MARTHA BROTHERTON 1824 - 1863 - A YOUNG WOMAN OF FORTITUDE, VIRTUE AND COURAGE
EARLY LIFE AND CONVERSION
Martha Brotherton was born on the 24th of May 1824 in Manchester, England, the youngest daughter of Thomas Brotherton and Sarah Hamilton. She was baptised on the 4th July 1824 in the Wesleyan Chapel on Oldham Street, Manchester, her family being of the Wesleyan Methodist faith.
The Brotherton's were quite a prominent and well respected family in the Manchester area and Martha's father had a silk manufacturing bussiness.
Sometime during the year of 1840 Martha's family heard about the new Mormon religion which was quickly spreading throughout Great Britain.
President Brigham Young arrived in Manchester on 21st May 1840 were he set up his headquarters to direct the whole British Mission.
Here follows a quote from Brigham Young " organized the Priesthood in Manchester to meet every Sabbath morning, and distribute themselves throughout the different parts of the city to preach in the streets. In this way they occupied about forty preaching stations, at each one of which the congregation were notified of our regular meetings in the Carpenter's Hall. This so annoyed the sectaries, particularly the Methodists, that they made complaints to the Mayor, who issued an order to have all street preachers arrested. I went to the Priesthood meeting in the morning and felt impressed to tell the brethren to go home. The police, who had been instructed to arrest all street preachers that morning, took up about twenty, who all proved to be Methodists. When the magistrate learned they were not 'Mormons', they were dismissed." (1)
Brigham Young hired the Carpenter's Hall to hold their meetings and Conferences, the first Manchester conference was held on the 6th July 1840 and was attended by all the apostles in Britain except Orson Pratt.
Martha's sister Elizabeth recorded that she was given a pamphlet about the church and started attending meetings, this is what she said in her biography "My parents were religious and members of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, and they endeavored to bring up their children in the fear of the Lord. I was trained in religious habits and attended their Sabbath school in which I took great pleasure. I was connected with this school 18 years in my childhood as a pupil and as I became older I was placed over a primary class as teacher.
When quite young I often regretted that I had not lived in the days of our Savior and His Apostles and as I pondered over these things I became dissatisfied with that faith and mode of baptism. This caused my parents much uneasiness. I often went in private and prayed to the Lord to direct me aright and I always felt comforted.
I continued to pray and waited for several years believing that in time I should be directed aright. In the year 1840 a friend handed me a Pamphlet published by the Latter-day Saints which told of a Prophet being raised up and of angels appearing that the true gospel was restored in the fullness with all its gifts and blessings. I investigated those principles and became convinced of the truth so I found the “Pearl of Great Price.” A number of the Twelve Apostles were on a mission to England at the time and many received the truth through their teaching.
On the 4th of September 1840 Apostle Brigham Young, afterwards President, led me down into the waters of baptism; on the following Saturday I was confirmed. These ordinances were performed by men called to divine authority to preach and administer in “the kingdom, set up in these last days no more to be thrown down nor given to another people.
The Apostle Heber C. Kimball pronounced great blessings upon my head. Said “I should be a great dreamer and warned of dangers and comforted in affliction.” I received a powerful testimony of the truth which was a great blessing to me in the opposition I had to meet with from my relatives and past friends. Old associates turned their backs on me, but I rejoiced continually because I had received the Gospel of our Savior and had seen the gifts made manifest that were to follow the believer and confirm the word. Soon after I had joined the Church I was invited to where Apostle Kimball was to give a father’s blessing. He turned to me and asked if I did not want a blessing. I was overjoyed to receive one from an Apostle, as I had so often thought, Oh, that I could have lived in the days of the ancient Apostles and now indeed I am in the presence of one, endowed with the same power and authority. He laid his hands upon my head after the order of the ancients, and gave me a father’s blessing. He said I should receive the gift of tongues which I did that night, and by my faithfulness my father’s family should all come into the Church, and one after another they came into the Church, in three months my father being the last to receive it. He disposed of his property and we took our leave of our native land on the 21st of September 1841." (2)
Martha's brother Joseph Hamilton Brotherton was baptised on the 11th October 1840 and their cousins John and Theophilus joined the church in September of 1840. I assume that Martha and her parents were also baptised in the last months of 1840 as were her elder sister and brother in law Mary and John McIlwrick and her eldest brother Edward.
In June 1841 Joseph Hamilton Brotherton was called to serve a mission in the Bedford and Northamptonshire area. Elder George J Adams wrote, " On the June 6th 1841 Elder Joseph Brotherton arrived in Bedford, and has been labouring with me in different places about Bedford, and is now with me in Northampton. We came here not knowing a single individual in the place; the Lord has been with us, and opened our way in a wonderful manner; we have obtained a chapel to preach in that will hold more than 500 people ..." (3)
In the Spring of 1841 Martha and her family are recorded on the census, they were living at 204 St. Georges Road, Manchester, her father and her elder brother Edward are recorded as being Warehouse men, which probably meant that they owned a warehouse, possibly were they manufactured silk. Martha would have just turned 17 when the census was taken, her sister Elizabeth would have been 25 and Edward her eldest brother was 26. Joseph who was on his mission in Bedford was 19 and
Martha's other sister Mary who would have been 23 in 1841 had married John McIlwrick in 1838 and they were living independently.
Brigham Young and Parley P Pratt were regular guests at George's Road and were well acquainted with the Brotherton family.
During the course of 1841 Thomas Brotherton and his family decided to emigrate and join up with the Saints in Nauvoo, Thomas was also planning on setting up a Silk Manufacturing business in Nauvoo and probably talked with Brigham about his plans. It was decided that they would depart in September with President Joseph Fielding and many other members on board of a ship called The Tyrian.
EMIGRATION TO NAUVOO
The Tyrian, built by Samuel Dyer at Portland, Maine, in 1841, was listed at 511 tons, measuring 129’ x 30’ x 15’, with three masts and two decks. It carried a crew of nineteen under the captaincy of D. Jackson. It was the eleventh ship to sail from England with Mormon emigrants aboard. News of this chartered vessel spread among the Saints, and many of them began to make preparations for their departure.
Some general details about the group are contained in a letter written by Elder Parley P. Pratt under the date of 12 September 1841:
"In a few hours I shall be in the Hall with some five hundred saints and friends, many of whom will never see it again; for on next week Monday, the ship Tyrean will sail from Liverpool for New Orleans with 204 passengers bound for Nauvoo. Near one half of these are from Manchester and vicinity, and are our old friends here; but their places are fast filling up with new converts: (4)
Edward stayed behind, probably to continue running their business in Manchester, Joseph was still on his mission so would follow on a later voyage, Thomas and Sarah made the crossing with their three daughters and son in law, a young nephew of Thomas, Theophilus Brotherton traveled with them.
Parley P. Pratt recorded the following about the departure of the Tyrian in the Millennial Star, "In the month of Sept., 1841, brother Amos Fielding and myself chartered a large new ship called the “Tyrean,” Captain Jackson, master, for New Orleans. On which we sent two hundred and seven passengers of our Society bound for Nauvoo.
Our chartered ship, the “Tyrean,” sailed with two hundred and seven passen- gers on the morning of the 21st of September. On going out of the dock the previ- ous day, many hundreds crowded around to witness a shipload of the sons and daugh- ters of Zion depart from their native shore for the promised land. They moved slow- ly out into the river, singing:
“Lovely native land, farewell!
Glad I leave thee—glad I leave thee—
Far in distant lands to dwell.”
Next morning they weighed anchor about ten o’clock, and hoisted the sail
before a fair wind; moving away under the flag of liberty—the American Stars and Stripes.
The emigrants were all on deck, and in good spirits; and as our little boat came off with three hearty cheers, they were singing their favorite hymn:
“How Firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word.”
The last lines we heard, as their voices were lost in the distance, were as follows:
“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o’erflow.”
Hats and handkerchiefs were still waiving in view as a last token of farewell.
Soon all was a dim speck upon the ocean; a few moments more and they vanished from view in the wide expanse and lost in the distance. May God speed them onward in their course, and land them safely in their destined port." (5)
The first days of the voyage were very rough, a young non Mormon boy named Richard Bentley recorded the following about the voyage, "The ship lay at anchor in the River Mersey until next morning, when the pilot
came aboard and we started our voyage across the broad Atlantic.
We were six weeks on the passage, the former part of which was rough and
stormy.
One dark night we were run into by another large ship and came near to hav-
ing a bad accident. I acknowledged the Lord in our safety.
Elder Joseph Fielding was president of the company of Saints on board the ship.
He was a kind, good man and treated me kindly.
He called on me to assist in giving out the daily rations to the Saints, in fact, a
few of them knew that I did not belong to the church. There were a number of young folks on board, and when we got fairly out to sea and the storms had abated, we began to enjoy ourselves and had a pleasant time. I told the folks that it was the happiest time many of them would see for a long time to come.
Among the passengers were Mrs. Mary Ann Price and her sister, Emma, with whom I became intimately acquainted.
Taking it all in all we had a very pleasant passage and landed safely in New Orleans about the first of November 1841" (6)
Martha's sister Elizabeth was very sick during the voyage and apparently nearly died but was healed by the 'administration of the Elders, and the prayer of faith.'
After the Tyrian arrived in New Orleans at the beginning of November the Saints would have to take a Steamboat up the Mississippi to Nauvoo, it frequently took the English immigrants two to three weeks to obtain transportation up the river to St. Louis and then on to Nauvoo this journey usually took about 6 or 7 days.
ARRIVAL IN ILLINOIS
The Brothertons and over two hundred other Saints disembarked from a steamboat at Warsaw, Illinois, twenty miles south of Nauvoo. They settled at Warren, a community of Saints one mile south of Warsaw.
On December 7, 1841, Thomas Brotherton wrote a letter to his son Edward in England in which he told of their safe arrival. Elder Parley P Pratt copied an excerpt of his letter in the Millennial Start recording that "Thomas Brotherton was well known in Manchester as a man of intelligence, sound judgment, and integrity, being an old resident of this place."
Here follows Thomas's letter -
"Warsaw, Illinois, Dec. 7th, 1841.
Dear Edward,
I feel truly thankful that I can now sit down and write in good health, after all our toils, and that we are in excellent health and spirits, and our prospects good. We are 20 miles from Nauvoo. We arrived here on the 25th of Nov. amidst falling snow. The company was met here by the Elders from Nauvoo to inform the party that Nauvoo was thronging with people, and that this is a prosperous, healthful place, and is intended for one stake of the church. I instantly took a house on a rising ground, within 20 yards of the Mississippi; but great numbers of the people are gone to Nauvoo. John and Mary went off there yesterday. I have not been there yet, but intend to go and visit soon, whether I stop there or not, and I am not much troubled about it ..... I think of visiting Nauvoo next week to see the place and friends. Give our love to all friends, and tell them that after all we have suffered in losses, sea sickness, and toils, by land and sea, if I had it to do again, I should be more willing to do it than when I left Manchester." (7)
Thomas Brotherton must have been a man of means to be able to rent a house so speedily after arriving, Martha recounts that Brigham Young and Heber C Kimball visited the Brotherton family several times in their new abode, probably to renew their friendship from Manchester.
If Thomas did indeed visit Nauvoo in the week following the 7th of December then I am sure that he took 17 year old Martha with him, probably it was decided that she would stay for awhile in Nauvoo by her sister Mary and brother in law John McIlwrick.
THE PROPOSITION
During Martha's stay at her sister's home she was visited again by Brigham Young and Heber C Kimball and was asked to spend the day with them. The following is her own written account of that fatal day. -
"early one morning, they both came to my brother-in-law's (John Mcllwrick's) house, at which place I then was on a visit, and particularly requested me to go and spend a few days with them. I told them I could not at that time, as my brother-in-law was not at home; however, they urged me to go the next day, and spend one day with them. The day being fine, I accordingly went. When I arrived at the foot of the hill, Young and Kimball were standing conversing together. They both came to me, and, after several flattering compliments, Kimball wished me to go to his house first. I said it was immaterial to me, and accordingily went. We had not, however, gone many steps when Young suddenly stopped, and said he would go to that brother's, (pointing to a little log hut a few yards distant,) and tell him that you (speaking to Kimball) and brother Glover, or Grover, (I do not remember which,) will value his land. When he had gone, Kimball turned to me and said, "Martha, I want you to say to my wife, when you go to my house, that you want to buy some things at Joseph's store, (Joseph Smith's,) and I will say I am going with you, to show you the way. You know you want to see the Prophet, and you will then have an opportunity." I made no reply. Young again made his appearance, and the subject was dropped. We soon reached Kimball's house, where Young took his leave, saying, "I shall see you again, Martha." I remained at Kimball's near an hour, when Kimball, seeing that I would not tell the lies he wished me to, told them to his wife himself. He then went and whispered in her ear, and asked if that would please her. "Yes," said she, "or I can go along with you and Martha." "No," said he, "I have some business to do, and I will call for you afterwards to go with me to the debate," meaning the debate between yourself [Dr. Bennett] and Joseph. To this she consented. So Kimball and I went to the store together. As we were going along, he said, "Sister Martha, are you willing to do all that the Prophet requires you to do?" I said I believed I was, thinking of course he would require nothing wrong. "Then," said he, "are you ready to take counsel?" I answered in the affirmative, thinking of the great and glorious blessings that had been pronounced upon my head, if I adhered to the counsel of those placed over me in the Lord."Well," said he, "there are many things revealed in these last days that the world would laugh and scoff at; but unto us is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom." He further observed, "Martha, you must learn to hold your tongue, and it will be well with you. You will see Joseph, and very likely have some conversation with him, and he will tell you what you shall do." When we reached the building [Joseph's store], he led me up some stairs to a small room, the door of which was locked, and on it the following inscription: "Positively no admittance." He observed, "Ah! brother Joseph must be sick, for, strange to say, he is not here. Come down into the tithing-office, Martha." He then left me in the tithing-office, and went out, I know not where. In this office were two men writing, one of whom, William Clayton, I had seen in England; the other I did not know. Young came in, and seated himself before me, and asked where Kimball was. I said he had gone out. He said it was all right. Soon after, Joseph came in, and spoke to one of the clerks, and then went up stairs, followed by Young. Immediately after, Kimball came in. "Now, Martha," said he, "the Prophet has come; come up stairs." I went, and we found Young and the Prophet alone. I was introduced to the Prophet by Young. Joseph offered me his seat, and, to my astonishment, the moment I was seated, Joseph and Kimball walked out of the room, and left me with Young, who arose, locked the door, closed the window, and drew the curtain. He then came and sat before me, and said, "This is our private room, Martha." "Indeed, sir," said I, "I must be highly honored to be permitted to enter it." He smiled, and then proceeded—"Sister Martha, I want to ask you a few questions; will you answer them?" "Yes sir," said I. "And will you promise not to mention them to any one?" "If it is your desire, sir," said I, "I will not." "And you will not think any the worse of me for it, will you Martha?" said he. "No, sir" I replied. "Well," said he, "what are your feelings towards me?" I replied, "My feelings are just the same towards you that they ever were, sir." "But, to come to the point more closely," said he, "have not you an affection for me, that, were it lawful and right, you could accept of me for your husband and companion?" My feelings at that moment were indescribable. God only knows them. What, thought I, are these men, that I thought almost perfection itself, deceivers!" and is all my fancied happiness but a dream? 'Twas even so; but my next thought was, which is the best way for me to act at this time? If I say no, they may do as they think proper; and to say yes, I never would. So I considered it best to ask for time to think and pray about it. I therefore said, "If it was lawful and right, perhaps I might; but you know, sir, it is not." "Well, but," said he, "brother Joseph has had a revelation from God that it is lawful and right for a man to have two wives; for as it was in the days of Abraham, so it shall be in these last days, and whoever is the first that is willing to take up the cross will receive the greatest blessings; and if you will accept of me, I will take you straight to the celestial kingdom; and if you will have me in this world, I will have you in that which is to come, and brother Joseph will marry us here to-day, and you can go home this evening, and your parents will not know any thing about it." "Sir," said I, "I should not like to do any thing of the kind without the permission of my parents." "Well, but," said he, "you are of age, are you not?" "No, sir," said I, "I shall not be until the 24th of May." "Well," said he, "that does not make any difference. You will be of age before they know, and you need not fear. If you will take my counsel, it will be well with you, for I know it to be right before God, and if there is any sin in it, I will answer for it. But brother Joseph wishes to have some talk with you on the subject—he will explain things—will you hear him?" "I do not mind," said I. "Well, but I want you to say something," said he. "I want time to think about it," said I. "Well," said he, "I will have a kiss, any how["], and then rose, and said he would bring Joseph. He then unlocked the door, and took the key, and locked me up alone. He was absent about ten minutes, and then returned with Joseph. "Well," said Young, "sister Martha would be willing if she knew it was lawful and right before God." "Well, Martha," said Joseph, "it is lawful and right before God—I know it is. Look here, sis; don't you believe in me?" I did not answer. "Well, Martha," said Joseph, "just go ahead, and do as Brigham wants you to—he is the best man in the world, except me." "O!" said Brigham, "then you are as good." "Yes," said Joseph. "Well," said Young, "we believe Joseph to be a Prophet. I have known him near eight years, and always found him the same["] "Yes," said Joseph, "and I know that this is lawful and right before God, and if there is any sin in it, I will answer for it before God; and I have the keys of the kingdom, and whatever I bind on earth is bound in heaven, and whatever I loose on earth is loosed in heaven, and if you will accept of Brigham, you shall be blessed—God shall bless you, and my blessing shall rest upon you; and if you will be led by him, you will do well; for I know Brigham will take care of you, and if he don't do his duty to you, come to me, and I will make him; and if you do not like it in a month or two, come to me, and I will make you free again; and if he turns you off, I will take you on." "Sir," said I, rather warmly, "it will be too late to think in a month or two after. I want time to think first." "Well, but," said he, "the old proverb is, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained;" and it would be the greatest blessing that was ever bestowed upon you." "Yes," said Young, "and you will never have reason to repent it—that is, if I do not turn from righteousness, and that I trust I never shall; for I believe God, who has kept me so long, will continue to keep me faithful. Did you ever see me act in any way wrong in England, Martha?" "No, sir," said I. "No," said he; "neither can any one else lay any thing to my charge." "Well, then," said Joseph, "what are you afraid of, sis? Come, let me do the business for you." "Sir," said I, "do let me have a little time to think about it, and I will promise not to mention it to any one." "Well, but look here," said he; "you know a fellow will never be damned for doing the best he knows how." "Well, then," said I, "the best way I know of, is to go home and think and pray about it." "Well," said Young, "I shall leave it with .brother Joseph, whether it would be best for you to have time or not." "Well," said Joseph, "I see no harm in her having time to think, if she will not fall into temptation." "O, sir," said I, "there is no fear of my falling into temptation." "Well, but," said Brigham, "you must promise me you will never mention it to anyone." "I do promise it," said I. "Well," said Joseph, "you must promise me the same." I promised him the same. "Upon your honor," said he, "you will not tell[?"] "No, sir, I will lose my life first," said I. "Well, that will do," said he; "that is the principle we go upon. I think I can trust you, Martha," said he. "Yes," said I, "I think you ought." Joseph said, "She looks as if she could keep a secret." I then rose to go, when Joseph commenced to beg of me again. He said it was the best opportunity they might have for months, for the room was often engaged. I, however, had determined what to do. "Well," said Young, "I will see you tomorrow. I am going to preach at the school-house, opposite your house. I have never preached there yet; you will be there, I suppose." "Yes," said I.—The next day being Sunday, I sat down, instead of going to meeting, and wrote the conversation, and gave it to my sister, who was not a little surprised; but she said it would be best to go to meeting in the afternoon. We went, and Young administered the sacrament. After it was over, I was passing out, and Young stopped me, saying, "Wait, Martha, I am coming." I said, "I cannot; my sister is waiting for me." He then threw his coat over his shoulders, and followed me out, and whispered, "Have you made up your mind, Martha?" "Not exactly, sir," said I; and we parted." (8)
I can imagine Martha's consternation, Brigham had been a friend to their family, had helped in their conversion and had probably given them advise and encouragement in making the choice to emigrate, but Brigham was also a married man of 40 and Martha was 17, and this proposition went against her moral and social upbringing.
Martha informed her parents of this event and they were obviously very shocked, she and her Father wrote back to family and friends in England warning them about the things that were going on in Nauvoo.
THE ATTACK AGAINST MARTHA'S CHARACTER
The contents of the letters which Martha Brotherton wrote to Saints in England brought a quick response from Apostle Parley P. Pratt, missionary to England and editor of the Church paper, the Millennial Star. He answered Martha's charges by publishing that the principle of polygamy never had and never would exist in the Church. Pratt wrote:
"The spirit of apostacy has been quite prevalent of late, principally among those who have emigrated from England to America....
Among the most conspicuous of these apostates, we would notice a young female who emigrated from Manchester in September last [1841], and who, after conducting herself in a manner unworthy the character of one professing godliness, at length conceived the plan of gaining friendship and extraordinary notoriety with the world, or rather with the enemies of truth, by striking a blow at the character of some of its worthiest champions. She well knew that this would be received as a sweet morsel by her old friends, the Methodists, and other enemies of the Saints. She accordingly selected president J. [Joseph] Smith, and elder B. [Brigham] Young for her victims, and wrote to England that these men had been trying to seduce her, by making her believe that God had given a revelation that men might have two wives; by these disreputable means she thought to overthrow the Saints here, or at least to bring a storm of persecution on them, and prevent others from joining them; but in this thing she was completely deceived by Satan....
But, for the information of those who may be assailed by those foolish tales about the two wives, we would say that no such principle ever existed among the Latter-day Saints, and never will; this is well known to all who are acquainted with our books and actions, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants; and also all our periodicals are very strict and explicit on that subject, indeed far more so than the bible. (Millennial Star 3 [August 1842]: 73–74 (9)
Martha's sister Elizabeth also disbelieved her story and wrote to Parley in England the following letter -
"Nauvoo - April 20th 1842
We arrived here three weeks ago; I thought I would not write until I had seen the prophet, and attended the meetings in Nauvoo. I have now been at the meetings three sabbaths, and have had the pleasure of attending the conference which continued for three days; and I have had the pleasure of hearing brother Joseph speak [this was the conference where Joseph and Hyrum refuted the stories Martha circulated].... I suppose, by this time, you will have heard that my parents and sister have apostatized. I know not what they have written to England, as they would not let me see their letters, but I can prove that my sister has told some of the greatest lies that ever were circulated.... My parents have turned their backs upon me, because I would not leave the Saints, and have told my elder sister not to own them until she abandoned "Mormonism"; but with all this she is unmoved, and is still contending for the faith once delivered to the Saints, for she and many other of the English Saints have proved that the statements made by my sister are falsehoods of the basest kind. " (10)
On the 13th of July 1842 Martha wrote down her account as an affidavit sworn before a Justice of the Peace, her story was also used by John C Bennett in his assault against the church, he described Martha as " a very good-looking, amiable, and accomplished English lady, of highly respectable parentage, cultivated intellect, and spotless moral character" (11)
Martha's character was dragged through the mud, she was accused of being a liar, a wanton young woman and even of being one of Bennett's prostitutes. Even her brother in law John McIlwrick and her two sisters were persuaded to write an affidavit against her -
McIlwrick's Affidavit
John wrote:
I do know that the sister of my wife, Martha Brotherton, is a deliberate liar, and also a wilful inventor of lies; and that she has also to my certain knowledge at sundry times, circulated lies of a base kind, concerning those whom she knew to be innocent of what she alleged against them. She has also stooped to many actions which would be degrading to persons of common decency....
And I further state that I am acquainted with Gen. Joseph Smith, President Brigham Young, and Elder Heber C. Kimball, having had the privilege of being intimate with the latter gentleman for several months in England. And I believe them to be men who lead holy and virtuous lives, and men who exhibit a philanthropic spirit to all the human family without respect of persons: and I also know for a truth that the forenamed Martha Brotherton has wickedly endeavored to injure the character of these gentlemen; and besides myself can testify that the statements which she has reported in different places are quite contrary to those she related here.
John Mcllwrick.
We Elizabeth Brotherton, and Mary Mcllwrick, sisters of the said Martha Brotherton, concur in the above sentiments." (12)
Even though Martha's character was defamed because she spoke the truth of what had happened to her there were people who stood up for her and defended her character. In the Morning Chronicle of Pittsburgh dated 26th July 1842 there is a letter from Thomas Smethurst, he writes the following -
"For the Chronicle.
Miss Brotherton's Character Sustained.
PITTSBURGH, July 15, 1842.
Editors of the Chronicle -- Having been told by several individuals that in a discourse delivered against Mormonism by L. O. C. Nicklin, on Sunday, at the Scotch Hill market house, on reading Miss Martha H. Brotherton's affidavit, William Small, a Mormon Elder, declared that "such evidence was given by PROSTITUTES, of whom a number were at Nauvoo," thus making an impression on the minds of the people that the said Martha H. Brotherton was a prostitute. I called upon said Small for his denial or confession of such declaration. In the course of our conversation, he declared he did not believe her testimony as set forth, but neither retracts, denies nor confesses his declaration of such testimony being given by prostitutes.
Being a friend, and one, too particularly acquainted with Miss Brotherton and her friends in England, I hereby declare such an aspersion of her character as becoming of a Mormon. She and her connections stand high in the society in which they moved in England prior to her becoming a Mormon, and when (as her cousin who was present at Nauvoo at the time informed me) in consequence of the base attack upon her virtue as set forth in her affidavit, she was compelled to fly for safety; she had to do so at night under the protection of her father.
My opportunity to become acquainted with her character is as good as is possible to be derived in growing from childhood to adult age together; as neighbors living close together, going to school together, and members of the same Sabbath School, and under these circumstances, with indignation thrust back upon any individual who attempts to injure her character for virtue or truth, his own vile slanders, whether he be Elder Wm. Small of the Mormons, or any other. THOMAS SMETHURST.
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 26th day of July, A. D., 1842
Alex Millar, Alderman" (13)
WHAT HAPPENED TO MARTHA AND HER FAMILY?
There seems to be a bit of confusion about whether Martha and her family returned to England or stayed in the States, according to a biography of Martha's son in 'The Hand-book of Chicago biography' I quote the following - "after her father had made the matter public, the Mormons then forced the family to abandon Warsaw, and all business ventures. They were compelled to travel by night in a covered wagon through country where there were no wagon roads."
Elizabeth Brotherton recorded the following, "My father only stayed nine weeks in the Church after we came to Nauvoo, he apostatized and moved away to Warsaw with the family intending to return to England. They tried to persuade me to follow them and gave me one week to change my mind, but I stayed on the ship Zion which had brought me safely thus far on my journey. I returned to Nauvoo...." (14)
A year later on the 24th July 1843 Elizabeth was sealed to Parley P Pratt as his Polygamist wife, both had previously denied that the church practised or would ever practice polygamy. Elizabeth emigrated with the saints to Utah she had one child to Parley who died young, Parley went on to have 12 polygamous wives and he was eventually killed by the husband of one of his wives on May 13 1857, Elizabeth died in 1897.
Martha's brother Joseph Hamilton Brotherton completed his mission at the beginning of 1842 and wrote a letter to Parley P Pratt on the eve of his departure to America dated March 2, 1842, "Beloved Brother Pratt, being about to leave the land of my nativity, I feel a pleasure in communicating a few words regarding where I have been labouring....." (15)
He traveled to America aboard the Hanover along with a company of 200 English Saints, including a cousin William Edward Brotherton and his wife and child.
They arrived at St.Louis via New Orleans in May 1842, apparently about 50 persons were dissuaded from continuing on to Nauvoo, probably in large part due to Martha Brotherton's experience.
Joseph did in fact carry on to Nauvoo were he received his Patriarchal blessing from Hyrum Smith on the 11th June 1843 and was married on the 29th July 1843 to Eliza Harriet Monroe, a girl that he probably met on his mission in Bedford as she was living in Bedford at the time of his mission. After their marriage Joseph and Eliza moved to St. Louis, Missouri were their son Joseph Monroe Brotherton was born, unfortunately this son died two years later in 1845 and their second son also died unnamed around the same time.
In May 1852 Joseph was acting as administrator for the estate of his brother in law John McIlwrick who had died some time before May 1849, no mention is made of John's wife Mary. Joseph and Eliza eventually returned back to Great Britain and are recorded on the 1871 census as lodging in Llandudno, Wales.
Joseph Hamilton Brotherton died on 17th August 1874 at 7 Queen's place, Harrogate at the age of 52. Before his death he had been residing at 34 Derby Street, Manchester, he is recorded as being a Gentleman, he left his widow 450 pounds.
Martha's eldest brother Edward remained in Manchester running the Silk Manufacturing business , he married Elizabeth Elsworth Smith in July 1843.
Edward published a book in 1846 - Mormonism; it's Rise an Progress and the Prophet Joseph Smith. Here follows is a small excerpt from his introduction - " The following brief outline of the history of Mormonism is intended to supply the lack of information, as far as can be done in so small a compass, and though scanty and perhaps not skillfully arranged, yet care is taken to state nothing but what there is good evidence for........But if after all, any mis-statements should have crept in, the writer can consciously say that he will regret it more than any other person; as his sincere desire is to state the simple truth, with the view of guarding his fellow-countrymen against a dangerous imposture. He has had ample opportunities of studying its progress and influence, ......" (16)
After leaving the Mormon church Edward joined the Swedenborgian movement and he became a campaigner for educational reform, "Brotherton's zeal and devotion to the cause was unbounded. He had patience, a winning grace of manner, a candour only too rare in controversy, and an unselfish devotion to the public good. In the course of his visitations amongst the poor he caught a fever, of which he died after a few days' illness, at Cornbrook, and was buried at the Wesleyan Cemetery, Cheetham Hill. There is a portrait of him in the Manchester Town Hall."(17)
I haven't been able to discover whether Martha's parents returned to England, but Martha did remain in America. On the 18th March 1843 Martha married American born James Purnell, Martha was 18 and James was 23.
James and Martha settled in Quincy, Illinois were James owned a successful carriage making company. They had 5 children, 3 boys and two daughters -
Henry Clay Purnell who was born in 1844 and served in the Civil War as a hospital steward.
James Edward Purnell who was born 26 April 1848 and became a lawyer for the theatre, an attorney of Quincy corporation counsel and a member of the Illinois legislature.
Felicia Hermes Purnell who was born 14 October 1853, she never married but travelled regularly back and forwards between Britain and America, she died in 1946 at the age of 92.
Kate Florence Purnell who was born in 1857, she married Thomas Bilsborough in 1881 in West Derby, England her daughter also named Kate Florence became a Countess when she married the famous fortune teller Count Louis Le Warner Hamon 'Cheiro' who apparently told the fortunes of many famous and notable people such as King Edward VII, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, the Czar and Czarina of Russia and Lord Kitchener.
Martha's youngest child Joseph Hamilton Purnell was born in 1859, he was only 4 years old when his mother died on the 20th June 1863, she was only 39. Shortly after Martha's death her three youngest children traveled to England and were adopted by Martha's brother Edward and his wife Elizabeth who were childless.
Felicia, Kate and Joseph all took the name of Brotherton as their surname.
When Martha's husband James died in 1875 the following obituary was in the local newspaper -"Death of a Prominent Citizen, Mr. James Purnell, a well known merchant of this city, at 321 Hampshire street, died last evening of pneumonia, aged 55 years. Mr. Purnell enjoyed a large business and social acquaintance in this city and county, and his many friends will regret his death. He came to Quincy over thirty years ago, and has been in active commercial life ever since. He leaves one son here, and two daughters and a son in England."
CONCLUSION
Martha's character and that of her family was defamed because she had the courage to follow her conscience and to refuse Brigham Young's proposal. Polygamy maybe okay if it is practiced with the knowledge and agreement of all participating partners, but not when a young girl is made to feel coerced or when the first wife has no knowledge. At the time of Martha's proposition Joseph Smith already had at least 6 plural wives, this without Emma Smith's knowledge or permission. Whilst he was secretly proposing to and marrying these women, some of whom where already married to lawful husbands,in public he was continually denying that 'Plural wifery' was occurring and insisting that a man should have but one lawful wife.
The editors of the Latter Day Saints' Millennial Star were still insisting that there was nothing remotely similar to polygamy, plural marriage, spiritual wifery, or the patriarchal order of marriage being practiced in the LDS Church, nor among its leaders, nor within its priesthood, as late as its issue for Jan. 15, 1850.
Martha was made out to be a liar, but a few months later in June of 1842 Brigham Young was married to 20 year old Lucy Anne Decker and he eventually ended up having an estimated 55 wives. Apparently in 1870 after hearing about Martha's death he decided to have her sealed to him for eternity in the Temple, I am not sure that Martha would have been so happy about this but maybe Brigham felt bad about the way that she had been and felt to make it good in this way.
I also think that because John C Bennett decided to use Martha's story in his Expose of Mormonism and probably also exaggerated on her story by saying that she was locked up in a room in the red brick store for a few days instead of a few hours, that many people even now don't believe her story and think that John C Bennett put her up to tell the story.
Just recently I heard an acclaimed Church Historian say that Brigham Young only chose women that he was acquainted with to be his wife and that would rule out Martha Brotherton because she was just an emigrant girl. As I have shown this was not the case, Brigham was well acquainted with Martha and her family from his Mission in Manchester and he had already paid several visits to her family in the intervening 3 weeks since their arrival in the States. I think that Brigham Young had just recently heard from Joseph Smith about 'the new and everlasting covenant of plural marriage ' and that he had given Brigham the assignment to find a plural wife. Knowing that the Brotherton family were due to arrive from England and that they were a respectable and intelligent family with financial means and that Thomas had the knowledge The and means to set up his own Silk manufacturing business, and that he had a young, beautiful and vivacious daughter, that he set his mind to approaching and asking Martha. Unfortunately for him, things didn't turn out as planned, maybe he would have had more success if he had tried out his luck with Martha's older sister Elizabeth who later became Parley P Pratt's polygamous wife.
Even though Martha died young she was able to marry the man of her own choice and she didn't have to share him with many other wives, she was blessed with 5 children who all did well for themselves and she was the only one of her family to leave a large posterity.
Through her courage in telling the truth she influenced not only her immediate family, her cousins, who also returned to Manchester but also many more members and potential members who choose to believe her words instead of the lies which were spread about her.
Even now more than 175 years later her story has touched my life and altered my belief in the church in which I have grown up in.
(1) - Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet by John G. Turner
(2) - Elizabeth Brotherton Pratt biography- from the Jared Pratt Family Association
(3) - Millennial Star Vol 2 pg 37
(4) - The Tyrian and its Mormon Passengers by Paul B. Pixton
(5) - Ditto
(6) - Ditto
(7) - Millennial Star Vol 2 pg 156
(8) - Affidavit of Martha Brotherton
(9) - Millennial Star Vol 3 (August 1842) pg 73-74
(10) - Millennial Star
(11) - History of the Saints by John Bennett pg 236
(12) - McIlwrick's Affidavit
(13) - The Pittsburgh Morning Chronicle 26th July 1842
(14) - Elizabeth Brotherton Pratt biography- from the Jared Pratt Family Association
(15) - Millennial Star
(16) - Mormonism; It's Rise and Progress and the Prophet Joseph Smith by Edward Brotherton
(17) - Wikepedia - Edward Brotherton
Saturday, 5 October 2019
Sunday, 21 July 2019
DNA and Missing Fathers
Jacqui planted in me a love for herbs and old things and she has taught me how to make quilts and rag rugs and even took me to a Victorian rubbish dump to dig for old bottles and pots, great fun.
When I was 17 and visiting my elder sister Denise in California, she suddenly out of the blue asked me whether I knew that Jacqui was our half sister and not our aunt. I was flabbergasted as I couldn't imagine my Mum ever having made a mistake in her teenage years. A year later my Mum told me herself, when I told her that I already knew she asked me whether I was disappointed in her, I said "no, Mum, it made me love you more".
Mum was a young teenager during the 2nd World War and lived in the city of Kingston upon Hull, because It was an important port on the eastern seaboard the city was often bombed but it also had a lot of Merchant Navy men coming in and out of the port.
During this time Mum met and fell in love with a young handsome American Merchant Seaman called Wayne Frederick Webber.
Times of war are fraught with worry and the uncertainty of whether you will survive, Wayne departed from Hull on the S.S. Victor Herbert and my Mum discovered shortly afterwards that she was pregnant, she was 17 years old.
After telling her mother, I believe that my Grandfather was serving in the army in India at the time, my Nana went with her to the U.S. Naval headquarters in Hull. Unfortunately they were not received very kindly there and my Mum was asked whether she was sure that the baby was from Wayne Frederick Webber, they also refused to give her any contact details.
Thankfully my Grandparents decided to officially adopt the baby themselves, my Mum was sent off to my Nana's step sister in Bridlington to avoid any gossip in the neighbourhood and when her time of delivery arrived she traveled to a nursing home in Grantham for unwed mothers. Jacqueline Wayne Orwin was born on the 16th September 1944, she was given her Father's name as a middle name.
Jacqui discovered that she was adopted when she was a young teenager, she was very upset with this discovery but when she learnt that her favourite sister whom she called Dodo was her Mum then she was a lot happier though obviously she always wondered about her biological father and who he was.
Mum was able to tell her his name and that he sailed on the SS Victor Herbert, she thought that he was from Wisconsin and he had also mentioned to her once that he was an orphan and that he lived with a foster family, Mum also had a small photo of him which she was able to give to Jacqui.
About 10 years ago I started searching on Ancestry.com to see whether I could maybe find Jacqui 's father for her. I found several possibilities and two who fitted the match the closest, they were both born in 1923, one was from Wisconsin and the other was from Indiana and on the 1931 census it showed him as being a foster child.
At the time my younger sister Kim who lives in the U.S.A. decided to try and get in touch with both of these possibilities, but unfortunately without success.
Several months ago I decided to have another search and discovered that the Wayne Frederick Webber who lived in Wisconsin had died last year and that there was a photo of him. I immediately started comparing the photo with the small photo in our possession but Kim thought that his hairline was different, she decided to search on Facebook for a Wayne Frederick Webber and discovered that the Wayne who lived in Indiana was still alive and had recently joined Facebook. By looking through his photos she was able to find a photo of him from when he attended a Veterans Day Event, he was holding a photo of himself as a young man and even though our photo is very unclear he had the same wavy dark hair and the same hairline. Kim was so sure, and always the impulsive one, she decided to try and phone him straight away.
After a friendly introduction she asked him whether he had been in the Merchant Navy and had sailed on the SS Victor Herbert and whether he had ever been in Hull, he said that he had. She then asked him the golden question, whether he remembered a young girl called Doreen Orwin, he was quiet for a few seconds and then he said that yes he did remember a Doreen Orwin. As you can imagine it was a very emotional telephone conversation and even though I live at the other side of the world I was able to listen in on the conversation. Wayne told us several things about his romance with my Mum and that he remembered her running along the harbour to wave goodbye to him, he was also able to speak with my Mum on the telephone.
The next morning we rang Jacqui to tell her that we had found her father, and since then she has also been able to talk with him via Facetime and has also gained a brother and a sister by.
To make sure that we definitely had the right father for Jacqui, Wayne is 96 and my Mum is 92 and has dementia, we decided that it would be a good idea if both Jacqui and Wayne's son do a DNA test. Several weeks ago the results came back and they are half siblings from each other, after 74 years Jacqui has found her missing father and now has a connection with all her family on that side of her family tree.
A little extra bonus of Jacqui doing her DNA test was that I was able to find another missing father! My great, great Grandmother Emma Young was also born out of wedlock and there is no mention of her father on her birth certificate, she was born in Thorne Union Workhouse in 1839 and she was also brought up by her grandparents. After doing a DNA test Ancestry shows you your Thru Lines and potential ancestors, I have already found most of my direct ancestors going back 5 generations but obviously had no way of finding out who Emma's father was until Thru Lines showed me the name of Samuel Lister as being a potential ancestor. I did some research on Samuel Lister and discovered that he and his wife were the Master and Matron of Thorne Union Workhouse! Another missing father revealed through DNA testing.
Saturday, 6 July 2019
Jean De La Coste and the Mug-house Riots
My last few blogs have been about Leen Arie's Huguenot ancestors, as I mentioned in my blog of June 2018, his 8th great grandfather Ludovicus De La Coste and his family were forced to flee the safe city of La Rochelle in the Autumn of 1684. They arrived at first in Rotterdam and resided for a time in Dordrecht, Ludovicus remained in Holland and became a vicar in the Protestant church. His parents eventually travelled further to Geneva in Switzerland and his two sisters to London.
His brother Jean studied Medicine at the University of Utrecht and after his graduation also moved to London where he married Maria Suzanne Assaily.
The father of Jean and Ludovicus died in London in April 1706 and left his son Ludovicus 500 pounds sterling and Jean 120 pounds sterling and an annuity of 24 pounds.
Jean's name became anglicised to John, and he became a practicing physician in London, he and his wife had seven children.
Up until now I hadn't been able to find out anything more about Jean, until today when I was checking out the wonderful website www.londonlives.org . This website contains among many other things accounts of criminal trials at the Old Bailey, and it was at one of these criminal trials on the 6th of September 1716 that Dr. John De La Coste appeared as a witness, and it had to do with the Mug-House Riots.
To be honest I had never heard of the Mug-House Riots before today, but Google is a wonderful searching tool in order to learn new things.
First of all a Mug House was a gathering place of Hanoverian supporters, a sort of Ale house were everyone brought their own mug and met together to discuss politics and sing songs.
Queen Anne had recently passed away without an heir, so in order to ensure a Protestant Monarch, George the Electorate of Hannover, who had a slight claim to the throne, was invited to come over and become King George I. Anne's deposed father James had a son by his second marriage who had a much stronger claim to the throne, but he was Catholic, so his claim was passed over even though he had many supporters, the Jacobites.
During 1716 there were many skirmishes between the Jacobites and the Hanoverian supporters, these were called Mug-house riots. On the 24 July 1716 there was a "mug-house" riot in Salisbury Court, when Hanoverian whig loyalists celebrating an anniversary at Robert Read's alehouse were attacked by a Jacobite mob. With his life and his property at the mercy of the rioters, Robert Read opened fire with a blunderbuss and Daniel Vaughan was killed. Read was tried for murder at the Old Bailey and there was conflicting evidence about the role of Daniel Vaughan in the riot. Some witnesses claimed he did not have a stick in his hand, while others testified that he led the mob, and that they called him Vinegar or Little Daniel. Read was acquitted.
It was at this trial that Dr John De La Coste gave evidence, having been in the Mug-house at the time of the attack. Here follows is his statement -
"Dr. John De la Caste deposed, that he went with three Gentlemen through the Mob into the Mug-house that Tuesday about eleven a Clock in the Forenoon, and they followed him almost to the Door. When he saw Mr. Read the Prisoner, he asked him what Provision was in the House for a Defence; and finding none, he wrote a Letter to the Lord Townsend, to inform his Lordship of their Danger, and blamed the Prisoner for not doing so before; and by and by he heard a small Gun go off, which he thought was a Warning-gun for the Mob to fall on; for immediately after they did so with great Fury; and he, being above Stairs with some other Gentlemen, they got out at a Window behind the House; and the Sexton of the Church had the Cruelty to turn a Mastiss loose upon them; but they drew their Swords and told him, they were on the Defence of their Lives, and if he did not call him off, they might be under a necessity of killing the Dog and him too; upon which he called him off: and about a quarter or half an Hour after, he heard the Gun go off which he believ'd kill'd the Man.
Then Dr. De le Coste said he had something more that was material to offer, and standing up, depos'd, That he heard too some of the Mob say, the Duke of Ormond, and some the Duke of Berwick, was landed with 20000 Men. That the Friday-Night before he was Chairman at the same Mug-house; and he received Information, that the Mob threatned to pull it down that Night; and fearing he should want Assistance, he sent a Messenger to the Loyal Society in Tavistock-street , desiring their Company and Assistance if Need should be, on that Occasion, who came very readily and disperst the Mob, so that no Mischief was done that Night; but a few of them went by with a Harp and Fiddle, playing The King shall enjoy his own again. Then the Court told him, that since he said he had been Chairman of that Mug-house; he would do well now he was upon his Oath to give an Account of their Orders and Behaviour. Upon which he told him, That about 8 a Clock at Night the President generally enters the Chair, and after profound Silence is made, they always begin a hearty Mug to the Health and Prosperity of His Most Sacred Majesty King GEORGE; some time after that another to their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales and their Issue, and all the Royal Family; a third to the Glorious and Immortal Memory of the late King William, and seldom or never miss a fourth to the Prosperity of the Church of England, sometimes with a supplement, as wishing she may never want Power nor Inclination to protect and encourage all Protestants, and sometimes without; for the rest, if any are inclined to stay longer, they fill up the Time with other Loyal Healths of lesser Note, as the Chairman or President shall think proper; but never to the Confusion or Damnation of any Person or Thing, as the Enemies to the Government and theirs have falsly given out."
I can fully understand that after all the persecution that John and his family underwent in France under a Catholic Monarch, that he enthusiastically supported a Protestant Monarch.
Friday, 21 June 2019
The Extermination of the Vaudois of Waldensians
On Google Books which recounts the terrible persecution of the Vaudois in the Lumeron region in the mid 16th century. Many of the towns and villages are familiar to me after visiting the area, the last excerpt is about La Coste the small hill top town which I believe that Leen Arie's ancestors came from. Did they survive these atrociaties and then decide to move to the safe city of La Rochelle?
Here follows the excerpt.
Monsieur de Thou's History of His Own Time Volume I - Jacques Auguste de Thou 1729
The Vaudois as they are called were a people, who about three hundred years since hired a rocky and uncultivated part of the Country of the owners, and had, by dint of Pains and constant tillage, rendered it productive of fruits and fit for cattle; that they were extremely patient of labour and want; abhorring all contentions; kind to the poor; that they paid the Prince's Taxes, and their Lords Dues with the greatest exactness and fidelity; that they kept up a show of Divine Worship by daily prayers and innocence of manners; but seldom came to the Churches of the Saints, unless by chance when they went to the neighboring Towns for traffic or other business ; and whenever they set their feet in them , they paid no adoration to the statues of God or the Saints, nor brought them any tapers or other presents; nor ever intreated the Priests to say mass for them, or the souls of their relations; nor crossed their forehead, as is the manner of others; that when it thundered they never sprinkled themselves with Holy Water, but lifting up their eyes to Heaven implored the assistant of God; that they never made religious pilgrimages, nor uncovered their heads in the public ways before the Crucifixes; that they performed their Worship in a strange manner, and in the vulgar tongue; and lastly, paid no honour to the Pope or the Bishops, but esteemed some select persons of their own number as Priests and Doctors.
When this report was made to King Francis, on the eighth day of February, he dispatched an Arret to the Parliament of Aix, wherein having pardoned all past crimes, he allowed the Vaudois the space of three months, within which time they were required publicly to revoke their Opinion:
And that it might be known, who they were, that they were willing to reap the benefit of the Amnesty, it was ordered that chosen persons out of the towns and villages should appear at Aix in the name of the rest of the multitude, and publicly abjure their error: If they persisted in it, the Parliament were empowered and commanded to punish them after the example of former ages, and if need were, to call in the Military Officers to their aid. The Arret being read in the Senate, Francis Chai and William Armand came to Aix in the name of the Merindolian Commonality, and offered a Petition to the Parliament, that the Cause might be reheard, and examined by a Disputation of Divines; for that it was unjust, that, before they were convicted, they should confess themselves heretics, or be condemned unheard. La Chassagne, in whose breast his friend's advice had made a deep impression, calling aside the Deputies in the presence of the King's Advocates, admonished them to acknowledge their error, and not by their excessive obstinacy lay the Judges under a necessity of dealing with them more harshly, .......
When things were in readiness and he had under severe penalties summoned all those, who were capable of bearing Arms at Aix, Marseilles, Arles and other populous towns, to come into the field; and when six companies of Foot, with a squadron of horse commanded by Poulain, and other auxiliary troops from Piedmont and Avignon were already assembled; the Royal letters, which had been hitherto suppressed, were read in Parliament : Whereupon the Senators on the 12th day of April decreed the Execution of the sentence passed upon the Merindolians; and the business was committed to the President Francis de la Fons, with the Councilors Honore de Tributus and Bernard de Badet, to whom was joined Nicholas Guerin Kings Advocate, the Principle Incendiary of the War D'Oppede the day following, accompanied by a great body of nobles, repaired to the army at Cadenet, bringing with him four hundred pioneers. The first attack was made upon the country adjoining the town of Pertuis; the villages of Pupin, La Mote and St. Martin near the Durance were taken, pillaged and set on fire. On the following day the little towns of Ville-Laure, Lourmarin, Trezemines and La Roque, from whence the multitude had fled were cruelly burnt and all the cattle driven away. Then D'Oppede consulted about attacking Merindol; but when the townsmen saw the country around them in flames , in order to prevent the danger, they fled into the neighboring woods with their wives and children; which made a most lamentable spectacle, whilst in those by-ways were to be seen marching old men mixed with boys and women carrying their crying infants in cradles, or in their arms or laps. They rested the first night at Sansalaife, where also the inhabitants were preparing all things for a flight, because they knew, that the Bishop of Carvallion the Pope's Legate had ordered his men to massacre them. The next day they advanced further under the security of the thick woods, full of fears from every other quarter: for D'Oppede had outlawed the Vaudois and had ordered under pain of death that none should give them any relief, .......
Thence the town La Coste, the Lord of which place having pacified his ..... for their safety, provided they carry their Arms in .....
broke down their walls in four places, the credulous people did as they were commanded; notwithstanding which, on the arrival of D'Oppede, the suburbs being burnt and the town taken, all that were found left in the place were murdered to a man: The women, who to avoid the first fury of the soldiers, had retired into a garden near the castle, were deflowered, and after the rage of lust was extinguished, handled in so cruel a manner, that most of those which were with child, and even the virgins, died either of grief or by hunger and torments. The men, who sheltered themselves at Murs, being at length discovered, underwent the same fate with the others: The remains of them, wandering here and there among the woods and solitary mountains, led a wretched life, deprived of both wives and children; some few escaped, partly to Geneva and partly to the Swiss Cantons.
In all there are twenty two villages reckoned, which were punished with the last severity by D'Oppede; by whose authority judges were again selected, to make enquiry after the heretics; and these condemned the rest of those poor wretches either to the gallies, or to the payment of excessive fines.
A step back in time
Visiting the places were our ancestors lived is a great help in family history work as it gives you a first hand feel to the geography and setting of the places which you can't get from a map.
Our first campsite in Provence was close to a small town called Curcuron, which lies at the southern foothills of the Luberon mountains. On our first day, after visiting the lovely little town of Curcuron in the morning we headed off to the slightly larger town of Lourmarin were there was a road which took us through a ravine inbetween the Petit and Grand Luberon. After arriving in the beautiful town of Bonnieux, situated on top of a hill we descended into a valley filled with winegards and cherry orchards. A short distance from Bonnieux is another, smaller hill top town topped by a castle ruin, this is La Coste.
Not far from La Coste there is an old Roman bridge the Pont Julien, this bridge was built in 300 BC, it was built on the Via Domitia , an important Roman road which connected Italy to the Roman territories in France. I am sure that Leen Arie's ancestors must have crossed this bridge many times.
Whilst visiting a church in the lovely Ochre coloured town of Roussillon I talked to a young man who told me that there was indeed a large population of Protestants in the towns and villages of the Luberon and that they were originally Vaudois or Waldensians.
Vaudois or Waldenses were the common names of a Christian reform movement, initially based out of Lyon in the 1170s. Peter Waldo or Valdo, a prosperous Lyonnais merchant, sold his belongings and began preaching the benefits of a focus on core Christian beliefs. The foundation for this association was a return to a lifestyle of simplistic needs and devotion to God as outlined in the Gospel of the New Testament.
The Vaudois gained advocates in Provence, in an era that coincided with the rise of the Catholic Church’s power in France. Threatened – the Catholic Church declared the Vaudois heretics in 1215. Between 1309 and 1378, there were seven powerful Catholic Popes residing in Avignon, this Vaudois reform movement was at best an annoyance.
Tensions rose between the two spiritual tangents driving the Vaudois to veil their activities and seek cover in fortified towns of the Luberon valley. On November 18th 1540, the influential Parliament of Provence located in Aix-en-Provence issued the “Arrêt de Mérindol” (Stop Mérindol). Despite numerous appeals King Francis I confirmed the judgment in 1545, and in April of that same year the Vaudois were attacked.
The aggressive incursions were led by Baron Jean Maynier d’Oppède (President of the parliament of Provence) and Antoine Escalin des Aimars (military commander). At least 23 villages were reduced to rubble; deliberate fires engulfed homes, and lives were shredded as callous troops ravaged everything in their path. A senseless slaughter, it is believed that thousands of Vaudois died, and any survivors were tortured by horrific means.
In my following Blog I want to copy some pages from an old book that I found on Google Books - Monsieur de Thou's History of His Own Time which describes the terrible persecutions that the Vaudois suffered, also those living in La Coste.
In 1570 La Rochelle became one of four cities designated as Protestant strongholds in France, after so many troubles in the Provence area the De La Coste family probably decided around this time to move to the safety of this city, a distance of about 800km.
Wednesday, 1 May 2019
Huguenots and Provence
I have just finished reading a book by Tracy Chevalier, author of the Girl with a Pearl Earring. This book is called The Virgin Blue and is set in France, it is the story of Ella Turner or Tournier who moves to France with her husband's work and during her time there begins to research her Tounier ancestors who turn out to be Huguenots who fled their homeland after the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of August 1572 which began after the wedding ceremony of the Catholic King's sister Margaret to the Protestant Henry III of Navarre. The massacre began in Paris but spread to other areas of France, it is estimated that about 30,000 Protestants were murdered at this time because of their beliefs and many decided to flee to Geneva in Switzerland or eventually to one of the safe cities like La Rochelle.
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| St. Bartholomew Day massacre |
As I mentioned in a previous blog of June 2018, some of Leen Arie's ancestors were Huguenots who lived in the 17th century in La Rochelle and were refugees to Holland in 1684 after it became impossible for them to remain Protestant in an intolerant country.
Leen Arie's 8th great grandfather Louis De La Coste was 10 years old when he and his family fled to Holland, later he became a well respected Minister of religion in Dordrecht and in 1717 he decided to write a short history of his family and were they all ended up living after their evacuation from France.
At the beginning of his history he mentions that he often heard his father say that their ancestors were originally from Provence in the South of France and that because of persecution for their beliefs they were forced to flee and ended up in the city of La Rochelle. He then goes on to record that his great grandparents Michel De La Coste and Marie Papin were witnesses at the marriage of their son Jean in 1624 and that Michel was a merchant and burger of La Rochelle.
It is very probable that Michel or his parents fled Provence in the late 1570's after the St. Bartholomew Day massacre.
Last year we visited La Rochelle and the Isle de Re and this year we are planning on spending our holiday in Provence. Whilst studying the map of the area around Aix au Provence I discovered a small town called La Coste, situated in the Luberon area of Provence. Could this be were Leen Arie's ancestors originally came from? The prefix 'De' in French means 'of' so the name means Michel 'of' La Coste. Interestingly I have read on internet that alot of Huguenots lived in the Luberon area and the coat of arms of the town of La Coste has a Huguenot cross on it. We will definitely be paying a visit to this place and I will keep you informed.
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| Coat of Arms of La Coste Provence |
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| La Coste Provence |
Thursday, 7 March 2019
Brickwalls and Printers
A brickwall in genealogical terms is when you frustratingly can't get any further with a certain line. I have been able to trace my paternal Strickland/Stickland line back to the 1600's but with my maternal Orwin line I have become stuck with Robert Orwin who was married in 1825 in London, I believe that he was born around 1796 but because he died just before the 1851 census was taken, which would have told me where he was born I am still not sure where he came from. This is my brickwall.
The Orwin name is dominant in the Sunderland, Newcastle area and I have found a Robert Orwin who was born around that time, did he move down to London to find work as so many did in the 1800's? There are also Orwins in the Chesterfield area and also some Orwins in London.
The name of Orwin can also be misspelled as Urwin, Unwin or Onwin so this makes it even more complicated
My Robert Orwin was a Miller as was his wife's family Sarah Freeman of Frindsbury, Kent. I have found an Orwin/Unwin family living in Frindsbury and one of their children was called Robert, but he died shortly after his birth. Maybe this family had another child called Robert who was born a few years later? I have been unable to find any record up to now but sometimes the parish registers are quite illegible.
Another clue is that a sister of Sarah Freeman, Hester Duly nee Freeman, named one of her children William Orwin Duly, and this was before Sarah married Robert. Who did she name him after? and where the Freeman and Orwin families already connected ?
I have recently ruled out the Robert Orwin who was born in Northumberland as I have found him and his wife and children on the 1841 census, still living in the Northumberland area.
As I mentioned I have my Robert Orwin's marriage record to Sarah Freeman in 1825 in Stepney, London, also the baptism of two of their children in Bermondsey named Sarah and Robert, also an article in the local newspaper about Robert's bankruptcy tells me that he was a Miller living on Tooley Street in Bermondsey.
Their third child Eliza was baptised in Chatham, Kent and then they moved to Bristol, Gloucestershire, a distance of about 160 miles were their fourth child William was born. Their fifth child Charles was born in Chippenham, Wiltshire.
Shortly after the birth of Charles the family moved up to Hull, East Yorkshire a distance of 245 miles! Here their sixth and youngest child Maria was born.
Robert worked in one of the many windmills located at that time in Hull, but unfortunately died at the young age of 57 in 1849 of tuberculosis.
His wife and children continued to live in Hull and his eldest son Robert my 2nd great grandfather also became a miller.
I would love to find a definite clue to point me in the right direction of were Robert came from so that I can then trace the Orwin line further back.
Just recently I discovered a Thomas Orwin who was a printer in London in the 16th century, his device was "By Wisdom Peace, By Peace Plenty"
After his death his widow continued his work in the printing shop for several years and printed many books during the rest of her life, a real emancipated woman!
My brother John was a printer for many years so it would be nice if we could link up to this Orwin printing family in some way, maybe it is in our blood.
Friday, 1 February 2019
Last Will and Testament of William Frederick Tozer
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| Death announcement in local newspaper |
Testament of William Frederick Tozer
This is the last Will and Testament of me William Frederick Tozer of Wellingborough in the county of Northamptonshire. Plumber, Painter and Glazier.
I appoint my dear wife Eliza Loman Tozer and my brother Edwin James Tozer of the town of Northampton, Plumber, Painter and glazier, Executers and trustees of this my Will. I bequeath unto my said wife Eliza Loman Tozer absolutely all my household goods, furniture and implements of household books, plate, linen, china, glass and consumable stores and all my wearing apparel, watches and trinkets. I also bequeath to my said wife absolutely the legacy or sum of Twenty five pounds to be paid to her as soon as conveniently may be after my decease. I devise and bequeath all my real estate (if any) whatsoever and wheresoever (except estates vested in me as a trustee or mortgagee) and all my stock and implements or utensils in trade, books and other debts and policies of Assurance on my life and all the residue of my goods, chattels, effects and personal estate unto and to the use of the said Eliza Loman Tozer and Edwin James Tozer their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns according to the natures and qualities thereof respectively. Upon trust as soon as convieniently may be after my decease to sell, dispose of and convert into money all such parts thereof as are in their nature saleable and to collect and get in the residue thereof. And I direct that my trustees or trustee for the time being shall stand possessed of all the moneys to arrive from or be produced by the sales, disposistion, convertion and getting in of my real and residuary personal estates, upon trust in the first place to pay and discharge thereout all my funeral and testamentary expences and just debts and all costs and expences incident to the execution of the trusts of this my Will and also the pecuriary legacy hereinbeforen bequeathed to my said wife. And upon trust in the next place to lay out and invest the residue of the said trust moneys in their, her or his own names or name in the Parlimentary Stocks or funds of Great Britain or at interest upon Goverment or real or any personal security or securities in England and from time to time at their, her or his discretion to alter, vary and transfer the same moneys or any part thereof for into or upon any other stocks, funds or securities of a like nature as often as they, she or he shall think fit and to pay the annual income of the said trust money unto my said wife Eliza Loman Tozer during her life if she shall so long remain my widow. And from and immediately after the decease or second marriage (whichever shall first happen) of my said wife, then upon trust and I do hereby declare that my trustees or trustee for the time being shall stand possessed of all the said trust moneys and the annual income thereof, In trust for my three children William Henry Tozer, Frederick Tozer and Rosa Tozer and such other ( if any) children or child of mine who shall be living at the time of the decease or second marriage (whichsoever shall first happen) of my said wife and who being a son or sons shall attain the age twenty one years or being a daughter or daughters shall attain that age or marry and the issue then living and who shall then have attained or shall thereafter attain the age of twenty one years of such (if any) of my said children as shall be then dead, leaving issue, such children and issue ( if more than one) to take in equal shares as tenants in common but so that the issue of any deceased child shall take by
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