Item Detail
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Staker, Eliza Cusworth Burton
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1824-1914
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MSS 492
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Biography
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Eliza Cusworth Burton Staker was born January 19, 1824 in Lockwood, England to John and Martha Brooks Cusworth. She was one of four children, and her parents lived as farmers. Eliza married Joseph Burton in 1846, and they had two children. Joseph began attending Mormon meetings, and at first, Eliza tried to dissuade him from pursuing it any further. However, the family was later baptized. Not long after, Joseph had an accident at work and died; his last request was for Eliza to join the Saints in America. However, both Eliza's family and Joseph's were extremely resistant to the idea, and they offered her and her family care and protection if she agreed to stay with them in England. Yet, in the spring of 1856, Eliza left home with her two children, making the passage overseas. She became friends with another widow, Ellen Carter, and they traveled together from New York to Iowa City. On July 28, 1856, Eliza and Ellen left for Utah with Captain Edward Martin. Eliza pulled the cart most of the way, and the family reached Salt Lake City on November 30, 1856. Eliza and her children stayed in the home of Isaac Laney for a few weeks before moving to Pleasant Grove, Utah. There, Eliza met widower Nathan Staker, whom she later married in the spring of 1857. They had one child, and a year later, relocated to Mt. Pleasant in order to help pioneer Sanpete County. Eliza and Nathan had four more children, and in 1878, Nathan's mother came to live with the family. Eliza died in 1914, when she took ill while visiting one of her daughters in Fairview.
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This is a five-page typescript biography, written by Eliza's daughter, Eliza Jane Staker Day. She begins with Eliza's childhood in England, and briefly mentions Eliza attending the coronation of Queen Victoria as a flower girl. After Joseph's death, the manuscript also describes the resistance of Eliza's and Joseph's families against Eliza migrating to America. While journeying across the plains, Eliza and her family endured several hardships: a fourth of the company died, Eliza's son, Joseph, lost two of his toes, and several times, they ran out of food. While in Mt. Pleasant, the family endured the Grasshopper Wars and Indian Wars. Last, Eliza is described as having been a faithful member of the Church, always attending her meetings, paying her tithing, and being a diligent Relief Society worker. She taught her children to be honest, and she had ninety-six descendants at her death.