Item Detail
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Davis, Sarah Elenor Phillips Mecham
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1875-1929
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MSS SC 871
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Biography
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Sarah Elenor Phillips Mecham Davis was born November 10, 1875 in Springville, Utah to Jonah Phillips and Ann Thomas Phillips. Her parents were Welsh and came to Utah as pioneers after converting to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Sarah was the eighth of twelve children, so she grew up spending time with her siblings. She was responsible for chores from an early age beginning with winding bobbins for her mother and collecting eggs. She began school early, at age five, and was a precocious student who read frequently. Sarah's parents had to pay for the children's schooling, but the teacher liked Sarah and taught her for free. At age thirteen, Sarah began picking berries and tending a neighbor's children to make money. She developed rheumatism at age seventeen which troubled her throughout her life. The next year, Sarah met Mathew Dow Mecham. He was a blacksmith in Provo, and he came down to Springville three times a week to visit her. They were married February 10, 1898 in her father's home. They lived in Provo where Sarah had their first child, Edward Arnold. Matthew had a serious heart condition, and the doctor recommended that he stop working. He tried to keep working, but he was forced to stop by his condition and he died shortly thereafter on July 5, 1899. Sarah was pregnant at the time, and she moved back home with her mother where she gave birth to the baby, Mattie Ann, who was named after her father. Sarah supported her young family by weaving rugs and carpets. Four years passed, and Sarah met D. C. Davis who was boarding at her mother's home. Although he was much older than Sarah, he won her affection. They were married and moved to Pittsburg, Kansas where D. C. worked for the railroad as a division roadmaster. They lived there for nine years and then moved to a farming project in Hunter, Missouri. Finally, they moved back to Springville where Sarah suffered a stroke on March 28, 1928. She lived nineteen months and then passed away on December 1, 1929. Sarah is buried in the Springville City Cemetery.
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Sarah's biography is part of a collection of Phillips family biographies. This collection is a typewritten, book-length, unbound manuscript which has a table of contents listing the people that are included. Sarah's biography is on pages 93-97. The text of Sarah's obituary is found on page 98. Sarah's biography was written by her older sister Phebe H. Dowdell in 1947. Phebe speaks in first person throughout the narrative, giving her personal insights into her sister's life. She focuses mostly on Sarah's childhood and teenage years, giving many anecdotes that describe Sarah's personality. The writing is divided into small paragraphs; each paragraph gives a separate story. For example, Sarah was not afraid of anything as a child. When the Indians came, Sarah would be the one to stay out of hiding and tell the other children when they had gone. Sarah also had a mischievous side. When the girls that she worked with picking berries dared her to go into town and have her picture taken, she did it. The girls expected the picture to turn out poorly because of Sarah's ripped dress and old shoes, but to Sarah's delight it was a flattering portrait. Phebe and Sarah were very close, and Phebe's writing shows her emotional involvement in her sister's life. When she writes about Mathew's death and Sarah's giving birth after his passing she said, 'This is a very hard story to write.' It was painful for Phebe to relive this experience after being there to see it happen. The part of the biography about Sarah's adult life has few details after Sarah moves away from Springville.