MARY
ELIZABETH WHITE HERRON 1839-1930
George
Gary Creer's Great Grandmother
Mary
White Herron was born in Yorkshire, in England, 9 Feb 1839.
In
every age, in every set of circumstances, there are certain personalities,
which may be taken as typical of their environment. Such a person is Mary White
Herron, whose interesting life story is, in a sense a typical story of the
migration to and the settlement of Utah by the Pioneers. At least it is typical
of the spirit, of the courage, of the faith, of the constant striving, and
working that symbolized the progress of the Saints to the new country.
It
was in 1848 that two "Mormon" missionaries preached the doctrines of
their faith in the country of Lincolnshire in England. Among the many who heard
them, were Johnathon White and his wife, Elizabeth Dodd White, of the hamlet of
Tealby. Firmly convinced of the truth of the new doctrines, burning with a white
hot faith they made ready, the next spring, to follow the missionaries to the
new settlement of Utah, across the wide Atlantic and more than half way across
the American continent. During the weeks that intervened between the time of
this decision to go, and the day of their departure, many and grave were the
conferences that the little family held. Relatives and friends sought to
dissuade them. Neighbors laughed at them. When they endeavored to sell their
holdings of land and goods, they were not able to get full value. The buyers,
knowing that they were about to leave the country took advantage of their
decision, and refused to pay full price. However, the Whites realized a tidy
sum, enough to buy a team of oxen, a covered wagon, a cow, and other necessities
when they should reach Council Bluffs, and start across the plains with a wagon
train.
The ocean voyage was long and hard, but the
Whites and their four children did not notice the discomforts. Their minds were
full of the land to which they were going. Johnathon White made many plans. In
this new world, in company with those whose beliefs were the same as his own,
he could do great things for his family, but his dreams were never fulfilled.
Shortly after the family reached St. Louis and started up the river by steamer
to Council Bluffs before the wagon train left for Utah, he died.
Mrs. White did not falter in her decision
to continue with the wagon train. She had a good team, a good riding horse, her
health, and her four children. In Salt Lake, God would find some way for her to
provide for her family. The wagon train, in which they traveled, was in charge
of Ezra T. Benson, who later settled in the Tooole Valley and after whom the
little settlement of E.T. was named.
It was summer when the train left Council
Bluffs, and the immigrants were sure that they would reach Utah before the cold
weather set in. Mary White, riding her mother's horse all through the long
days, helped to herd the loose horde of stock. It was exciting work for a
ten-year old girl. The wide flung plains with their strange, wild flowers and
birds, the herds of buffalo, the pageantry of Indian tribes, who occasionally
visited the train, formed an endless enchantment. August passed by. September,
with the changing colors of the leaves and grass, found them still several
hundred miles from their destination.
One, cold night in early October when the
frosty air was full of the coming of snow, Mary's mother wakened her and sent
her to a neighbor¬ing wagon to waken the woman. There followed the excitement
of hastily built fires and of kettles put to boil. The White children were
bundled into another wagon to finish their sleep. Through the curious night,
women hurried to and from, and when morning came, it found another baby in the
White family, but it was so late in the year that the wagon train dared not
delay for a sick woman, or for any other cause. So the journey continued.
Before the wagon train had reached Salt Lake on the twenty eighth of October,
Mrs. White was again doing her full share of the camp work. Pioneer women could
not demand coddling. Come death, come birth, they must be ready and up and
doing.
In Salt Lake the Whites rented a room in a
part of what was called "Old Fort." It was a thatched roof building
and while it provided some shelter, it provided little protection from the
worst storms. Many nights through the first winter Mary and the other children
sat huddled up on the beds all night holding umbrellas over them to protect
themselves from the rain and snow that came in through the broken thatch.
What could a widow, with five children, two
of them under two years of age, do for a living in the now settlement of Salt
Lake? Mrs. White found many things that aided her income bit by bit, and
provided sustenance for her little family. She helped to do housework, she
washed, she ironed, and she sewed. Her sewing was expertly and exquisitely
done. From England, she not only brought her needles and shears, but skill that
was extraordinary, and that brought many patrons to her.
In the spring of 1851 Mrs. White came to
Tooole with Bishop John Rowberry's party of settlers. The families of Phineas
Wright, and Cyrus Toman also came; the first settlement was made, at the mouth
of Settlement Canyon. Mrs. White and her family lived in a small house on the
crook, about where the Caldwell farm is today. The next year, rumors of Indian
troubles having grown to alarming proportions, a walled fort was built in the
valley, and many of the settlers moved down into the town. The wall, which was
about ten feet high and four thick, was built in the valley, and many of the
stones were large. It began at the corner of First West and Vine Street and ran
south one block. From there it ran east two blocks, to the corner of First
South and First East. It followed First East two blocks, turning at First North
and ending at the corner of the lane where Dr. Peck now lives. There were
watchtowers at each corner, guards walked the wall all night long, and
maintained a watch through the days.
One day, when Mrs. White was in the midst
of her washing, an excited neighbor came running. "The Indians are
coming," he cried. They hastily emptied the tubs, moved the household
goods, and the house itself down inside the walls. However, the Indians at that
time did not attack Tooele.
There is but one authenticated instance of
the Indians really attacking. Some emigrants lost a number of horses, which
were supposed to have been stolen by the Indians of the valley. The men of
Tooele went out in search of the thieves and captured a number of the Indians.
They started to Tooole with their captives, by simply driving them ahead. They
failed to disarm them. As they approached the South gates in the wall, one of
the Indians hid himself behind a boulder. After the white men had passed him,
he gave a blood curdling war whoop and began to fire. The other Indians turned
and there was a small battle. One, White lost his life. It was believed that
one, or more Indians were killed, but as they carried their dead or wounded
into the hills, it was not fully determined.
About this time, a worthy man, Benjamin
Clegg and Mrs. White were married. Mr. Clegg, who was known throughout his life
as "father” to his step children, was more than kind. He cared for them
and provided for them as he did for his own children. After her marriage to Mr.
Clegg, Mary's mother found the world a brighter place for her and her five
children.
Mary, now thirteen years of age went to
Salt Lake City. Here she worked for one family or another earning her keep but
very little more than that. When she was seventeen she met Alexander Herron, a
young tailor. They were married December 8, 1856. They made their home in Salt
Lake for a year. With the coming of Johnson's army and the founding of Camp
Floyd in Cedar Valley, the Herrons moved to the camp. Here Mr. Herron set up a
tailoring shop. He had more work than he could do, for the officers and
soldiers of the camp. Here Mary saw another, General Johnson, were at times
wild and disorderly. It was an exciting time for the little "Mormon"
woman living in the midst of the soldiers who had been sent on a "wild
goose chase" against the Mormons, and who misunderstood the people in
every particular.
When Camp Floyd was abandoned at the
outbreak of the Civil War, the stores of the camp were sold at auction. It was
recorded that goods of the camp were sold at about a hundred thousand dollars.
They were worth four million dollars. The foundation of many present-day
fortunes were laid in the shrewd buying up of the supplies sold, but there were
tons of ammunition and provisions that were not sold. So before the soldiers
left the camp, they destroyed all the provisions remaining. The gigantic bon
fire is one of the most vivid of Mrs. Herron's recollections.
In 1865, the Herrons moved to Tooole. Here
Mr. Herron opened a tailoring shop in one of the upper rooms of the Co-Op
store, which stood on the site of the Tooole Drug. Here he did a thriving
business. In 1873 he began the
construction of the stone house, which Mrs. Herron now lives. The building was
completed and the family moved into it in 1875. ¬
Mr.
Herron died in 1890. Following his death, Mrs. Herron move the sewing machines
from the tailoring shop to her home and for years carried on the business of
manufacturing overalls. Several years later Mrs. Herron was elected County
Treasurer, which office she held for one term, discharging her duties
efficiently and conscientiously.
Still later she opened her good home to
boarders, and became famous throughout the country for her bountiful means that
she provided.
Mrs. Herron has been a conscientious member
of the L.D.S. Church throughout her life. For many years she acted as a ward
teacher.
She was the mother of twelve children. They
are Alexander, Jr; Mary, who is now Mrs. William McLaws; Elizabeth, who is now
Mrs. Frank Walters; Ella, who was Mrs. George McLaws; Maggie, who died in her
early twenties; Annie, who in now Mrs. B.H. Rowberry; Elmer, with whom Mrs.
Herron makes her home. These are all from Tooele.
Joseph, Howard, and Rose are all deceased;
Ruby, who in now Mrs. George Nuttall of Provo, and Mable, who is Mrs. E.H.
Minn, of Salt Lake City. Mrs. Herron has fifty eight grand children sixty two
great-grandchildren, and eight great great grand children.
At a recent dinner, given at the home of
Mrs. Edwin M. Orme, in honor of the birthday of her mother, Mrs. Wm. McLaws,
there were five generations present at the table: Mrs. Herron, her daughter,
Mrs. Wm. McLaws, her grand daughter, Mrs. ElM.Orme, her great grandson, Ellis
M. Orme, and her great great grandson, Leon E. Orme.
Mrs. Herron, who was ninety on the Ninth of
February, is exceedingly strong and active. her keen eyesight is remarkable.
She sews, unaided by glasses, on the sheerest of white materials, doing work
that is delicate and exquisite. She delights in the care of her youngest
grandchild, Kenneth Herron, age fifteen months, who finds his grandmother a
wonderful companion and playfellow. Mrs. Herron, in speaking of her life, has
no thought of any hardship that she underwent personally.
"My mother had a hard time," she
says,” with father's dying on the road, and 2 new babies being born before we
reached Salt Lake. Mother was hard put to it." To her, life seemed to be
more pleasant fifty years ago, than it is today.
"We used to be neighbors then,"
she says. "A woman could pick up her baby and her mending and run across
to the neighbor's and visit while she worked. They don't today, and miss a lot
of friendship."
"In the old days," she goes on,
"we had to make the best of every chance to enjoy ourselves. You don't have
to make an effort today, and you don't know what real enjoyment is. It comes so
easy that you miss the best of it all."
