Nancy Jane Rawlins

 

The information in this history was compiled from histories written by Annette Kerr Johnson and Olive Kerr Harris, daughters; and Mary Kerr Gee, and Marie Danielsen Benson, granddaughters.  Bertha Kerr Skeen, her youngest child, added information from personal experience, and from the autobiography of J. L. Rawlins.

 

(COMPILED BY LARUE SKEEN FONNESBECK, JULY, 1970)

 

Nancy Jane was born February 5, 1845, in Hancock County, Illinois. her father, Joseph Sharp Rawlins, was born April 9, 1828 in Green County, Illinois and died April 13, 1900 in Salt Lake City, Utah. her mother, Mary Frost Rawlins, was born January 28, 1827 in Knox County, Tennessee and died in Salt Lake City in January, 1917.

 

Her parents were converts to the Mormon Church and joined with others at Council Bluffs on the east side of the Missouri river at "Honey Creek" where they remained until 1846 and 1847.  There they had planted and gathered corn, potatoes, and other food products in preparation for their trip across the plains with the pioneers.  They were able to leave for the west on May 12, 1848 with a group of fifty wagons.  Nancy Jane was three years old.  Her mother was ill with a twelve day old daughter, Helen, but insisted that they go at that time.  This was an example of the courage she displayed throughout her life.  With the family were her mother's brother, Lafayette Frost, and her grandparents, the Rawlins' family.

 

Layafette Frost became a member of the Mormon battalion for which he was officially commended for exceptional bravery.  As a result of incredible hardship he died shortly after arriving in San Diego.  The other members of the family arrived in the Salt Lake valley on October 12, 1848, and were directed by Brigham Young to establish their home in mill creek.  Joseph Sharp Rawlins and his family built a home near that of his father James Rawlins' family.

 

Two years later they were called by Brigham Young to move south to the Willow Creek or Draper area.  This was a difficult move.  Their Son, Joseph Lafayette, was born on March 28, 1850, the year they began building their home in Draper.  The clay for the house was dug from a field south of there.  It was poured into molds and dried.  A well was dug north of the house.  The fireplace was used for both cooking and heating, and was also built of adobe.  There were andirons and two kettles swinging from cranes which suspended them over the fire. These were the frying pan, the skillet for biscuits, and the Dutch ovens for baking loaves, with live coals placed beneath and on the lids for heating.

To meet the needs of the family an orchard was planted with gardens for fruits and vegetables.  The land was cleared to allow for the planting of fields. 

 

Livestock was provided for and had to be protected from wild animals.  The wool from the sheep was spun, carded, dyed, woven into cloth, cut and sewed by hand into garments for them to wear. Nancy Jane's mother fashioned their shoes from leather tanned nearby, and sewed the upper parts by hand.

 

The children remember seeing their mother fighting the plague of grasshoppers with a broom in desperation because their livelihood depended on the ripening grain.  There were other trials and hardships.  Hostile Indians, wolves and other animals were a constant source of anxiety, especially during the long months when Nancy Jane's father was away on church and government assignments.

 

He helped to explore Elk Mountain on a dangerous mission among the Indians, and also made seven trips to assist emigrants to come into the valley.  He served as lieutenant under captain Lot Smith as a guard to protect the U.S. Mail, and was also a captain assigned to guard the passes in Echo canyon when Johnson's army came.  He helped with the construction of East Jordan canal.  He also served many years in the area as bishop, which kept him away from home a great deal.

 

Nancy Jane assumed much responsibility in helping her mother with household duties and also helping with the younger children.  In so doing she gained important skills which were very helpful to her when she became pioneer wife and mother.  Her childhood experiences prepared her for greater hardships that lay ahead.  She went barefoot at times to gather sagebrush for fuel, and remembered having only one biscuit a day for food during hard times.  She walked two miles to a log school house which had a long rough table in the center of the room, and crude benches for seats.

 

Although her education was very limited, she gained the tools with which to acquire a liberal education through extensive reading of the best in literature, scriptures, history and philosophy.  With an intelligent and cultured mind she chose to read the best available to her.  She always had an appreciation for the value of education.

 

Nancy Jane's family participated in the joyful occasions of the community.  Her brother described in his autobiography how the children were taken to the square dances at the little adobe school house in the fort, where they would watch the festivities and enjoy the music of the "best fiddler" in Utah.  When the children became tired they rolled in a quilt in the corner and slept until it was time to go home.  There were quiltings and corn-husking bees, and good things to eat during good times.  On Sundays they would put on their best clothes, hitch up the wagon and go to meeting at the church where members spoke in simple language to express their feelings. There were those who spoke in "tongues".  Those were impressive occasions.

 

When Nancy Jane was fourteen years old she met Robert Marion Kerr who came to Salt Lake from California where he had become converted to the Mormon faith and baptized by George Q. Cannon.  He was given employment by her father who was bishop at the time.  He had originally come from Iowa to go to California at the time of the gold rush there.  Later he traveled to Australia seeking adventure.  At one time his ship was becalmed in the tropic heat for three weeks.  His brother, Archibald, who was 16 years older, had joined the Mormon church in Iowa and later emigrated to Utah from Nauvoo with his wife and family to establish their home in Cache valley.

 

Nancy Jane and Robert Marion Kerr were married on January 1, 1860. Their marriage was solemnized in the endowment house.  The following spring they moved to Richmond, Cache County, Utah where they were among the first five families to pioneer there.  Their first home was in a fort where the wagon box served as the bedroom.  Hostile Indians were in the area and it was necessary for safety to live within the fort, where the men took turns standing guard to protect their families. 

 

It was there that their first child, Marion Joseph was born November 6, 1860.  Nancy Jane's mother had come from Draper to assist at the time of his birth, but was unable to stay because of the death of Helen, Nancy Jane's sister in draper just a few days before the baby was born.  A team was driven to Richmond to notify her mother of Helen's illness, and she returned to Draper shortly after Helen died. Kindly neighbors Assisted Nancy Jane in her time of need.

 

Their next home was a small log cabin with a dirt floor and dirt roof. Here their second son, William Jasper and their two eldest daughters were born.  Mary Jane died in infancy.  Clara Jemima survived serious illnesses and became the mother of six children in Lewiston, Utah.

 

During these difficult times Robert Marion was asked, as was customary in the church at this time, to take a second wife in polygamy.  He consented to do this, and was married to a cousin of Nancy Jane, Margaret Elzira Rawlins.  They lived in the same house.  Elzira had two sons.  The oldest, George, died when he was two months old. Elzira died when the second son was born.  He was named James Harvey, and Nancy Jane cared for him as though he were her own.  He was killed in a giant powder explosion at the gravel pits near Richmond when he was a young man.

 

In 1874 the family moved into a small house about two miles south of town, and soon after built a larger home of brick and plastered it inside and out.  It had the first wooden floor and also the first running water piped into a home in Richmond.  Ice cold springs provided water, and a deep creek ran through the farm.  Robert Marion boxed over one of the springs and piped the water into the house where he built a very good sink with a drain.  A brick cellar was also built, and a small stream of cold water from the spring flowed through one end of the cellar, keeping the milk and butter and other food cold.

 

Five more children were born in this home: Julia, who died at the age of two; Annettie who Married Andrew Johnson and lived in Logan; Olive who married A.L. Harris and lived in Richmond; John Andrew who married Elva Smith and became the father of a son Andrew Dennis.  They lived in Lewiston until his death in a gravel pit accident when he was twenty three years old.  Bertha was the youngest child.  She married D.A. Skeen and made her home in Salt Lake City where they become the parents of five daughters.

 

The family worked diligently to make their home as attractive and comfortable as possible.  The parents were good providers.  An orchard north of their home was planted and supplied the family with an abundance of fruit, maiden blush apples, red astrachans, porter, crab apples and early harvesters, with several kinds of plums and berries. There was plenty of fresh milk, vegetables and good bread.  The children and visitors remember when Nancy Jane would fill a milk pan with fresh strawberries, put the cream and sugar over them and serve them at the table.

 

There were many enjoyable times in their home.  It was a gathering place of the young people who were always made welcome.  They were a gracious and hospitable family.  The favorite refreshments were molasses candy and popcorn balls.  Robert Marion owned several acres of sugarcane which was made into molasses at the mill of Howard Egan. Popcorn was plentiful.

 

Robert Marion was known as a quiet, thorough, dependable man who readily assumed church and civic responsibilities.  He took his turn at guard duty in times of danger and helped build bridges and railroads. He was a good provider.  Both he and Nancy Jane held many responsible positions.  They participated in the social functions as well as the work of the community.  A few months before their daughter Olive was born he was called to fill a mission for the church in Texas. 

 

At this time their faith and devotion to the gospel were put to a severe test.  Nancy Jane gave her permission, and he accepted the call.  Their two oldest sons, Marion Joseph and William who were 16 and 12 years old took over the care of the farm.  Marion Joseph helped put in the crops, and then left for Montana to work on the railroad until harvest time.  Their father served an honorable mission.

 

Prayer was important in their home.  Mardene Traveller, a granddaughter, has told how Nancy Jane always said her morning prayer out loud.  Another granddaughter, Mary Gee, has written about the sincerity of the morning and evening prayers, and spiritual strength that was in the home.  It was an inspiration to hear her pray, as though she were in another sphere.  When there was illness in the home the children were taught to have faith and rely on the help of the lord. 

 

Many miraculous healings were witnessed in their home, according to the stories told by Annettie and Olive, their daughters. Nancy Jane recovered miraculously from serious illnesses.  At one time she was badly hurt by a large sheep that butted her repeatedly for nearly an hour before help came.  Her great faith and determination helped in her recovery.  She was well known as a woman of rare judgment and courage, calm and serene in emergencies, and was much sought after in the area whenever there was sickness of trouble.  Her daughter has told of the times when she was guided and inspired in times of trouble.  Bertha told of one incident when her mother advised her at the time of her husband's critical illness with typhoid, and he was miraculously healed.

 

One of Nancy Jane's most remarkable achievements was in her successful treatment of cancer when she was allowed to practice her art.  She had recipes for salves which would kill the cancerous tissue and a salve which would heal.  These recipes were handed down from earlier generations.  One of the most skillful members of each family practiced the curing of cancers, and then taught the art to others. Her daughter, Bertha, has told how she traveled with her mother and watched her care for those in need, and saw the cures. 

 

Many others also testified of the effectiveness of the salves, even with cases that doctors decided were hopeless.  Nancy Jane offered to share the recipes and methods she used with physicians, but was scoffed at.  It is said that they tried secretly to find out what she used in her cures.  During later years she was not permitted to practice medicine without a license, but was willing to pass the remedies on to those who could use them.

 

Nancy Jane loved music, and was a member of the first choir in Richmond.  She liked to sing as she went about her daily tasks.  Some of her favorites were, "Come Come ye Saints", "Our Mountain Home so Dear", and "Hard times, Come Again No More" which she taught her grandchildren.  She enjoyed working and accomplishing worthwhile things, such as spinning, sewing, knitting, weaving, and crocheting. She made beautiful laces and quilts.  In the evenings the children remembered their mother knitting and their father reading the weekly Deseret News while the children played checkers, spun tops, parched corn and made molasses candy.

 

On August 17, 1891, Robert Marion died following a brief illness that was thought to be appendicitis.  Nancy Jane was left with a thousand dollar mortgage and four children at home.  Those were very difficult times.  She was determined that the children should have the best possible education.  They walked to school through all kinds of weather, and Bertha remembers the cold, mud and snow, and the hardships caring for the cows and doing the many farm chores.  The house was sold in 1904 and they moved to Logan to make it possible for Andrew and Bertha to attend the college there. 

 

She then moved back to Richmond and lived in the home of Parley Monson east of town.  Later she bought the home of Maude Brower near the center of Richmond, and lived there almost entirely alone until her death at the age eighty three, on September 18, 1928.

 

She was always a gracious hostess and enjoyed having her children and grandchildren visit in her home, always making them welcome and comfortable.

 

Nancy Jane enjoyed traveling when it was possible for her to do so. In 1909 she went with Bertha to visit her son William who was then president of the college in Corvallis, Oregon.  This was a wonderful occasion for them.  She was also a frequent visitor at the home of her daughter Bertha in Salt Lake City where she enriched the lives of those around her with interesting stories of pioneer days.  She was always interested in politics and world affairs and kept up to date on current events, until just before her death.

 

Her favorite sayings were "train your mind to look on the bright side of life.  This may seem trying to you, but in the end will bring the greatest blessings." She was also noted for reminding those who criticized others that "you do not know both sides of the story.”

 

Nancy Jane and her husband were the parents of nine children: Marion Joseph who became prominent as a builder, county commissioner, served as bishop and member of a stake presidency in Idaho;  William Jasper who became noted in educational circles and served as president of Utah Agricultural College in Logan, Utah, and later became president of Oregon State College at Corvallis; Mary Ellen and Juliaette who died in childhood; Clara Jemima who married Herman Danielson and lived in Lewiston, Utah; Ella Annettie who married Andrew Johnson and lived in Logan; Nancy Olive who married A.L. Harris and lived in Richmond; John Andrew who married Elva Smith and lived in Lewiston, Utah until his death at age 24 in a gravel pit accident; and Bertha who married D.A. Skeen and lived in Salt Lake City, Utah.