Amanda Melvina Hammond

History of Amanda Melvina Hammond Burgess Amanda Melvina Hammond was born 6 May 1827 to Benjamin Hammond and Almeda Longley in Foxcroft, Piscataquis, Maine, United States. She was the third of four daughters in her family. Her parents were some of the first members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her father, Benjamin died shortly thereafter in 1830. Her mother remarried to a non-member, Joel Bunker Hawkins on 5 March 1832. He made it very difficult for Almeda and her children to attend church and the temple. Amanda’s mother, Almeda was found crying in the Temple one day, when a temple worker named Sophia Minerva Foster Burgess asked if she could help. Almeda told Sophia how sad she was for her situation, but even more so because her daughter Amanda had the strong desire to go west to Zion with the Saints. Sophia’s husband, Harrison Burgess was also a temple worker. After hearing of Almeda’s desire, it was decided he would take Amanda as a second wife and take her with them out west. This required a plan to avoid problems with Amanda’s step-father. Amanda and Harrison were married in the Nauvoo temple, but after the ceremony she went back home to her parent’s home until the Burgess family were all prepared to travel west. Then Harrison stopped by Amanda’s home and picked her up. Together Harrison with his two wives were on their way to Winter Quarters. They needed supplies for their trip across the plains and over the mountains. They worked at whatever jobs they could to earn money and planted crops until in 1848 Harrison was called to go on a mission to England. Before he had to leave, he did all he could to make the journey as comfortable and convenient for his wives as possible. Amanda and Sophia arrived in the Salt Lake Valley with the Brigham Young Wagon Company on 21 September 1848. There they had to work together to provide for themselves until Harrison’s three-year mission was completed and he returned home to them. He was assigned to go to Parley’s Park in Summit County where he was to build a saw mill. He kept a diary of his families and their life there. Over the years Amanda and Harrison had eleven children: Mary Almeda, Harrison Joseph, Benjamin Hammond, Sophia Minerva, Amanda Melissa, Abram William, Isaac Henry, Clarissa Jane, Sarah Vilate, Jacob Leander, and Philip John. In 1863 he was called to take his family to southern Utah to build up the settlements around St. George. Again, he was asked to build a mill to supply lumber for building purposes. The Burgess family’s new home was in Pine Valley. They were blessed and lived happily there for twenty years. On 1 April 1874, Amada was called as a counselor in the Pine Valley Relief Society. Through this calling she had so many opportunities to give service to the community. This organization gave money to help build the St. George Temple and the St. George Stake Academy. They helped fix up the Pine Valley meeting house. They had the largest wheat fund in the Church. The women contributed from their own wheat and helped by gleaning the fields. They also made rugs, carpets, quilts, and stockings. They cared for the sick and offered comfort where needed. They even made burial clothing and prepared the dead for burial. In July 1882, Amanda’s doctor discovered she had cancer so they took her up north to Provo where she could be treated. While she was there, she had a flare up of erysipelas on her head. It was a skin infection that she had been fighting since November. This infection was often caused by an insect bite or small wound. Today it can be treated by antibiotics and seldom causes death, but Amanda did not have antibiotics available and she died on 8 August 1882. Harrison had them place her in a metal coffin so he could bring her home on the train to be buried. Traveling with Harrison and Amanda was her best friend, Elisha Burns Keyes. The trip from Provo to Pine Valley took them 37 hours. When they arrived, there was a procession of 16 wagons full of people to go from her home to the cemetery where she was buried next to three of her children who had preceded her in death over the last 8 months. Her obituary praised her service to the community and called her character and life worthy of imitation.