Mary Jane Parsons Babcock

Mary Jane Parsons Babock

Daughter of George Parsons and Lydia Rebecca Fisher Step Father Leven Elvenius Simmons

Wife of  William Henry Babcock 

Mother to 
            George Oliver Babcock            Baby Boy
           William Henry Babcock
           Baby Boy 
           Mary Rebecca Babcock
           Benjamin Franklin Babcock
           Lydia Jane Babcock
           Stillborn Baby 
           Lucy Elvins Babcock
          Vardis Andrew Babcock

Personal History of Mary Jane Parsons Babcock

This personal history does have a couple of holes I'm still trying to fill but here's what I have so far. It never said who typed it up originally but at the end it says it was typed up in the 1960's. This is my 3rd great grandma. 

 Personal History of Mary Jane Parsons Babcock

re-typed by Kierston Scott 2012

Mary Jane Parsons, daughter of George Parsons and Lydia Rebecca Fisher, was born in Burrow County, Illinois, on the 10 May 1854. Her grandparents on her fathers side was (were) Stephen Parsons and Mary and on her mothers side they were Vardis John Fisher and Jane Chapman. Her parents were early converts to the Church of Jeusus Christ of L. (Latter) D. (Day) Saints and they married young in years; her mother being just about 17 years old when Mary Jane was born. 

Mary Jane came west to Utah with her parents and her grandparents 4 Vardis John Fisher and Jane Chapman. They came in the _________________ Company, crossing the plains in the summer of 1855 and arriving in (the) Great Salt Lake Valley on the _____, when she was just unreadable (little) Cholera broke out in the company and her grandmother Jane Chapman died with it and was buried near where the town of Rock Springs now stands in Sweet Water County, Wyoming. 

WHen they reached the valley they settled in Spanish Fork, Utah, County, Utah. There they established a new home, enduring the trials and hardships that made up pioneer life. After being in the valley but a short time, conditions became very bad for her parents, so her father decided to go to Saint George, Utah to find work. He left Mary and her mother and they went through many hardships and were very hungry much of the time. Her mother was still nursing and some times in her nursing she drew blood because there wasn’t enough nurse for her. Her mother took in washings and did house work for other people to provide a living for herself and daughter and part of the food that Mary Jane got was from crumbs of food that fell on the floor in the home where her mother worked. 

Her father never sent any money or word home for about two years, so not having heard from him, her mother divorced him and accepted the offer of Leven Elvenius Simmons to become his second wife. Leven E. Simmons was considered a man very well off financially for those pioneer days. He was a good step-father to Mary Jane and a good husband to her mother. He was a strict tith (tithe) payer and Mary’s mother said that he would pay his tithing on a litter of pigs and when he butchered them he would give one tenth of the pork for tithing. 

Mary Jane had the privilege of attending school for only three weeks in her life time. When he was married to William Henry Babcock and he went to Colorado to work, she would get a man to write her  letters for her. Finally her husband wrote and told her that she had better learn to write her own letters because the fellow that was writing for her was putting things in her letters that ought not to be there. After that she determined she would learn so she taught herself how to write, read, and how to do arithmetic. She got so she could write quite good for her meagor (meager) schooling. 

When Mary Jane was eight years old she visited with her aunt Elizabeth and uncle Jack (Andrew Jackson Simmons) (written on side (Thomas  (a Gambler)). She seen the soldiers of Johnson’s Army at camp Floyd. She seen them leave and when they left the people weren’t prepared with food so they were left without food and as much in want. (written on side (Gathered coffee grounds the soldiers had left)). 

Mary Jane Parsons was baptized by John Lewis on the 2 November 1862 at Spanish Fork and confirmed on the 2 November 1862 by William Stoker at Spanish Fork. 

Mary Jane was only 14 years old when she married William Henry Babcock in the Endowment  House on the 21 December 1868. They traveled to Salt Lake by Ox team and after they were married they made their home in Spanish Fork, and William Henry engaged in farming. 

Their first child was a boy born the 25 April 1870 and he was named George Oliver. The second baby was a boy born on the 18 October 1872 and was named William Henry. The third; a son born on the 24 November 1874. The forth ; a daughter named Mary Rebecca born on the 31 December 1876. 

In the summer of 1876 they moved their family out on a place close to the mill race in Spanish Fork. While living there a son George Oliver fell into the swift waters of the mill race and drowned. 

On the 1 February 1879 a son was born and they named him Benjamin Franklin. In the fall of 1880 her husband went to Colorado to work on the railroad. She was left with the care of the family while he was gone. It was at this time that she learned to spell by taking a spelling book and copying the letters from it. She had been getting Steven Markham to write letters for her. 

On the 26 April 1881 a daughter was born in Spanish Fork, Utah and they named her Lydia Jane. Soon after that in the spring of 1882 they sold their farm and moved to a place called Castle Valley on the Price River. Her husband took up 160 acres of homestead ground. Most of it was very good soil and part was along the river bottom which served as pasture for the cows. There was a grove of Cottonwood trees on that farm which later served the community as a gathering place for celebrations. 

There was no railroads in that part of the community when they moved there and no doctors except in Spanish Fork. The place was later called Spring Glen and part of the homestead formed the main street of Spring Glen also the cemetery was made upon the land of their homestead. 

They only had two neighbors when they moved to Castle Valley and one was named James Gay. They stayed with him until they had built a cabin of their own. They had their parties and gatherings there for a while, later they were held at the home of Marion Francis Ewell. School was taught at the Ewell home by the daughter Sarah Ewell. 

One winter two of Mary’s and William Henry’s children by name of William and Alburn, were sent to school in Price, Utah. They would take enough food to last them for a week and stay at Nephi Perkin’s home then go home over the weekend. 

The first public school in Spring Glen was taught by J. Nathan Miller. It was held in the new log meeting house and the students held their books on their laps and did their writing on slates. 

In September 1883 they couldn’t find their daughter Mary and they became worried so Mary Jane got on a horse and went to look for her. Because she was expecting a baby and hurt it when she got on the horse she lost it. It was a stillborn baby born sometime in September 1883. 

She had two more children after she lost her baby. A daughter Lucy Elvins was born in spring Glen on the 21 January 1885. She died on the 12 June 1894 from Membranus Croup at the age of 9 years of age. Her temple work was did (done) for her in the 22 September 1904 by her sister Lydia Jane. 

The last child born to them was named Vardis Andrew, born in Spring Glen on 3 August 1887. He married Mary Marlinda Albertson on the 16 February 1921. 

Mary Jane Parsons had many faith promoting experiences during her life. On one occasion an old friend of the Babcock family by the name of George Washington Eldredge; stopped by the Babcock home on his way to his home in Sunny Side. He told the Babcock family that he had had a dream and in the dream his wife appeared to him and told him that her LDS garments hadn’t been marked when they buried her. He said she told him that she was unable to leave the place where she was staying in the spirit world until her garments were marked. After she appeared the second time he went to Spring Glen, Utah and told the Bishop. The Bishop got the relief society president and they went with Mr. Eldredge to the cemetery and opened up the grave. They found that his wire’s garments hadn’t been marked to the relief society president marked them. This incident took place about a month after his wife had been buried. 

When Benjamin Babcock was buried hi smother had him buried in his dark clothes. She worried about that a lot then about two years and four months after his burial, Ray Curtis Cook did his temple work for him. About that time Benjamin appeared to his mother in a dream and he had a bundle under his arm. He said “Here is my dark clothes Mother. I have my white clothes on.”

When her husband began to leave home and travel, Mary Jane had a big job trying to raise the family. She took in washing and did other work to assist in making a living for her family. Some of her older boys were now old enough to help her and they ran the farm. At the birth of one of her children she suffered very much from milk leg. When her husband left on one of his trips at the birth of their last child she separated from him and they never went back together. Later on she divorced him and married several other men who turned out to be of a worthless nature so she divorced them. She married 2nd Edward J. Tollen, 3rd Washington Tracey and 4th a Mr. Knight. 

She was a big woman and quite strong and had a fair knowledge of nursing and the sick. At the time when the first world war was on she did a lot of knitting sweaters and socks for the soldiers and was honored by Governer Bamburger of the state of Utah for her achievement. 

She died in Spanish Fork, Utah on the 19 January 1921 and was buried in the Leven Simmons lot on the 23 January 1921. She had made the request or told her daughter Lydia Jane that she would like to be sealed to her mother and step father so her daughter went to the Salt Lake Temple and had her sealed thus fulfilling one of her last requests. The work was done by her daughter Lydia and her son Ray C. Cook on the 28 March 1924. Not long after the work was done she appeared to her daughter Lydia and it was told that she had a very happy smile upon her face showing that she was well pleased at what had been done. 

Today 10 March 1960 there is a goodly posterity descending from that noble pioneer. She had nine children of which five lived to marry and raised children. She had 45 grandchildren and the great grandchildren and great great grandchildren are so scattered that they are not all known but they are many.