Martha Annie Memmott (Ivie)

Martha Annie Memmott (Ivie)

My 3rd Great-Grandmother

Birth Date: 16 October 1848
Birth Place: Sheffield, Yorkshire, England
Parents: John Memmott and Julia Wilson
Death Date: 30 November 1924
Death Place: Scipio, Millard, Utah

 

Spouse: Benjamin Martin Ivie

Marriage Date: 21 Jul 1864
Marriage Place: Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete, Utah

I was born of goodly parents, none were better, we had good upbringings I was born the 16th of October, 1848 at Sheffield, Yorkshire, England the second child of John and Julia Wilson Memmott. I was christened Martha Ann, named for two of my aunts.

My father and mother were the first of the family to embrace the gospel. My father was apprenticed out to a Cutlery Manufacturer and learned the trade of making knives. Later he entered the Sheffield Post Office service. After joining the church he assisted the missionaries in their work because he was Branch president, also Choir leader, and Band leader of that branch of the church. My mother learned the dressmaking trade. Later, attended a Nursing school to become a nurse, her mother was a nurse. I think my caring for the sick was an inheritance from my mother and grandmother.

I was seven years old when we left England. On April 22 1855, which was a Sunday, we sat sail on the ship Samie Curling for America. Brother Israel Barlow was our director. We were on the water just one month, and landed in New York City on May 22. We made the landing, went by rail to Pittsburg, then by steamboat. Father was looking around the city and didn't get back when the steamboat was ready to leave. The whistle blew signaling the boat was leaving. It did, and father was left behind. This worried mother and us children very much. Father and mother had planned to stop in St. Louis and visit Father's uncle Henry Willden. We had only been in St. Louis a day when father arrived on the next boat. We were so happy to see him.

As soon as preparations could be made we started for Utah. The trip so far had been rather hard on mother. We had not traveled very far when my brother John Alma who was 2 1/2 years old old contracted cholera infantum and died June 23rd. He was buried at what was then called Mormon Grove. Then just twenty-seven days later my baby sister died of the same disease. Her name was Anna Laura and she died July 23rd. She was buried at the same Mormon Grove.

It was with heavy hearts that we left this place and continued our trek across the plains. My sister Sarah and I,  being the oldest children, walked most of the way. Mother became so weak, through sickness, and the great sorrow of the death of her two babies, was unable to walk. She and my brother Tom had to ride. Often we became very frightened, sometimes it was a herd of buffalo, others it was the fear of being attacked by Indians, and often at night it was the chilling howl of the coyote.

We reached Salt Lake City in the fall of 1855. We were anxious to go on to Cedar City as my father had an uncle living there. We passed through Round Valley on our way to Cedar City.

On October 22, 1856 my mother gave birth to a baby boy, he was named James Ammon.

On October 16th,  I was 9 years old. I was now old enough to be baptized. In November 1856 I was baptized by Brother James Whitaker. Sometime later we moved to Beaver, Utah. I remember very well, soon after we moved there, we had very little to eat. One day a kind neighbor had been baking salt rising bread, while the bread was still warm she broke a loaf up into pieces spread them with butter and honey, then called mother to brings us over and have some warm bread and honey. It was a real treat to us. As I think back of any luxury I may have enjoyed, I think that is one of the outstanding treats I enjoyed.

While we lived in Beaver I went to work for a family. It was while I was staying with this family that the Mountain Meadow Massacre took place. My father, with George Monroe, had gone to work at Red Creek helping to build a fort. Red Creek was about four miles out of Paragona. It was while father and Brother Monroe were away from home that one of the leaders came for father and Monroe to join them. The man I was working for was sent to Salt Lake City to carry the message to President Brigham Young informing him of what had happened at Mountain Meadow.

In March 1861 my father's family, with the families of George Monroe, William Shelton and Levi Savage left Beaver and came to Round Valley or Graballl as it was then called. I was 12 years old when we moved to Graball. That spring a branch of the church was organized by George A. Smith and Jos. A. Young. Elias F. Pearson, presiding elder said this was to be known as the Robinsville Branch.

The first and only school I attended here in America was in Graball. It was at the home of Peter Boise. His wife was the teacher. It was only for a few weeks during the spring. About this time my Uncle William and Aunt Ann Memmott had come from England. What a happy meeting to see some of our relatives from the old country.

I remember we used to go to Mrs. Boises and dance. She could sing and call the dances for us.

When I was fourteen or fifteen I went to Cedar Spring (Holden) to work for William Stevens. I did housework and helped with the milking night and morning. I learned to ride a horse while working for Mr. Stevens, every evening someone must go round up the milk cows. Very often we girls would go more for the fun of riding. After I returned home from Cedar Springs the girls that were my age, Sarah Johnson and Emma Jane Robins and others, would often ride with me to visit our friends who lived at Cedar Springs. Often our friends in Cedar Springs would ride over and return the visit.

My mother owned the only butter churn in Graball. It used to make the rounds in different homes on churning days and the only flat iron was often borrowed by my family.
In July 1863, the family of James Russell Ivie came to the valley. Instead of coming to Graball they stopped near the creek farther up the valley. For years this creek was known as Ivie Creek, named after the family. During the coming year I saw quite a lot of one of the Ivie boys, Martin Ivie was his name. We were married on the 21st of July 1864 at Mt. Pleasant by one of Martin's brother-in-law named Cam Billingsby.

During the spring and summer of 1864 most of the families moved from Graball or Robinsville to the new town site. Some moved in dug-outs while log rooms were being erected. Among the first log rooms to be built was the moving of the school house from Robinsville to the new town site. On May 20th, we all met in the new school house for our first meeting in Round Valley.

During 1865-6 we had some very trying times. The Indians were on the war-path most of the time, making raids on our horses and cattle. It was necessary for the men and boys to stand guard at night and sometimes during the day. I remember very well in the spring of 1866 just before my first baby, Martha Ann was born, my husband with others had gone to the mountains after timber. We were living down on the lot where Charles Memmott now lives. My sister Sarah and I had been spinning that day. Toward evening we sat in the door-way. I saw a shadow pass the window and an indian came around the corner of the house. He was all decked out with war paint and feathers in his hair. He said, "Where your Indian?" I was so frightened I hardly knew how to answer him. On the lot just above us was a house and just at that moment one of my husband's brothers came out to the house and around the corner. I pointed to him and said, "There he comes now." The Indian gave one look and ran off through the sage brush.  My sister and I were not slow pushing the spinning wheel inside the house and going to my father's home to spend the night.

On June 10, 1866 my husband's father James Russell Ivie went down in what is known as the Pond Field to bring home one of the milk cows and her new calf. Just at the same time the Indians were making a raid on our cattle and father Ivie was killed before he could get away from the Indians.
The Indians became so troublesome that we were forced to build a fort on the Southeast part of the town site for protection. Most of the families moved in the fort that fall.

On October 29th my father became very sick and passed away. This left both my husband's mother and my mother widows in just a few months.

On 21st of May 1868 sorrow visited our home again. Our baby boy William Martin died of whopping cough. He was only eight weeks old.

Annie was almost four years old, and we made a trip by team and wagon to Salt Lake City. The object of this trip was to go through the endowment house. While in the City we went to the stores to do a little trading for some cloth and things we were unable to get at home. I thought Annie was at my side while in one of the stores, but when I looked she was not in the store. Of course we started to look for her. I ran down the street one way and Pa the other way. We found her in another store not far from where we had been shopping. The clerk, a young man, said she came in and said she was looking for "her Mama." He gave her a large lump of brown sugar and sat her up on the counter for he knew someone would be along looking for her.

During the early days of Scipio we were all very poor. We were trying to get a start in a new country. Many of the things we enjoy today were not known in early days. We were very fortunate if we had one pair of shoes to wear. I remember many times loaning my shoes or white apron and shawl when there was a dance or something special to attend. On the other hand, many times I have borrowed things I needed from neighbors and friends.

We had eleven children come to bless our home; Martha Ann (Memmott) born March 4, 1866, William Martin born March 16, 1868, John Russell born June 27, 1869, Joseph Orson born Jan 1, 1872, James Ammon born April 24, 1874, Thomas Bert born March 27, 1877, Amos born Feb. 16, 1880, Eugene born Sept. 22, 1882, Sarah Elizabeth (Stephenson) born August 9, 1884, Wilbert born March 3, 1887 and Jerome born July 27, 1889. Two of the boys , William Martin and Eugene, died in infancy.

I have never regretted for one moment leaving our comfortable home in the old world. I am happy that my father and mother accepted the Gospel and came to dwell with the main body of Saints.

In my life I have been in many homes where there was sickness and death. If I have helped in any way or made life any easier for my friends and neighbors by any kind deed I have done, I am glad for it always gave me joy to help others. Many times I have gone into a home where there was sickness and didn't know just what to do. I have asked my Father in Heaven to help me and I would know what to do. Our remedies were simple, we had but very little medicine, mostly herbs we grew in our home gardens.

We tried very hard to live our religion and the scriptures were read daily in our home by my good husband.

 

Note from Hettie Memmott Robins:                                                                                             

 Besides raising her own 7 boys and 2 girls to man and womanhood, she took three children of her brother's and cared for them just the same as she did her own until they were old enough to care for themselves. When her son Jerome's wife died she took the two motherless little boys in her home and gave them the care they needed until he was able to take them back to his own home. Again, she was called to take a mothers place in the home of her daughter Lizzie Stephenson when she left 4 little ones. Grandmother left her home and went to Nephi and took care of the children until her health would no longer permit her to care for them.

When her mother-in-law needed someone to care for her, grandmother shared her home with her for better that 25 years. At the death of mother Ivie (her mother-in-law), as grandmother called her, her own mother needed care so she came to live with grandfather and grandmother until she passed away. She lived with them for 7 years.

These were not the only qualifications grandmother possessed. She loved beauty. I fancy I see her flower garden now with the colorful dailias, marigolds, holihocks and other old fashioned flowers.

I think most of the older people have eaten Aunt Martha's cucumber pickles and a lot of us still have the famous old receipt for the same pickles, although I wonder if they taste just like hers did. She loved to see shelves in her cellar loaded with choice fruit, jellies and jams and pickles prepared for winter use.

Not so long before she died she said to me, "I never was blessed with a great deal of this worlds good, yet I always paid my tithing and donations and I bare you this testimony that I never missed one cent I paid out for a good cause. I can't remember one time for a good many years when I didn't have a little money it seems to me that what I had left usually went farther after I had given the Lord his share."

Grandmother passed away peacefully on November 30, 1924 at the age of 75 years.

Benjamin Martin and Martha Annie Memmott Ivie Family