The Bacon Family Gone Before

Thursday, November 30, 2023

William Bacon and Elizabeth Ashley Family

The Family History of William Bacon and Elizabeth Ashley

William Bacon Sr. was born in Tapton, a, village on the outskirts of Chesterfield, England. He was christened in the parish church December 1803, son of Joseph Bacon and Ann Middleton, the second of six children. At the age of twenty-five he married Elizabeth Ashley who was 28. Betty, as she was then called, grew up in nearby Scarcliff about eight miles west of Chesterfield. After marrying, William and Elizabeth began a home in Tapton where William had grown up. The two raised a family of five children. Two others died at the young age.

Tapton Town. Photo found on OldMiners.co.uk website

Their first baby they named William after his father. He is our ancestor. At the birth of young William his father's occupation was listed simply as laborer. This was also his job description two years later when a second boy, John, was born. A year later they were blessed with a baby girl who they named Mary Am. This time William had begun work as a gardener, an occupation that his namesake, William Jr. took up in Kaysville, Utah, years later. He maintained this employment during the following years when three more children were born to Elizabeth. A third baby son, George, was born 2 ½ years after Mary Ann but died a short three weeks later. A little over a year later Harriet was born but she only lived eighteen months. Their last child, Emily, was born in 1841 when their mother was 40 years old.

Newbold Dunston just north of Chesterfield. Tapton is to the northeast.

Newbold Cottage c1900

Sometime after the death of their toddler, Harriet, and before Emily’s birth William and Elizabeth moved to the neighboring village of Newbold. William was no longer working as a gardener. Economic conditions of the time were poor for the agricultural community, forcing William to once again seek employment as a general laborer. He was probably hired out to do a variety of tasks, whatever would support his young family. The first English national census was conducted in 1841. That summer the family of seven was listed as living in what was known as the Wharf Furnace section of town. It included William and Elizabeth both about 35 years old, young William age 12, John age 10, Mary age 8, George age 6 and Emily 3 months.

Before the next ten year census big changes took place in the household of William and Elizabeth. Their oldest son, William Jr. listened to the Mormon missionaries and was baptized into the upstart religion at the age of eighteen. This event took place in December of 1847, shortly after the Mormons in the States began their westward exodus to what was to become Utah. Within a year mother, Elizabeth, and two more children, John, 17, and Mary Ann, 15, had joined the church. Shortly after Emily was baptized at 10 years old. Now all the family members except the father, William, had accepted the new and much ridiculed new religion.

By 1851 the railroad had been built. William was now employed as a railroad laborer. The country was rapidly become industrialized. Cities like Chesterfield were growing as factories produced more and more goods and employment opportunities continued to expand. No longer was Chesterfield primarily a market town with a main purpose to sell agricultural crops and animals.

The next census in 1861 indicates that more changes had occurred. The second and third children, John and Mary Ann, had married and moved out of the house. To partially fill the gap, however, their oldest grandchild, William Jr.'s daughter, Harriet, had at age 10 moved in with her grandparents. Perhaps she assisted Elizabeth who was then 60 years old in the housework. Harriet was also kept company by her Aunt Emily and Uncle George who still lived at home. George was 26 and was employed working in the coal mines while Emily was just 20 with no occupation listed although it is logical to assume that she, too, assisted in the household income. William Sr. was now working, at least for a time, as an agricultural laborer, similar to his original occupation of gardener. He may have helped in planting or harvesting crops or other related activities.

Low ceiling in English colliery or coal mine.

We don't know whether the father, William, was antagonistic or apathetic towards the Mormons, but there is no record that he ever accepted the faith. William Jr., John and their Mother were all rebaptized in 1857, a situation that often happened during that time period to renew the faith and commitment of an individual. Chesterfield Branch records, however, show that Elizabeth was eventually cut off from membership at age 67. It is easy to imagine that persecution from within the mostly Anglican neighborhood in addition to possible conflict within the family unit caused by a nonmember spouse may have contributed to inactivity. We wish we had the written testimonies of those involved to help us understand the climate of the time.

All five children who survived childhood married and continued to live close to William and Elizabeth which must have been a comfort in their later years. William Jr. was a brickmaker and gardener. He married Mahala Eliza King, also a member of the church and later emigrated with most of his family to Kaysville, Utah. He was ordained a Teacher a year after his baptism. John worked as an ironstone laborer. He married Hannah Coates who had also joined the church. He was later ordained a Deacon. Mary Ann apparently lived with her parents until she was 23 years old when she married William Shipley, a painter. He, also, became a member of the Mormon faith. George stayed home the longest, living in Wharf Newbold until the age of 29 when he married Mary Jane Jessop. He may have sided with his father in religious matters as there is no record of him in the Chesterfield Branch records. The youngest child, Emily, married at the youngest age. She was 21 when she married Anthony Thacker, a tailor. Both she and Anthony were living in Clay Cross at the time of their marriage, indicating that Emily was on her own by this time.

Unidentified Plate-layers Gang. c1905

Elizabeth (Betty) died at age 70 in 1870. After her death William lived with his daughter Mary Ann and son-in_law William Stapley as shown by the 1871 census. His death in 1873 was witnessed by Mary Ann, verifying that he died in her home on St. Helen Street in Chesterfield of gangrene senilis. As listed on his death certificate he was once again employed by the railroad, specifically as a platslayer. He lived three years after Elizabeth apparently continuing to work actively to contribute to his daughter's family income. At his death his posterity and that of his wife included five families to mourn and remember them:

William and Mahala Eliza Bacon with children Sarah, Emily, Arthur, Rose and Lucy

John and Hannah Bacon with daughter Elizabeth

Mary Ann and William Shipley with children William, Henrietta, and Mary

George and Mary Jane Bacon

Emily and Anthony Thacker with children Agnes, Alfred, William and Anthony

Sources:
By Phil Sangwell (Class 37 at Tapton Jct Uploaded by oxyman) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Platelayer often misplelled as plateslayer: a workman who lays and repairs railroad tracks
Photo: http://www.pottostation.co.uk/photos.html

Wharf Furnace was a section of town named for the Iron Works in Newbold where a blast furnace was built supposedly along the canal wharf.

Ironstone laborer probably shoveled ironstone. "It's soul destroying, back breaking, low paid and just plain bloody horrible!" Usually a younger man's work as, it is hoped, a more mature man would have worked his way out of the situation, but not always. - posted by Steve G on Rootschat.com forum Sunday 16 August 09

Colliery picture from http://Healeyhero.co.uk

Map:
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Newbold, in Chesterfield and Derbyshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time. URL: http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/1252. Date accessed: 03rd March 2014

Buy photo Picture the Past site

Place:

Chesterfield, Newbold

Location:

Littlemoor

Title:

Thatched cottage opposite St Hugh's Church site

Image Date:

c 1900

Originator:

Credit:

Mr G W Martin

Friday, April 4, 2014

The Ashleys of Palterton

John Ashley and Mary Wood

Heath, Scarcliffe and Clowne parishes are strung along the Nottinghamshire border about 2 miles into Derbyshire. John Ashley was born in Clowne in March of 1772 and Mary Wood was born a month earlier in Heath. When they married 19 ½ years later they chose Palterton which was half way in between in which to live.

Since the history of a village is the history of the common people, it is to the village of Palterton that we look to gain insights about our ancestors, John and Mary Wood Ashley and their children. Palterton is linked closely to the village of Scarcliffe since the two are only roughly one mile apart and historically linked. It is a hamlet in the Scarcliffe Parish, about one mile to the west of the main village.

The Romans reached the area about A.D. 50 and lived side by side with the native Celtic people. By the year 1000 the Anglo Saxons had arrived and been firmly converted to Christianity. Wulfric Spott gave the manor of Palterton to Burton Abbey around this time. After the Norman conquerors surveyed in 1066 the estates of Palterton and Scarcliffe were given to Ralph Fitzhubert De Rye, a soldier who came with King William . Centuries passed until the black death which reached Derbyshire in 1349 gravely affected Palterton. "No tenant survived and the land lay uncultivated for twenty five years." The Frechville family continued as owners of the estate for hundreds of years during the middle ages until the death of the last Frechville lord when it passed on to the Cavendish family and later to the Duke of Devonshire. (Richards, 2001)

Farm track and hillside west of Palterton

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when the Ashleys were villagers, "more far-reaching changes took place. Throughout these two hundred years, Palterton had remained a quiet rural village.” (Richards, 2001) The first Enclosure Act in the county of Derbyshire, however, took place in 1726 in the parish of Scarcliffe and Palterton. The medieval open fields and manorial commons and wastes were then enclosed by mutual consent of the landlords and tenants in order to increase agricultural poductivity. Until this time agricultural laborers , cottagers and small farmers were neighbors, living similar lives, sharing much in common. Now villagers were separated and those without ownership of land became known as the peasantry. The Scarcliffe Poor Rate assessment of 1832 lists a John Ashley as having only a cottage and garden.

The census records of 1841, 1851, and 1861 all state that John Ashley was one of those villagers who worked as an agricultural laborer. At the time of the last census he was 89 years old. We might assume that he was still working to some extent at this time. Like the Ashleys the people of Palterton were mostly agricultural laborers and associated tradesmen until the 1880s when the scale of mining increased. “They were mostly poor, uneducated: yet through their customs, folk songs, games, proverbs, and l religious life - all dating back more than a 1000 years - they were conscious of the close-knit culture of [the] village life.”(Richards, 2001) The population of the parish containing both Palterton and Scarcliffe villages was only 524 in 1831.

Steeplechase was often part of a picnic given by landowners for farmers.

John and Mary and their children must have participated in the traditions and activities of the community. The Scarcliffe parish records show that Mary gave birth to six children from 1795 to 1811: John, Elizabeth from whom we descend, George, Isaac, Mary and Sarah. The children likely learned early to work hard as did their parents but they probably were able to join in with the traditional activities of Palterton. They may have watched the Bolsover or Heath steeple chases, participated in the ‘Mischievous Night’ activities of All Hallows Eve, acted in the mummer’s plays of Plough Monday (the first Monday after Twelfth Night), celebrated Shrove Tuesday before Lent with football games and feasts of pancakes. They may, also, have met with friends and family at the May Day and Harvest Festivals or ambled the route down to the fields to play in the bogs and watch dragonflies and damselflies. (Richards, 2001)

View of Scarcliffe

            Opportunities for play were, however, no doubt, few as their mother, Mary, died when only 42 years old. She was buried in the winter on February 20^th when Sarah was just a toddler of three. Elizabeth, our ancestor, at the age of fourteen must have had to take on the responsibilities of her mother. Her older brother, John, married that same year a few days before his twentieth birthday. He and his wife, Charlotte Naylor, of Chesterfield, presumably left home.

             Eventually, the other children married, all but, perhaps, George of whom no marriage records have been found. Elizabeth, who was called Betty, was married at the age of 28 to William Bacon, also in Chesterfield; her sister, Sarah, was witness to the ceremony. Isaac married Eliza Nancy Unwin at the age of 21 with William Marsh and Mary Unwin acting as witnesses. Mary married James Wright, a local man of Scarcliffe, when she was 29 years old. Sarah, the youngest child, married Joseph Unwin, also of Scarcliffe Parish at the age of 21 with her sister, Mary, as witness.

            At the time of Mary’s marriage her husband may have moved in with the Ashley family. No one else, except, possibly George, were living at home. The 1841 census lists John, widower, as the head of household with his daughter, Mary, and her husband, James, also an agricultural laborer, and their children George and Emma, ages four and two. The third son, Isaac and his wife, Mary, are at this time living in Bolsover with their children, Mary, William, Joseph, John, and Samuel ages 13 to two.   Elizabeth and her husband, William, were living in Newbold, a suburb of Chesterfield, with their children, William, John, Mary, George and Emily ages 12 to 3 months. John, Jr., John and Mary’s oldest child had already died years before in his late forties a few months after his mother.

St. Leonard's Church, the core of which is ancient Norman.

It appears that John had the benefit of many grandchildren living close by during his later years. Three years before his death he was still found living with his daughter, Mary Wright and her family. Other grandchildren can be found as close as the few miles to Bolsover or Newbold. John Ashley died in November, 1864, at the age of 93 in Palterton where he had lived most of his life. He was buried, no doubt, with Mary in the Scarcliffe churchyard where they were married 71 years before.

Monday, January 27, 2014

William Bacon and Mahala Eliza King

Yes, this is the Bacon coat of arms. Probably not our coat of arms, however. So far no nobility traced.

Our Bacon Cousins

This Bacon Family blog begins with a biography of William Bacon and Mahala Eliza King. Because they were married in Chesterfield and raised their family in its environs, their life story is entwined in the history of that area. My interest in the Bacons of Chesterfield was sparked in Utah by stories of their dark-haired, petite daughter, Rose Hannah, her English accent and her love for her family members. Rose's own story was written from interviews of those who knew her well, who remembered her parents and some of her siblings. Now that we have, at last, made contact with Bacon cousins descended from another sibling, Emily, the Bacon story can be shared through this blog. Already photographs and stories are being passed across the Atlantic and the story grows.

After waiting for years the Lost Cousins website finally connected Bacon cousins who had traveled to Utah and then to other areas of the United States with those who for a time stayed in the Chesterfield area. Those that moved to Utah originally came to join the Latter-day Saints or Mormons. Some of those who stayed in England had become disenchanted with that faith, while others had not been convinced in the first place. Later some members of the English branch moved to Canada and Australia, primarily after the world wars. After the first war, one of Rose's boys served an LDS mission to England and sought out some of his extended cousins and exchanged the occasional letter. After the deaths of those early cousins, contact was lost. Generations later, however, the cousins are again united, this time by the Internet and a world-wide hobby of genealogy. While religion may have originally separated us, the common bond of family draws us together once more. The histories we expect to share may be drawn from our individual and varied backgrounds, but we expect to find many points of connection, not the least of which is a love of family and stories.

Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England

In Victorian England of 1850 Chesterfield was the second largest city in Derbyshire with a population of 5775. Many of our ancestors lived in and about Chesterfield which is located 150 miles NNW of London on the road to Leeds, bounded on the south by the Hipper River and on the east by the Rother. The houses at that time were of brick, roofed with stone. Streets were indifferently paved but well-lighted with gas since 1825. Water was plentiful, piped in from Holme two miles west of the city. The residents boasted having a subscription library and a theater. Most citizens belonged to the Church of England and attended the Chesterfield Parish chapels.


The Crooked Spire, Chesterfield's parish church. Photo taken by Carol Bray

A silk mill existed within Chesterfield (See link for Old Chesterfield photographs.) limits while nearby Brampton contained a cotton wick mill. Bobin net lace and hosiery were manufactured by cottage and factory workers. Several potteries employed 200 men. Many others worked the foundries or, like John Edwin Barker Sr., the productive mines of ironstone and coal. All these and other manufactured goods were shipped by way of the Chesterfield Canal which angled north and east by the use of 65 locks. People and goods docked at wharfs along its 46 miles. A railroad passed through the city, part of a transportation web that connected all of England. A considerable number of men including William Bacon, Senior, worked in the rail yards, on the track, or in the trains themselves. What once had been a rural life almost exclusively agricultural or trade-oriented, landscaped by thatched cottages and dirt roads winding up to the mines or down to the rivers, was rapidly changing. In the decades following the turn of the century, England had become the industrial "workshop of the world". This was an age of unprecedented change. Uprooted from a traditional way of life, labor-class families were searching for economic stability. Short distance migration from towns to cities was common as in the case of William King and Hannah Hall. It has been said of the period that the houses of factory workers were "neither good enough to promote happiness nor bad enough to produce hopelessness." Skilled workers, however, lived in decent houses, perhaps with a garden, and sent their children to school. One thing both elements of the working class shared was the lack of security. Almost all were affected by the economic cycles of boom and bust.

Children were cheap labor, working 12-16 hours a day in factories, mills, and mines. Families in desperate circumstances were forced to send children, even as young as five and six, into the work force. In 1802 a law was passed limiting children in cotton mills to 12 hours a day. Later, in 1819, another law was passed forbidding employment of children under nine years of age. The first compulsory education act wasn't passed until just before William and Hannah came to America, and then only to mandate that children attend school until age ten. Schooling for most, like Mahala Eliza King, consisted of only a few years of grammar school. Like Mahala, those with the determination to learn needed to practice alone in the evenings after a day of work. Most signed their names with an X.

William King and Hannah Hall in Cole Orton

Life was assuredly difficult for William King and Hannah Hall since their marriage in 1829 in Cole Orton Parish (pronounced Calooton), Leicestershire. Sometime after the birth of their third child a move northward into Derbyshire began. This transfer took place ever a period of years, punctuated at intervals by the births of three more babies until the family finally settled in Newbold, a town about two miles outside Chesterfield. Here three more children were born swelling the household to eleven members. Evidently William, a brick maker, had to struggle to provide for his family during economic hard times. Even skilled craftsmen found opportunities for jobs scarce, consequently setting in motion the series of moves that thrust the Kings into a stream of migration swirling through the industrial North.

The Chandler Brick Machine

By the time the Kings were settled in Newbold the older children were teenagers who knew the necessity of hard work. Although Mahala Eliza, the eldest at age sixteen, was small in stature she sought employment to help support the family. After maintaining long hours at the hard, physical labor expected at the brickyard where she worked, perhaps alongside her father, Mahala or Eliza as she was alternatively known, would walk home. It was while trudging home one evening probably early in 1846 that her attention was drawn to Mormon missionaries, elders who were holding a street meeting. She listened closely as they explained the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So impressed was she by the message taught that she returned again and again until she was convinced of the truth. Despite the opposition of her parents, Eliza was baptized into that church on June 29, 1846.Within two years she had played a major role in converting her mother, father, and her then fourteen year old sister, Sarah.

One slightly different telling of Mahala's conversion states that she “was walking down the street with her girl friend. When they reached the corner, the missionaries were there preaching to the people. They stayed to listen to them” with interest as they were the first LDS missionaries heard of in the area. At that time, she belonged to the Church of England. When she had missed about four or five of their meetings, the church leaders went to her mother to find out what was wrong. When her mother asked her why she was missing the meetings, she claimed to know that the Mormon Church was the one fully true church and she asserted her intention to join.

The first Mormon missionaries to Britain arrived in Liverpool in 1837 during a time of severe economic depression. Scarcely one man in four among the working classes in some areas was employed. The unsettled economic conditions of the 1840s led to the label "The Hungry Forties". Economic uncertainty was not the only reason for listening to a message of change. The first converts were not, considering the times and circumstances, social agitators of reform. They were generally individuals who were spiritual seekers. Although life was difficult, these men and women searched for "spiritual certainty rather than social justice". It is doubtful, however, that they were free from the promised dream of economic security hopefully to be found in a community of saints.

William Bacon and Elizabeth Ashley of Wharf Furnace

William Bacon was also the eldest child in his family of five living siblings. The family had continuously resided in the Chesterfield area since the parents, William, Sr., and Elizabeth Ashley, were married in 1829. The Bacon home was located at Wharf Furnace, Newbold, a suburb of Chesterfield. To provide for the family their father worked whichever jobs were most available, variously as a plats layer on the railroad or as a gardener. Sometimes his occupation was simply listed as 'laborer' for the upper-class. Although the Bacons may have lived more settled lives than the Kings, they were also molded by the stresses of the era in which they lived. Each one undoubtedly enjoyed the rewards of family, faith and community while striving to better their situation.

It seems likely that young William may have associated with Eliza on the job at the brickyard since his occupation was journeyman brick maker. The two may also have lived in the same Wharf Furnace neighborhood or attended the same church. They both had been raised as members of the Church of England. Whatever the background of their meeting, when Mahala Eliza was converted by Mormon missionaries she also shared her experiences and testimony with her friend, William. Through her influence he listened to their message and believed.

On December 12, 1847, at age seventeen he also became a member of the new church, having been baptized by C. Marsden. Both young people were now affiliated with the Chesterfield LDS Branch. Within the year William’s mother, next younger brother and sister, John and Mary Ann, were members of the same branch. His youngest sister, Emily, was baptized a few years later at age ten. Mahala Eliza’s brother, Thomas, and sister, Mary, were both baptized in later years. Some members of the Bacon and King families later became inactive and lost fellowship but William and Mahala remained devout, committed to the tenants of their new religion. William was ordained to the office of teacher one year after joining. His daughter, Lucy, stated, “They both lived [as] good Latter-day Saints and [were] very good and kind to the missionaries as long as they lived in England.”

Marriage of William Bacon and Mahala Eliza King

Because the members of the early LDS Church in England had no opportunity to obtain further religious rites or ordinances, William and Eliza, the name she used on the marriage certificate, were married at ages 21 and 20 respectively in the parish church St. Mary and All Saints on December 29, 1850. Between 1851 and 1868 eleven children were born to this worthy couple as they lived in Newbold. It is not difficult to imagine Eliza’s chores and concerns as she nurtured and instructed five little girls and one boy. Neither is it difficult to imagine the sorrow as the couple buried five other babies. William worked long, strenuous hours as a brick maker most of his life. During one brief period, however, he worked as an iron mine laborer.

The history of their son, Arthur Bacon, relates that “the family lived in a typical English house and as a small boy he loved to hunt mushrooms. It is very damp in England during the spring and winter [so] the mushrooms grew abundantly. Arthur and his sisters would get up very early and gather them in bushel baskets. These they took to market to sell. [Their mother, Mahala Eliza,] made mushroom dumplings which Arthur and his sisters relished a great deal.”

None of the children “attended many years of school but could read and write. Arthur had beautiful handwriting and held his pen in the way fashionable in those times between the first two fingers of his right hand.” Martha Lucy wrote, “I spent my childhood days [in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Old England] which I never can forget as they always seemed such happy days to me, this is where I went to school for to get my education.”

Mahala and her two youngest daughters, Rose, left, and Lucy, right.

Each child was duly blessed and baptized as they came of age in the branch which was similar to a parish. Each was taught to be of service within the organization. One of the daughters, Rose Hannah, accompanied the Elders to their meetings and assisted by starting the hymns. Rose “used to get up at 5:00 a.m. every morning and walk two miles before breakfast to lead the singing for the missionaries. Every time they bore their testimony, Rose bore hers too. She would sit for hours and knit wool socks for the missionaries. She was very devout in her religion and she paid her tithing whether she had a crust of bread to eat or not.” All the women and girls of the family promoted the missionary effort by knitting stockings.

The missionaries were always welcome in the home. While serving in the area Joseph F. Smith often stayed with William and Mahala Eliza. Daughter Martha Lucy stated that she was “born in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had the privilege of meeting with a great many of our missionaries [and] also spent many pleasant hours along with them both at church meetings and at home when they used to visit with us, also at my sister’s home, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Yates, as the missionaries made their home along with them for a number of years.”

Emigration from Old England

In 1883 Rose Hannah immigrated to the United States to join John E. Barker and be married in Utah among the saints. She soon sent for her little sister, Martha Lucy, to join them. Lucy left home at age 17, setting sail in May of 1885. When she arrived in Castle Gardens there was a strike on the railroad which delayed her travel west by three days during which she enjoyed viewing the sights of New York. Both sisters looked forward to the time when other family members would arrive. William and Mahala Eliza were now in their 50s with only one child left at home. With so many members emigrating, their hearts yearned for Utah; they longed to travel to zion, too. Arthur, their only son, sailed less than two years after Rose in 1885. Once out West he and his brother-in-law, John Barker, were able to work in the Wyoming coal mines, both saving sufficient money to cover the ship fare for the older couple. What a day for celebration it must have been when the mail from America brought the good news. Some apprehension and uncertainty about the trip itself would naturally be felt but Mahala Eliza later indicated she had been determined to fulfill that life-long dream.

Steamship of the time period the Bacon family emigrated.

After coming by steamship across the Atlantic and ship or train across a large portion of the United States, William and Mahala Eliza arrived in Kaysville, Utah, October 1887. There they were greeted by beloved family aid friends. A daughter, Sarah Ann and husband, Charles Yates, emigrated at some time during this period also. Upon leaving England two of their daughters, Harriet Foulkes and Emily Gilberthorpe chose to remain behind. William and Mahala expressed sorrow the rest of their lives about the loss of those dear children and grandchildren.

Walter Foulkes

Emily Bacon Gilberthorpe

George Foulkes dies of Rheumatism 1910

A temporary home was found for Willaim and Mahala in downtown Kaysville. Later they made a permanent home in an old adobe house on the southwest corner of the lot where the Kaysville Tabernacle now stands. (See photo in link. Their home would have been approximately where the photographer was standing.) It was at this home that Mahala was able to entertain the then-current prophet Joseph P. Smith when he traveled as president of the church to attend conference in Kaysville. They were able to renew the old acquaintance, this becoming a highlight of her life.

Straight-forward and upright, the couple were well respected by everyone in the community. After coming half-way across the world they made many friends. Although William's health was poor his friends made it possible for him to earn his own living by acting as gardener to some of the families in Kaysville. His own father after when he had been named had been gardener in England and presumably had passed on such skill to his son. William must have learned the craft well because he sold many beautiful plants and had numerous people come to admire the fruits of his efforts. He passed his love and talent down to several of his posterity.

Near their home was as old barrel tipped on its side up on chocks to support it. Into this barrel water poured from a flowing well. Attached was a tap so it could be turned off. Often it was a source of refreshment for passing neighbors. The water from this well watered the Bacon garden which was the envy of many. Husband and wife both worked in the garden and loved their beautiful flowers. To get a head start on the growing season in Utah's cold winter climate William had his own greenhouse modeled from the one they had owned in England as well as a small apple orchard.

These two old people were very religious and faithful, concerned with the eternal well-being of their children. When William left for work they would quietly sing the hymn, "Do What Is Right". This song became their trademark and symbol of their lives. While sorrowing over the absence of their daughters, Emily and Harriet, they were able to gain joy from the loved ones who lived nearby. Arthur, Rose, and Sarah Ann all lived with their spouses and children in Kaysville. Martha Lucy Barton lived with her husband in Idaho and Manti, Utah. A grandson, George Herbert Foulkes, son of their eldest daughter, Harriet, eventually came to Utah as well. He suffered ill health, died at the home of Rose and was buried in the Barker plot as later were Sarah Ann, her daughter, Alice Yates Redford and grand baby. George's death may have caused further estrangement between families, some believing that he would not have died had he not come to Utah.

Primarily due to poor health and age, the couple never attained to many worldly goods. Although they were cared for by their ward members and children who lived nearby, they struggled economically. The November 25, 1898, Davis County Clipper buried deep in the county reports section of the newspaper the fact that William and Mahala were granted tax relief due to their lack of financial ability to pay. This was about a month from his death.

William Bacon's Obituary printed in the Davis County Clipper. December 30, 1898.

William died suddenly on Saturday morning, December 24, 1898 at age 69. His death resulted from asthma. He had been quite feeble for a year or more but never confined to bed. Two days later he was buried in the Kaysville cemetery. The Davis County Clipper weekly newspaper erroneously stated that he was nearly sixty when the correct age was nearly seventy. It was also reported that Martha Lucy and her husband were able to make the trip from Idaho in time for the funeral. Only three children were mentioned in the article, probably those still living in Kaysville, although four had come to the West and two remained in England.

Mahala Eliza King Bacon in her elderly years. No known picture of William exists.

Like her husband Mahala Eliza had poor health while in Utah. After his death she was very lonely and concerned about financial matters. Knowing her time and strength were limited she was also anxious to complete the religious rites or temple work for herself and William. She requested a patriarchal or spiritual blessing thinking perhaps she would receive some comfort. Her blessing, given by Rosel Hyde, assured her of the continuing support of the saints in providing food and clothing if needed as well as encouraged her to do the temple work for her kindred as her health permitted. She had the pleasure to travel to Salt Lake City and begin that work two weeks later. Arthur acted as proxy for his father.

During the last years of her life Mahala Eliza relied on the support and companionship of her family. She lived with Rose and John Barker and attended church with the grandchildren and their parents. She was ill for ever a year before she died lying in bed most of the time. Her grandchildren remembered how very patient she was able to act, never complaining but always expressing pleasure in the little kindnesses shown her. Long days abed also allowed time to remember a full life. She could recall pleasant moments spent gathering apples with grandchildren in the orchard William tended, often the families would gather on a Sunday afternoon. She passed away Friday morning, September 24, 1904 at age 73. Funeral services were held the next day; she was remembered for a strong, clean character exhibiting faith, honesty, and patience.

Mahala Eliza was buried in Kaysville by the side of William in unmarked graves. The Rose and John Barker Family Organization later raised money to erect a headstone in the Kaysville Cemetery for burial sites of Mahala Eliza and William. Their plot is located in the west end of the cemetery along a north south road. Buried alongside is their son, Arthur, his wife and babies. An overview of their lives proves that they lived by their battle hymn. Although their choices for good did not result in an easy life, they lived it well, looking toward eternal blessings. By our remembrance and honor we bless the memory of those lives.

Plot map of the Kaysville City Cemetery showing some key Bacon burial sites.

Note:
Email from Carol Bray 2014: "St Mary and All Saints, more commonly known as The Crooked Spire, Chesterfield's parish church. It is the church were Mahala Eliza and William were married. The spire is both twisted and leaning, twisting 45 degrees and leaning 9 feet 6 inches from its true centre. There are many theories as to why it is not straight, unskilled workmen, unseasoned timber, the weight of the lead, the sun shining on the southern tiles causing uneven expansion/contraction, the devil sitting on it or kicking it and a virgin once married in the church, and the church was so surprised that the spire turned around to look at the bride if another virgin marries in the church, the spire will return to true again. In other words no one knows. It is however unique, all other church spires in the UK are straight and true. It is the highest building in Chesterfield and probably the oldest."

From
"A history of William Bacon and Mahala Eliza King including the area of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England where
they lived." Fawn Barker Morgan. 1990. Updated 2007.

Sources:
Appleton's Cyclopedia of Applied Mechanics, 1892
Davis County Clipper newspaper articles found at http://digitalnewspapers.org/
Description of English Countryside and Biography by Viola Barker McEwen
"Do What Is Right" analysis from The Beesley Project

This is not a hymn about making small good decisions every day, though such is a legitimate gospel topic. No, this is a hymn about standing for Good when Evil is bearing down with indefatigable force. This is a hymn about turning back the torrent of the adversary’s fiery darts when their sheer volume blots out the sun. This is a hymn about choosing Right just when it is the most difficult, disadvantageous, inconvenient, inopportune, embarrassing, and back-breakingly, titanically painful...The text’s concept of consequences is particularly striking. Note that it does not say to let the consequences follow for bad actions; rather, the hymn acknowledges that there will be consequences—positive, perhaps, but the implication is that short-term negative consequences are just as likely—for the decisions we make to do the right.

"High Lights in Which the Barker and Bacon Families Became Members of the Mormon Church." Ruth Ellen Weaver
     Rider.
"History of Arthur Bacon." Maxine Bone Jamison
Histories of William Bacon and Mahala Eliza King by Lucy Ann Barker Curtwright, Mahala Barker Hall, and Maxine Bone
     Jamison
Life sketch written by Martha Lucy Bacon Barton
Memories by J. Forest Barker Social and Religious Origins of Early Mormons by Tharp
Research data by Belva Hall Francom