Ancestors of Shirley Mae Wilde Britton

Sarah Wilde was born 8 Nov 1843 in Southampton, Hampshire, England to Henry Brown Wilde and Sarah Hewlett.

When Sarah was 5 years old, her parents learned of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, which brought about great changes in their lives. Her father first learned of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from Elder Thomas B. H. Stenhouse who was serving a mission with Lorenzo Snow. Henry was baptized 12 Jul 1849. A week later Sarah’s mother and brother Thomas were baptized 20 Jul 1849. Many others of Sarah’s family soon joined the faith.

It was important at that time for members of the church to gather themselves together and be a support to each other and to build up Zion, as asked by President Brigham Young. The Saints in America had been persecuted and driven from their homes in various areas and had finally found refuge in the west, in the Utah Territory. Sarah’s parents believed strongly in the cause of Zion, and the family began preparations to join with others of their faith in America. Their journey began 6 Jan 1851, Sarah being 7 years old at the time. One can only ponder what might have been going thru Sarah’s mind when she saw the grand sailing ship, the Ellen Marie, that was to take them to this new land. It must have seemed like a great adventure filled with awe as well as wonder at the unknown. Traveling with them was Sarah’s grandmother Jane Brown Wilde (her grandfather John Wilde having passed away almost 11 years prior), and Martha Sparks who I think was their nurse.

Sarah’s sister Ellen Marie Martha Wilde was born aboard this ship while there were passing through the beautiful Caribbean. I’m sure that there was many unpleasantries in traveling at sea in those days, but the birth of Ellen must have felt like a great blessing to the family.

Their ship docked at New Orleans nine weeks after departure from England, so that would have meant that they arrived about mid March. They stayed there for a year or so. During this time Sarah’s father worked hard to secure the money and supplies they would need to continue their journey to the Utah Territory.

By that summer (1852), they were prepared to start the next leg of their long journey. Sarah’s father’s history states that they took a steamship up the Missouri River. I would guess then that they started their ride first up the Mississippi River from New Orleans. This meets up with the Missouri River at St. Louis, Missouri.

While riding up the Missouri River toward Independence, Jackson, Missouri Sarah’s grandmother contracted malarial fever. She died in Jackson Country. It is ironic that this is the region from which the saints had been expelled 13 years earlier, yet this became the resting place of this faithful 82 years Latter Day Saint. Most children treasure their grandparents and I’m sure Sarah was no exception. Losing her grandmother must have been a tremendous blow to her, as it was to the rest of the family.

It was likely with mixed emotions that they continued up the river north to Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa. It would have been her that they gathered their supplies and purchased a wagon, a team of oxen and one cow. They then headed west across Nebraska along the Platte River.

But tragedy was soon to strike again to this stalwart family. Sarah had a next younger brother named Henry who was two years apart from her in age. So at this point, Sarah would have been 8 years old and Henry 6. No doubt they would have spent many hours playing together over the past few years they’d had together. It seems that the wagon train had stopped one evening to make camp along the Platte River. Henry did as many children do for adventure, and went tree climbing. Whether Sarah was there playing nearby or whether she was in camp preparing the evening meal I don’t know, but Henry’s fun turned from fun to sadness abruptly when he fell from a tree he’d climbed. I can only imagine the sadness and panic of his family when someone carried him to his parents’ campsite. His injuries proved to be fatal and he was buried there along the river the following day 20 Aug 1852. This must have been a terrible blow to young Sarah and her family.

They continued their long journey across the plains, and on to the Utah Territory, arriving in Salt Lake City in September of that year. They remained there for a short time and then went on to Prove where they spent their first winter. Their home there that winter consisted only of a tent and their covered wagon. Oh, how cold that must have been without a proper cabin to live in. The family moved back to Salt Lake in the spring, settling in Sugarhouse. They later moved to Spanish Fork for a short time and then back to Sugarhouse. In 1860 they moved to Coalville, Summit, Utah which was a new settlement in the Wasatch Mountains. It was a fertile area for farming, though very cold in the winter time due to the fact that it was at an elevation of 5300 feet. Their cabin was built where the Coalville Co-op now stands. By the time they moved to Coalville, Sarah would have been 16 years old.

A young man by the name of John Staley had also come to Coalville in 1852 with his mother and siblings. He and Sarah were married about ten years later there in Coalville 7 Dec 1862. John Staley was born 16 Aug 1841 in Grand Island, Erie, New York to Conrad Staley and Hannah Elizabeth Johnson. He was baptized in 1851 and came across the plains with his widowed mother.

They were blessed with five children: Jacob Henry (1863-1863), John Conrad (1864-1881), William Henry (1866-1938), Emma Irene (1868-1933), and Sarah Ann (1870-1961).

Unfortunately, John Staley died 10 Aug 1869, about six months prior to the birth of their last child, at the age of only 27. I do not know the cause of him passing away at such a young age, but it must have been a difficult thing for Sarah and her young children to bear. Sarah and John’s surviving three children ranged in age from about one to four years old at the time of John’s death.

I don’t know how she managed to support her small family alone for the next few years. I would assume that her parents were a great support to her. She met John Moss Lewis at some point after he moved to Coalville with his wife Martha Jane Crisman. Back then, righteous men of the church were encouraged to marry more than one wife. Though it had its challenged, it was a source of much joy and growth for many. Sarah Wild Staley became John Moss Lewis’ second wife 2 June 1873, they being married in the Salt Lake Endowment House. John was born 16 Feb 1829 in Franklin, Simpson, Kentucky to Benjamin Franklin Lewis and Joannah Ryon. So John was 44 years old at the time of their marriage, and Sarah was 29. Sarah now had a father-figure for her four surviving children again who were then aged 3 to 8 years old.

Sarah and John Lewis had one child together 19 May 1874, whom they named Eva Mary Lewis. She was born in Coalville. Sadly, though, they had only been married for three years, when Sarah passed away. She died 11 Nov 1876. My records say that she died in Coalville, but a history of John Moss Lewis states that she died on the way to Arizona with John and Martha and their families. I don’t know for sure why she died so young, but it would stand to reason that she may have died giving birth to their next child. But I have no proof of this. Maybe she simply died of an illness. After Sarah died, their daughter Eva Mary Lewis was raised by John and Martha, but she only lived to be about 4 years old. Sarah’s children from her marriage to John Staley were raised by her parents.

This story was written by  Mary A., great great great grand daughter of Sarah's uncle William Wilde.  The above photos are courtesy of the John Wilde Research Foundation.

Sources:

1.  "History of Henry Brown Wilde" by O. Gerald Wilde, "History of Henry Brown Wilde" by Doran K. Wilde, and "A Sketch of the Life of Sarah Hewlett Wilde" written by her granddaughter Margaret E. Carruth Rhead.  These stories can by found at http://dkwilde.com/Genealogy/Wilde/Histories/

2.  "Hannah Elizabeth Johnson Huffman Wheaton Staley, Original Pioneer of 1852" written by Kara Seager-Segalla

3.   "John Moss Lewis and Martha Jane Crisman" written by a child of Martha Jane Crisman Lewis