Sarah Crosby HillSarah Crosby Hill
By Bonnie Madge Shipley Anderson - Sarah's Great Granddaughter
*Italics are my notes to myself.
Sarah Crosby was born the 25th day of August in 1837 or 1834, in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, on the seashore of the North Sea. She was the daughter of William Crosby and Marie Rassmussen or Frances Ransom. I believe it is Frances Ransom.
On the 16th day of November 1856, at the age of 20, Sarah was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Leeds, Yorkshire, England by Issac Fox. Issac Fox was called to preside over the Leeds branch 15th day of May 1853 and the Bradford Conference in December, 1856 and the Glasgow conference in January, 1857. She was rebaptized the 20th day of March 1857, in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. There was a Sarah Crosby baptized 2 Jul 1844, attending the Manchester, England Conference and a Ellen Crosby, Thomas Crosby, Hannah Crossley, and William Crossley.
Sarah's ship was the William Tapscott. It left Liverpool, England 11 May 1860 and arrived in New York 16 jun 1860. Her name was entered as Sarah Crasby by mistake and so it was hard finding her.
About the 22nd of June 1862, Sarah is living in Brooklyn, New York with her new husband Joseph Hill, and two of his friends Richard and Richard’s sister Hester Jessop. They were married the 24th day of May in the year 1862, in New York City. I would guess Brooklyn.
Sarah, Joseph, and Joseph’s younger brother William left New York the 18 June 1862.They traveled at first by train and little of importance occurred until they were traveling through the state of Illinois. There one of the cars that was loaded with the Saints’ baggage took fire and, instead of them uncoupling the car from the rest and pulling it a short distance away, and letting the people save what they could from the fire, they took the car six miles away to the next station. When the engineer returned back to the train, he swore that he would drive all the damned Mormons to hell. Putting on all the steam, he jumped from his engine and let her come full force into the car. Upon arriving to the place where they had taken the burning car, there was nothing left of it. There were hundreds of people around there, who no doubt had saved lots of the things that were in the car and carried them off. Sarah wasn’t to find out if her luggage was gone until she took passage on the steamboat and arrived at Florence, or Winter Quarters on the opposite side of the Old Missouri River from Council Bluffs. Much to her delight all of her luggage, Joseph’s and William’s was safe. Richard and Hester Jessop had lost all of their things.
While waiting for the horse teams that would take them to the Great Salt Lake Valley, Sarah lived in a tent with her husband and eight other people . These tents were placed from sixteen to twenty feet apart, each way. There were nearly three thousand saints all there at this time. Each tent had a head person who was to look after the interests and comforts of those who were placed under their charge. They held regular meetings, and all met together for prayers, night and morning. Food was handed out each morning from the commissary to the head of each family for the day.
The teams began to come in at short intervals, and one train left under the direction of Captain Kimball, the second under Captain Murdock, and a third under the direction of Captain Waite. The fourth under the direction of Captain Henry Miller’s was the one for Sarah and Joseph and the Jessups to travel with. Each company had fifty wagons with ten persons to each wagon and tent, besides the teamsters. William came with a different group later. Joseph had agreed to pay William’s way to Winters Quarters and William was to work the rest of the way.
It was a long and tiresome trip. Most of the company suffered with mountain fever. Joseph also came down with it. Every day they stopped to bury the dead. They reached Coalville, Utah on the 17 day of October 1862.
The newlyweds stayed here and in Hoptesville until the first day of March 1863. Sarah was pregnant with her first child at this time and they lived the winter in a dugout that Joseph and William built. Their diet was beans with no meat, except when they could kill a jack rabbit once in a while. They had little bread, but as William reported in his diary they got a long very well.
5 March 1863, Joseph started working at the Temple block and after April Conference they moved to Cache Valley and settled in Nillville. This wasn’t for long because May 15, the couple moved to Smithfield.
August 19, 1863, Sarah and Joseph became parents of James Hill, who was born in Smithfield. The family grew as a daughter, Frances, joined them on January 15, 1865, and a son, Joseph Crosby Hill, on October 16, 1866.
Sarah and Joseph were sealed for time and all eternity in the Endowment House, November 28, 1866, when their youngest was about six weeks old. I haven’t found any record that any of the children were sealed at this time. Sarah became the number one wife on December 7, 1868, when Joseph married Betsy Ann Harper. They were sealed 6 Dec 1871, in the Endowment House. Sarah might of been of good disposition and faithful to have accepted this and given her permission. Alice says Betsy and Joseph separated until 6 Dec 1871. I haven’t confirmed this information. Her Mother-in-law knew them personally and says it is so. The Harper/Hill family leaves out the early marriage on purpose or why I don’t know.
Sarah gave birth to her fourth child, a daughter, Mary Maria on April 15, 1868, in Brigham City. Two more daughters joined the family. Sarah Jane, July 20, 1869, born in Millville and Rosetta, (or Rosette), born May 21, 1871, in Smithfield.
I am not sure where Joseph was when Sarah Jane was born. He had taken a contract with the Union Pacific Railroad Company and was at the Promontory when the silver spike was driven joining the railroads. He didn’t return to Smithfield until Fall.
I met a man in Smithfield in 1979, that was a nephew of Joseph and Betsy Ann’s. He was over 100 years old and his name was Hillyard. He was still living across the street from Joseph’s home. He said Sarah and Betsy Ann lived in the same house and were very devoted to each other. That Betsy Ann took care of Sarah before she died and that Betsy treated all the children as her own. After figuring out the dates, I realized he couldn’t of been alive when Sarah was alive so must of been telling what he had heard and what he saw when Betsy was the only mother..
Sarah was only 37 years old when she died in Brigham City, Utah on 28 September 1871 She was buried in the Smithfield Cemetery where Joseph was buried next to her years later. Her oldest child was 8 years old. Rosette, the youngest, was 4 months old. Betsy Ann didn’t have any children of her own at this time. She had her first child eleven months later.
Questions:
1. Who was in Brigham City? Joseph’s parents didn’t come to America until May 1870 they lived Brigham City with Louisa Clow Joseph’s sister. They moved to Salt Lake City in the Spring of 1871, and in August of 1871 they returned to England. Returning to Utah in 8 years and lived in Smithfield. Joseph’s mother got sick while visiting one of her daughters in American Fork and died and was buried in the American Fork Cemetery 28 June 1887.
2. Joseph and Sarah did live in Brigham City in October 1868, when his two sisters and youngest brother came from England.
Footnotes:
1. Also listed as Marie Rassmussen. Listed as Fanny Crosby on Smithfield, Utah, ward records.
2. LDS Vital Records Library 1996 Infobases, Inc.
3. LDS Vital Records Library 1996 Infobases, Inc.
4. William Henry Hill’s autobiography, page 17.
5. From information given me by Alice H. Dunn.
The rest of the information was obtained from family records.
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03/21/05 03:44 PM