Biographies of:
John Pincock, who was the son of John Pincock and Mary Marsden, natives of England
and
Isabella Douglas, who was born in Downham, England, November 1, 1833 and came to America with her parents, George Douglas and Ellen Briggs, in the year 1842, being converted to the Mormon faith, coming by way of New Orleans, landing at that place, April 6, 1842, a year later than the Pincocks
Written by Charlotte Pincock Garner, their daughter, this 28th day of June 1929, at Rexburg, Idaho.
Note: additions or corrections have been added between [ ] brackets. The text is otherwise as first written.
Biography of John Pincock
Son of John Pincock and Mary Marsden, natives of England. He was born July 27th, 1830, at Exton [Euxton, Lancashire] England, and came to America with his parents who were among the first to be converted to the Mormon [Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] faith, leaving England on board the ship Sheffield, Feb 7th, 1841, under the leadership of Hiram Clark with a company of two hundred and thirty-five Saints; this being the third company of Saints to leave England.
He settled at Augusta, Iowa. The family moved to Nauvoo in the fall of 1844, and in the fall of 1845 his parents both died…their deaths being only twenty-one days apart. He was of a family of nine, being the eighth child. Seven sisters older, namely: Ellen, Elizabeth, Jane, Charlotte, Margaret, Mary, and the name of one unknown, and one brother James, who died while a child. Being thus orphaned, he had little opportunity for schooling, but learned to read and write well.
The home broken up, he found employment with Father Taylor (President [John] Taylor’s father) and drove teams for him until the fall of 1846. He took part in the battle with the mob at Nauvoo. In the fall of 1846 he went to live with his sister, Charlotte Ballard. During this time, he and his brother-in-law, John Ballard, went steam-boating for thirty days, and earned thirty dollars each which was more money than he had ever seen in his life before.
“But,” he said, “we worked hard for it; at one time we worked three days and nights without stopping, only to eat. When we got through with the job, we could sleep without rocking”
He stayed with his brother-in-law the winter of 1846, and went to St. Louis in the spring of 1847. He was a stranger, but found employment on a steamboat running from St. Louis to Keokuk, Iowa. He worked there during that summer; and the next winter, he has running up White River in Arkansas. In the fall of 1848 while running from St Louis to Galema the boat was anchored at Churchville, a little below Nauvoo on the Iowa side of the river on October 9th; and with his brother-in-law, Richard Douglas, he saw the Nauvoo temple burning. This brought sadness to them when they thought of how hard the Saints had worked and sacrificed to build it in their poverty…many working on it with scarcely enough food to eat, and what they did have was of the coarsest kind He knew the prophet and passed through many of the hardships incident to the migrating of the Saints during that time.
The following summer he went to work on a boat running from St. Louis to New Orleans, remaining there until the spring of 1851. This made five years spent on the river, which work he greatly enjoyed, often telling of his experiences and sailor life.
It was during this time he became acquainted with the Douglas family through having as his companion in his work, Richard Douglas, and also through his association with the Douglas boys, Richard and Ralph, he became acquainted with their sister, Isabella, and on the third of February, 1851, they were united as husband and wife. This marriage was a happy and congenial one. They always did team work, consulting together on the best ways to do everything, and their honeymoon never ended. From this union they were blessed with fourteen children, namely: Mary Ellen, born at St. Louis, Missouri, November 8, 1851; John Edmund, born at Kaysville, Utah, December 16, 1853; Isabella Alice, born at Ogden, Utah, February 5, 1856; James Henry, born at Ogden, January 20, 1858; Ann, born at Ogden, August 20 1860 (died in infancy); Charlotte, born at Ogden, Utah, November 15, 1863 (died in infancy); George Albert, born at Ogden, Utah, March 1, 1865; Violate, born at Ogden, Utah, August 24, 1867; Charles, born at Ogden, Utah; September 22, 1869; William Aaron, born at Ogden, Utah, October 17, 1871; Josephine, born at Ogden, Utah, January 20, 1874 (died at the age of one and one-half years); Richard Douglas, born at Ogden, Utah, March 14, 1876; Wealthy, born at Ogden, Utah, March 8, 1879.
They remained in St. Louis until the spring of 1852, coming West with a company of Saints and relatives consisting of eleven wagons: the Douglas family, the Robins family, the Bennett family, and the Parker family. Brother John Parker (who was the step-father of my mother, Isabella Douglas) being the captain of the company. They drove overland with ox teams, arriving in Salt Lake City, August 28, 1852, having met with no accidents on the way.
They remained in Salt Lake a short time, then came to Ogden and lived with Ralph Douglas that winter. He attended April conference in the spring of 1853, and witnessed the laying of the cornerstone of the Salt Lake temple. (Forty years later, he attended to dedication of the same.) This same spring they bought a small farm at Kaysville, and went there to live, but were compelled to camp out until they could build them a house.
They managed to get logs enough to build one room and moved in before it was finished.
It had neither floor, door, nor window to keep out the cold. A short time after, they were able to get a window and enough lumber to make a door and some home furniture which consisted of a table, a bench, and a one-legged bedstead. Although this was crude, they were happy as could be, not feeling dissatisfied nor wishing that they had not come west. They never had a thought of going back.
It was here that their second child was born, a son. They lived in this house for one and a half years, then sold out and came to Ogden, and settled on a city lot, one block west of the tabernacle on the street now known as Grant Avenue. They also had a small farm in the forks of the Ogden and Weber rivers, and engaged in tilling. He worked on a threshing machine that fall and earned plenty of wheat for his family. The fall of 1856 and 1857 was known as the hard winter. The snow falling to the depth of eight feet in many parts of the valley, there was great scarcity of provisions, chickens froze to death in the middle of the day while sitting in the sun, nearly all the stock died and there were a good many who lived without bread. Some people lived on the meat of animals that had died of starvation. He lost all he had but one horse and one cow which he managed to keep alive by going on the bluffs and cutting bunch grass with a butcher knife and carrying it to them.
There were some crops raised the next summer, and he continued to work on the threshing machine during the fall of 1857, earning enough for themselves and a little to spare to others who had none. It was like the widow’s meal, never seeming to run out, so no one starved. He took part in many public enterprises, helping to build the first road through Ogden Canyon, from which place they hauled wood and timber for building bridges and other purposes, mad canals, fences, and fought grasshoppers and crickets, which were so numerous at times it seemed they would devour everything.
In the year 1858 when Johnston’s Army was about to invade Utah, the call came from Brigham Young for all the Saints to move South. At that time they had a log house and granary with considerable wheat on hand, a wagon, a team of horses, and a cow. They took their bedding and what provisions they could haul, leaving the balance without knowing where they were going or whether they would ever return; with the understanding that everything left, in case the army invaded the territory, was to be burned by a rear guard who was left behind for that purpose. They had no regrets or any anxieties as to the future, believing all the time that the Lord would take care of them. They went South beyond the point of the mountain near where Provo now is, and waited for further orders whether to move on or to return. Later they received orders to return and upon their arrival at the old home found the bin of wheat and everything in the house just as they had left it three months before; with a crop of volunteer wheat ready to harvest so that their faith in the Lord as being able to take care of them was realized.
With a number of others he made a trip to Omaha for the Church to bring out emigrants, leaving Salt Lake early in May 1863, having in the company 384 wagons, 3604 oxen, and 488 men, taking 234,969 lbs. of flour to assist the poor in emigrating. He returned home October 4, 1863 after a long and tiresome trip of six months. He traveled in the Thomas E. Ricks company. He continued farming and helping to develop the country. May 10, 1869, he attended the completion of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads, or the driving of the golden spike at Promontory, northwest of Ogden, Utah.
He helped build the grade for the Utah Northern in 1871 and in the fall of that year went to work at the freight depot, and was later promoted to depot policeman. He served in that capacity for about twenty years, but resigned on account of his feet getting bad from walking on the board platforms so much. He was honored and respected by all the railroad officials and employees. On account of his uprightness, he was given the title Honest John.
In the spring of 1974 [1874], he purchased a farm in the southwest part of the city, now known as 33rd street where he moved his family; living in a barn all summer while he was building them a home. Here he resided the balance of his life.
For two years he was county commissioner of Weber County and served for a period of years on the City Council, being the promoter of the first tramway or track for moving gavel [gravel] from the pit to the streets for building good roads. He was a member of the first brass band organized in Ogden, and played the bass drum.
He was a High Priest and member of the Weber Stake High Council for seventeen years; filling every position he had held with honor and fidelity. He went through the Endowment House at Salt Lake City, and was sealed to his wife for time and eternity, October 12, 1855. He was baptized by James Bennett in the year 1840.
After leaving his work at the depot he spent his time looking after and caring for his lawn and other things around his home. He was fond of a good joke, but took no part in smutty or vulgar stories, he was a lover of music, and he and his wife often sang together at parties in early days. He also enjoyed dancing and did his share of it when a young man. He was unselfish, kindhearted, sympathetic, and even-tempered and just in his decisions, never getting excited or hasty in any matters with which he had to deal. He was very fond of children, enjoyed talking and joking with them, and often took them on his knee and asked them questions and taught them the answers. He was opposed to card playing and never allowed cards to be kept in the home, nor had a game played. He was a lover of good animals, especially horses. He fed them well and prided himself in keeping them is fine condition by giving them the proper care. He would rather walk than ride behind a poor team. He was of a sunny disposition, a sturdy, healthy type, blessed with a strong and vigorous body and never had any sickness, not even a toothache or ever having sat in a dentist’s chair. He lived a consistent Latter-day Saint life and was honored and respected for his unquestioned loyalty to his church and country.
He passed away December 16, 1905 at the age of 75 after a short illness of bronchial pneumonia, leaving a posterity of six children, (now living), sixty grandchildren, and one hundred and thirty-seven great grandchildren. [count was in the year 1929]
At his death his grandson, Dr. H.B. Forbes, gave this wonderful eulogy of him:
“Honest John Pincock is dead after an honorable and useful career of seventy-five years. His was a life of earnest effort and generous deeds, unmarred by a single selfish thought or act. He was characterized by an unconscious simplicity of mind and that is akin to genius, and from which sprang a degree of love of truth and honor and moral courage that is rarely seen. Coupled with these was a contentment of mind, open countenance, a sunny disposition, which diffused sunshine and happiness on all about him. His life was, and will remain, an inspiration to those he leaves behind and, like the golden grain of autumn that has filled his destiny, he died matured and ripe and has gone to a well-earned and unfeared repose without a single enemy or having knowingly injured anyone. He died, as he had lived, in peace, surrounded by loving relatives and friends, poor in worldly attainments, but rich in the esteem of all and loved most by those who knew him best.
Words cannot describe the beauty of his character.
One of God’s noblemen has gone from among us forever, but he has left us a heritage of loving memory more lasting than worldly monuments. Peace to his honest soul.”
Biography of Isabella Douglas
Daughter of George Douglas and Ellen Briggs, natives of England.
The wonderfully successful life of John Pincock would never have been what it was without the help and fine understanding of his loving wife, Isabella Douglas.
The story of her life is best told as related it herself at a meeting of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers a few years ago, and is as follows:
“I was born in Downham, England, November 1, 1833 and was the daughter of George Douglas and Ellen Briggs.
My parents were converted to the gospel of the Latter-day Saints by Heber C. Kimball in March 1838. The family came to America in 1842 one year after the Pincocks, coming by way of New Orleans and up the Mississippi River and landing in Nauvoo, Illinois, April 6, 1842, where they made their home for four years. They became very familiar with the historic events that took place in the Church during these years. My father went to work as a day laborer, worked some on the Nauvoo temple and later found employment on the Prophet Joseph Smith’s farm. He was a mason by trade in his native land and was not accustomed to the extreme heat of this country, and succumbed to sunstrokes while laboring in the harvest field July 12, 1842, having been in America only three months.
My mother was then left with a family of seven children in a strange land without support, excepting the little means that she and the older children could earn. She was compelled to go out to day’s work, leaving me at home as a house-keeper with three younger children, my age at the time being nine years. We continued to make a living in this way until the Saints were driven from the city of Nauvoo.
I saw Governor Ford and staff when they were there and when he pledged his word of safety to the Prophet, and I distinctly remember the military display and the feeling of fear that came over the entire community. I heard the bugle blowing and was very much excited as it was the first time I had heard a bugle call. This bugle was blown by one of the Governor’s party who were on their way to the city of Nauvoo to assure the Saints their Prophet was safe, when at that very time the mob was murdering him. I saw the wagon pass containing the bodies of the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum and later passed through the mansion house with thousands of others to view the remains.
I also saw and stood by the side of a sled drawn by a team of horses upon which the wounded Apostle John Taylor was being taken home. (A sled was used because it was more comfortable than a wagon. Conditions in Nauvoo continued to grow worse until the Saints began to move westward. About this time my mother [Ellen Briggs Douglas] was married to John Parker who had three children and his aged father. This increased our family to thirteen. My mother, step-father and the three older children were compelled to go out to work leaving me with the remaining eight to care for. (I was then fourteen years old.) All the responsibility of the home and family was in my care. We had no stove. We baked our bread in a bake kettle by a fireplace. We had no yeast cakes with which to make bread, but would set salt-rising bread and bake every day. Washing, ironing, mending and caring for the family depended entirely upon myself.
After the expulsion of the people from Nauvoo, we returned to St. Louis and remained there about six years, during which time my parents accumulated sufficient means to emigrate to Utah.”
As stated in the previous history it was at St. Louis where she became acquainted with and married John Pincock and the balance of her life is told in his writing.
“I was kept very busy caring for my children. They had nothing to wear except what I could make, not even hats and caps. I braided straw hats for summer and made caps for winter. I did all my sewing by hand, knitting all the stockings, spinning the yarn and coloring it, made candles and soap and many other things which cannot be mentioned.
Our log cabin was clean, and although we were poor and I had much to do I felt happy and contented in caring for my little ones, believing all the time I was doing a mother’s duty.
I [Isabella] am now in my 82nd year, and while I am not enjoying the best of health, I am able to be about the house and enjoy the comforts of my home, for which I am very thankful. I feel satisfied with my life’s work, and after having passed through all the trials and hardships incident to pioneer life, and for the benefit of those who read these memoirs that they may not forget what the pioneers had to pass through that made conditions such as they now enjoy.” [end of Isabella’s memoirs]
And now I wish to write a few of the fine qualities and gifts of my dear mother.
She was an ideal wife and help-mate devoted and loyal to her husband and his interests and their success in life was due in no small measure to her ability, devotion, and industry. She worked shoulder to shoulder with him [her husband, John] and her practical wisdom and vision were a great asset in the partnership.
She was ambitious, frugal, and thrifty, ingenious, and resourceful. She had very little schooling but seemed to know just how to adjust herself to any condition that came up. She was a good cook and housekeeper, always having her work planned ahead of time. She was an expert darner, mender, and was a beautiful sewer. She was gifted in caring for the sick, her touch bringing relief and comfort. (There were no doctors in those days.) Many times in case of emergency, she relieved many of her neighbors and friends in time of confinement.
Being alone when one of her children was born, she did first requirements for herself. This happened on the 20th of January. It was very cold weather, but having a fire in the fireplace, she arranged her bed close by so that she could keep warm until help came. No bad effects came to her. On another occasion, sister Belle had two of her fingers severed by an axe. Mother put them in place, wrapped them up, and the result was that they grew on without much disfigurement.
She also set the broken limbs of several animals with good results. She taught her children honesty, thrift, industry, and never allowed them to waste anything.
I am sure it took courage, faith, and willpower to face the obstacles, struggles, and privations that our pioneer fathers and mothers had, and I am proud and thankful to be born of such ancestry.
She [Isabella] passed away August 15, 1918 in Ogden, Utah, where she had lived the greater part of her life.
May all who read this emulate the wonderful traits and examples set by our Pioneer parents.
