Mary Ann Barker Virgin was born in 1831 in Marston, England, the fifth of thirteen children. As a child she learned to make Valenciennes lace and helped support the family. At one time she was given the honor of making lace sleeves for a dress for Queen Victoria (picture right). After she married George Thompson Virgin in 1854, they heard two Mormon missionaries preaching. They prayed to know if their message was true and after getting an answer, they joined the church.
No sooner had they joined than they were persecuted severely. He was fired from his job and as soon as any other employers knew he was a Mormon, he was let go. They had to move to find work but he was fired again when they found out about him. Mary Ann worked all night making lace to feed the family. Sanitation was primitive at that time and people dumped sewage in the streets. Neighbors often dumped their chamber pots out the second story windows onto them as they passed below.
George finally found work at a railroad. They planned to use the Perpetual Immigration Fund to go to America. On the night of Dec. 29, Mary Ann had a dream in which she saw the broken and crushed body of her husband.
George had been working in Birmingham, England, in a tunnel where there were two tracks. Warnings were to be given, but none was made. He waited to see which track it was on, then stepped aside as the train went by. He kept working when he realized a train was coming from the other way, but with no lights, and again no warning. Thinking it had to be another train on the other track, he stepped right in front of the original train as it was backing through the tunnel. He died from his injuries and Mary Ann never saw him alive again.
The minister told Mary Ann that if she would come back to their church and forget Mormonism, and sing in the choir, he would see to it that her sons had an education and she would be well taken care of. Instead she drew on the funds she had been paying into the Perpetual Immigration Fund and together with young Amos Moses, (Ross Shirley's grandfather) Nephi and the baby, sailed for America on the ship "William Tapscott" in May of 1862. On board ship was Elder Francis M. Lyman and other church authorities returning home.
Amos Moses said that he only remembered riding in a wagon once while crossing the plains. He was trying to carry his little brother, Nephi, across a river when a man in a wagon came up next to them and they got onto the wagon. Mary Ann carried the baby, Murcy Ann in her arms across the plains.
Somewhere near the present-day Wyoming-Utah line, a fever broke out. A young man, named Ephriam Barton, noticed that Mary Ann was sick and not able to take care of the baby. He volunteered to care for and carry the baby. Within a short time, both he and the baby became ill and died the same day, October 6, 1862. A hymn was sung, a prayer offered, a few words of
comfort spoken as the two were placed in the same grave, the baby placed in the arms of young Ephraim. A fire was lighted over the grave to keep animals away and the grave was covered with rocks. They moved forward through the cold October chill, arriving thirteen days later, at the end of the month, in the Salt Lake Valley.
How does one go from making lace for Queen Victoria to having raw sewage dumped on them in the streets, losing a husband in a train accident, and burying a baby in the cold October ground and still keep the faith? Mary Ann never denied her testimony. She was sealed to her husband on another, much different October of 1867. Oddly enough it was yet another October when the children were sealed to the parents in 1884, and the family was complete. The Queen's lace-maker passed away in Salem, Idaho, on January 14, 1922 and is buried in the Sugar City Cemetery. She was ever a faithful Latter-day Saint, having worked for a number of years in the Relief Society and also a teacher in Sunday School. She loved to testify of the truthfulness of the Gospel and of the goodness of the Lord. That is the description of a true Queen.
No sooner had they joined than they were persecuted severely. He was fired from his job and as soon as any other employers knew he was a Mormon, he was let go. They had to move to find work but he was fired again when they found out about him. Mary Ann worked all night making lace to feed the family. Sanitation was primitive at that time and people dumped sewage in the streets. Neighbors often dumped their chamber pots out the second story windows onto them as they passed below.
George finally found work at a railroad. They planned to use the Perpetual Immigration Fund to go to America. On the night of Dec. 29, Mary Ann had a dream in which she saw the broken and crushed body of her husband.
George had been working in Birmingham, England, in a tunnel where there were two tracks. Warnings were to be given, but none was made. He waited to see which track it was on, then stepped aside as the train went by. He kept working when he realized a train was coming from the other way, but with no lights, and again no warning. Thinking it had to be another train on the other track, he stepped right in front of the original train as it was backing through the tunnel. He died from his injuries and Mary Ann never saw him alive again.
The minister told Mary Ann that if she would come back to their church and forget Mormonism, and sing in the choir, he would see to it that her sons had an education and she would be well taken care of. Instead she drew on the funds she had been paying into the Perpetual Immigration Fund and together with young Amos Moses, (Ross Shirley's grandfather) Nephi and the baby, sailed for America on the ship "William Tapscott" in May of 1862. On board ship was Elder Francis M. Lyman and other church authorities returning home.
Amos Moses said that he only remembered riding in a wagon once while crossing the plains. He was trying to carry his little brother, Nephi, across a river when a man in a wagon came up next to them and they got onto the wagon. Mary Ann carried the baby, Murcy Ann in her arms across the plains.
Somewhere near the present-day Wyoming-Utah line, a fever broke out. A young man, named Ephriam Barton, noticed that Mary Ann was sick and not able to take care of the baby. He volunteered to care for and carry the baby. Within a short time, both he and the baby became ill and died the same day, October 6, 1862. A hymn was sung, a prayer offered, a few words of
comfort spoken as the two were placed in the same grave, the baby placed in the arms of young Ephraim. A fire was lighted over the grave to keep animals away and the grave was covered with rocks. They moved forward through the cold October chill, arriving thirteen days later, at the end of the month, in the Salt Lake Valley.How does one go from making lace for Queen Victoria to having raw sewage dumped on them in the streets, losing a husband in a train accident, and burying a baby in the cold October ground and still keep the faith? Mary Ann never denied her testimony. She was sealed to her husband on another, much different October of 1867. Oddly enough it was yet another October when the children were sealed to the parents in 1884, and the family was complete. The Queen's lace-maker passed away in Salem, Idaho, on January 14, 1922 and is buried in the Sugar City Cemetery. She was ever a faithful Latter-day Saint, having worked for a number of years in the Relief Society and also a teacher in Sunday School. She loved to testify of the truthfulness of the Gospel and of the goodness of the Lord. That is the description of a true Queen.
1 comment:
Let me get this straight: Esther Maria married Amos Moses? Am I following it right?
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