spencer Phelps (1753-1829).

Naomi married Spencer Phelps after 19 Mar 1781. Spencer (son of Martin Phelps and Martha Parsons) was born on 20 Feb 1753 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts; died on 24 Jan 1829 in Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts; was buried in Center Cemetery, Chesterfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 1736
• Alternate birth: 1737, Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts
• Alternate death: 25 Feb 1832, Belchertown, Hamsphire, Massachusetts

Notes:

“She was throughout her life very active and energetic, and retained her erect carriage to extreme old age. For many of the last years of her life she was blind.” [The History of the Descendants of John Dwight, citation details below.]

Sarah married Capt. Justus Dwight on 19 Jan 1763. Justus (son of Capt. Nathaniel Dwight and Hannah Lyman) was born on 13 Jan 1739; died on 27 Jul 1824 in Belchertown, Hamsphire, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Fought in the War of 1812.

Spencer Phelps (1782-1865) appears in most online genealogies as a son of Spencer Phelps (1753-1829) by his second wife Theodomy Allen (1755-1841). But the older Spencer's first wife Naomi Clark died in 1784. If the younger Spencer was born in 1782, his mother was Naomi Clark, not Theodomy Allen.

Evidence:

Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 shows Naomi Clark born 4 Oct 1753 in Northampton, Massachusetts, daughter of Ezra and Martha Clark.

Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, "CLARK, NAOMI of Northampton, Intention of marriage to Spencer Phelps, published March 19, 1781."

Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 shows Spencer Phelps born 24 May 1782 in Chesterfield, Massachusetts (just outside Northampton), son of Spencer Phelps and Naomi.

This headstone at Bridge Street Cemetery, Northampton, Massachusetts, of "Mrs. Naomi Phelps Wife of Mr. Spencer Phelps who died May 25 1784 In the 31st Year of her life".

Family/Spouse: Mary Kniep. Mary (daughter of Christian Burchard Kniep and Maribah Miller) was born on 13 Dec 1784 in near Mt. Tom, Hampden, Massachusetts; died on 22 Apr 1851 in Kirtland, Lake, Ohio. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: of Westmoreland,Cheshire, New Hampshire

Notes:

“He was a lawyer in Westmoreland, N.H., whence he removed in 1826 to Jacksonville, Ill. His last years he spent in Louisiana, and d. in Cincinnati, Nov. 5, 1851, aet. 76, when returning to the South.” [The History of the Descendants of John Dwight, citation details below.]

Daniel married Mary Dickinson Mattoon on 24 Dec 1809. Mary (daughter of Maj. Gen. Ebenezer Mattoon and Mary Dickinson) was born on 4 Apr 1780; died on 25 Feb 1842. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Transcription of a handwritten history of his family by Morris Charles Phelps, here.

Transcriptions of some entries, from August 1851, of the journal of the Morris Phelps Emigrating Company.

Transcript of a journal of daily events kept by Morris Charles Phelps in Alpine, Utah from 1856 through 1859.

Much more about Morris Charles Phelps here.

By "SMSmith" at Find a Grave:

"Morris' line goes back to William Phelps who immigrated to America in 1630. Morris' mother was the descendant of a Hessian soldier who was captured at Trenton during the American Revolution. He then joined the colonial army and fought with Washington. Morris attended school in various frontier communities as his family moved west. They settled in Ohio and he had the opportunity to attend school briefly at Mentor, Ohio. His diaries and letters show a better than average vocabulary and he was excellent penman.

"When he was about nineteen years of age, he visited his relatives in Illinois. While there he met and fell in love with Laura Clark. Laura was born in New Fairfield, Connecticut on July 28, 1807. Morris and Laura were married March 26, 1826. They lived in Illinois for five years and their two oldest daughters, Paulina Eliza and Mary Ann were born there. They became interested in the new religion of Mormonism in 1831 and after several weeks of investigation, they were baptized in the Dupage River on August 18, 1831. They left Illinois two months later and joined the Saints in Missouri. Their daughter, Harriet Wight, was born soon after their arrival. Morris and his family were driven from their homes in Jackson County and moved north into Clay County. He was called on a mission for the church in 1834 and was sent to the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. This left Laura alone with her three daughters. She taught school and practiced obstetrics. Charles C. Rich traveled with Morris as his companion, Morris baptized Laura's parents who moved to Missouri and help her while Morris was away.

"Morris spent the winter of 1835-36 as a carpenter on the Kirtland Temple in Ohio. He was ordained a high priest and attended the dedication of the Temple on April 6, 1836. He then returned to his family in Missouri. He returned home in time to help his family move again because of persecution.

"Morris established a home on a small farm just outside of Far West and it was here that his first son, Joseph Morris was born in 1837. Although there was intense persecution and bitterness, this was a time of happiness for the family. Morris invested in a merchandising business and did quite well. The happiness did not last for long, because new mobs formed and caused a great deal of damage and sorrow. They raided the Phelps home and threatened Morris' life, but only killed his hogs, Morris said in his diary that 'I was attacked by the mob...my property was confiscated and I was made a prisoner. (October 31, 1838.) Was put in jail where I remained until July 4, 1839, from which made my escape with Parley P. Pratt, by the assistance of Orson Pratt and my wife, Laura.'

"While Morris was incarcerated, Laura and the children went with her parents to Montrose, Iowa. They found an abandoned farmhouse and made a home. Morris and Parley Pratt were chained with wrist and ankle irons in such a manner that they could only sleep on their backs. The story of Laura's plan to free her husband is amazing and illustrates the great faith courage. She and her brother, John Wesley Clark, rode horseback from Montrose to Columbia, Missouri, a distance of 160 miles. A grandson, Will R. Holmes left the following account: 'Here was her plan to free them: She would secrete three horses in some brush a short distance from the jail. As an excuse to get the jailer to unlock the prison door, she would suggest to the jailer that he open the door and pass the coffee pot in to the prisoners through the open door. Should the jailer unlock the door, it would be the signal to get busy, pull the door wide open, grab the jailer, throw him to the floor and flee for their lives.'

"Laura was warned by her brother, John not to touch the prisoners or assist them as that would be an offense. Will Holmes' history continues: 'The scheme worked but not without difficulties. The second door was unlocked and King Follett (one of the prisoners) pulled the door open and ran out, Parley P. Pratt was to follow and grandfather Phelps, being an athlete and wrestler, was to throw the jailer down and he would follow. It proved to be an exciting event...it was the fourth of Fourth of July and hundreds were nearby celebrating.'

"The escapees made it to where Orson Pratt and John Clark were waiting with the horses. They split up and made their way to Illinois. Morris was quite ill from exposure and being confined to prison for eight months. Laura was left to the mercy of the mob in Columbia. A young man sneaked her away from the angry mob and then assisted her in returning to Illinois where she found friends.

"Morris went on another mission east in 1839. He took Laura with him and also his youngest child, Joseph. Another son, Jacob Spencer, was born in Indiana. Morris' writings reveal the next tragic event, which occurred shortly after the end of the mission to the east. 'Rested a few days, got our children together and settled in Macedonia, Illinois, 25 miles east of Nauvoo. Here we lived in peace and quiet for some time. My wife, Laura, acting in the capacity of a midwife, by over exertion and by traveling day and night, took sick 1st of February and died on the 9th of February, 1842.'

"Laura's death was a great sorrow to Morris, especially with the five small children. Persecution against the Mormons was beginning in Illinois and he worried about protecting them from the mobs. Morris met Sara Thompson, the daughter of David and Leah L. Thompson. Sara was twenty-two years old and a schoolteacher. She was born March 20, 1820 in Pompey, New York and had come to Nauvoo with her widowed mother. Morris and Sara were married March 27, 1842 and they moved into Nauvoo where Morris could work on the temple. Two daughters were born to them while living in Nauvoo, but both died in infancy. Laura's youngest child, Jacob, was accidentally scalded to death. Morris' daughters Mary Ann and Paulina married Charles C. Rich and Amasa M. Lyman respectively. Hyrum Smith Phelps, Sara's third child, was born in Nauvoo on February 26, 1846. This was the bitter cold night that many saints were being driven from their homes and across the Mississippi River.

"The Phelps family reached Winter Quarters in the fall of 1846. They remained here for five years and prepared for the journey to the mountains. Morris spent five his time building and repairing wagons and travel equipment. Morris married Martha Barker Holmes on February 26, 1848. Martha was fifty years and the mother of James Holmes, who later married Morris' daughter, Harriet. They came to Utah together in 1851 and settled in Alpine. Morris and James Holmes owned interest in a sawmill and other properties in Alpine. Morris served as an Alderman and as a counselor in the bishopric while they lived in Alpine. In June, 1864, both men pulled up stakes and followed Charles C. Rich to Bear Lake.

"Morris' first home in Montpelier was a one room log hut with a dirt floor and a dirt roof. The floor was covered with straw and the roof leaked. The door was made of wooden planks with a latch that was operated by a buckskin, which was pulled in at night for a lock. The furniture was homemade and the beds were made of small poles bored into the walls and supported with crossbeams. The mattress was made of straw. The logs were obtained from 'Joe's Gap,' a narrow gorge two miles north of Montpelier, which opened into a pine-covered canyon. It was Morris's son, Joseph, who found the narrow ravine, and ever since that time it has been called 'Joe's Gap.' The food was cooked on open fireplaces or in Dutch ovens covered with coals. Clothing was all hand made. Every family had its spinning wheel and each community had good weavers. Sarah T. Phelps was one of the most prominent weavers. Most all of the clothing was made from homespun cloth. Men wore buckskin shirts and britches and beaver vests and caps to keep them warm.

"The first year, 1864, an early frost damaged the crops. Teams went to Cache Valley for flour, but before they got back it snowed so hard that they were unable to reach the settlements without additional aid. The winter was a long and severe one, the snow was deep and blizzards made travel impossible. Communication between settlements was made on snowshoes. By spring most of the people were eating frozen potatoes or sticky bread made from frozen wheat.

"Morris later built a large, two-story home with wooden floor and shingle roof, the first in Montpelier. This became a center for community gatherings. He became postmaster of Montpelier in 1869 and was ordained a patriarch by Brigham Young in 1873. Sarah was the first President of the Relief Society in Montpelier. She also served the community as a midwife and she delivered 580 women without a loss. Morris and Sarah lost one daughter, Martha, in Montpelier, who was nineteen. Their daughters, Amanda and Olive, grew to maturity. A son, Charles Wilks, died as a child. Morris and Sarah had seven children, but raised only three. Morris Phelps died at Montpelier on May 22, 1876. After his death Sarah moved to Mesa, Arizona with her son Hyrum. She died there on January 31, 1896."

Regarding the birth date and place of Morris Charles Phelps: Memorial to the Pioneer Women of the Western Reserve ed. Mrs. Gertrude van Rensselaer Wickham (Women's Department of the Cleveland Centennial Commission, 1896), quoted at length here, says that Spencer Phelps came to the township of Leroy in the Western Reserve in 1803, that Mary "Keneep" arrived two years later, and that Spencer and Mary were married there in December 1807. If this is true (which is obviously not established), it calls into question whether Morris Charles Phelps was in fact born on 20 Dec 1805 in Northampton, Massachusetts as reported in many family histories and on his headstone in Montpelier, Idaho. It's worth noting that we have been unable to find any record of the birth of any Morris Phelps in western Massachusetts in the first decade of the 19th century. Is it possible that Morris Charles Phelps was actually born circa 1808 in Ohio? This would mean he began courting Laura Clark Baldwin on his trip to Illinois when he was actually sixteen, and married her in Laurenceville when he was about eighteen -- exactly the ages at which a young man might be tempted to add two years to his claimed age, particularly when far away from any close relatives who might contradict him.

Morris married Laura Clark Baldwin on 26 Mar 1826 in Lawrenceville, Lawrence, Illinois. Laura (daughter of Timothy Baldwin and Polly Keeler Clark) was born on 28 Jul 1807 in New Fairfield, Fairfield, Connecticut; died on 2 Feb 1842 in Macedonia, Hamilton, Illinois. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Morris married Sarah Thompson on 27 Mar 1842 in Hancock, Illinois. Sarah (daughter of David John Thompson and Leah Lewis) was born on 20 Mar 1820 in Pomfret, Chautauqua, New York; died on 31 Jan 1896 in Mesa, Maricopa, Arizona. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: of Amherst, Hampshire, Massachusetts

Martha married Elizur Wolcott on 15 Jul 1846. Elizur (son of Elihu Wolcott and Rachel McClintock McClure) was born on 7 Aug 1817; died in Mar 1901 in Berkeley, Alameda, California; was buried in Diamond Grove Cemetery, Jacksonville, Morgan, Illinois. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Amasa Mason Lyman. Amasa was born on 30 Mar 1813 in Lyme, Grafton, New Hampshire; died on 4 Feb 1877 in Fillmore, Millard, Utah. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The third of Charles Coulson Rich's six plural wives.

Mary married Charles Coulson Rich on 6 Jan 1845 in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois. Charles was born on 21 Aug 1809 in Big Bone, Campbell, Kentucky; died on 17 Nov 1883 in Paris, Bear Lake, Idaho. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

[From this Phelps site.]

Autobiography of Hyrum Smith Phelps

Hyrum Smith Phelps first saw the light of day in the once beautiful city of Nauvoo, Illinois, February 26, 1846. Referring to his early life he said:

My parents, Morris Phelps and Sarah Thompson Phelps, had already been expelled from their homes twice--Kirtland, Ohio and Independence, Missouri--leaving them very little of this world's goods. Some three or four thousand Saints had crossed the Mississippi River by ferry boat and on the ice headed for the valleys in the Rocky Mountains.

By the middle of the following June, my father had a yoke of oxen and cows to pull one wagon, and in company with some others he started to follow those who had gone previously, arriving at what they called "Winter Quarters" on the Missouri River in Iowa. We remained there until June 1851. Father worked at wagon making most of the time. When he had managed to raise two teams of oxen and cows, a company of sixty wagons was organized, Father was made captain, and they started for Utah.

After many trials and hardships, they arrived in Salt Lake City September 25, 1851. The first winter Mother and two children stayed with her brother, Samuel Thompson, in Mill Creek Canyon. During the winter, Father found a location in Alpine, Utah County and a house (such as it was) built on a piece of ground he had taken up. Soon after we were located, another member was added to the family, a son, Charles Wilkes Phelps, who lived four years and died with measles. During 1853 and 1854, Father, his son-in-law, James Holmes, Isaac Huston and James Preston built a saw mill near the mouth of Dry Creek Canyon about a mile and a half from Alpine. During the summers from 1853 to 1859, I herded sheep that belonged to the settlers of Alpine. All I had for my dinner was segos [lily bulbs] that I would dig out of the ground with a digger that I carried with me. (It was a pointed stick something the shape of a beaver's tail.) It was while herding sheep that I was tempted the hardest to steal It came very near getting the best of me. James Preston was down in the penstock of the saw mill repairing something, and I brought my sheep near the mill. I spied a dinner pail and taking the lid off I saw some flour biscuits. I put my hand in the pail to take a biscuit and was reminded of that commandment, "Thou shalt not steal. " Then I remembered the teachings of my mother, "Thou shalt not steal. " Finally I got courage enough to get away and I went out in the mill yard and began to pick gum. Soon I heard a voice call my name and when I went back, James Preston gave me a biscuit and a leg of chicken. Maybe you think I wasn't thankful I had resisted the temptation. We had been without wheat flour for several months and had been eating musty corn meal bread. I can now [1922] remember those days just as vividly as though they had been within the last two years. Only those that experienced the hardships of those days can realize what they were.

I went to school three or four months in the winter until I was seventeen years old. About the fifth grade was as far as I reached. When I grew large enough to put a yoke on the oxen, I quit herding sheep and worked on the farm and in the canyon. When I was sixteen, I calculated I could do as much as a common man at most anything. In the spring of 1864 I was 18 years old. Father sold out all his lands and home and decided to go up to Bear Lake Valley, Idaho. James Holmes and my half brother, Joseph Phelps, and my father fitted out ox teams and made the start April 1864. They landed in Montpelier on May 17, 1864. All three took up a farm and started once more to make homes. They built log houses with dirt floors and roofs.

In the winter of 1865 I commenced keeping company with Miss Clarinda Bingham. In the fall of 1866 frost had killed all of the grain and Calvin Bingham decided to move back to Hyrum, Cache Valley, as he had to depend on blacksmithing for a living. That meant he would take his daughter Clarinda also. She and I talked the matter over and we decided to get married. When I laid the matter before the blacksmith, he said, "Nothing doing. You are both too young!" (Which was verily true.) I talked the matter over with a friend, and he advised me to give the old folks the dodge and get married anyway. So on the evening of September 26, 1866, we invited a high priest by the name of John Turner to come over to the neighbors' and perform the ceremony for us. For a short time it looked like something interesting was going to happen around the place. I didn't have very much to say, but a good many things ran through my mind that space will not permit me to mention. Finally, things began to get normal again, and we decided if I would go down below to the town of Benningston and help get the sheep across the Bear River, we would be forgiven. This was carried out to the satisfaction of all concerned.

Now for a description of the home I took my bride to: My mother's house had but one room 18 by 17 feet, a dirt roof and floor with a straw carpet. She had her loom in there during the winter. Her bed was in one corner and I had a bunk built in another corner. It was built into two sides of the house and one log stood out in the room. A straw bed, buffalo robe and quilts comprised our bed for the winter. In the spring, the fore part of May, I found there was going to be an increase in the family, which put me to my wits' ends to know how to meet the situation. But it happened that providence had smiled down on me again by sending the Indians into the valley somewhat earlier than usual. I happened to be the sole owner of a little brown pony which I sold to an Indian for a buffalo robe and seven elk skins. The nearest dry goods store at that time was Richmond, Cache Valley, some 65 miles across a big mountain. It happened that my brother Joseph was in the same boat that I was, and he and I started out to find a market for what we had to sell. I sold my buffalo robe and three of my elk skins, (I had four elk skins left to make me a suit of clothes) and bought a few yards of flannel and a few yards of calico, a bottle of castor oil, a box of Grafenburg pills and three hundred pounds of flour, and I went home with a smile on my face that did not come off for a long time. That summer I built a house and moved in and we called it our home. Father took a contract that summer to build a bridge over Blacksmith Fork about 60 miles southwest en route to Ogden. He let James Homes, Hyrum S. Rich and myself in with him, and we received $86 each in store pay on Williams Jennings in Salt Lake City.

Now, reader, I want to tell you that was the first time in my life I had worked for money and appropriated the proceeds for myself. Previous to that it had always been for Father's family. With my store bill I bought me a scythe to cut hay, a pitchfork, a shovel, ax and kitchen furniture. And we were just as happy as young married folks can be Then for the next ten or fifteen years, every sixteen or eighteen months, an extra member was added to the family until we had an even dozen. I forgot to say that we obtained the cattail feather bed from bulrushes on the river bottoms the first winter.

My spare time was occupied trying to improve my home and surroundings. Crops were cut short by the early frosts. Sometimes entirely. But with all the drawbacks that I endured, I accumulated means and felt I had been wonderfully blessed. In the summer of 1872, Brigham Young came to the valley on one of his annual visits and he preached discourses on plural marriage. (Up to that time, polygamy had never appealed to me very strong. I had been raised in a polygamous family, and I thought I never wanted any of it in mine.) After I heard Brigham Young's sermon, there was a feeling came over me that I had better at least make the attempt to get another wife, but to eliminate the courting; just ask the consent of the girl and her parents and if either was opposed, that was to be the end of it. When I raised courage to put it to the test, everything was in the affirmative. September 8, 1873, I was married to Mary Elizabeth Bingham, sister to my first wife, in the Endowment House. Being raised in a polygamous family, I thought I knew about as much as anybody on how to guide the ship. How well I succeeded, those that have been acquainted with me can be the judge.

During the winter and spring of 1874 and 1875, Charles Mallory and I built a sawmill in Montpelier Canyon. After that I could build and finally got comfortably situated. On May 22, 1876, Father died after spending the winter in Southern Utah. He arrived home May 17 and died five days later. The early frost and cold long winters caused me to make a change to a warmer climate. With consent of Apostle Charles C. Rich, I disposed of all my belongings and put it into teams, wagons and cattle. On October 3, 1878, in company with Charles Dana and son Roswell, John Hibbert, John and William Lesueur, Charles Warrener and Robert Williams, we set out for Salt River Valley, Arizona. We arrived at Mesa on January 17, 1879. Robert Williams stopped in Salem, Utah. He had an ox team and the rest of us had horses. We arrived in Mesa with four teams, three wagons and about 25 head of cattle, mostly cows. The first settlers had only been located since October. They were living in tents and sheds mostly. The company let us join them, giving us a chance to work out water rights to get shares in the company.

It was hard to get a home and get comfortably located again. I disposed of all my surplus stock, teams, and wagons which enabled me to buy provisions until I got houses, such as they were, to live in. Everything went well with us until September 1884 when Charles I. Robson, Oscar Stewart, Alma Spillsbury, George Wilson, James Wilson and I were indicted for polygamy and unlawful cohabitations. We never tried to evade the propositions as we believed the law unconstitutional, and we had no trouble getting bondsmen. The next spring the trial court convened in April, We all went down to Phoenix, the county seat, about a week before our trial was to come off to see if we had any friends that we could depend on. We found about all the friends we had were saloon men and that kind of people. We employed lawyers and the church sent Tom Fitch of Los Angeles to take charge of the trial. Things looked darker to us every day. Our lawyers worked with the judge and did all they could to get some assurance from him to show us some leniency, but failed. Alma Spillsbury's case was brought to the jury and in less than twenty minutes a verdict was given--Guilty. Our lawyers told us there was no use for any other to stand trial, and so they informed the judge that the others would plead guilty. We were told to appear at 10 a.m. the next day. The judge said we would have to promise to obey the law. That caused me some serious reflections. I will now relate a dream I had two or three nights before. I went to bed wondering what the outcome of it all would be. I dreamed I was out in an open country all alone, close by me stood a very small bull, a cherry red in color, the most perfect and handsome animal I had ever seen. His horns looked to be transparent and came to a very sharp point. As I looked, at a great distance I saw a large object moving towards me, and when it came close enough to tell what it was, I saw that it was a monstrous bull. I discovered that he was mad, and the closer he came the more mad he became. I saw he was making for the little bull, and he looked as large to me as an elephant. He never halted till he came up within six or eight feet of the little fellow, and all the while the little fellow stood chewing his cud not seeming to pay any attention to the monster bull. When the monster stopped, I thought he put out his tongue and his eyes were like balls of fire. He made a dive at the little bull, and at the same time the little bull caught him in the neck, completely unjointing it. The monster fell and I woke up. This dream brought joy to all of us. We felt that something was going to happen that would cause a change in our favor. On the morning of April 11 at 10 a.m., we all appeared ready to take our medicine. The first name called was Hyrum S. Phelps.

The judge asked, "Mr. Phelps, you have pleaded guilty to the charge of unlawful cohabitation. Have you anything to say why the court should not pass sentence on you?"

"I have just one request, your honor," I replied. "That is that you do not insist on me obeying the law as you interpret it. I consider the law unconstitutional and made especially to punish the Mormons. I will hold myself subject to the law at all times, but I don't want to make any promises."

"Mr. Phelps, I am not here to decide on the constitutionality of the law, but punish those that violate the law as it stands, and I shall expect something from you that will convince me you will obey it the same as all law abiding citizens," he said.

"Your honor, God gave me my wives. They were virgins when I married them. I can hold my hand up and say before God and man that I never did, outside of the marriage relations, have anything to do with any man's wife or daughter." I spoke for fully five minutes on the purity of marriages and why we practiced it. At the conclusion of my talk I said, "That is all I have to say."

The first word he spoke was to those sitting near him. He said with tears in his eyes, "Gentlemen, you may think that this is a desirable position to pass sentence on these men. This is the hardest thing I ever had to do. You are some of the best citizens we have." Turning to me he added, "Mr. Phelps, I realize your family needs you at home, and I shall give you only ninety days and no fine to pay." I thanked him for being so lenient.

The next day the warden inspected us, gave us a clean haircut, a shave and a brand new suit of clothes with the stripes running horizontally. The night before I was sentenced, Mary Elizabeth gave birth to a baby girl and a month following she lost her little two-year-old boy. The warden gave us all privileges that were possible and the most comfortable cells in the prison.

We were turned loose again on July 12, 1885. I then went to living again as I had always done. The stake authorities thought I was running desperate chances as I was living with both families, and advised me to go to Mexico. In the spring of 1887, I drove down to Juarez, Mexico to see what I thought of the country. I did not like the government in that country. On Dec. 3, 1890, I received a call to serve a mission to the Southern States and to be in Salt Lake to leave for the mission Dec. 16. I told my boys I would borrow the money and start Dec. 5 to go up to Bear Lake and see my folks there before going on my mission. The third day after I received my call, I started. I arrived at Maricopa where I was to change cars on the Southern Pacific Railroad. The train stopped, I looked out of the window and who should I see but my old friend the Federal Marshall who was after me. The Spirit told me he was wanting me and for me to get off the car on the opposite side from where the others were getting off. I was to go around, and come in behind and get on the other train on the opposite side from where the others were getting on and walk lame. When I came in full view of the officer, the Spirit seemed to operate on me just like some person giving me a command. When the train started off, I looked out the window and saw that my poor old uncle Brother Sam Thompson was returning home after a short visit with my mother. I did not have time to tell him what was taking place. I waited in Yuma until the next day and Uncle was on the train, so we went on our way without any more trouble. I visited my relatives in Bear Lake and they contributed more than enough to pay my expenses from Salt Lake and back again. I arrived at my journey's end (Spartanburg Mills) on Dec. 23, 1890. I had just one dollar in my pocket, and I gave that to the family I was to stay with to buy Christmas presents as they were very poor.

David LeBaron was my first companion. I was gone 23 months, but never slept out one night, only had to pay for one night's lodging during my entire stay in the mission field. While on my mission I baptized four persons. When I returned home, I was a better man and had a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel During my absence, President Wilford Woodruff had issued the Manifesto and my law breaking was at an end.

On the 26th of February 1889, I fitted out two teams and went to St. George, Utah, to work in the temple. I took my mother, wife Clarinda, daughter Lucretia and son Calvin. We had our three oldest children sealed to us and mother had her two oldest sealed to her and father. I also did the work for Grandfather Spencer Phelps and his wife. We were gone from home six weeks. The work done at St. George completed all the vicarious work on my ancestors that I knew of at that time. My mother made her home with me from the time we left Bear Lake, Idaho until her death January 31, 1896.

About the year 1900, I received a letter from my nephew, William R. Holmes, who was laboring as a missionary in Massachusetts at the time that The Phelps Family of America and Their English Ancestors was being published in two volumes and there might be a chance for me to get my family included in the work. I sent a list of my family, but it was too late to be inserted in the book, However, I sent an order and received the genealogy of my ancestors back for eight generations. My wife Mary Elizabeth and I have been working in the temple at Logan, Utah most of the time since April 1919 to 1925.

After returning home from my mission, my time was occupied on my farm and surroundings until about the year 1910. My sons being married and myself along in years, I was not able to do the work required. I decided to sell the 80 acres and when the buyer came along, I sold for $19,000 and bought a city lot in the town of Mesa, and built a home on it for Clarinda and a home for Mary Elizabeth on 20 acres I had left previous to my selling. On October 13, 1906 Mary Elizabeth's house burned down. We were sleeping out of doors at the time and everything was burned except the beds and clothing we had taken off our bodies when we went to bed. It was a brick house and it burned so quickly that the walls were not damaged very much. I soon rebuilt and was comfortably situated again. During the winter of 1917-18 I sold my ranch home and we moved into another home I had built in town. My plans were to spend the balance of my days working in the temple for the redemption of my ancestors who are dead and gone.

Now in conclusion of the story I have given of my life, I must say that I have been true and faithful. On the advent of another birthday, I will be 77 years old and I have every reason to believe I will live till I am 95 years old. If I should live that long, I expect to hear of more sorrow and suffering from wars, famines, earthquakes and destruction by the destroying elements than I have ever heard of in the last fifty years. I have never sought after notoriety of civil offices. I am thankful that I was counted worthy to be called into the High Council at the organization of the Maricopa Stake, which office I held and tried to honor until the 8th of December, 1912, when I was ordained a patriarch. And I say as Nephi of Old, "I was born of goodly parents" who did all they could for their children under the circumstances by which they were surrounded.

And as my ancestors before them. I am proud to know that I am of such stock, for many of them fought, bled and died in the Revolutionary War. I thank my God that I am permitted to do their work in the temple of the Lord, and I pray that my children will join with me as soon as circumstances will permit them to do so. I know the Lord expects it of us, and if we fail to do what we can for them, we will come to our condemnation. (You have ears to hear, take warning.) As for myself, I know I have made many mistakes and fallen into many habits that were not becoming to a Latter-day Saint. I have not controlled my tongue and have said many things I should not have said. But with all my failings, I have always tried to be honest with my fellow men. I have had no dollar in my life that I would be ashamed for any person to know how I came by it, not have I ever spent a dollar that I would be ashamed to tell my children— Clarinda, 12, and Mary Elizabeth, 14. Eleven of them have passed to the great beyond. Three of them died and left infant babes. A daughter, a young woman grown and a son 19 years. The others ranged in age from three months to four years. I have also two daughters that are left widows with ten and five children to take care of.

So I feel content to know that when my time comes, I will have loved ones to mingle with over there. I thank the Lord that I was permitted to be born when the Gospel of Jesus Christ was again on the earth. I know that God lives, that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of the world and that Joseph Smith was and is Prophet of God and that the Church known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is indeed the only church that is acceptable unto Him as a church. This is my testimony and I here subscribe to it in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

P.S. When I die, I prefer to be buried by the side of my mother without any display of flowers, the same as the rest that have gone on before me. It is a satisfaction to know I will have loved ones to mingle with when my turn comes to go. Given this day the tenth of December, 1922, at Logan, Utah.

/s/ H. S. Phelps

[Hyrum Phelps died April 23, 1926 after being gored by a bull. Kenneth and Lavel Whatcott were with him when he was gored and said that his intestines were lying on the ground in the manure. He died two days later.]

Hyrum married Sarah Clarinda Bingham on 25 Sep 1866 in Montpelier, Bear Lake, Idaho. Sarah (daughter of Calvin Bingham and Elizabeth Lucretia Thorne) was born on 6 Sep 1850 in Big Pigeon, Pottawattamie, Iowa; died on 23 Dec 1927 in Mesa, Maricopa, Arizona. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Hyrum married Mary Elizabeth Bingham on 8 Sep 1873 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah. Mary (daughter of Calvin Bingham and Elizabeth Lucretia Thorne) was born on 25 Dec 1853 in East Weber, Weber, Utah; died on 14 Nov 1933 in Mesa, Maricopa, Arizona; was buried in Mesa City Cemetery, Mesa, Maricopa, Arizona. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Called in many sources May Matoon Wolcott. According to a letter from John Dyer-Bennet to his sister Miriam, 3 Dec 1975, her given name was actually Mary. She attended Wellesley as a member of the class of 1885, but did not graduate.

Her ashes were interred with those of her father.

Mary married Edward Bull Clapp on 22 Dec 1886 in Morgan, Illinois. Edward (son of Rev. Charles Wells Clapp and Jane Pray Bassett) was born on 14 Apr 1856 in Cheshire, New Haven, Connecticut; died on 6 Feb 1919 in Berkeley, Alameda, California; was buried in Godfrey Cemetery, Godfrey, Madison, Illinois. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]