Elizabeth Stewart Marriott
Life Sketch by Lucile P. Donahue

Born April 12, 1829 at Colmsworth, Bedfordshire, England.

In reviewing my grandmother's early life in Utah, I find it to be one continuous round of hardships. Accustomed as she was to living in wealthy homes with people of refinement, it is indeed remarkable that she faced and handled the conditions of life at that time with such perfect courage and faith. Faith in her Creator that all would be well, courage to fight physically with never a thought of despair, for the greater the obstacle to be overcome, the greater the effort to over­come.

When misfortune and disaster confronted her did she wring her hands and shout, "What shall I do! Oh, what shall I do?" No, she did the efficient, the clever and smart thing, remaining cool and collected, doing what was necessary to handle the situation at hand.
If she had one predominating characteristic, it was love of truth. She despised a liar, and most of all a hypocrite. During her last sickness a neighbor came to see her. Grandmother told her daughter to remain in the room while the lady was present - for said she, "She is a hypocrite, and the truth is not in her. The devil will come in with her."

Often when death came to people who were not especially religious she would visit them, explaining the resurrection and telling them of the only way they could meet their loved ones again. She would do this she said, while their hearts were softened with death. She preached the gospel to a friend who came from England for twenty years, but failed to convert her. She expressed the thought that she had done her duty regardless of the outcome. When people kidded and joked about her, endeavoring to be funny, she would say, "Why waste time saying such foolishness when there are so many beautiful and lovely things to talk about."
­ When she sang and rocked her little grandchildren to sleep, she sang the songs of Zion, for she said, "There are none more beautiful or soothing." The babies never failed to go to sleep. I can hear her singing in the twilight, "Come Come Ye Saints" and "Redeemer of Israel."

Grandmother was the daughter of a man who belonged to the nobility of England. Her father married the girl he loved, a commoner, for which he was disinherited and cut off without a penny. His parents and family never recognized his existence again. Her father learned the miller's trade, and in this way supported his family.

Grandmother' s mother died when she was five years old. Her father remarried a spiteful, jealous woman, who forced her to sit on a chair all day long while her father was at work. This step­mother threatened to beat her if she told her father of this inhuman treatment. This was Elizabeth's first experience with real misery.

Her home life became so unhappy she was sent to live with two rich old maid aunts. Life was more pleasant there. She became very fond of one of the servant girls named Annie. One day, one of the aunts lost some money. They accused Annie of stealing it. The police searched the girl but found no evidence of her having taken it. Nevertheless, the spiteful aunts continued to accuse the girl and ordered her to be transported to the Island where all thieves were sent. Six months later the money was found in a pillow where it had been sewn and forgotten. Elizabeth was happy to learn of Annie’s innocence and looked forward to her return home. But her aunts refused to let the girl return.

The injustice of these aunts was more than Elizabeth could endure, for she loved truth and justice. So this little girl of ten years packed a few belongings in a bundle, leaving the place forever, refusing to live under the same roof as such wicked people. She had no place to go. But as she says, better no place at all than such a place as she had left. She could not endure such injustice. She found a place to work at a gentleman's house as a nurse girl.

It would be interesting to know if she included the wicked aunts in the 500 baptisms she did for her own people. My guess is that she did.

The following is taken from her diary. "One thing I wish to say is that when my father was on his death bed, he wanted to tell us that the gospel was true, but being too weak he could not do so. But Carolyne Marriott, my husband's sister, told us what he wanted to say through the gift of tongues, which was that this is the true church of Christ."

At this point I skip many incidents of life and pass on to the following diary quote, "I was convinced the Gospel was true, but was not baptized for some time because I felt I could not do the requirements of the Lord and be a good member.­
When I was 19 years old I joined the church. I lived where I could not go to church very often, being five miles from the meeting place. I had only four hours off on Sunday and had to go and return in that time; but I always felt better after spending time at meeting and rejoiced that I belonged to the church of Christ and I knew it was true."

Later, Elizabeth's brother told her he intended to go the valley of the mountains. The greatest desire of Elizabeth's heart at that time was to go to Zion. She worked until the day before the ship sailed. She went to her employer and asked for her pay. He refused, saying he paid his help every four months and would not break his rule. So in desperation she sold her beautiful black dress, a lovely shawl, and other belongings, getting in all but enough to pay for a ticket to America, with one shilling left over.

Her brother was very ill on the ship. He could not eat the steerage, it was so poor. Elizabeth took her shilling and went to the cook, told him her brother' s plight, asking for food. She got the food, offered her shilling to pay for it. The cook would not take it and told her to come and get what she needed any time. She still had the shilling in her pocket when she got to her first job in America. This shilling has a story all its own, too lengthy to relate here. Elizabeth declares that shilling saved her brother's life.

Diary - "We crossed the Atlantic ocean in the boat named James Pennel. We were two months crossing the ocean and were so badly shipwrecked our sails were all torn from the ship. We were left to the mercy of the wind and waves, yet all were saved and landed with thankful hearts. We landed at New Orleans and went up the river to St. Louis.

My brother went on to Salt Lake City and I was left alone to get along the best I could. That same spring I met with a very sad and terrible accident. While working for a lady I was carrying a lamp which exploded when I had two gallons of oil in my hand. My sweetheart, Tom Smith, fought the fire and saved my life, such as it was; but in doing so, lost his own life, dying ten days later from the effect of his burns.

My suffering was something great and so terrible I have no words to tell it. Having no friends or relations I was entirely dependent upon the Lord for help. Friends were raised up to aid and help me, yet my sufferings were such that only God and I knew. I learned to know God and that he was a friend to the poor and orphans. He helped me to patiently bear my great sufferings and has helped me all through my life.

Sharet Swift, a native of England - a poor girl herself, worked for her own living as well as mine. I was without a drink of water from morning until night as I could not move. Many doctors came to observe the action of my heart, as all the flesh had burned away and the heart was exposed. One doctor came to me every day – he was very good and kind to me. When I recovered I told him I would pay him. He forgave the debt. However, I am happy to say I did pay him by giving him a passport to Eternal Life, for I did work for him and his people in the Temple of the Lord.” She lay in her bed of affliction for a year.
One day a returning missionary called to see her, saying the Lord had inspired him to come and tell her she would go to Zion. He stayed only a short time, just long enough to bless her. Those words of comfort and hope cheered her very much and from that time her recovery was improved.

Diary - "In 1853 I crossed the plains, walking the entire sixteen hundred miles in my bare feet, carrying my shoes as I wished to have a pair when I got to Zion. My burns were not healed for two years.

Salt Lake City was a barren looking place when I arrived. I had no place to go, no way of earning money, as the people were too poor to pay for help. I offered to work for my board to get something to eat. But still I was not discouraged, because I had come to Zion and my greatest desire was fulfilled."

­ Elizabeth's brother had located in Kaysville. She went to see him. Upon entering the house she said, "But William, where is your house?" “This is it,” said he. “Oh, I thought this was the pig pen,” said she.”

Diary - "One day while looking out the window I saw a man who had just come off the threshing machine. He came galloping toward me on a horse, his beard blowing in the breeze, as rugged and unkempt as a man could look. The spirit whispered to me saying, “This man is to be your husband.” A few days later he came again and asked me to be his wife. I was thoroughly convinced that this man was the man the Lord wanted me to marry. In the meantime, I had received a blessing from John Smith, the Prophets uncle. He told me the Lord was pleased with me because I was willing to do his will. I want to thank God for giving me faith in him, which is a gift from him, not of man. I would advise all my dear children never to find fault with any of the principles of the Gospel, for I promise you that they are all true. This I do in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.” Her marriage to John Marriott was a polygamist one.

Accustomed as she was to living in a gentleman's house in England, in the midst of luxury and refinement, it must have been some let­down to live as she did. A wagon box was her first home, the second a dugout where her first baby was born. She carried water one-half mile at this time. Returning one day with water she found a snake crawling over her baby's body. She went to a place called Salt Creek where she made hundreds of pounds of butter and cheese for her husband's three families. That which was not needed was sold or traded for clothes. Yet in the midst of such a life these pioneer women could and did sing, "Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard, 'tis not so, all is well."

One hard winter many of the cattle died. Elizabeth took fat from these animals, made lye from wood ashes and manufactured soap. I wonder where she got the soap recipe.

Once she walked from Ogden to Kaysville, which is approximately 17 miles, carrying an eight-month old baby. Her brother was a shoemaker and she wished to get measured for a pair of shoes. Later, sad to relate, when the shoes were made they were lost en-route to Ogden to be delivered. That winter Elizabeth was barefooted except for pieces of sheep skin wrapped around her feet. Carrying a baby that distance is, in itself, a masterpiece of courage and determination.

My grandmother never learned the meaning of defeat or despair. Her attitude was that so long as she had the spirit of the Lord, nothing else mattered. What a marvelous way of life. She aimed to attend all the conferences at Salt Lake, using whatever transportation was available even to walking all the way.

She loved the Relief Society meetings which were held two miles away. If any of the children were sick on meeting day, she would wash and anoint them, then keel at their bedside and ask her Heavenly Father to keep them while she went to the meeting, she did not ask in vain. What a woman! What perfect faith to place her children in the care of God knowing they would be taken care of.
­ She was the self-appointed community shopper. As she went to town in the wagon on Saturday, neighbors and friends were waiting with their butter and eggs. Elizabeth took them to town and bought such articles as each ordered, remembering all without a list of any kind. She must have possessed a wonderful memory.

I will not mention in detail more episodes of her life. Suffice to say that those written here are but a few of the many I have record of. I leave to your imagination the manner in which she accomplished the following: made molasses from squash, baking soda from salaratus gathered near the Salt Lake. Walked barefooted to church in Ogden - a distance of four miles, gave birth to ten children with no attendant except a woman friend. She also raised eight children left by the death of her husband’s first wife. She did complete work in the temple for five hundred of her own people and many hundreds more for others. She worked and schemed to get money to do this work, denying herself many things in order to carry out her plans.

Finally, as she lay in her last sleep, the following tribute was paid her by a grandson: “There lies my Grandmother who, as our Heavenly Father judges beauty, is one of the rarest, the most beautiful flowers that ever graced this earth.”

Written by: Lucile P. Donahue

Grandma had the gift of Tongues, and I heard her speak in tongues every fast and testimony meeting. One of the sisters in the ward interpreted for her.

­Signed: Alice H. Spencer