Thomas Henry White

Thomas Henry White was born about a mile from Charlcutt Hill, England on the November 25, 1846 to George White and Mary Rivers White. His parent were baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1848. When he was about eight years old his parents moved about three miles south to Calne, England. Thomas was baptized the July 12, 1858, at the age of eleven. His parents were planning to sail to the United States to join the Saints there. Then tragedy struck the young family, when George died November 6, 1860 leaving Mary with four small children. Two years later Thomas became an apprentice to the blacksmith and machinist trade when he was fifteen years of age. He being the oldest boy, went to work to help his widowed mother earn a living. They finally arranged to sail to America and left Liverpool (how they got to Liverpool not much is said) and obtained passage on the old white-washed ship Antarctic that set sail May 23, 1863. They left their native land and loved ones, and sailed with other Saints as a 35 year old widow with children of about 4, 6, 9, and 16. They arrived in New York Harbor on the 4th of July 1863. This being a holiday we were not permitted to land until the next day and soon after left for Missouri. They needed to hurry and leave and make the journey by being loaded into box cars like sheep. They had to lay on the dirty floors to hide from the soldiers as this was at the time of the "Rebellion" known to us as the Civil War and they were "drafting" boys into the army by just inducting them on the spot. When they finally reached Florence, Nebraska, they were put in the wagon company that would be traveling West to Utah. Peter Nebeker was the Captain of the "train" that Thomas Henry and his mother and siblings were assigned to join, and William Green was trainmaster. They arrived in Salt Lake Valley in the fall of 1863 around the time of October General Conference. Thomas Henry, now about seventeen, went to James Curry, and obtained work, making horse shoes out of scrap iron, scythes, sabers, and gun barrels. They also made plows out of wagon tires. Thomas Henry wrote that he also worked at other jobs, and helped to build the Salt Lake Temple and the Tabernacle. He also learned to make shoes out of chains for the oxen. By the fall of 1864, Thomas Henry went with others to Green River, Wyoming to meet an emigration company. It was very cold, and as they came back through Chalk Creek Canyon a severe storm came up, and they all nearly froze to death. They lost the cattle and had to pile logs and burn them to keep from freezing. They arrived back in the Valley very late in the year. In 1866 at the age of almost twenty, Thomas Henry was called to go back to Missouri to help bring back another company of emigrants crossing the plains. He started out the last of March with ox teams. He did all the blacksmith, repairing, and shoeing the cattle while they were on the journey. Five weeks later with wagons loaded with telegraph wire and emigrants they started back for Utah. Thomas Henry's grandparents Abraham Rivers and Hannah Dowswell, and an Aunt who had a small baby were in his wagon, with others. Part of the company of emigrants was the Frances and Elizabeth Oliver family. He met their daughter and became friends. They arrived in Salt Lake in the late fall, after the October LDS Conference, all were very glad to be there safe. On February 5, 1867, Thomas Henry married Emily Oliver, daughter of Frances Oliver and Elizabeth Barley Oliver. When a road was being built through Echo Canyon, Thomas Henry and his wife lived in the small town of Willow Creek. There he had a blacksmith shop. They moved Willow Creek I moved to Farmington, Davis County, Utah in about 1872. They lived here for the next ten years. A family moved near them who had come from Norfolk, England. It was the Jeremiah Jones and Ann Johnson Jones family. The family was good friends to the White's. They had a daughter Mary Ann and with consent of his wife Emily, and Mary Ann's parents, Thomas Henry asked Mary Ann to enter into plural marriage with him. They were married in the Endowment House, November 2, 1874. Thomas had already built a rock home that was located in the eastern section of Farmington. In 1876 Thomas Henry built a log home for Mary Ann. Thomas Henry and Mary Ann had ten children. Thomas Henry was absent some of the time. While he was away he took up land for a homestead along Bench Creek, about two miles southeast of Woodland. Here he built a very small log cabin to fulfill his homestead claim. It was his plan to build a large home in Woodland so that his families could live there, but his dream was never realized. Thomas Henry was called to go on a mission and take his families to Green River. He accepted the assignment, they joined with three other families. He was not a farmer, and since three families had no use for a blacksmith, he moved the families to Salina. In 1882, the families left Salina. Emily took her family to Layton; Mary Ann took hers to Kaysville. Mary Ann, however, did not stay long. Federal Officers were searching out polygamists, so Mary Ann went to live near her brother's farm in Providence. Later, Thomas Henry moved Mary Ann and her kids to Woodland, Utah, where she had her last three children. It was necessary that she had to help make a living for her family, and she depended a great deal on her children helping her. She was able to depend a great deal on her skill as a midwife. Thomas Henry often went to Eureka where he had a blacksmith shop. There were miners there, so they kept him busy. He saw his two families as often as he could. Emily passed away in 1907. Thomas then remarried Mary Ann to satisfy the legal requirements and moved in with her. He died at this home in Woodland, February 26, 1913. He was buried in the Farmington Cemetery next to Emily. Thomas Henry had twenty-one children, sixteen grew to adulthood and married. He was highly respected and loved by all who knew him for his courteous and kind disposition and willingness to serve his fellow men. He was a great, loving father and husband to his families. He was average height, rather stout, his eyes were a grayish blue, and he had medium brown hair. He was said to be always cheerful, and he had a merry "Good-Morning" for everyone. Thomas invented a wagon where the front axle wheels would turn independent from the back axle wheels. HurdTamoraLynn1