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Autobiography of Elizabeth Dunn
Stubbs Nelson Hart Pickett Home Tervort Wride Davis Bradshaw
Elizabeth Dunn Stubbs, daughter of William Gallimore Dunn and Elizabeth Howells, was born on January 18, 1840 in Manchester England. In 1851 her father after having joined the Mormon Church, left for Salt Lake City, Utah, so he could follow the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The following year, 1852 Elizabeth at the age of eleven, with her mother and two other children, followed their father and husband to Utah. They left England in the A. O. Smoot’s Company. They suffered many hardships on their trip. While crossing the plains Elizabeth would walk twenty-one miles a day and she had to wade across many streams, as there was not room for her to ride in the ox carts. After many long weary months they reached Salt Lake City in September 1852 and joined their father.
For several years Elizabeth lived in Salt Lake City with her parents, then in the year 1856 she became the bride of Peter Stubbs whom she had met in England at the age of eight, at this time he was working in a bakery shop. Their marriage was performed by B. Bickenlooper in the sixth Ward in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 19th. Brother Charles Walker and William Barnes were witnesses to their marriage.
Her marriage was a happy one, but full of trials and hardships. Many times it was hard to get food and at the time of Johnson’s Army they were sent to Camp Floyd. She and her husband went there and would take supplies to the soldiers and receive potatoes and other foodstuffs in payment. They also earned money and with this they returned to Provo, Utah and started in business running a bakeshop. They worked very hard to make this a success and the bakery becoming a very thriving business realized by their efforts. In the home as well as in the bakery Elizabeth was known as a very good cook.
Sometime after her marriage she was given a blessing by Eliza R. Snow, in which she was told that she would be given the gift of healing. This blessing was surely answered and throughout Elizabeth’s whole life she was called many times to the bedside of the sick and through her kind efforts and with the help of many home remedies she made herself, she healed not only her own family but many neighbors, friends and other relatives. Her home remedies to this day are remembered and used in the homes other children and grandchildren. It was never too much work to go to the help of others. Oft times when called to the sick, she would gather clean sheets, towels and any other necessities she might know of that the people would need in their sickness and from her own home would supply all needs along with her home remedies.
Elizabeth Stubbs was the mother of eleven children of her own. August 13, 1886, Ann Wride Stubbs, second wife of Peter Stubbs died and Elizabeth took seven of Ann’s children, a baby three months, a girl five, eight and twelve and seventeen, also boys fourteen and twenty one. Some of these children were the age of her own. These children she raised as her own never showing any partiality between her family and Ann’s. They were raised as one big family and she was a good mother to them all. They loved and respected her very much and to this day all living children of this family are very close in joy, sickness or sadness.
For sixty-five years she lived in Provo, Utah, she was always a faithful worker in the “ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the “Mormon Church.” She was one of the first Relief Society Teachers in Provo. During this time it was sometimes necessary for her to walk many blocks caring a baby, gathering donations for the Relief Society.
Everyone enjoyed the company of Elizabeth Dunn Stubbs, she was known to all as a cheerful, lovable and witty person. Her wit was very outstanding and at all times would say clever witty things that made everyone enjoy being around her.
During the World War, eleven grandsons went into service for their country, several were sent across, but only one grandson and one great-grandson saw actual service. Everyone of these boys came back in perfect health and physical condition, none of them having suffered from wounds nor from the effects of the "flu" which raged furiously in all the camps.
Elizabeth enjoyed a very healthy life, never having any serious sickness. She was strong in mind and body, this blessing she passed on to all her posterity, at the age of 82, on August 13, 1922, she passed on, suffering from no illness but just tired by age. Her memory is a beautiful picture in the hearts of all those that knew her.
My recollections of my Maternal Grandmother Elizabeth Dunn Stubbs
Elizabeth Dunn was born in Middlewich, Cheshire England where she lived until her family heard about the Latter-Day Saints and the gospel. They accepted the teachings and subsequently moved to Utah where they settled first in Salt Lake. She was married a few months before her seventeenth birthday. Grandpa was 32 years old at the time.
My earliest recollection of my grandparents was when I was just a small child and we went each evening to grandmas for milk each evening and had a short visit with them. We lived in a small three-room house on fourth south near second west. I was born there and it is still in use.
Grandpa always had a bowl of milk atop the Franklin stove in what was called the sitting room. I often shared this with him sitting on his lap and hearing him sing softly a sort of lullaby. Some of the uncles were still at home and Uncle Frank in particular delighted in teasing me. They hung me by my clothes on the kitchen door where I hung until I cried and my mother came to my rescue.
Grandpa had a store somewhere near fifth west and center St. Grandma and her children lived above the store and often helped in the store.
Father took a second wife, Ann Wride and established her in a house about fifth south and what was then called Academy Avenue it is still standing and in use today. Ann Wride Stubbs was killed when the surrey in which she was riding near Payson, where she had gone for a visit, overturned and she died of a heart attack, leaving a three-month old son, Uncle Frank. Grandmother moved from over the, store and into the house on fifth south and took over the raining of Ann's family. Uncle Frank never knew another mother and always called her "Maw". There were sixteen in the two families and some of the younger ones never knew another mother except Grandmother.
Grandmother must have been a wonderful organizer and manager to get everything done on schedule. The girls worked in teams. Mother and Aunt Martha were about the same age and worked together. One week they did the upstairs work and the next week did the washing and the next week helped in the kitchen and with the many tasks such as canning fruit, making pickles, baking and other related tasks. They washed and ironed and mended, even made some of the bedding such as sheets from unbleached sheeting.
They made all their own soap. I can remember a large iron kettle, which stood on three legs, which was used to make the soap. The grease had to be clarified before it could be used for the soap. it had to boil a long time and had to be stirred and watched constantly. When it was done it was poured into boxes and allowed to dry and cool. It was then cut into bars and stored. They leached out ashes for the lye used in the soap making and added a type of borax to help in the bleaching and whitening. A wood stove outside where the laundry was done and some of the cooking in good weather. All the water had to be hauled from a flowing well at the rear of the house. There was a reservoir on the stove, which held a small amount of water to be used in the kitchen. They had several large copper kettles and buckets, which had to be scoured with salt and vinegar. Buttermilk and sand was also used to scour them.
The girls all learned to sew as they made all their own underwear such as petticoats, corset covers and a garment called a chemise. These were decorated with handmade lace, which the girls did for themselves. Many a child went around in a pantywaist, which still had the lettering on it, which hadn’t bleached out yet. When they thought they were through for the day they had to sew carpet rags for a while. The carpets were all rag and were laid over straw. Each spring the carpets were taken up and either beaten clean or washed on the line. They were then re-laid over clean straw. A carpet stretcher was a must.
Grandfather had a farm which was located south of the railroad tracks to where the Timpanogas Golf course and the new motels are now located. The boys and sons of the in laws worked on the farm or were apprenticed to other tradesmen to learn other skills. They were well taken care of as to food and shelter. I can remember crocks of jams, jellies, pickles, sauerkraut all stored for use. The cabbages were turned upside down with the roots still on them. Barrels of salted meat, hams and dried beef hung from the ceiling of the old outside cellar. Potatoes, onions and apples were also stored there. Grandma dried fruit for use also.
After Grandpa died she took railroad boarders to help out in the living. I can remember many loaves of bread set out to cool, pies and cakes baked for the boarders. They worked different shifts so she always had to be ready to serve them at any time. Again her ability to organize the work saved them and earned the name and reputation as a good place to board. One Will Lee, a telegraph operator was there even when I was about.
She was a small women but very energetic. She managed to raise her family and taught them the fundamentals of behavior, which made them good citizens. She had a good disposition but was very witty and could at times be harsh. She abhorred dirt. Once she came to our house in the winter and she went into the parlor and wiped her finger on the piano, which had dust on it. Mother didn’t always clean the parlor, as it was known because there was no heat there. She was a guest at our house one Sunday, then to Aunt Em’s the next and then to Aunt Lizzie Spaffords. Once in a while, she went to Aunt Martha’s. She wore many petticoats and in one she had a pocket and she carried peppermints in it. She would give us children the mints and it was considered quite a treat for us.
I loved her parlor with its white mantel with all the curlicues on it, painted blue and pink decorations. She had some Dresden China figurines on it which I loved to admire.
She also had a wicker rocking chair in the parlor sort of fan shaped on the back. Her bedroom was very interesting also. She had a down quilt on her bed and I loved to snuggle in it. She had another small rocker in this room. She had a sewing basket there also. Many of these precious things were lost or broken when she died.
She was very conscious of her appearance and had the Dusenberry milliners make her small bonnets for each season. In winter they were made of velvet and trimmed with small plumes and in the summer they were made of straw. They tied under her chin and she wore caps made of velvet trimmed with braid and sequins and beads. She often carried a small bag made of beads and was lined with silk. She always wore long dresses and most of them were of somber colors such as brown, dark blue or gray. Her hearing failed and she had to use an ear horn. It was of some metallic material and had a tube that was inserted in her ear and it was sort of bell shaped with holes in the end of the bell part.
She worked as a practical nurse helping to bring many children into the world. Dr George Allen tried to use her in his practice many times. She was very tender and had much compassion for the sick and needy. She wasn’t a constant churchgoer but lived the principles of the gospel in her home and with her family.
The children were all trained in the principles of the church, but many of them drifted away and didn't attend meetings and other functions. They were all taught the fundamentals of right, good citizenship, honesty, the Golden Rule, neighborliness, truth and respect for their elders and above all to give a good days work for a days pay. They all raised large families and lived good lives in the community.
She was a living example of the true pioneer mother. Taking Ann Wride’s children to raise was a large order and she had to have a lot of love and a mighty lot of patience to endure to the end. All the children looked to her for guidance in their secular lives and what faith they had could be attributed to her training.
I have an old recipe for what we called her canker medicine. It really worked wonders for an upset stomach and for a sore throat. Most of the ingredients couldn't be bought today as the drug stores now aren’t apothecaries and don’t have the things needed.
English Emigrant at Age of Twelve, Elizabeth Dunn Stubbs was Mother to 18
by Ralph Hedquist
Elizabeth Dunn Stubbs, daughter of William Gallimore Dunn and Elizabeth Howells, was born on January 18, 1840 in Manchester, England. She was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1848, emigrated from England and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in September 1852. Her father had arrived in 1851.
Elizabeth became the first plural wife of Peter Stubbs on October 19, 1856 at the age of 16, her husband being 32 at the time of the marriage.
She remained at home with her family until her husband could provide a home for her, which he did in American Fork, Utah, later in the same year. Shortly after her marriage, at the hands of Eliza R. Snow, she received a blessing promising that he would be given the gift I healing. This was efficacious throughout her lifetime.
Sister Stubbs was the mother of 18 children. Eleven were her own; the other seven the children of Peter Stubbs' second wife, Ann Wride, whom he had married in 1862, and who died as the result of an accident while driving a horse and buggy.
In an account related in the biography of her husband, the story is told about Johnson’s Army, which was located at Camp Floyd. A small bakery was located at Camp Floyd through which baked goods were supplied to the army. This was the means whereby the Stubbs family was provided a living when there was little else to be had. A quote from the biography says, “The departure of the troops, like their coming, was of great benefit and blessing to the people of Utah. It was estimated that at the leaving of the army that $4,000,000 worth of stores were purchased for about $100,000.
Sister Stubbs was one of those great women whom the Prophet Joseph Smith would have called ''an elect lady. "
At the age of 82, she died in Provo, Utah on August 13, 1922. On the day of her funeral the following appeared on the editorial page of the Provo Daily Herald.
“At the time these few lines are being printed, hundreds of friends and relatives of Aunt Elizabeth Stubbs are paying final tribute to her splendid life and character. Few women of this city have lived to perform a greater service to the community than that of Aunt Elizabeth, as she was affectionately known to her host of friends here.”
She came to Provo when Provo was a barren waste, with here and they’re a beaten path through the wild willow and sagebrush; and so we might well say, her life was not one sweet song. However, her indomitable faith in the future and her keen perception of her mission here on earth was reflected in her every act.
As she approached an age when most people hope to be relieved of many of life’s trials she accepted a responsibility that would have proved beyond the strength of most of us. Not only did she assume the task of rearing her own large family, but she also mothered the family of another. How well she performed her work is reflected in the lives of those splendid citizens who profited by the radiant light that ever shone to guide them against the pitfalls of life.
“Having learned the beauties of self-sacrifice in her early life, she found much pleasure in serving others until that service ended Tuesday afternoon. But after all there is a question as to whether or not that devotion and love of doing for others was a sacrifice to Aunt Elizabeth. The supreme satisfaction that came to her through service was so refreshing, so gratifying, that her life was as complacent as that of a sleeping child.
In her going there is a sense of sorrow sweetened by the memory of that beautiful life that will forever stand worthy of emulation.
