Pioneer Profile: Hannah Chapman, Part II

When we left our story of Hannah Chapman, she had boarded the ship, Enoch Train, bound for Boston, Massachutsetts on March 23, 1856.  Hannah was 43 years old, widowed twice, and had two children die in infancy.  She planned to bring five of her children with her to America - Ann Chester (20), William Chester (14), Richard Brooks Goodworth (10), Joseph Goodworth (9), and Frederick (6).  William did not end up coming to America with his mother.  Accounts of how this went down may be different, but all of them agree that it wasn't part of Hannah's plan to leave William behind in England with his grandparents.

After a 39-day voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, Hannah and her children spent 11 days on a train to Iowa City where they were outfitted with handcarts to pull for 103 days across the plains.  She was part of the Edmund Ellsworth Company coming into the Salt Lake Valley.  I was somewhat comforted to read that the Ellsworth Company included the Birmingham Brass Band, which would have made for some fun nights around the campfire (let's hope they had a large repertoire, otherwise I feel sorry for the pioneers).  Not so comforting is that each traveler was allowed 17 lbs. of luggage.  Also the walking and walking and walking.  The Ellsworth Company made it safely, quickly, and effeciently to the Salt Lake Valley on September 26, 1856, where President Brigham Young treated them to a melon party.  (I'm guessing that's the pioneer equivalent of a pizza party.)  I love this quote from the narrative (linked above):

"Sixteen persons had died. Some had questioned the ability of women and children to travel by handcart. Numerous children walked the whole way and Ellsworth said that women withstood the rigors of the trail better than men of comparable age."  Never underestimate the women. :)

Hannah Chapman Chester Goodworth had made it to Zion.  We don't know exactly where she ended up for the next  few years, but we can assume she was there to see her daughter Ann marry Benjamin Ashby on October 25, 1857.  All three of the sons Hannah brought with her were living with other people in the 1860 Utah census.  In order to pay back the Perpetual Emigration Fund, Hannah got a job as a housekeeper for Adolphus Babcock, a widower with several children living in Spanish Fork, Utah.  Hannah gave birth to a baby girl, Hannah Alice Babcock, on April 8, 1858.  A little more than a month after Hannah Alice was born, Adolphus Babcock married Hannah Chapman.

Perhaps obviously, Adolphus and Hannah were separated soon after the marriage.  I can imagine that this was a very difficult time for Hannah.  At 45 years old, she was a mother again and she was alone again.  If this was me (and it wouldn't be - after reading many pioneer histories lately, I'd be the one high-tailing it back to England), I would feel pretty picked on at this point.  One of Hannah's great-granddaughters remembers hearing her grandmother talk about how Hannah wasn't even allowed to buy fabric (?!) to make clothes for little Hannah Alice.  I'm sure that is one of the least of the indignities that Hannah suffered at this time in her life.

We have no record of Hannah until 1865 when she was sealed to Charles Jeremiah Raymond of Bountiful, Utah, in the endowment house in Salt Lake City (pictured above).  (Hannah's son, Frederick, lived in Bountiful.  She most likely met Charles while visiting Frederick.)  Hannah and Charles moved to the Bear Lake Valley on the Idaho side, with Frederick Goodworth and Charles's son, Albert.  In a personal letter, Hannah relates that this was the happiest she had ever been.  Boy!  Did she deserve to be happy!  Of course there was more sorrow on the horizon, but we'll leave Hannah happy for this week.