John Chantry, my 2nd great grandfather, was born 3 April 1802 in Lenton Parish near Nottingham, England, the son of William Chantry and Sarah Dalton Chantry.

When he was a young man he worked on a farm and was hired by the year. He had two sweethearts, and promised to marry both of them. He must have been quite a man. When the time came for him to choose between them he started off with his walking cane, trying to decide what to do as he loved them both. The roads to his two sweetheart's homes led in opposite directions so he stuck his cane in the ground, saying he would marry the girl in which direction the cane fell. After the cane fell he thought he would rather it had fallen in the other direction but he went in the direction it fell. It seemed the Lord had a purpose in this as my 2nd great grandmother, Ann Bonnington, was the first to bring the Gospel to the family.

Ann Bonnington was born 12 October 1803 in Carlton, Notts, England, the daughter of John Bonnington and Sarah Folds or Foulds. It was the 25 of April 1823 in England that John Chantry took Ann Bonnington to be his wonderful bride.

It was 1846 or 1847 when Ann Bonnington Chantry, a little black-eyed woman went shopping. While there she noticed two men standing on the street preaching. She became curious and she stopped to listen to them. These two young me were Mormon missionaireies from America and came to England to give the new and everlasting gospel unto all who were willing to listen. The Elders announced they would hold a meeting the following evening. Ann was interested and decided to attend this meeting. So the next evening found her with a houseful of other curious investigators.

It was a cold night in November. The hall was a rude construction with no seats and Mother earth for a floor. The Elders had purchased a few tallow candles which they placed around the walls for lights. However, the spirit of the Lord was present, and Ann said that she did not get tired, and didn't feel the cold.

After the meeting Ann went home to her family feeling very enthused and said to her husband, "Oh, father, you must go and hear these men. They had the Gospel that was taught by our Savior and the same gifts that they Apostles had in ancient days!" She urged her children also to go and hear the missionaries, they did, and later they were nearly all converted and were baptized into the Church. John Chantry was baptized 30 June 1849.

John Chantry and Ann Bonnington were the proud parents of 16 children as follows:
The first ten children were born in Arnolds, Notts, England.

Sarah/Sariah Chantry b 4 March 1824; md. 2 March 1846 William Holmes at Arnold, England; d. 26 Feb 1891.

Mary Ann Chantry b 26 Oct, 1826; d. 20 Oct 1841

Elizabeth Chantry b. 27 Sep 1828; d. 12 June 1844

Ann Chantry b. 9 June 1830; d. 1880

William Chantry b. 28 Aug 1832; md. Hannah Barker; d. 13 Jan 1892

John Chantry b. 13 Sept 1834; md. Sarah Ann; d. 2 May 1912

Daniel Chantry b. 16 July 1836; de. 28 Nov 1838

Francis Chantry b. 26 June 1838; d. 27 June 1839

Hannah Chantry b. 25 Feb 1841; md. Charles Buck (Pearce) Dec 1859; d. 9 Jan 1905.

George Chantry b. 23 May 1843; md. Elizabeth Malby; d. April 1861

Fanny Chantry b. 1844; d. 1844

Frank Chantry b. 1845; d. 1845

Richard Chantry b. 1846; d. 1846

Henry Chantry b. 1847; d. 1847

Elizabeth Chantry -twin b. 1848; d. 1848

Alice Chantry -twin b. 1848; d. 1848

After this [1849] they had the spirit of gathering to Zion. Ann used to say she would never lay her body down in Old England because of her strong desire to go to Zion.  However, she was not permitted to go to Zion. Ann Bonnington Chantry died in England on 5 Feb 1867 or 1868 and was buried in Arnold, Notts, England.

John Chantry came to America in 1869. He was very happy to think he was coming to Zion and when he was on the boat he danced for joy.

He experienced many hard and trying times after coming to Utah as the grasshoppers had devoured the crops. He lived with his daughter Hannah Chantry Buck and family in a dugout and at times he scarcely had enough to eat. John was very faithful and had great faith in prayer. He prayed three times a day no matter where he was. If he was out in company and at noon-time he would leave them and go in secret to pray. If he was working in the fields he did the same thing, and was often ridiculed for it by his less faithful companions.

Because of his faith he received visions and manifestations. One notable vision which he received was as follows: He saw a railroad crossing the sidewalk leading to the Temple in Salt Lake City. This railroad was for the purpose of hauling stone to build the Salt Lake Temple. At that time there were no trains in Utah, and the Saints discredited what he said. Later John Chantry saw the track across the sidewalk with train loads of granite with which to build the Temple just as he had seen it in his vision.

In appearance John Chantry was rather tall and thin, a raw-boned man. He was rather quick tempered. He had a very difficult time breaking the smoking habit. Most all of the men who came from England smoked pipes and when he came to Utah for the Gospel's sake he resolved to quit smoking. He had used tobacco all his life and was 67 years old so the habit was a strong one. By perseverance and determination (and quite a lot of stick whittling) he overcame the habit and was able to get his endowments and do temple work.

John was a High Priest. He died at West Weber, Utah at the age of 73 . He died 20 Feb 1875.

Sources:

PAF - Archer Files = Captain James Brown + (1) Martha Stephens > John Martin Brown + Lovina Wilson > John Martin Brown II + Sariah Holmes < Sariah is the daughter of William Holmes + Sarah Chantry < Sarah Chantry is the daughter of John Chantry + Ann Bonnington..
PAF - Archer Files = Captain James Brown + (7) Phoebe Abigail Abbott > Orson Pratt Brown

Biography of John Chantry written by Laura M. Petersen his 2nd great, granddaughter.
Contributed to this site by Erold Clark Wiscombe.