Item Detail
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Eldredge, Hannah Adams
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1833-1916
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MSS SC 889
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Biography
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Hannah Adams Eldredge was born on 11 January 1833 in Walpole, New Hampshire, the second of four children born to James Adams Jr. and Betsy Leavitt Adams. In 1840, her parents were baptized in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and they moved to Twelve Mile Grove, Illinois. When their house burnt down, Hannah and her family moved to Big Mound, Illinois, where her father leased a farm. At the age of eleven, Hannah was baptized in the Mississippi River. In 1847, in response to council given by Brigham Young, Hannah's family moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where Hannah's mother died. Her father remarried a widow named Sophronia Cole Drake and in 1852, Hannah and her family made the trek to Utah and settled in Centerville. At the age of eighteen, Hannah went to Salt Lake City to do housework. While there, she lived in the home of a prominent member of the community, Horace Eldredge. On 2 February 1855, Hannah became the plural wife of Horace Eldredge and lived in his home with three of his wives. She moved to her husband's large farm in West Bountiful in 1862 and helped with the cows, horses, chickens, grain, hay, fruit trees, and garden. Hannah lived in a small, adobe home until her husband built a large, two-story brick home with two beautiful marble fireplaces. Hannah was the mother of six children: James, Clara, who died in infancy, Adebert, Christie, Clarence, and Horton. Hannah's husband died when she was only fifty-five years old. She spent most of her older years serving others, spending time with her family, and hosting parties at her home. She was an invalid for the twelve years leading up to her death on 7 December 1916.
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This collection contains biographies of the Eldredge family. Hannah's two typewritten-page biography was submitted and compiled by Martha Garbett Fackrell in 1958. Some discrepancy exists concerning Hannah's place of birth. Her daughter reports that she was born in New Hampshire, her biography states that she was born in Hatley, Canada, and the family search website says she was born in Brutus, Cayuga, New York. Very little information is given about Hannah's childhood, but the biographer does relate one story. While crossing the plains, Hannah fell asleep in the back of the wagon and fell out. Her father was afraid that she was crushed by the wheels, but she only had the soul of her shoe destroyed by the wheel. It also states that Hannah remembers how terrible she felt to hear of the Prophet, Joseph Smith's, martyrdom. Hannah's adulthood is more detailed. As a polygamous wife who saw little of her husband, Hannah became highly involved in her community. People often described Hannah as being dignified and respectable and many people knew her as Aunt Hannah because of her service to them. A story is told that Hannah would send her grandchildren to widow's homes to discover if they needed coal. If the widow's coal piles ran low, Hannah supplied coal to them in secret. She and her son, James, also bought a large pipe organ for the West Bountiful Chapel, which was built in 1903. Hannah also served in many areas of the church, and supported her husband, who was a successful businessman, Utah legislator, President of the Seventy from 1854-1888, and President of the European Mission from 1870-71. Polygamy, Widow.
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1887-1915