Mary Elizabeth Thurman

Mary Elizabeth Thurman Griffeth

Mary Elizabeth Thurman Griffeth was born 8 April 1850 at Nottingham, Mottinghamshire, England.

Her parents were Edward Thurman and Mary Ann Gibson.

Not long before Mother’s birth, Grandmother’s sister invited her to go to a meeting that was being held by some new minister’s from America. Grandmother had not been very much interested in religion, but being curious she accepted her sister’s invitation and went to here the Mormon Missionaries. As soon as she herd the speak, she knew that they had the true gospel of Christ.

When she told Grandfather, he was not favorably impressed. He forbade her having anything to do with the Mormons and when she insisted on going to the meeting, he became so angry that slapped her.

But that did not stop her. She joined the church. The discord was so great in their home, that when Mother was born, her father wouldn’t even to in to see her.

When mother was about six weeks old, Grandmother took her and the little brother Edward Moroni, who was then about seventeen and one half months old, and went to live with her parents, Eleanor Charles and William Gibson.

She left the children with her mother while she worked to obtain money enough to come to America.

At one time she went back to get some money which her husband was going to give her and she found him sitting on the step in front of their face with his face in his hands. She turned and went away before he noticed her, because she knew that her great love for him would overpower her if she stopped to talk with him when he was in that sad mood.

It seemed impossible that her testimony could be strong enough to tear her from the man she had been so happy with, the man she loved to her dying day.

When Mother was four year old, Grandmother had enough money to bring the over, so at Liverpool, they embarked on the ship Germanicus and started for America. After many week, they reached the Gulf of Mexico. I believe that I have heard Mother say that the ship was quarantined for a while because of an out burst of cholera. They traveled up the Mississippi River to St. Louis.

When Mother would see a small riley steam emptying into a larger clearer stream, she would day, ‘There is the Missouri River emptying into the Mississippi.”

As Grandmother was crossing the ocean, she became acquainted with a man named James Perkes. His wife, like her husband had not accepted the gospel and stayed in England with three children while he had come this the other three children.

The acquaintance of Grandmother and this fine man grew into a close friendship. So it was agreed that when they reached the United Sates, she would care of all the children while he worked in the mines to support them. Grandmother was grateful for this opportunity, as her children were too young to be left alone while we went out to work.

Needless to day, these two wonderful converts soon decided to marry.

I don’t know just where they lived at first but it was some where close to St. Louis. I have heard Mother tell of the conditions when the Civil War broke out, how the soldiers played their martial music and marched into the city (I think the city of St. Louis.) calling for volunteers. John (Jack) the oldest Perkes boy was then in his very early manhood. He caught the spirit of loyalty for his new country, joined the Union forces and marched away with the other brave young men. Though was served throughout the war without an injury Mother never saw him again. He attempted to join the saints in Utah but was driven back by Indians and finally he accepted the tract of government land, married and settled down in the East.

I don’t know much about Mother’s early childhood, but she used to tell of following a balloon until she became lost. A kind man came along, asked her who her father was then carried her on his shoulders to her home.

She attended school at Bellville, Illinois. There were the two schools, West Bellville and East Bellville. She attended on and then was advanced to the other, having to go across the town for some distance, I think it was the East school that she attended last.

During this time other members joined the Perkes family. There Children, William, Nellie and Katharen and been born, and Grandmother’s sister, Elizabeth Gibson Roberts had died. Leaving two children: William and Sarah.

William and Nellie Perkes died when very young.

When baby Katherin was one year old and my mother 12 years old, the family consisting of nine, left Bellville Illinois with Captain Miller’s Company and came to Utah, arriving on October 17 1862.

They settled at Hyde Park. At that time, there were only eight families in the community.

The first winter, they lived in a dugout. The next spring Grandfather built a log house.

The children of that time were taught to work and to be happy with their scanty lot.

Mother learned to make soap and candles, to knit, weave and spin and to color yarn. She made beautiful rugs and hats. She made hats after I was old enough to remember. We children used to go out into the wheat field and select the tallest best looking stalks we could find of the ripened grain. We would cut the heads off for the chickens, then we would cut out all of the joints. We placed the coarse straws in a pile and it would be used for the men’s work hats.

You make like to know how she prepared the straw for use. Well, after it was cut and graded, it was placed in war water until it became soft. Then we children had fun running it thorough the old hand ringer. I don’t know how she flattened it before she had her ringer, possible with a flat iron.

Not long after they came to Hyde Park, Mother was out in a ten when she heard a horse gallop up and stop, a boy speaking a greeting in a pleasant voice. Being curious about the boy visiting with her brother, she peaked through a hole in the tent and saw a boy with laughing-blue eyes, brown hair, and a pleasant smile. She was interested in that boy from that very time. She found his name to be Andrew Griffeth.

Father used to tell that they started courting when they were twelve and thirteen year old.

He used to take her up to the big swing east of town in the evening.

It seems that Father wasn’t the only one that admired her. A bishop at one time wanted her for a plural wife. He asked Grandmother about it she said, “I don’t object but I won’t promise a favorable answer from Mary.” So he never had the courage to ask Mary.

We asked Mother why she didn’t care for him. She told us that she was working for his wife one day and when the bishop come in, he acted very delighted to find her there and showed feeling by giving a little gig, which disgusted her.

At one time a man, whom she didn’t care for asked her to go sleigh riding. When said she would go if a little orphan girl who was living in the home could go too. She took care to keep the child in the middle and the man took the hint.

One time she was sleigh riding with a young man, Father and some of the other boys, chased them. Her friend let his team run at full speed and when he found a bridge blocked by the other boys, the team with the sleigh and passengers, was forced to leap over a side canal, but on one was hurt.

One summer Mother went to live in Haysville or some town there, and while there she met a fine well educated young man who was very much interested in her. I think he asked her to marry him. On day when we were looking at his photograph, one of us said; “He is very good looking, Why didn’t you marry him, Mother?” Her reply was, “He had too thick a neck.”

We knew why she didn’t marry him. The boy she peeked at through the hole in the tent was in Hyde Park not married.

After she and Father had kept company for some time, people began to tell Grandmother that Andrew was not good enough for Mary. He was the only boy in the family. He was spoiled and lazy. All he cared for was broncos and making discords on the fiddle. He would not take responsibility and be a good provider. Grandmother told me, “I was worried and spoke to your Mother, she straightened and looking squarely at me said, “I’ll marry Andrew if I have to take in weaving to support him. I knew then that the girlie truly loved him and that I should not oppose their marriage.” Then Grandmother laughed as she thought how foolish she had been to listen to hateful gossip. They were true lovers to the end of life. Never did I hear an unkind word pass between them, and she didn’t have to take in weaving to support him either.

Mother was about five feet five and weighed about 130 lbs. She had blue gray eyes and sort of creamy red hair. She had the prettiest nose I ever saw. Her skin was clear and pink. She must have been a beautiful girl. Father said she was and one day when one of his old friends was having dinner with us, after Mother had died, he looked around the table, then turned to Father and said, “You haven’t a girl as pretty as her Mother, have you?”

Then he said to us, “Your mother was beautiful with the real peaches and cream complexion.”

Mother was very neat. Grandmother said that when she was a small child, she always folded her cloths and placed them in a neat pile, when she went to bed.

As I remember, every morning she combed her hair, washed her face, neck and ears and washed her arms way above her elbows. She used to say “Patches are no disgrace, but rags and dirt are.”

She had a great love for flowers. She had six small oblong beds, two and two and two, with a path between. I see them yet with the Myrtle. Iris, English Daises, Scarlet Litchen, Lady of the Lake, Columbine, and Star of Bethlehem. Then there was the Tea Tree with the red berries under the south window where the little humming bird used to come and the yellow and red roses South of the bedroom.

She had a beautiful singing voice and she enjoyed acting in plays. She also enjoyed dancing.

She knew how to meet conditions. One night she had gone to a dance alone because her beau, brother and cousin were all out of town or busy. She heard that a bunch of boys from Logan were going to give her an unpleasant time. One was going to ask her to go home with him and if she refused him, they were each going to ask her. When she found this out, she said to a friend, “When the dance closes, take hold of my arm and take me out.” He laughed and consented. The Logan boys were there waiting at the door but said nothing. When they were out she thanked Peter and she could go home alone but he said, “When I start with a girl, I take her all the way home. She said, “I knew that Peter would understand.” And I guess he did for Brother Peter Hanson of Preston was always one of our choicest friends.

Father said that the way he proposed, he was so frightened, that he climbed up into an apple tree then asked her. Mother said he said, “Well, Mary, Jim and Ellen are going to be married. Why don’t we go with them?” They were James and Ellen Wolf, the parents of James Wolf of Riverdale. So the four started out in a wagon for Salt Lake City. At Kaysville they picked up Louisa Hyde and James Bocily. The three couples were married in the Endowment House 13 Dec. 1869.

While they were in Salt Lake City, a man by the name of Edwards asked my parents if they would take his son Hyrum. He lived with them until he was old enough to think of marriage. Then when his wife died, he brought his son, James, who lived with until he widowed sister came for him to help her on her farm.

Mother gave birth to nine children. The 6^th one died when she was only five days old. The other eight lived to marry and rear families. The nine children are: George Andrew Jr., Mary Eleanor, Edward Thurman, Elizabeth Irene, Patison Delos, Annie Estella, Maria Gertrude, Alice Albertie, and Myrtha Azuba.

Mother was secretary of Relief Society in Hyde Park.

In Fairview, Idaho she worked in the Primary, being the president of the North end organization. Then she was president of the Relief Society which office she held until her death.

She had rheumatism, suffering a great deal the last 7 years in the winters, then it turned to dropsy, which caused her death 20 Oct. 1905. The funeral was held at Fairview on the 23^rd and her body was taken to Hyde Park for burial.

She was kind, understanding mother who taught us the Gospel of Christ.

She never gossiped. She used to read a great deal to us and we always looked forward to spring when she would go with us up above the pond to find the first apple like blossoms on the little plant which grew there.

Mother had a gift for writing. Many of her essays and poems were published in the Women’s Exponent as the Relief Society was then called. She never signed her name but used her middle initials, E. T.

One Day at Relief Society in Hyde Park she heard two women talking. One said she would like to know who that was that signed E.T. She said she surely liked her writing. Mother was grateful for the compliment but did not tell them. I was about two year old when this poem was published in the Exponent.

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