Item Detail
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Stringham, Susan Coleman Henrie
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1839-1916
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MSS SC 249
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Biography, Letters
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Susan was born on August 4, 1839 in Niagra, Hartland, New York to Elizabeth Andrews Coleman Brown and Ellis Coleman. Susan's parents separated when she was small, and in 1850 Susan's mother entered into a plural marriage with William Brown. They settled in Bountiful, Utah with their family. At age 16, Susan entered into plural marriage with Daniel Henrie as his second wife. They became the parents of 12 children: Rachel, Arthur, Samuel, Elizabeth, Joseph Thadeus, Margaret, Nora Lenora, Coradell, Maud, Ethel, Ellis, and Myra. Because Daniel already had a large family with his first wife, Susan wanted to be independent, and she did as much as she could to provide for her family herself. She raised her children on a four-acre farm in northwest Manti, and sold eggs, butter, produce, and chickens to supplement her income. Susan later divorced Daniel, and she had their sealing cancelled by permission of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on November 23, 1901. She was sealed to Walter Stringham on July 3, 1912, at the age of 73. Susan died on February 4, 1916.
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This collection consists of a biography of Susan by a grandson, Gerald Henrie; two handwritten letters from half siblings of Susan to Gerald Henrie; a letter from the Daughters of Utah Pioneers and an enclosed photocopy of pages 144-145 from the book Andrew Van Buren by Virginia Christensen Keeler; and a photocopy of a photograph of Susan and other family members. Gerald Henrie's biography begins with a letter from Winnie Atkinson Whiticar in which she reminisces about Susan's wonderful sense of humor and her regular attendance at the semi-annual conferences of the church. Then Gerald proceeds to record memories of Susan as his grandmother. He notes that Susan loved to sing and play the organ, that she believed in hard work, and that she spent time in her later years as a temple worker at the Manti Temple. This document has very little structure and is more of a grandson's recollections than an actual biography. Gerald focuses his narrative on his memories of events involving Susan and on comments from Susan's neighbors and friends. For example, he describes in detail his memory of Susan going to Daniel Henrie's funeral even though they were divorced and she had remarried. The letters in the collection are photocopies of handwritten documents and are difficult to decipher. The first letter is from Jedediah Brown, Susan's half brother, and is dated January 23, 1936, Salt Lake City. Brown gives some genealogical information on the family, but the content is erratic and difficult to follow. The second letter is from Susan's half sister Charolette Brown Call and is dated May 9, 1934, Ogden, Utah. Call also provides some information on the family. The letter from the Daughters of Utah Pioneers was in response to Gerald's request for more information on Susan and Daniel Henrie. The photocopy from Andrew Van Buren was enclosed with the letter because it contains a brief reference to Daniel Henrie's involvement in the Black Hawk War. The photograph in the collection is labeled with the subjects' names; however, their relationships to Susan are not given.
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