Grimshaw, Progenitors of at Least Eight Grimshaw Immigrants to America

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Lawrence and Mary Grimshaw apparently lived during the early 1800s in Accrington, Lancashire, near Clayton-le-Moors, the home of the original Grimshaw family line. They had nine children, four of whom immigrated to America. Four of their grandchildren similarly emigrated. Mary, and at least three of her children, converted to Mormonism in the 1830s, not long after it was introduced in England.

Much of what is known about this very interesting line of Grimshaws appears in "The Records of Duckworth Grimshaw¹," which was published by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers in 1969 (see companion webpage on Duckworth and Mary Grimshaw). According to this publication, Lawrence and Mary were hand-loom operators in a factory who "earned the small wages with which they provided a meager living for their large family" (p. 279.)

Thanks go to Kay Blanchard for providing the grave photos of John Grimshaw and his two wives, Alice (Whitaker) Grimshaw and Mary Ann (Orvill) Grimshaw.

A descendant chart of Lawrence and Mary (including the parents and grandparents of Lawrence Grimshaw) is summarized in Figure 1 from Latter-day Saints (LDS) Ancestral File records². The four children who emigrated to the U.S. were John (b. 1811), Faith (b. 1817), Duckworth (b. 1822) and Susannah (b. 1826). The four grandchildren who emigrated were Duckworth (b. 1842), Sarah Ann (b. 1849?), Elizabeth (b. 1849) and Alice (b. 1852) -– all children of John and Alice Grimshaw. To the author's knowledge, this family (ancestors of George, b. about 1739) has not yet been "tied back" to the original Grimshaw family line of Eccleshill and Clayton-le-Moors.

George Grimshaw (About 1739 - ) & Betty (About 1741 - )

|-----Thomas Grimshaw (About 1765 - ) & Susan Fielden (About 1769 - )

|-----|-----Lawrence Grimshaw (6 Oct 1782 - ) & Mary Duckworth (4 Apr 1786 - )

|-----|-----|-----John Grimshaw* (12 Jun 1811 - 25 May 1894) & Alice Whittaker (28 Dec 1809 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----James Grimshaw (20 Feb 1837 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Mary Grimshaw (9 Mar 1838 - ) & William Atkinson (About 1834 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Duckworth Grimshaw* (3 Mar 1842 - ) & Mary Jane Moyes (6 Jun 1850 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----John Grimshaw (15 Mar 1868 - ) & Mary Elizabeth Bradfield (28 Apr 1872 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Elizabeth Alice Grimshaw (7 May 1870 - ) & Archibald Wardrobe Fotheringham (6 Aug 1867 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Mary Ann Grimshaw (19 Aug 1872 - ) & Josiah Rogerson (21 Sep 1867 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Martha Jane Grimshaw (6 Jan 1875 - ) & William Thomas Rogerson (17 Mar 1866 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Franklin Duckworth Grimshaw (18 Mar 1877 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----William Henry Grimshaw (12 May 1879 - ) & Mary May Hunter (20 Jul 1877 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Ray Grimshaw (12 Jun 1881 - ) & Hannah Maria Farrow (18 Apr 1881 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Ida Grimshaw (15 Jan 1884 - ) & Carl Herman Ehninger (About 1880 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Lawrence Grimshaw* (19 Jan 1886 - ) & Mary Dell Parkinson (18 Oct 1889 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Lawrence Grimshaw* (19 Jan 1886 - ) & Irene Groves (About 1890 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----May Grimshaw (1 May 1888 - ) & Willard Clausen Jensen (2 Jun 1868 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Arnold Grimshaw (2 Sep 1890 - ) & Myrtle Hodges (30 Aug 1892 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Randolph Grimshaw (28 Dec 1893 - ) & Estella Jones (29 Oct 1893 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----George Whittaker Grimshaw (22 Feb 1896 - ) & Leona Armstrong

|-----|-----|-----|-----Duckworth Grimshaw* (3 Mar 1842 - ) & Ellen Muir (About 1846 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Thomas Duckworth Grimshaw (7 Jul 1891 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Susanna Grimshaw (18 Dec 1845 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----? Grimshaw (5 Jan 1849 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Sarah Ann Grimshaw (5 Jan 1849 - ) & Joseph Hyrum (5 Mar 1845 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----? Grimshaw (5 Jan 1849 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Elizabeth Grimshaw* (27 Feb 1849 - ) & Richard Greenhalgh (27 Jul 1838 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Elizabeth Grimshaw* (27 Feb 1849 - ) & David Davis Rees (19 Oct 1828 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Elizabeth Grimshaw* (27 Feb 1849 - ) & Richard Greenalch (About 1845 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Alice Grimshaw (7 Jan 1852 - ) & James William Atkin (10 Jul 1845 - )

|-----|-----|-----John Grimshaw* (12 Jun 1811 - 25 May 1894) & Mary Ann Orvill (About 1813 - )

|-----|-----|-----John Grimshaw* (12 Jun 1811 - 25 May 1894) & Elizabeth Ranklin (About 1813 - )

|-----|-----|-----Elizabeth Grimshaw (11 Dec 1812 - )

|-----|-----|-----Faith Grimshaw (6 Oct 1813 - )

|-----|-----|-----Faith Grimshaw (20 Dec 1814 - )

|-----|-----|-----Faith Grimshaw (29 Mar 1817 - )

|-----|-----|-----Mary Grimshaw (24 Feb 1820 - ) & John Whittaker (About 1816 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Duckworth Whittaker (24 Feb 1822 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Isabel Whittaker (6 Apr 1824 - )

|-----|-----|-----Duckworth Grimshaw (24 Feb 1822 - )

|-----|-----|-----Isabel Grimshaw (6 Apr 1824 - )

|-----|-----|-----Susannah Grimshaw (14 Feb 1826 - ) & William Robinson (16 Sep 1831 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Mary Ann Robinson (25 Aug 1856 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Jesse Benjamin Robinson (12 Sep 1858 - ) & Francis Skinner (29 Jun 1860 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Joseph Robinson Robinson (1 Aug 1861 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Emma Robinson (1 Aug 1861 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----? Robinson (About 1863 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----? Robinson (About 1863 - )

|-----|-----|-----William Grimshaw (6 Nov 1828 - )

A connection of the above line back to the Eccleshill and Clayton-le-Moors line has been made on a tentative basis with the assistance of Kimberley Cramer-Vredeveld through a series of exchanges on Genforum, at the following website address:

http://genforum.genealogy.com/grimshaw/messages/

The Genforum messages are provided in summary form below:

Thomas Grimshaw/ Sarah Ryley

September 12, 2001

I am trying to find out who Thomas Grimshaw and his wife's parents are. Thomas was born May 1, 1701 in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, England. Sarah was born about 1706 in the same place. They were married on Nov 23, 1727 in Church, Lancashire, England. Their son George Grimshaw born about 1739 in Stanhill, Lancashire, England. His wife Betty was born about 1741 in Stanhill, Lancashire, England. Their son Thomas (born about 1765 in Stanhill) was married to Susan Fielden (born about 1769 in Stanhill). Their son Lawrence was married to Mary Duckworth. I have the rest of the line on down. I am trying to work on the it the rest of the way up.. Help?

Thanks,
Kimberly

The fact that Thomas and Sarah were from Ostwaldthistle would indicate that he originated from the Clayton-le-Moors line rather than the more junior (but more pervasive) Pendle Forest line, as shown in Thomas D. Whitaker. The descendant charts of the two lines are shown on the "Grimshaw Origins" website on the following two pages:

http://tomwgrim.home.texas.net/WebPages/EarlRecd.htm
(now http://www.grimshaworigin.org/WebPages/EarlRecd.htm)

http://tomwgrim.home.texas.net/WebPages/PendLine.htm  
(now http://www.grimshaworigin.org/WebPages/PendLine.htm) 

Thomas and Sarah don't seem to be shown on either chart. Thomas would have been born about the time that Clayton-le-Moors was passing from the Grimshaws to the Lomaxes.

A "most-probable candidate" for your Thomas' father might be "Thomas, mar. Jane, widow of William Duddell, of Longridge" (as shown on Whitaker's descendant chart for the Clayton-le-Moors line), who would probably have been about the right age to be your Thomas' father. This Thomas was the son of Nicholas and Helen (Rishworth) Grimshaw.

Just a guess though!
Tom

 

Thank you for this information. Someone else saw my request and said that Thomas' father was Thomas Grimshaw born around 1676 and died 8 may 1725. He was married to a Jane Ellison on 30 jan 1700 in Lighthurst, Lancashire, England. So it does seem that the information you gave me seems to fit. Does this mean that they are a descendant of the original Grimshaw?

Kim

 

September 16, 2001

Examination of Thomas D. Whitaker's descendant chart (shown on the Grimshaw Origins website at http://tomwgrim.home.texas.net/WebPages/EarlRecd.htm) shows that "Thomas, mar. Jane, widow of William Duddell, of Longridge" is in the 13th generation after Walter de Grimshaw, progenitor of the most senior (known) line of Grimshaws.

Tom

Based on this exchange, the descendant chart in Figure 1 can be extended on a tentative basis as shown below:

Nicholas Grimshaw & Helen Rishworth

|-----Thomas Grimshaw (About 1676 - 8 May 1725) & Jane Ellison Dudell Grimshaw. Married 30 Jan 1700.

|-----|-----Thomas Grimshaw (1 May 1701, Oswaldtwistle - ) & Sarah Ryley (1706, Oswaldtwistle - ). Married 23 Nov 1727.

|-----|-----|-----George Grimshaw (About 1739 - ) & Betty (About 1741 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Thomas Grimshaw (About 1765 - ) & Susan Fielden (About 1769 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Lawrence Grimshaw (6 Oct 1782 - ) & Mary Duckworth (4 Apr 1786 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----John Grimshaw* (12 Jun 1811 - ) & Alice Whittaker (28 Dec 1809 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----James Grimshaw (20 Feb 1837 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Mary Grimshaw (9 Mar 1838 - ) & William Atkinson (About 1834 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Duckworth Grimshaw* (3 Mar 1842 - ) & Mary Jane Moyes (6 Jun 1850 - )

Images from Thomas D. Whitaker's descendant chart for the earliest recorded (Eccleshill and Clayton-le-Moors) line of Walter de Grimshaw (see companion webpage) -- showing Thomas Grimshaw (m. Jane Ellison Dudell) and Nicholas Grimshaw (m. Helen Rishworth), as well as their connections back to Walter de Grimshaw -- are shown below.

The complete descendant chart, if the above hypothesis is correct, is shown below:

Walter de Grimshaw

|-----Henry de Grimshaw

|-----|-----Adam de Grimshaw

|-----|-----|-----Henry Grimshaw & Agnes unknown

|-----|-----|-----|-----Adam de Grimshaw & Cecily de Clayton

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Henry de Grimshaw (? – 1409) & Johanna Shuttleworth

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Robert Grimshaw & unknown

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Henry Grimshaw (ca 1442 - ?) & Isabel Rishton

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Henry Grimshaw (1467 – 1507) & Alice Tempest

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Thomas Grimshaw (? – 1539) & Elizabeth Harrington

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Richard Grimshaw (ca 1509 – 1575) & Elizabeth Cudworth

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----John Grimshaw (? – 1586) & Mary Catterall

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Nicholas Grimshaw (1586 – 1642) & Helen Rishworth

[The death date date of Nicholas needs to be confirmed. He appears to have died too early to be the father of Thomas m. Jane Dudell.]

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Thomas Grimshaw (About 1676 - 8 May 1725) & Jane (Ellison?) Dudell Grimshaw. Married 30 Jan 1700.

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Thomas Grimshaw (1 May 1701, Oswaldtwistle - ) & Sarah Ryley (1706, Oswaldtwistle - ). Married 23 Nov 1727.

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----George Grimshaw (About 1739 - ) & Betty (About 1741 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Thomas Grimshaw (About 1765 - ) & Susan Fielden (About 1769 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Lawrence Grimshaw (6 Oct 1782 - ) & Mary Duckworth (4 Apr 1786 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----John Grimshaw* (12 Jun 1811 - ) & Alice Whittaker (28 Dec 1809 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----James Grimshaw (20 Feb 1837 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Mary Grimshaw (9 Mar 1838 - ) & William Atkinson (About 1834 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Duckworth Grimshaw* (3 Mar 1842 - ) & Mary Jane Moyes (6 Jun 1850 - )

Evidence from Marjorie Williams family history research...

Summary Descendant Chart

Full Report of Thomas Grimshaw's Descendants

Thomas Grimshaw (About 1648 - SeeNotes) & Mrs Thomas Grimshaw (About 1652 - )

|---Lawrence Grimshaw (4 Jan 1676 - 8 May 1725) & Jane Ellison (About 1680 - )

|---|---Thomas Grimshaw (1 May 1701 - ) & Sarah Riley (Ryley) (1704 - )

|---|---|---George Grimshaw (1730 - 1812) & Elizabeth Fielden (1730 - )

|---|---|---|---Thomas Grimshaw (1759 - ) & Mary (Susan) Fielden (About 1873 - )

|---|---|---|---|---Lawrence Grimshaw (6 Oct 1782 - 1843) & Mary Duckworth (4 Apr 1786 - )

|---|---|---|---|---|---John Grimshaw* (12 Nov 1811 - 25 May 1894) & Alice Whittaker (28 Dec 1809 - 30 Nov 1876)

|---|---|---|---|---|---|---Elizabeth Grimshaw* (27 Feb 1840 - 4 Sep 1921) & David Davis Rees (19 Oct 1828 - 19 Jan 1894)

|---|---|---|---|---|---|---Elizabeth Grimshaw* (27 Feb 1840 - 4 Sep 1921) & John Greenhalgh (27 Jul 1838 - )

|---|---|---|---|---|---|---Elizabeth Grimshaw* (27 Feb 1840 - 4 Sep 1921) & Richard Greenalch (1845 - )

|---|---|---|---|---|---|---Duckworth Grimshaw* (3 Mar 1842 - 23 Jun 1926) & Ellen Muir (12 Feb 1855 - 6 Jul 1930)

|---|---|---|---|---|---|---Duckworth Grimshaw* (3 Mar 1842 - 23 Jun 1926) & Mary Jane Moyes (6 Jun 1850 - 11 Jul 1934)

|---|---|---|---|---|---|---Sarah Ann Grimshaw (5 Jan 1849 - 25 May 1914) & Joseph Hyrum Cartwright (6 Mar 1845 - 2 Mar 1919)

|---|---|---|---|---|---|---Alice Grimshaw (7 Jan 1852 - 9 Jun 1924) & James William Atkin (10 Jul 1845 - 5 Mar 1900)

|---|---|---|---|---|---|---James Grimshaw (20 Feb 1837 - 1837)

|---|---|---|---|---|---|---Susannah Grimshaw (18 Dec 1845 - 1846)

|---|---|---|---|---|---|---Mary Grimshaw (9 Mar 1838 - 24 Sep 1905) & William Atkinson (About 1834 - )

This additional information adds a generation (Lawrence Grimshaw m. Jane Ellison), which helps solve the gap between Nicholas Grimshaw (m. Helen Rishworth) and Thomas Grimshaw, Lawrence's father. But the connection of Thomas to Nicholas Grimshaw becomes more problematic, since Lawrence's father, Thomas, may not have been the Thomas who married Jane Duddell. That is, the Jane Duddell who married Thomas Grimshaw is apparently not the Jane Ellison who married Lawrence Grimshaw.

Mary Duckworth apparently came from a long-established family; like Grimshaw, Duckworth is a Lancashire name of long standing. Duckworth Hall is located southeast of Blackburn within a few miles of the Grimshaw location; it is shown in Figure 2 below. The location is shown northeast of Grimshaw on a map on a companion webpage.

Faith and Susannah joined the Mormon Church and apparently emigrated to the U.S. with Susannah’s husband, William Robinson in about 1860. They were the first of the descendants of Lawrence and Mary Grimshaw to emigrate. The following account is given in "The Records of Duckworth Grimshaw¹:"

(p. 241):

In the course of time, Hoyle and Sons Factory Masters built a weaving shed at Tottington, a little closer to home, so we went to work for them; they were men of families and experience. About this time my father's sister, Aunt Faith and Aunt Susana and her husband William Robinson, also John Robinson and wife, Joseph and Henry Tattersal - converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - were about to leave for America, and if permitted, finally to arrive in Utah.

(p. 279-280):

FAITH AND SUSANA

Faith Grimshaw, fourth child in a family of nine - of which John and Susana Grimshaw were also members - was the daughter of Lawrence and Mary Duckworth Grimshaw. Born March 29, 1817, in England, Faith learned the trade of handloom weaving at the age of six, and working at home for her parents, made bobbins with which to weave the cloth. As operators of handlooms in a factory, Lawrence and Mary earned the small wages with which they provided a meager living for their large family. Often Faith's father and brother, hearing the hunting hounds, would leave their work to follow, making it necessary for the women to carry an extra load on their shoulders. Faith and her mother joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and attended services in the Preston Branch, a distance of fifteen miles, which they walked each Sunday.

The father, a daughter and son all died within a year, and soon afterward the mother passed away. Faith and her sister Susana rented a house where they lived and worked in the factory. Seven years later – the funeral expenses of their loved ones having been paid – Susana joined the Church and married William Robinson, who was soon called on a mission. The two girls continued to live together in order to save funds for their emigration to America.

When William's mission was completed, the three left their native land, arriving at Castle Garden, New York, on New Year's Eve. They engaged hotel rooms for the night, taking all their best clothes with them. During the night, a fire broke out in the hotel and Susana, with her arms full of bed clothes, ran out on the porch, jumped through a window and landed on the snow below. Faith came down a pole. Susana exclaimed, "I am going to the first light I can see." She found it in a saloon.

Eighteen persons, members of a Mormon company under direction of John Taylor, evidently lost most of their best clothing in the fire. Taylor advised all to remain together and keep secret their identity as Mormons so they could obtain employment. Leaving New York on a train, they stopped at a small town called Arlington, where they found work in a factory. Here they stayed for three years, during which time Susana became the mother of a baby girl, whom she named Mary Ann. In the course of the first of several moves that would occur in the next few years, Susana gave birth to her second child, Jess, on board the sailing vessel William Nelson. Soon after his birth, Faith took over the care of Mary Ann and the child was always Faith's girl.

On July 3, 1864, the family was finally ready to start across the plains. Members of Captain Warren's oxteam company, they arrived in Salt Lake City in October. Brother John was there to meet them, and Faith went to South Weber where she remained until the following spring. She then moved to Beaver.

Although she never married, Faith was a great worker. She wove cloth by hand, took care of the sick and performed any honest labor available. Her world's goods were scarce because, always thoughtful of others, she helped those of her friends, neighbors and relatives who were in need. Whenever she bought a dress for herself, she bought one for Susana. She worked in William Fotheringham's home for many years. After retiring and until she was seventy-six years of age, she walked to the Fotheringham farm, nearly nine miles from her home, where she visited her former employers. Always a devoted Latter-day Saint, she attended her meetings and tried to do what was right.

The last fourteen years of her life were spent with Mary Ann (Skinner), her adopted daughter. On December 4, 1892, she spent a pleasant day visiting Alice Atkin. On her way home a runaway team knocked her down, breaking her collar bone and nun her internally. She suffered severely for two months. Just before she died she called the family and blessed them, bearing her testimony and telling them to be true Latter-day Saints. Bert Skinner, the last one she spoke to, was touched with sadness as she expressed her gratitude to him for his kindness to her. She died January 30, 1903. – Mary E. Pearce

Duckworth, seventh child of Lawrence and Mary, apparently married while in Lancashire and had six children. The following account of Duckworth is provided in "The Records of Duckworth Grimshaw¹:"

Sometime after his arrival in America, Duckworth married Bridget Monahan and had an unknown number of children (see companion webpage on Duckworth and Bridget).

John and Alice, both of Accrington, married in 1836 and had seven children. They became Mormons not long after the religion was introduced in England and emigrated to Utah with their daughters Sarah Ann and Alice, in 1863 (following their son, Duckworth, who had emigrated a year earlier, see below.) Their photo is shown in Figure 3.

A summary of the lives of John and Alice is given in "The Records of Duckworth Grimshaw¹" as follows:

Additional information on John and Mary is provided in a publication by a descendant of their daughter, Elizabeth, as follows³:

Elizabeth married in England and had two daughters, one of whom did not survive childhood. She embraced Mormonism in 1851 and eventually emigrated to Utah in 1868. Her picture is shown in Figure 4.

A summary of Elizabeth’s life is provided in the biography³ of one of her descendants, Thomas Reese, as follows (p. 16-19):

Elizabeth Grimshaw, daughter of John and Alice Whitaker Grimshaw, was born at Tottington, Lancs, England, February 27, 1849, the third child in a family of eight. Her parents earned their livelihood by working in a factory. Elizabeth began at an early age to work in the factory, having charge of the looms where piece goods were made. She walked a mile or so to work, often carrying a lantern during winter months. Because of her work, she was able to attend school only one-half day once each week. However, she learned to "figure some" and was a very good reader.

She married William Greenhealgh in 1860; two daughters were born to them, Alice and Sarah Ann. William came to America with the intention of sending for Elizabeth and the children, but she never heard from him.

Elizabeth’s parents, one brother, and two sisters emigrated to Utah. She remained behind to earn the money for passage for herself and Sarah Ann. Alice had died previously.

On June 20, 1868, Elizabeth and five-year-old Sarah Ann sailed from Liverpool on the ship Emerald Isle with a company of 876 Saints, bound for America. They ran out of provisions and Sarah Ann and another child became ill for want of food. Elizabeth feared that Sarah Ann would die and they would have to throw her in the ocean. However, she recovered, and after several days they were transferred to another ship. They arrived in New York the same day as the Emerald Isle. (thirty-one persons died on the Emerald Isle during the voyage.)

Elizabeth walked many miles across the plains. She carried some biscuits that had been given to her on the ship. They became very hard and she wanted to throw them away, but felt it would be wrong. Finally, she got up enough courage to throw them into a bush, which relieved her mind and lightened her burden.

The company she traveled with arrived in Salt Lake City about September 14, 1868. Two weeks later she traveled to Beaver with a Mr. and Mrs. John Griffiths from Adamsville, who had gone to Salt Lake City to go through the Endowment House. She lived at the house of Wilson Nowers in Beaver that first year, keeping house for the family to support herself and Sarah Ann.

David and Elizabeth met, and were married in July of 1869 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. Mr. and Mrs. John Griffiths accompanied them. In September of the same year, they moved to Adamsville – where David had purchased a farm. They started their life together with a family of three children; Thomas and Hannah from David’s first marriage, and Elizabeth’s Sarah Ann.

The new family, like many others, soon found the meaning of pioneer life. The year following the move to Adamsville, David planted a field of wheat, which came up tall enough "to wave in the wind." One afternoon Elizabeth accompanied him to the field to see the wonderful crop. Eagerly they planned what they would buy with the money the wheat would bring. But to their dismay, the next morning the field was bare! Grasshoppers had "cleaned" the field! They got rid of the grasshoppers by driving them into loads of straw and setting the straw afire. Shortly after this incident, David sold the farm and bought one about two miles south of Adamsville.

Elizabeth related to her children some of the hardships they went through in those early years. She would take thick peelings from the potatoes and put them in a pit with burlap over them, using them later to plant. More potatoes were raised one year from the peelings than they usually raised from whole potatoes. Often she worked alongside David in the fields, raking the bundles of grain as he cradled them.

Elizabeth was baptized into the Church on October 23, 1851, by Levi Crashaw. She was re-baptized on April 13, 1878 by her husband, David. She was described by a granddaughter, LaPrieal Reese Taylor, on February 1, 1978, as being fairly tall, with a medium build. Although she had gray hair when LaPrieal knew her, LaPrieal believes that it was brown when she was younger, and that her complexion was medium. She was a pleasant, quiet, even-tempered person, never raising her voice in anger.

David was described by his daughter-in-law, Jane, in June of 1957. She said he was not very tall, but was quite heavy-set. He had black hair, brown eyes, and a heavy black beard. He was a stern man, and was strict wit the children. If they did not come home at the hour specified, he would go after them. He was a butcher by trade, and worked at this in addition to taking care of his farm and cattle. After working all day in the fields, he would butcher for the townspeople in the evenings, receiving for pay whatever people could pay him. He was religious, strictly kept the Word of Wisdom, and was punctual in attendance at meetings. For many years he was first assistant superintendent of the Sunday School in Adamsville, walking from his home down by the river to Sunday School each Sunday. Later, he built a home closer to town so the children could attend school. In 1886, he was chosen as first counselor to Bishop Gunn of the Adamsville Ward; he held this position at the time of his death.

Elizabeth was an active member of the Adamsville Ward. For a good many years she was president of the Primary Association, and in 1892 became a district teacher in the Relief Society. She served in that position until 1897, at which time she became second counselor in the Relief Society, serving until February 6, 1903. As a member of the choir, she could be relied on to start the hymns. There was no accompaniment in those days.

During an epidemic of typhoid fever in Adamsville in 1891, she and Margaret Pearce visited from house to house doing what they could to help. Four young men and three young girls died in less than six weeks; the two women prepared their bodies for burial. They were careful to change their clothing before going into their own homes, hanging the contaminated clothing on the clothesline to air.

For many years Elizabeth had the responsibility of preparing the bodies of the dead for burial and making the burial clothing. Frequently, she put her sewing machine on a wagon and took it to town to sew for the dead. (She was one of the first in the area to own a sewing machine.) Once it tipped over and she lost the shuttle. She was hampered in her sewing because it was quite a while before she could get another shuttle. She had the first cook stove in town; neighbors came from all around to bake bread in the oven.

David died January 19, 1894 in Adamsville; he was buried in Beaver. Their son, David James, who was twenty-three years of age at the time, bought the family farm. Three years later he married Jane Pearce; they lived for a few months with Elizabeth. The next spring, David and Jane moved into their own home, a new three-room brick house near Elizabeth’s. LaPrieal remembers spending many nights with Elizabeth, to keep her company, and because sleeping facilities were becoming crowded at her own home.

In 1911, Elizabeth moved to Provo with David James and his family. A two-room brick house was built for her next to David’s home. But it was difficult for her to adjust to the new area. She missed her daughters and her friends. She returned often to visit with her daughters and their families.

In the spring of 1920, Elizabeth moved to Beaver to the home of her daughter, Mary E. (Liz) Rees Pearce. She lived there until her death on September 4, 1921, at the age of 81 years. She was buried in the Mountain View Cemetery at Beaver City, Utah, beside her husband, David.

David and Elizabeth were the parents of three children: David James, Mary Elizabeth (Liz), and Catherine J. (Kate).

(The preceding was written on February 1, 1978, by Nedra W. Reese. Sources for the information were: a biography of Elizabeth, written by Mary E. Rees Pearce in February, 1935; the personal history of Jane Pearce Reese, dated July 30, 1956; a newspaper account of the death of David Rees, in the possession of Margaret Reese Taylor; and from conversations with LaPrieal Reese Taylor.)

Duckworth, grandson of Lawrence and Mary (Duckworth) Grimshaw, converted to Mormonism in 1860 and emigrated to Utah two years later. He and Mary Jane Moyes were married in Beaver, Utah, and had 13 children. Duckworth also had a plural wife, a widow, Ellen (Muir) Smith. They had one child. The lives of Duckworth and his two families are the subject of a companion webpage.

The location of the graves of John and Alice Grimshaw have been located and photographed by Kay Blanchard in Mountain View cemetery in Beaver, Utah. The photos are shown below along with a note from the e-mail sent by Kay when she provided the photos.

Gravesite of John Grimshaw and his two wives, Alice (Whitaker) Grimshaw and Mary Ann (Orvill) Grimshaw.

Closer view of above marker showing inscription for John Grimshaw

Gravestone inscriptions for Alice (Whitaker) Grimshaw and Mary Ann (Orvill) Grimshaw

The graves are located near the northwest corner of "Section A" of Mountain View cemetery (which is the northwest portion of the cemetery).

Kay Blanchard sent an e-mail with the above photos with the following additional information:

I have to go back a few generations for my Grimshaw ancestors, like this:

Kay (me)

--> my mother Betty

--> her mother Bernice Murdock, [who was md to William Thomas Brooke] - this grandmother is the one who taught me to love genealogy!

--> her mother Elizabeth Cartwright, [who was md to Charles Edward Murdock, Sr.]

--> her mother Sarah Ann Alice Grimshaw [who was md to Joseph Hyrum Cartwright]

--> her parents John Grimshaw (1811-1894) md Alice (or Alica) Whittaker (1809-1876)

Starting with my grandmother, Bernice, they are all buried in the Beaver, UT cemetery. My sister and I were up there a couple of weeks ago for "Decoration Day", as we learned to call it while we were growing up instead of Memorial Day, and took advantage of the cemetery database on the Beaver City website to locate a few graves we always have trouble finding - we always find them eventually, but some years it takes quite a bit of walking up and down the rows! And we don't get there every year (she lives in Tempe, AZ and I'm in Torrance, CA, not too far from LA International Airport) so that makes it even harder to remember. Now we have the map and the database with the locations marked, we've got that problem solved.

And we unknowingly solved a problem you didn't even know you had on your website. On the page for Lawrence and Mary Duckworth, John's parents, I saw the photos of John and Alice - thank you so much for them! - and then read that their graves are unmarked and saw the photo of their presumed gravesites. BUT - the graves are NOT unmarked! Using the handy database from the Internet and the plot map from the City Clerk's office, this year I found their graves for the first time, and no one in our family seems to have known where they were, at least in my or my mother's generations.

The graves of Susannah Grimshaw and her husband, William Robinson, and the entrance to Mountain View Cemetery were located and photographed by the website author in the Spring 2002 and are shown below.

Entrance to Mountain View Cemetery

Gravesite of Susannah Grimshaw Robinson and her husband, William