David Nathan Thomas (Part 14)

David Nathan Thomas

Part 1 (Introduction and Index)

Eventually, the power of those who opposed the colonizing missionaries/settlers was broken and peace was established. But the trials of wind, floods, harsh farming conditions and lawlessness had taken their toll and by 1894 only 20 of those colonization missionaries were left at St. Johns. [75] The mission calls to northern Arizona were of an undetermined length and many of the missionaries called to settle this hostile environment became discouraged, decided their missions were over and gradually moved away. 

Despite all the trials and tribulations, David and Adeline and their children, and Isaac and his family and others of that wagon train of November 1881 came to St. Johns and stayed. There they built homes and businesses, and there the children matured and married. [76] (Frances and Helen Gibbons have written a biography of Adeline Christensen Gibbons, Adeline Springthorpe Thomas’ granddaughter, which details some events and stories of St, Johns in the 1890s.)

 David established a blacksmith shop and when his daughter Frances Ann married in 1883, his son-in-law, Marinus Christensen, began to work in the blacksmith shop with David. After David died, Marinus continued to be the community’s blacksmith for more than twenty-five years. Frances or Aunt Fannie as most called her was known as an excellent cook and housekeeper and a good Latter-Day Saint. [77]

Marinus and Frances Thomas Christensen family

Isaac did not go into the blacksmith trade with his father. For a few years he lived in Egypt, a farming area about three miles north of St. Johns where he farmed and raised sheep and cattle. Later he became a mail carrier, hauling the mail from Holbrook to St. Johns. He sold the sheep and cattle, but continued to farm providing work for his family. [78]

David John Thomas

On December 31, 1887 David (Nathan) Thomas was ordained a High Priest. [79] That next year on August 14, 1888, David (Nathan) Thomas passed away and was buried in the St. Johns cemetery. Just seventeen months later his son, David John, died January 28, 1890 at the age of 25; family histories suggest he died of complications of pneumonia. 

Adeline Springthorpe Thomas

Sometime after March 12, 1890, when she signed the legal papers appointing her as administrix of her husband David’s estate, Adeline left St. Johns. [80] Perhaps Adeline had had enough and feeling her mission call was over, she moved back to the friends she had in Utah. There are no accounts of that journey to tell us if Manti was Adeline’s final destination. At that time she had two step-daughters, Margaret and Sarah Ann, who lived in Wales, which is about twenty miles from Manti. Did she journey to Manti to be near the Manti Temple which had just been dedicated May 17, 1888? Adeline had many in her family and David’s family for whom she would have wanted to do the temple work. Unfortunately, she died and was buried in Manti, April 16, 1891, with her dream unrealized. She is buried under the brow of the hill in the cemetery near the Manti Temple.  [81]

David Nathan Thomas (Part 13)

Part 1 (Introduction and Index)

At St. Johns the group from Kingston faced many of the same trials settlers in the other communities of the Little Colorado River Basin faced: the isolation and remoteness from the support and commerce of the church in Utah, lack of adequate water supplies, difficulty in growing enough food to feed themselves, floods from the chaotic rivers, unfavorable weather, and the wind. 

Legend has it that a company of pioneers back in the 1880’s were making their way down to the Gila Valley with their wagons and ox teams. They camped one evening on the banks of the Little Colorado River about due east of where the town of St. Johns is presently situated. By morning the wind was blowing so hard they decided to hold up a few days until the gale subsided. You guessed it—the wind never stopped. They are still here. [72]

David Nathan Thomas (Part 12)

Part 1 (Introduction and Index)

Many settlers regarded that portion of the trail from Sunset Crossing as the worst part of the journey. Here the trail led through an uninhabited desert. Water was the worst problem. Most of the time it was unavailable, and when it was, it was often bad tasting and dirty. In his diary, David K. Udall records the following:

We were hard put to make it from one watering place to the next. The women had to get very thirsty before they would drink the brackish, muddy water which often had wrigglers in it. But we let the mud settle and drained out the wrigglers, and it wasn’t so bad. [65]

David Nathan Thomas (Part 11)

Part 1 (Introduction and Index)

St. Johns, 1881-1888

Since the early 1850’s LDS Church leaders had sent missionary expeditions to the Native Americans living in northern Arizona. In 1872 the LDS Church had sponsored the construction of Lee’s Ferry at the mouth of the Paria River to provide a viable means for pioneer wagons and teams to cross the Colorado River. Attempts were made to colonize northeastern Arizona along the Little Colorado River, but the isolation and harsh conditions drove many of those earlier settlers away. However, Brigham Young thought it vital that northeastern Arizona be settled to solidify the eastern boundaries of the LDS church’s territory. [59] After President Young’s death in 1877, church leaders continued to push forward the idea that settlements in northeastern Arizona were necessary despite the negative reports received from those who had attempted to settle there.

In 1879 Erastus Snow made a tour of the Little Colorado River area and reported back that if a large number of families were called to the settlements already there, it would give permanence to the area. At the Panguitch stake conference March 23, 1881, David, his son Isaac, and his brother-in-law John Springthorpe were called to the Arizona mission. Later at the April General Conference, about seventy-five men from throughout most of the Utah Stakes were called to a mission to Arizona. Nine of those families were from Kingston, and one, Isaac Thomas, was from Kanosh. [60]

By now David had built three different homes in Utah, probably in Hatton, Kanosh, and Kingston; and he must have been tired of moving, maybe even feeling a little too old for pioneering. [61] He was sixty; so when he was asked by church leaders to move to St. Johns, Arizona, he asked that his son, Isaac be called too.

David Nathan Thomas (Part 10)

Part 1 (Introduction and Index)

Kingston 1878-1881

In the early 1870s Thomas Rice King and members of his family had considerable control of land, businesses and influential positions in east Millard County.

This rankled some of their neighbors and after Mormon Apostle Lorenzo Snow publicly accused Thomas King of diverting waters of Chalk Creek in Fillmore for his own rather than the public use, Brigham Young issued a call for Thomas and Matilda to go to Circleville in Piute County and begin a branch of the Mormon United Order in that area. In the fall of 1876, Thomas (Edwin King) called his family—five sons and a daughter, all married and with families of their own—to a meeting and proposed that they take President Young’s advice and establish a family United Order in Circle Valley. [50]

David Nathan Thomas (Part 9)

Part 1 (Introduction and Index)

Nephi & Kanosh, 1862-1878, continued

Margaret thought that David and Adeline stayed in Nephi some two years. David and Adeline’s daughter, Frances Ann, was born on May 4, 1864, in Nephi. Although there is no record of her birth in the early Nephi records, later church records (in St. Johns) list her birthplace as Nephi. [42] According to those same St. Johns records, she was not blessed until 1871 in Kanosh. It may have been that David and Adeline went within a short time after Frances’ birth to Kanosh where the first group in Kanosh was organized as the Corn Creek Branch in 1861. The name was later changed to Kanosh Branch. 

This first Kanosh Branch was in the area known as Lower Corn Creek, also known as Petersburg and Hatton. Here the sedge (salt) grass, a delicacy for foraging animals, grew in abundance. Alfalfa, grains and grass grew well in the alkaline soil, but other crops did not do well there. [43]

David Nathan Thomas (Part 8)

Part 1 (Introduction and Index)

Nephi & Kanosh, 1862-1878

Throughout the long journey from Liverpool to Florence to Salt Lake City, Adeline continued to help David and his small children. When they arrived in Utah, they married, but the actual date is in question. The history from the DUP files gives the marriage date as September 5 on Adeline’s 27th birthday in Nephi, Utah, which is a nice romantic story—but according to the wagon train record, they did not arrive in Salt Lake City until September 24, 1862. [37] Also, Adeline is not 27, but more likely 36. [38] So the unresolved question is when and where did the marriage take place. Following the doctrine of the LDS church regarding eternal marriage, they were sealed in the Endowment House October 11, 1868.

Margaret recalled that after they rested in Salt Lake City for three days: “…they continued their journey to Nephi, Juab, Utah where Mr. Thomas, her father, was to open a blacksmith shop. This family remained here for some two years.” [39]

David Nathan Thomas (Part 7)

Part 1 (Introduction and Index)

The men who drove the wagons “down and back” were sometimes volunteers and sometimes called by church leaders, but whatever, they were regarded as missionaries and were expected to maintain those standards. For their efforts they were given tithing credit and allowed to profit by reselling the products brought back from Omaha. One young wagon master, Albert Jones, wrote: “…my load came to $450, my expenses $65, leaving $305 to my credit.” [32] The wagon trains were also a great blessing for the immigrants as they did not have the expense of buying wagons and oxen, and they did not have to learn to drive the oxen, nor did they have to individually gather and purchase the provisions needed for the trip.

David and his children and Adeline had the good fortune to be assigned to the Homer Duncan Company which left Florence, Nebraska on July 22, 1862, with 500 people in the company. [33] The company was broken down into small groups of 20 to 30. Each group was assigned to one of the 41 wagons that made up Homer Duncan’s company. Many of the men who drove the wagons had made the journey more than once and were experienced and knowledgeable about the trail. The company under the efficient and caring leadership of Homer Duncan made the trek in record time for ox teams—130 days.   “…with few deaths, one man, one woman and one child died on the journey, and this loss was made up by the birth of five children, in one case twins.” [34]

David Nathan Thomas (Part 6)

Part 1 (Introduction and Index)

Finally, after a 39-day voyage, which though successful was somewhat longer than usual because of head winds, the Saints landed on the first of June at New York. From the Reminiscences and Journals of James S. Brown who had been appointed president of the saints making this journey to Zion, we learn, “And June the 8 (sic) we cast anchor in the Bay of New York having had the measles and whooping cough and 7 deaths on the passage; out of 700 souls.” [29]

For David and his children and Adeline there was no Statue of Liberty (not until 1885) to greet them as they stood on deck watching to catch a glimpse of this new life that awaited them.  Instead they left the ship to go to Castle Garden located on an island off the southwest tip of Manhattan.

Castle Garden was the predecessor of Ellis Island.  At Castle Garden, which was a remodeled fort that in 1855 became America’s first receiving station for immigrants; the immigrants were registered, were able to exchange money at a fair price, obtain train tickets, and even find a place to stay until they could continue their journey to Zion.

Notable Relatives: General Authorities and General Officers of the Church [updated]

Since General Conference is coming up, here's a list of the general authorities and officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are descended from the ancestors featured on this blog. If you know of others, please leave a note in the comments so I can add them to the list.

The first nine mentioned are relatives of Wallace Tanner (Francis Marion Lyman through Delbert Stapley). The next three are relatives of Maxine Morgan Tanner (her grandfather John Morgan, as well as Frank Gibbons and Timothy Dyches). The last four are relatives of Beverly Glade Wessman (Marion G. Romney, Royden G. Derrick, LeGrand Curtis Jr., and May Green Hinckley).

David Nathan Thomas (Part 5)

Part 1 (Introduction and Index)

From the personal files of Betty Jean Despain Aagard.

Emigration to Utah, 1862, Continued...

The violent storms also brought another danger to the passengers.  Margaret told her granddaughter, Delphia Despain, about the journey in these words:

About three weeks journey from the main land, a storm arose that broke the middle mast making it impossible to make any headway. Many of the sailors gave up in despair—some were crying and were about to set out on rafts. One older sailor who had become acquainted with the powers of the Mormon missionaries came to the lower deck and asked if there were any Mormons on board. On being informed that there were a number of Mormon immigrants he asked if they would not offer prayer.  A meeting was called in one of the ship’s [missing word]. Immediately at the beginning of the meeting, calm came over the sea and all on board. Many marveled at such wonderful power.  Prayer was offered and they asked that God make it possible to repair the broken part. While the repair was being made, great sorrow came to all on board. A small boy who had cheered all with his wonderful voice was killed by a falling trap door. He was buried at sea in the usual manner, being sewn in a sheet with coal tied at the feet to sink the body. After the broken part of the vessel had been mended, all went well, and at the end of the sixth week at sea, they sighted the land of promise, to them. [24]

Reuben A. McBride, another passenger, also wrote in his journal about the death of the small boy: “May 5…on this day at 4 p.m. Died, Williams, age 7 years, buried at 7 p.m. His death was occasioned by falling down one of the hatchways. I picked him up in my arms as he fell. His death was occasioned by the effects of the fall, it affecting the brain.” [25]

The saints also had to contend with an epidemic of measles and whooping cough. Those who contracted the disease were confined to one area of the ship below decks. David’s daughter, Mary, came down with measles and was quarantined. As Mary was only five years old, Margaret stayed with her in those primitive, smelly, dark and dank conditions below the decks, Margaret particularly remembered the lack of water. [26] Perhaps it was during this period that David became acquainted with his future wife, Adeline Springthorpe Sparks. Adeline was traveling alone and had no children, so she began to help David with his motherless children.

David Nathan Thomas (Part 4)

Part 1 (Introduction and Index)

The ship John J. Boyd. From Dastrup Family.

Emigration to Utah 1862

On April 23, 1862, David Thomas with his four children left Liverpool on the packet ship John J. Boyd with 701 LDS Saints on board under the direction of James S. Brown who had previously been president of the Nottingham District.

Two days before while the ship lay at anchor in the River, Presidents Lyman, Rich and Cannon came on board and organized the company and appointing James S. Brown, president and Elders John Lindsay and Joseph C. Rich as his counselors. They gave the Saints counsel on their duties and the necessity for their living continually so as to enjoy the Holy Spirit, that its influence might sustain them under the changing scenes and varied circumstances incident to the journey they had entered upon. The Spirit of God was poured forth and a holy influence shed its power upon all on board. [21]

The 701 Saints came from the many conferences and districts of England and Wales. Among those from the Leicester Conference was Adeline Sparks who had also been waiting for a long time to go to Zion and finally she was able to obtain passage on the John J. Boyd. [22]

The passenger summary for the John J. Boyd, Mormon Migration.

As hard as it was for David and his family to make preparations for the trip to Zion and to lose their wife and mother and to walk to Liverpool, the voyage across the ocean was only slightly less difficult. The LDS church contracted with sailing ships for passage to Zion as the sailing ships were much cheaper than passage on a steamship. David and his family probably did not look back on their ship voyage with fond memories as they endured the trials of sailing ships which included seasickness, inadequate food, a lack of privacy, cramped living quarters, stale water, disease, and a longer journey. From the first day the 701 saints on board the John J. Boyd suffered the ill effects of seasickness because of the strong winds and adverse weather conditions. Joseph C. Rich who had been serving a mission in England and was now returning to Utah wrote in his journal about their departure from Liverpool:

About half past nine, April 23rd the tug left us to the mercy of the waves, and a kind Father in Heaven. When the anchors were lifted, all hands were singing, laughing and joking. But oh how different the scene before night. Out of 700 passengers, only about a dozen could be found able to do anything. Sister Hardy's little baby five months old died in the afternoon while the father and mother were confined to their berths with sea-sickness. Not a woman on board was able to assist in laying the child out. Brother Brown, Welch, and myself washed, dressed, and laid out the child in the evening. I assisted the sick nearly all day, which came very near making me as bad as any of them, but I stuck it out, and stayed up till 2 o'clock in the morning, doing for the sick and arranging the guards. [23]

For some passengers, the seasickness continued throughout the journey, and as a result, some passengers died from malnutrition and dehydration caused by the seasickness.

Notes.

[21] “Reminiscences and Journals of James Steven Brown,” Passenger accounts of the John J. Boyd voyage of 1862, Liverpool to New York, http://lib.byu.edu/mormonmigration/voyage.

[22] Mormon Immigration Index, Family History Resource File, CD-ROM Library: Passenger list for the John J. Boyd shows David & Children and Adeline Sparks as passengers on the April 1862 voyage.

[23] “Diary Extract of Joseph C. Rich,” Passenger accounts of the John J. Boyd voyage of 1862, Liverpool to New York, http://lib.byu.edu/mormonmigration/voyage.

Source.

Rigby, Helen. "A History of David Nathan Thomas and his wives, Mary, Adeline & Frances." Utah: n.p., 2011.

David Nathan Thomas (Part 3)

Part 1 (Introduction and Index)

Merthyr Tydfil Garden of Remembrance. From Helen Rigby.

According to her daughter Sarah Ann’s biography, Mary Howells Thomas joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (often called Mormons) on November 8, 1841, which would make her one of the very early converts in Wales as the first LDS converts in Wales were at Overton in 1840. [12]  She was a member before she married David Thomas, and for several years before he was baptized February 15, 1849 by John Edmunds and confirmed February 16, 1849 by Joseph Davies and was ordained an Elder two days later, probably in the Aberdare branch as they were living in the Aberdare area when Isaac was born in 1850. [13]

The Aberdare branch was one of the early LDS branches in Wales and had been organized since April 6, 1844. Mary was a strong member of the Church and a faithful supporter of the missionaries. She had a great desire to immigrate to Zion with the many other Welsh Saints, and the family made preparations to go to Zion. However, before she could realize her dream, she died in 1860 of tuberculosis. The death certificate for Mary Howells gives the following information: Mary Thomas died 3 September, 1860 in Cwmaman, Aberdare, wife of David Thomas, Blacksmith. Cause of death is Phthisis (archaic term for tuberculosis) and disease of the heart. “X” The mark of John Howells in attendance, Canon Street, Aberdare. [14]

I found three accounts of this traumatic period in the life of David and his children, and because the details differ somewhat I have included them as they were written. 

David Nathan Thomas (Part 2)

Part 1 (Introduction and Index)

Wales. Picture from Helen Rigby.

His parents were David Thomas (1781) and Sarah Nathan (1784-1856). [1] A biography [2] by an unknown author from the files of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers in Salt Lake City, Utah states: “David Thomas [father of David Nathan Thomas] was a weaver by trade.” Since Carmarthenshire was the center of the Welsh Woolen Trade which was very different from the Cotton Weaving Trade, David Thomas (senior) was probably a skilled craftsman who worked in a small factory. 

Up to about 1850, the word 'factory' in Carmarthenshire simply meant a building where carding or spinning machines were driven by water power. Weaving was still done by the hand loom. The 1831 census states that in Carmarthenshire there were 260 male weavers of over twenty years of age, 'engaged in weaving woolen yarns produced by domestic industry’; no more than 14 were found in any one place. [3]

Various dates are listed as David Nathan Thomas’ birth date. His gravestone in St. Johns, Arizona lists August 22, 1819, as his birth date; but the LDS New FamilySearch database lists August 22, 1820, as his birth date. It seems that whenever he was asked to give his birth date, he gave 1820 as the year. For example, when he emigrated he listed his birth year as 1820; on the 1880 census he listed his birth year as 1820, and in his patriarchal blessing his birth year is 1820. He was christened in 1821 in Langadog, Carmarthenshire by Joshua Davies, curate of Llangadock (sic). The microfilmed Bishop’s Transcript record lists: “Feb 18, 1821, David, son of David & Sarah Thomas of Aberdire [sic].” [4]

A History of David Nathan Thomas and His Wives, Mary, Adeline, and Frances (Part 1)

David Nathan Thomas (1820-1888)

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting a biography of David Nathan Thomas. It was written by David's great-great granddaughter, Helen Rigby, and is reproduced here with her permission. Helen spent years collecting the information here, and visited and researched all the Thomas homes, from Wales, where David was born, to Utah and Arizona, where he died and is buried. We are all very grateful to Helen for her work, and also wish to thank her husband Jay and her sister Katie, who were a great help on the project.

I first met Helen several years ago when she found, through a visit to this blog, that my branch of the family had pictures of David Thomas and his second wife Adeline Springthorpe Thomas. It was a great privilege to get to meet Helen and work with her on placing a gravestone for Adeline Spingthorpe in Manti, Utah.

* * *

A History of David Nathan Thomas

and his wives,

Mary, Adeline & Frances

Written and compiled by Helen Price Rigby

March 2011

* * *

David N. Thomas

Born: 22 August 1820, Carmarthenshire, South Wales

Christened: 18 February 1821, Llangadog, Carmarthenshire, South Wales

Died: 14 August 1888, St. Johns, Apache, Arizona

Married Mary Howells: 5 November 1842, Caepantywyll, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales

Married Adeline Springthorpe: 5 September 1862*, Nephi, Juab, Utah

Married Frances Springthorpe: 20 February 1871, Endowment House, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

* The date for this marriage is disputed, but no evidence has been found to prove or disprove it.

* * *

David Nathan Thomas

South Wales, 1820-1862

His christened name was David Thomas. There were so many others with the name "David Thomas" that it is said that he took his mother's maiden name of Nathan as a middle name; however, on some of the records I have found, he only used the initial N. I don't think it was ever officially changed to David Nathan Thomas, but for clarity purposes I will use David Nathan Thomas as his name.

* * *

And that's all for today! To be continued...

Part 2: Life in Wales.
Part 3: Family joins Church; gets ready to go to America; Mary dies.
Part 4: Emigration to America.
Part 5: Ship Voyage; The Thomas Family Meets Adeline.
Part 6: Arrival in America, Castle Gardens, Crossing the Plains.
Part 7: The Down-and-Back Companies.
Part 8:
Part 9:
Part 10:

Survey: The Springthorpe Family

Morgan Family

My father, sister, and I are working on documenting the Springthorpe family and figuring out which children listed on Family Tree belong in the family.

Here's a brief summary. First, the line we're working on:

Jessie Maxine Morgan Tanner

Jessie Christensen Morgan

Frances Ann Thomas Christensen

Adeline Springthorpe Sparks Thomas

James and Frances Springthorpe

Leicestershire countryside, Flickr.

James Springthorpe married Frances Springthorpe on November 11, 1816 in Derbyshire, England.

James was born in 1785 in Leicestershire; Frances was born in 1797 in Lincolnshire. They tended to live in Leicestershire and Staffordshire after their marriage.

Leicestershire.

Lincolnshire.

Staffordshire.

Staffordshire, and West Bromwich in particular, were an active area for the early missionary efforts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That may be where Adeline Springthorpe was baptized in 1854, and she may have known noted missionary Cyrus Wheelock, the author of "Ye Elders of Israel."

Here is the family in the 1841 England and Wales Census.

1841 England Census, Wednesbury, South Offlow, West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England.

Jas Springthorpe, 50

Frances Springthorpe, 40

James Springthorpe, 18

John Springthorpe, 16

Adaline Springthorpe, 15

Charles Springthorpe, 10

Thomas Springthorpe, 5

Wm Howe, 20

Mary [Springthorpe] Howe, 20

Hannah Howe, 2

Augustus Howe, 6 Mo

Thos Smallwood, 20

Geo Bentley, 20

Wm Smith, 20

James Springthorpe died in 1849 in Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire.

Here is the remaining family in the 1851 England and Wales Census.

1851 England Census, Thringstone, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire.

Francis Springthorpe, 52

Adeline Springthorpe, 23

Charles Springthorpe, 21

Francis Springthorpe, 17

Ayashe Howe, 16

Problem: This census lists a male child, Francis. The next census lists Frances as a female, married name Matchett. (She was probably married to Francis Matchett. Yes, Frances married Francis. Is this the same Frances that later married David Thomas as his third wife? That Frances had two sons, reportedly with the last name Hewitt. We need to figure out more about Frances!)

Here are Frances and a few family members in the 1861 England and Wales Census.

1861 England Census, Whitwick, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire.

John Springthorpe, 34
Jessie [Doman] Springthorpe, 32
Hyrum Springthorpe, 3
Francis Springthorpe, 64
Francis Matchett, 26

The census notes that Frances was blind due to old age. She died in 1862.

Adeline, now married to Elijah Sparks and probably widowed, was waiting until after her mother died to emigrate to America. A month later, Adeline was on the John J. Boyd, sailing for America. On the ship she met Welsh widower David Nathan Thomas. They were married in Utah.

Adeline's brother John Springthorpe and his family emigrated in 1869 and 1870.

I can't find emigration information for Francis Springthorpe/Hewitt and James and John Hewitt. 

And that's a brief summary of the current state of research on the family.

Family Group Records Archives: Springthorpe

Morgan Family Line

Did you know that the Family Group Records submitted during the "Four Generation" project are available online as scanned documents? They are not indexed, so it's a little tedious to find the document you want, but what a useful resource! The information is similar to that found in other user-submitted databases (i.e. buyer beware, or check all sources) but there might be family records preserved here and nowhere else. 

This record shows Frances Springthorp listed as a sister of Adeline Springthorp. Some names are misspelled, so the information does need to be checked.

The Springthorpe records begin at #1108 in the "S — Sprick-Sprowell" collection and go through #1122. If there are any notes or sources listed on the back, they are included on the next entry:

h/t Keepapitchinin for this source

The Adventure of the Adeline Springthorpe Sparks Thomas Grave Marker

Adeline Springthorpe Sparks Thomas

Adeline Springthorpe was born in Leicestershire, England, most likely in 1826. (Many different dates are given in different sources.) Her parents were James and Frances Springthorpe.

At age 18, she married Elijah Sparks. Thomas family records note that Elijah died at sea, but nothing further is known about the circumstances of his death.

Adeline joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1854. After her mother died in 1862, Adeline left England for the United States. Her entry in the Mormon Migration database showing her voyage on the ship John J. Boyd can be seen here. Also on the ship was widowed Welshman David Nathan Thomas and his four children, Margaret, Isaac, Sarah and Mary.

According to family stories, the Thomas family and Adeline crossed the plains in the same wagon company. Adeline is listed in the rosters of both the Homer Duncan Company and the Lewis Brunson Company, but since the Thomases were in the Homer Duncan Company, it is most likely that she traveled with them.

At some point, probably after reaching Utah, Adeline and David were married.

David Nathan Thomas

The family moved south to Nephi, Juab County, where daughter Frances Ann Thomas was born. Shortly thereafter they moved to Kanosh, Millard County, where son David John Thomas was born. They remained in Kanosh until 1878 when they joined the Kingston United Order in Piute County, Utah.

After three years with the United Order, David received a mission call to Arizona. In 1881, he and his wife and two children, son Isaac Thomas, and brother-in-law John Springthorpe and his family, moved down to Arizona. Margaret and her husband Richard Price and Sarah and her husband Thomas Dyches remained in Sanpete County. Daughter Mary and her husband John Henry Beal seemed to be living in Pima County, Arizona.

David was a blacksmith, so he started a blacksmith shop in St. Johns. His daughter Frances married Marinus Christensen in 1883, and Marinus became a blacksmith as well.

David Nathan Thomas died in 1888 and was buried in St. Johns. David and Adeline's son David John died in 1890 and was also buried in St. Johns.

After the deaths of her husband and son, Adeline traveled to Manti, Utah, probably to do temple work, but before she was able to do the work for her mother or other relatives, she died suddenly on April 16, 1891, and was buried in the Manti Cemetery in a donated grave.

The Manti Temple

In the 120 years since Adeline's death, a lot of temple work has been done for the family, but the family records were not in very good shape, primary vital records have been hard to track down, the family of Adeline's daughter Frances Thomas Christensen did not know details about the family including Adeline's first marriage, and little was preserved in the family records about the Thomas and Springthorpe families in Wales and England.

This changed when Margaret Thomas Price descendent Helen Rigby began looking into the history of the family. She did a thorough job, traveling to Wales, St. Johns, and Manti. I got to know Helen when she contacted me for permission to use the picture of David Nathan Thomas from this blog. It has been a real delight to get to know her by long distance and to get to meet her when I was recently in Utah.

Helen had mentioned during a phone conversation that Adeline's grave in Manti was unmarked, so when I was in Utah, I traveled down to Manti with a friend and made arrangements for a grave marker. Originally, it was going to read "Adeline Springthorpe Thomas," but after meeting Helen and her husband the next day and thinking about the story she told about tracking down the marriage record for Adeline and Elijah Sparks, the stonecutters made a change to the order and it will now read "Adeline Springthorpe Sparks Thomas."

The marker is granite and should be set on Adeline's grave site within a month or two. In keeping with the look of her husband's plain grave marker in St. Johns, it is an unadorned memorial stone, and it will be placed by a local business, so the cost is fairly modest, but if any of Adeline's descendants would like to assist in remembering our common pioneer ancestor, I would appreciate help with the project. Thanks to those who have already donated!

I can be contacted at the email address listed on the blog sidebar.

December 18, 2012—Here is a picture of Adeline's grave marker. The picture was provided by a kind volunteer at FindaGrave.

———

Additional Notes about Adeline's Descendants and Springthorpe Genealogy

I do not have contact with many of her descendants outside my grandparents' family, but Adeline would have descendants through the following children of her daughter Frances Thomas Christensen and son-in-law Marinus Christensen:

• Adeline Christensen Gibbons and her husband Andrew Smith Gibbons
• David Thomas Christensen and his wife Iness Jolley Christensen
• Marinus Elmer Christensen and his wife Hilda Garnatz Christensen
• Jessie Christensen Morgan and her husband Harold Morgan
• Francis Lee "Frank" Christensen and his wife Nellie Vanetta Christensen
• Joseph Lawrence Christensen and his wife Susan Worthen Ellis Christensen

There is still a lot of research that needs to be done on the Springthorpe lines. It will be a couple of years before I get around to doing more research on these lines, but I would be glad to see any more information on the family.

The bit of the Minerva Teichert painting of the pioneers is from a photo of the painting I took at the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah. The photo of the Manti Temple is from www.flickr.com/photos/midiman/2923101011/ with permission given to use, share, and remix the work.

Thomas and Springthorpe Collection

Editor's Note

Posts have been rather sporadic here recently; I've been working on a number of other projects including a guest post on a Mormon history blog, working on the Thomas and Springthorpe genealogy, and various medical- and kid- and church-related projects. In other words, things are busy and I'm posting as much as possible. I do appreciate all the readers of this blog. Your encouragement and interest and comments and visits to the blog help keep the project going.

Thomas and Springthorpe Resources

After a query from a Thomas cousin, I put together a web album of documents and pictures relating to David Nathan Thomas and Adeline Springthorpe Thomas and their families. Please contact me at the email address listed on the sidebar if you would like a link to the collection in Picasa. Most of the collection was created by my father from files he inherited from his Morgan relatives and the remainder is documents and articles I have found.

Morgan 14 & 15: David Nathan Thomas and Adeline Springthorpe Thomas

David Narhan [Nathan] Thomas was born on the twenty-third of August, 1820, in Comorganshire [Carmarthenshire], Southwales [Wales]. He was the son of David Thomas and Sarah Nathan.

David Thomas was a weaver by trade. He had a wife and four children. One son, John, died of small-pox at the age of twenty. With the exception of David Nathan, none of the family joined the Mornom [sic] Church. The wife and mother of David Nathan was very bitter toward the church, and had nothing to do with her son after he joined it.

David Nathan Thomas had a wife and four children at the time he joined the church. His wife, Mary Howell, was a sufferer of T.B. Since the doctors advised them not to make the long trip to America, they waited for fifteen years, hoping that the wife would get strong enough to make the trip to Zion, in order to be with the Saints. During this time, their home was always open to the elders. Many found rest and comfort there. The family's great wish for their mother was never realized. When David Nathan was ready to come, he made the trip with his four motherless children.

The Saints on board the ship were very kind to David and his family. One young woman especially helped care for the children, and at the same time she brought joy to David. After the long voyage on the water and the long tiresome trek across the States, the woman, Frances Springthrop [Adeline Springthorpe], and David Nathan were married. The marriage took place on Frances' [Adeline's] twenty-seventh birthday, the same day they reached Nephi, Utah, on September 5th, 1862. [As I mentioned before, this date is before their wagon train reached Utah. And, to make things more complicated, David Thomas was probably also married to Frances Springthorpe Hewitt (1832-1879), relation to Adeline unknown.]

To this union two children, Frances Ann and David John, were born. Frances Ann was born in Nephi, Utah, on the fourth of May, 1864, and David John was born in Knosh [Kanosh], Utah, on the fourth of November 1866 [1865?]. The family lived in Knosh [Kanosh] for about ten years, and then they moved to Circleville, where they lived until Frances Ann was seventeen years old, when Brigham Young called David Nathan to help settle Arizona. [Brigham Young must have called from beyond the grave, since he died in 1877.] They reached St. Johns in November, 1882.

David Nathan Thomas was ordained a High Priest on the thirty-first of December, 1887, by E.N. Freeman. He was a black-smith by trade, a good provider, and a true Latter Day Saint. He died in August, 1888.

Frances Springthrop [Adeline Springthorpe] was the daughter of James and Frances Springthrop. She was born in Lestershire [Leicestershire], England, on September 5th, 1837. [The date seems to be right even though the name is wrong!] Her mother was blind for years before her death. Frances sacrificed her chances of marriage and devoted her time to taking care of her mother. Before her mother died, she counseled her daughter many times to draw her money from the emigrant saving fund as soon as she had passed on, and to go and live among the saints in Zion. She carried out her mother's wish and left for America soon after her mother died.

Frances [Adeline] was an excellent cook and house-keeper and a good Latter-Day Saint. She died in Manti, Utah, on March, 1891.

Anonymous. "Biography of David Nathan Thomas." Take the information in this record with a grain of salt.

Pictures of David Nathan Thomas and Adeline Springthorpe Thomas from family collections.