Item Detail
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Spackman, Elizabeth Ann Evans
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1859-1957
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MSS SC 274
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Biography
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Elizabeth Ann Evans Spackman was born July 15, 1859 to Catherine Perkins Evans and William Evans in South Wales. Her parents were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and she was baptized at age ten. Opportunities for schooling were limited, but Elizabeth remembered her brother taking her to school on a wooden barge down one of the big canals. When she was 11 years old, her father died. The family was coming back from town when he accidentally slipped off a bridge over a canal. He was a good swimmer, but his head hit a rock and by the time they reached him he had drowned. Their family had been considering moving to Zion, and Catherine's mother and two of Catherine's siblings had already left and settled in North Ogden. So, on September 6, 1871 their family left Liverpool on the steamship Nevada under the direction of John L. Hart. 'It meant a lot to Mrs. Evans, a widow with seven children, to leave the home land, the house that she and her husband lived in for twenty-five years, and the little graves of seven babies, but the spirit of gathering was there.' Their first winter in Utah, Elizabeth lived with her mother's sister, Aunt Eliza Evans. Then, the family moved to North Ogden. Elizabeth worked in a bakery for two years and eight months, until she fell in love with a young man named John Spackman. They were married April 10, 1876 in the Endowment House and moved to Dayton, Oneida County, Idaho. Only 17 years old, Elizabeth spent much of her time alone because John had to go away to work. During this time they also had to deal with the grasshopper scourge. After five years in Idaho, they returned to North Ogden and lived with Elizabeth's mother for a year and then moved to Pleasant View. They moved to Liberty in Ogden Valley for three years, and then returned to North Ogden again. Elizabeth and John were the parents of nine children: William Thomas, Sarah Catherine, Emma Jane, David Henry, Joseph Parley, Ruth Mae, James Alma, Jacob, and Kate Pauline. John died in 1921. Elizabeth spent much of her time after his death in service to others. She was active in the Relief Society and in visiting teaching for many years, she delivered many babies, and did temple work for many of her ancestors. She died May 23, 1957 in Santa Barbara, California.
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Elizabeth's biography is a three-page typewritten document that appears to be written by one of her nieces or nephews. She was 83 years old at the time that the biography was written. It is difficult to understand the relationships between the people in the biography because the author refers to them by titles such as 'great-grandmother' or 'aunt' and switches back and forth between different families' experiences. The author begins with the story of Elizabeth's maternal grandparents, the Perkins, joining the church. The author then moves to the story of Elizabeth's parents. The author starts to give more information about Elizabeth's life at the point when her family arrived in Utah: 'On her first day of school she wore a taffeta dress. This was something new to the children in Utah. They would run up and pinch the sleeves to hear it rattle. This was very embarrassing to Elizabeth.' The author seems to be close to Elizabeth, calls her Aunt Lizzie, and refers to things that she has said. These statements give insights into Elizabeth's personality. For example, Elizabeth felt that she had little opportunity for formal education; however, the author said of her, 'it is the way we overcome obstacles, the love we show our fellow men and the service we render others that really speaks for us.' One way that Elizabeth served was by helping to deliver babies: 'She spent most of her time with the sick, especially the expectant mother. She was the doctor's helper in so many homes that she often laughed and said that she felt like most of the babies in North Ogden Valley belonged to her.' She also accomplished much with her own family: 'She feels that God has greatly blessed her, she was permitted to raise to maturity her nine children and see them all married and making homes of their own.' The biography ends with a poem, 'Tribute,' written for Elizabeth.
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1842-1921