Biography of Alice Rushton Dinsdale as given by her daughter, Rachel at the age of 83

Alice Rushton Dinsdale, daughter of James Rushton and Jane Slater, was born October 3, 1825 at Acron Lee, Lancashire, England. Her Father died when she was five years old. Her Mother married again and her step-father was not very good to her, and she worked out almost all the time.

Latter-day Saint elders were not allowed to hold meetings everywhere, and they had their meetings in a pit used for fighting roosters. Father and Uncle John asked Mother to go there with them to hear the Latter-day Saints. She said, “For goodness sakes who are they?”. They told her who they were and she went with them. She went every Sunday after that, and joined the Church when 17 years of age, March 1, 1843 at Bradford, England.

She married Jeffrey Dinsdale Sr., October 8, 1945 at Bradford, England. They wanted to come to America, but there was so much trouble there at that time that John Taylor advised those who were unable to pay their way to stay where they were. So they remained in England until they had two children. Then Jeffrey came to America in January 1849 and left her in England with the two children until they could raise funds to bring them. After Father had taken out what he needed to come to America, he had just $.05 left to give Mother. He came here with his brother and every little ways he would look back and say, “I wonder how that poor girl is getting along”.

Mother paid William Burton’s mother to take care of George Rushton [1846-1876] and Owen Rushton [1848-1872] while she worked at Salts’ Factory. When Father sent for Mother in the Fall, she went into the store to settle her bill there, and they wanted to put her in jail because she had so much money and they did not know where she had gotten it. Father wanted Aunt Rachel Dinsdale [1851-1936] to come with Mother, but she stayed in England and married Owen Dinsdale, a cousin of Father’s and lived in Mother’s home. The girls at Salts’ each made Mother a little something to dress her children in. Mr. Salt felt terrible about her leaving and he said, “You don’t know what you’re going to”.

She sailed for America on the vessel Berlin on November 2, 1849. While on the water, her baby, Owen, was very sick. They made him a swing, or cradle, in the top of the ship. The fish were around so thick the Captain wanted to throw Owen overboard, but Mother would not consent to it. He finally got well. The first day they were on the ocean, Mother took Cholera, and her fingers bent back until they touched her wrist. Every one thought she was going to die. A Negro gave her a pint of brandy and she drank it all and it cured her. There were 47 persons buried who died from Cholera on that trip.

When they finally landed safely in New Orleans, it was very cold and wet and in some way or other Father missed them. Some woman took them to her home. It was several days before Father found them, and he felt very badly about not seeing them. While in Fast Meeting one Sunday, he got up and bore his testimony. While he was talking some fellow stood up and interrupted him and told him he would get his family and everyone of them would reach Salt Lake City. It wasn’t long until he found them.

From New Orleans, they went to St. Louis. Upon arriving there, they had just $5.00 with which they bought a step-stove, a chair, and a bench. They used corn stalks on the floor. They had not been in St. Louis long when Mother took a fever and lost all her hair. They stayed there two and one-half years and that was when I was born. My sister Rachel Dinsdale was also born in St. Louis on May 15, 1851.

When I was one year old, they started across the plains. They used to have to make a circle with livestock and chain them together because when the Indians would come, they would be frightened away. The people would spread down a cloth and everyone would give the Indians a little something to make peace. They arrived in Utah the first of October in 1852 in a big snow storm. There was over a foot of snow on the ground.

When they got there, they had just a crust of bread and a little tea. We camped on the ground where Walker Brothers now stands. The Walker boys came down and got a house for us and four acres of land. That winter, they used willow roots for fuel and had to put the wagon box cover over them to keep the rain and cold out. We stayed in Salt Lake City one year and were there when the ground was broken for the temple.

That year, they were sitting on boxes eating potatoes, when a man came to tax their jewelry. Mother told him she had nothing but her wedding ring. He asked them if they did not have anything except potatoes to eat and they told him that they didn’t. He told Father to come over as he was going to thresh, and he would pay Father to help him. That day Walker’s killed a pig and gave us as much as they could get on a platter. Father said, “I won’t have to go to the tithing house now”. Before night, they brought another plate of meat, and a lady brought flour and baking powder for biscuits. Father said, “Now never look back, always forward”. He never grumbled no matter what he had. [Jeffrey Dinsdale Jr. August 1853-1922 was born ]

After living in Salt Lake a year, they moved to Kaysville in the Spring of 1855, and this is where James Dinsdale was born [on October 9, 1855-1915]. Mother laid on a pile of rags for three days after he was born. Then she got up to wash diapers in a ditch as she had only four of them. When Jeffrey was a year old, Mother lost him one day. When she found him he was in the ditch hanging on to just a tuft of grass.

We then moved to Ogden where we lived in one room and had to sleep on the floor. John Rushton [Feb 1858- 1941], her sixth child was born here. When he was born, Mother had a skirt made out of a carpet and one chemise. The neighbors gave her curtains to make baby dresses out of. When John was six weeks old, we had to move to Provo and leave our home because Johnson’s Army was trying to drive the Latter-day Saints out. Father was with the men all winter. When the Commissioners came, one of them got up and said, “The idea of such a few people standing against the United States Army”. Brigham Young jumped to his feet and said, “I want none of that. Fifty of our men will stand against your whole Army”.

While in Provo, we lived in wickiups. Mother got a spinning wheel from Dan Rawsen and used to sit in the wickiup spinning thread. We had no dishes and had to eat out of tins. We had plenty of wheat that year, but it was stored in the bins at home and Father had to come and get it for us. One woman stayed in Ogden and would take care of Father when he would come.

Mother said she never felt bad while she was away until the grass started to get dry and then she began to think about the livestock with no water to drink. Then one day, Brigham Young said, “I am going home, you can suit yourselves:. Everyone left for home. When we got there, the potatoes had grown from the floor up through the cracks in the ceiling. The weeds were so thick you could not let a cow out for five minutes without losing her.

[Robert Rushton Dinsdale was born April 4, 1861-23 April 1939; md. Sarah Louise Lowder.
Alice Matilda Dinsdale was born on August 23, 1862-1934. She married Willis Brown II in 1884.
Mathew Isaac Dinsdale was born May 28, 1865-1951; married Caroline Sophia Pierce in 1886.
Benjamin Dinsdale was born August 19, 1867-1950; md Annie Josephine Crowther in 1892.]

Father [Jeffrey Dinsdale] bought the section of land in town and the land on West 17th Street [in Ogden] from the Government for $1.50 an acre. He died before he got all the deeds. He died April 4, 1873, leaving Mother along with ten children, the youngest being five years old.

My brother, Owen, was killed November 28, 1872 while hauling logs from the canyon. The horses ran away, and he fell from the wagon, breaking his neck. He died the following morning. Mother died April 17, 1913 at the age of 87 years, still faithful to her religion.

The history of Alice Ruston Dinsdale states that her father died when she was around 5 years old and her mother married again. There were two James Rushtons born in Clone. The age at death proves this is the correct James for this Alice.

 

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